Rating: 
Summary: Occasionally entertaining, largely boring.
Review: THE SWORD IN THE STORM, by self-profession, places itself in the genre of so-called Heroic Fantasy. David Gemmell's view of heroism is a pragmatic one, and is echoed in the faceted deeds of both protagonist and supporting characters. Indeed, these are men and women with both virtue and vice, and in that sense they are believable. However, while Gemmell goes to great lengths to tear down the medieval romanticism surrounding heroism, he takes it one step too far. Connavar goes beyond the niche of the anti-hero and becomes a person I grew to dislike more and more as the book progressed.
Gemmell makes an effort to paint complex characters, seeming to relish in each turn from good to bad-or equally often, vice versa-among his fictive personae. Often it is thought-provoking to learn to like a character that was initially painted as a villain, but what little character development that exists in the book is a rough patchwork of change that inspires disbelief. In part, this is because Gemmell has a penchant of avoiding important passages, referring to them in past tense in some flashback later on. Several events of great magnitude were glossed over or cut entirely from the book, which served to lessen the intensity of the story for me. Connavar himself evolved in leaps, and was a bland character that lacked a personality.The language that Gemmell employs in his writing-judging only by this book-is unremarkable, and easily read. The prose flows like a village brook; trustworthy and given only unconscious heed. Honestly, at certain parts of the book, the only thing that carried me onward was the sense of how quickly the pages flew by. David Gemmell has much to say about life, and he says it clearly, often through contrived, practiced speeches from some side character. Throughout the book there are many looks into the mundane of living, and often the conversations that arise from such ponderous notions strike home, in a depressing, dreary way that pulls the mind to the bleak portions of life. In many ways, I felt much more of the mundane than of the heroic in this book. As much as Gemmell has to say about life, he has more to say about sex. It is depressing to read about Connavar's childish love-life, and even more depressing to see Gemmell spread the myth of the inevitability of male adultery. Add to that the more or less pronounced belief that women should accept and forgive such actions, and you've got a frustrating sexual philosophy. The characters believe that even a man coupled with his "twin soul" is capable of adultery in a moment of passion. I shall not rant, but please, if there are women reading this: Don't take this nonsense to heart. Not all men are that way. Just as Gemmell has a habit of skipping interesting passages, he also tends to provide text dumps with background information for each new character he gives point of view in the book. Often this will be a page or two that tersely describes the extent of their life to the reader, removing all mystique and interest surrounding the character. It does help clarify who the character is, but I found it disturbing and an unwelcome change of pace at several times. The setting of the book is a thinly veiled study of Celts (Keltoi), Rome (Stone), and Vikings (Vars) tossed together with some slight variations. When I recognized this fact I felt the mysticism of the book drain away rather quickly, and it was especially jarring to see the Vikings-I mean, the Vars-call out to Wotan (Odin). The ways of the Rigante, Connavar's tribe among the Keltoi, are well described and sensible, but not terribly interesting. There were some flaws, though, such as the occasional mentions of Heaven or Hell, which did not fit into their mythos. However, from a historical point of view it was interesting to see Gemmell's take on things, and Gemmell writes with great confidence on military matters, suggesting that he has done his research. There were several times when I was very close to putting the book down and shelving it, but you see, I have this unfortunate habit of finishing what I start-well, with books-anyway, and it was not to be. So I kept reading, despite growing more and more annoyed at Connavar's antics and paper-thin personality. The first half of the book is mostly about his childhood, and they are unremarkable, but casually depressing. The part of the book that I found best was in the middle, when he journeys south and comes into contact with the Roman army. Gemmell spends the last hundred pages completely breaking down what little interest I had in Connavar-and the book-to the point where I didn't mind if he died in the next battle. I found nothing heroic in this book, and could not help but wonder how it wound up with that genre stamp. All in all, I found it a mediocre read, and I probably should have put the book down earlier. It felt like an opus of the tragedy of common life, and for me, the book died with the only character I felt could have saved it; the only good woman in the book, and the only character I thought belonged in Heroic Fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant novel on a level with Gemmell's Drenai series
Review: There is really not much more that I can add on the book it speaks for it's self and does so wonderfully
Rating: 
Summary: Back to Rome , but all the better for it
Review: There is something about the Rigante Series that makes it far more readable than a lot of fantasy pulp out there and at first while I was kind of irritated by the fact that not only does the book base all it's people and geography on different from the our own word 2000 years ago but it also borrows heavily from religion , weapons, tactics and entertainment of those days....and actually that's what in the end makes it a great book, becuase you can relate for more easily to the world around the characters without having to read through pages of tripe just there to set the scene. The story is fast flowing, years leap by with the turn of a page in many places, some of the characters tend to be a bit easy to predict but all in all an enjoyable book/series and I look forwards to reading the rest and then looking at his other Drenai books.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This is my first David Gemmell book and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I tend to be a pretty picky reader so I'm quite happy that I've found another author to enjoy.
"Sword in the Storm" is fantasy novel based on a parallel of ancient Roman times rather than the medieval times on which most other fantasy novels are based. Gemmell describes the world and its simple political struggles well enough for you to get a good feeling of what's it like to be there.
The book follows the life of Connovar, a warrior from the Rigante tribe, which may some day be consumed by the armies of Stone (much like the tribes of northern Europe struggled against Rome). In many ways Connovar is your typical kick ass hero and, in that respect, he's fun to watch. He is a bit predictable as he easily overcomes challenge after challenge, but the adventure and his path to greatness makes it interesting enough to keep reading.
As I stated, the book is a bit predictable and the character development is good, not great, which is why I'll only give it 4 stars. It's still exciting and entirely worth the read, however.
Rating:
Summary: My first David Gemmell novel
Review: This is the first book by David Gemmell that I have ever read and I am more than pleased. I rarely rate books as high as four stars and almost never five. I am a pretty harsh critic. This is a terrific story, everything you could want in a fantasy epic...love, glory, honor, betrayal, hate and raw emotions. I have been looking for a good fantasy author for awhile now and have now found him. I plan on buying every last one of them. My only beef with the book is that it is too short. Another couple more hundred pages and my four star review would have been a five star one. A story of this magnitude needs to be longer and told in the upmost detail.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is the first book by David Gemmell that I have read. I was looking for a break from Goodkind and Jordan, adn thought that this book sounded interesting. I was not disappointed. Connavar grows up in the shadow of his father's alleged cowardice, but with a stepfather who loves him dearly. Among his people, Conn is the only one who seems interested in finding out about the rest of the peoples around them. This curiosity sets off a series of events that determine the rest of the story. He is faced with troubles that impact his entire people. Luckily, he seems to be blessed by the gods. Conn must also face the beast inside of him---his ability for blinding anger and rage...a thirst for vengeance. This was a wonderful story and I recommend it to anyone. I will be looking for the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Demon Laird
Review: This is the first book by Gemmel that I have read and it is not going to be the last! I lost myself in the woods with the Seidh and was mesmerised by his ability to create characters that I cared for so deeply. The battle scenes were both graphic and moving, as were the characters relationships with each other. An epic fantasy, not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Connavar the Demonblade!
Review: This is the first book I'd ever read by Gemmell, an unwanted christmas gift, or so I thought. As soon as I picked this book up I could not put it down, to the point that I finished it within one day. The characters are beautifully portraited and the story is one of the most imaginative you could ever imagine. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Great example of transition
Review: This is the first Gemmell book I read and I found it very compelling... so much so that I went out and bought the next two without thought after a few chapters! It weaves magic, folklore, and mythology into the novel and makes you wonder if this is what could possibly have happened "way back when". A great example of transition, you see the ancient move to the modern and I found myself questioning whether this is what may have happened to our great and mysterious past. Do not be mistaken, this is not a book on magic or magic-users (though it is peppered throughout the series). Readers will, however, definitely enjoy the action-filled encounters. The heightened sense of drama adds to the character growth and lessons learned. Though it says "Rigante Series, Book 1", it will easily stand alone (though I'm sure you will want to read on). Though the battle scenes are thrilling, it is the individual that really makes the story.
Rating:
Summary: A Bouncer and a Poet
Review: This is the second book I've read by Gemmel, the first being Legend. Set in a fantasy world, I found this rise of the Roman empire novel extremely readable. Gemmel clearly knows his history, detailing the differences in armament and tactics of societies in a feudal stage(Rigante) vs. societies in an Imperial stage(Stone).
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