Rating: Summary: Excellent, Gemmell at his best. Review: Actually, Gemmell isn't one of my favorite authors, but I really do like the Drenai series. This is the book I've been waiting for, as I loved Legend and wanted more about Druss. Questing books are really the best of fantasy, and this book epitomizes this.
Rating: Summary: The Beginnings of the Legend... Review: Although this book was published later in Gemmell's Drenai series, it is more or less a direct prequel to Legend. This book tells the story of how Druss became the legendary figure that we see defending the walls of Dros Delnoch in Legend. This book is a good place to jump into the Drenai series as it stands pretty well on its own. This has all of the action-packed fight scenes that you expect from David Gemmell, as well as characters that you really care about.
The plot of this book is divided into two parts. The first being Druss's quest to regain his young bride, Rowena. In this part of the book Druss is very young and not yet the legend we know. The second part takes place shortly before the events in Legend, Druss is an aging warrior, but still the mighty figure known throughout the land. The first part of the book is the bulk of the story, how Druss became the Legend. The second part serves as a bridge to Gemmell's other works.
One thing to keep in mind is that Druss is an unstoppable, indestructable force (would he be the legend if he wasn't?). At times in this book Druss charges into situations with impossible odds stacked against him and emerges victorious. If anyone is turned off by this superman-syndrome, you may want to give this one a pass.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of David Gemmell, or who loves fast-paced plot-driven fantasy! Gemmell is one of the greats!
Rating: Summary: Best reads ever Review: at the age of 16, this was one of the first books i read and i always return to it, 4 years on and it still moves me like no other book has, never before have i loved a book like this. BUY IT, READ IT and then READ IT AGAIN and AGAIN
Rating: Summary: This book was the work of a master artisan Review: Daivd Gemmell has done what so very few authors can do. He has created a character, Druss, who is so much more than any man can be and is precisely what every man wants to be. It is very easy to read and the story pulls you into the world he has ceated and you feel as if you are there, along with Druss, creating his legends. Your imagination explodes with vivid scenes as Gemmell describes so simply, yet in just enough detail, that your imagination paints the most wonderful world and characters. The reason that I particularily like this book is for the simple little pieces of wisdom that Gemmell includes and I will leave you with one..."Foolish regret weighs more than iron. Every man makes mistakes; thats how he learns. Only the weakling talks of life's unfairness, or claims he is jinxed by bad luck. The strong man shrugs his shoulders and walks on." Great book, Great read, highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Great reading Review: Druss the Legend was a great read from start to finish. Anyone who is a fan of the first book in the series, Legend, should check this book out. Learn how Druss became such an awesome warrior and the secrets behind the dark weapon Snaga. Grab a goblet of Ventran Red, a block of cheese, put the wife and kids to bed and set sail on a fantastic adventure with Druss the Legend.
Rating: Summary: Great reading Review: Druss the Legend was a great read from start to finish. Anyone who is a fan of the first book in the series, Legend, should check this book out. Learn how Druss became such an awesome warrior and the secrets behind the dark weapon Snaga. Grab a goblet of Ventran Red, a block of cheese, put the wife and kids to bed and set sail on a fantastic adventure with Druss the Legend.
Rating: Summary: Sheer brilliance. A story that moves and exhilarates. Review: Gemmell is one of the few authors who manage to capture almost every human emotion with aching clarity. This is a tale that weaves through heart-pounding battles to bittersweet tenderness with the effortless ease that can only be created by a master of Heroic-Fantasy. Gemmell's characters are so real and deep they make this book incredibly difficult to put down. There is only one way to describe it: Awesome.
Rating: Summary: Old School Heroic Fantasy Review: I am always glad to find a new David Gemmell book on the shelves of the local retailer. Precious few modern writers concentrate their efforts on pure, escapist fantasy so often mercilessly derided by oh-so-intellectual book reviewers. Happily, if you want to let the inner munchkin out (the one who cheers as the hero scythes through legions of opponents), then David Gemmell's books are a fine place to start - where the warriors are always heroic (despite whatever other character flaws they may have), magic is powerful, and epic battles scar the landscape. This book is a prequel to "Legend" (another favourite Gemmell book) and delves into the making of the hero featured in the author's earlier book, Druss the Legend. Beginning at Druss childhood, the book traces the early life of the Drenai hero who has death brought to him when raiders attack his village, carrying off his bride. Druss, the man who was not brave enough to be a farmer, takes his grandfather's infamous axe Snaga and set out to get her back, and in the process became a legend in his own time. All the good stuff is here: an unyielding hero, honor, courage, huge battle scenes, fearsome opponents, dark magic, and a wicked witch all described in Gemmell's crisp prose. Robert E. Howard - the creator of Conan - would have approved.
Rating: Summary: Freedoms of the time Review: I'd just like to say that Gemmell has to be the greatest of men and the most splendid auther. He is the first person to make such a human connection that revealed the humanity and mortality in heroes. For everything I've known the man made me cry, this book made bawl for at least a half hour. That's how strong the emotions are stirred in this epic tail. For every wise crack made i laughed and for the intensity of the battles my face lit up like it were christmas time all over again when i was young. For all things worth it, Druss and the characters in this book are not works of fiction, but scriptures of a past long forgotten. You will not set this book down but for a few things: tissues, the bathroom and food. Have a great time and try not to lose sleep over the next day of reading (I did). ~Joseph James Peabody, Jr.
Rating: Summary: If you simply must know more. Review: If you have not read "Legend" stop now and read it first. After you read Legend you will want to know more about Druss (believe me you will). Then you read this book. As a follow up to Legend it is a good book, but it annoyed me a bit that he carved out the Deathwalker legend into another novel. That's why he lost a star.
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