Rating: Summary: Rigante! Review: A robest, profound unstopable highlander chan comes to life with high adventure, riveting action, interwoven with magic lore. Wonderful places like the Black Mountains, Three Streams, The Wishing Tree Woods-where the Wyrd dwells and weaves her spells. Heartstopping heros-the stuff that legends are made of=the likes of: Cannovar, the King, Bane, Rage(I loved his tale) and who could forget Jaim Gymauch and Gaise to name a few. A force to be reckoned with, that is Rigante. Honor, courage, nobility of spirit-- that is Rigante. Read about them and judge for yourself.
Rating: Summary: One of the worst Review: After the huge disappointment of Ravenheart, I expected Gemmell to do what he did in The Hawk Eternal - create a sequel that would make the first book something great and more importantly, tie up all its loose ends.Stormrider (and Ravenheart) had many great ideas and concepts, it laid similar foundations to Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon, and had the seeds of greatness within it. Whilst the book was heroic, it went from nowhere, to someplace worse and became lost in the void. I am one of the biggest fans of David Gemmell, and it disappoints me to state that this book is by far, the worst David Gemmell book, I have ever read. It is almost as if he ran out of ideas and gave up half way and tried to end the book as quickly as possible. Avoid this book, don't even borrow it from the library. However, I gave it 2 stars as I cannot bear the thought of david gemmell receiving the lowest rating available.
Rating: Summary: Is Gemmell going downhill? Review: As a stalwart Gemmell fan over the many years, one has to admit disappointance with this work. Its a rehash of themes present in various previous works(Dark Prince, Morningstar, Druss:Chronicles I etc.) suggesting that our author is losing his steam. There are elements throughout the work which makes one cringe with embarrassment, the swearing is one, along with the dialogue where the "Rigante" are descibed as:'the best of the best!'. The ending also just screams out to the reader that Gemmell became scared at how he was going to conclude this novel, and subsequently took the easy option, which just left one feeling, frankly disappointed. Yet there are good points to this book. His ecological stance is admirable, the pace is enough to keep one reading and rarely flags and its always interesting to see what has influenced the author from his subject matter(in this instance Gemmell would appear to have been reading authors such as Bernard Cornwell,author of the 'Sharpe' series). Yet these pale in comparison to the price I paid for the hardback, and I felt cheated at paying the fullprice. Save your pennies, wait for the paperback, or just borrow it from your library.
Rating: Summary: Character driven fantasy Review: I have enjoyed all of the Rigante series by Gemmell, most especially the heart rending Ravenheart. Stormrider is a thought provoking finale. As always his characters leap from the pages - particularly the dark and deadly Moidart, and the grimly powerful Huntsekker. Other reviewers have criticised the similarity of themes previously used in past novels like Lion of Macedon, and the Druss series. I think this misses the point. Gemmell has written more than thirty novels, and themes of love, courage and heroism are bound to re-occur in what are, at base, action driven novels. Gemmell's literary hero, after all, is Louis Lamour, who wrote more than 200 short novels of the Old West, many of them with identical story lines. Gemmell's best work - Waylander, Lion of Macedon, Ravenheart, Echoes of the Great Song, Knights of Dark Renown, and Legend - are all Five star quality. Stormrider comes close. For me it misses only because of the large cast, which slows the narrative, and the lack of a sustained central character with the power of Druss or Jaim Grymauch from Ravenheart.
Rating: Summary: Still excelent Review: I must admit that the first 50 pages were not up to Gemmell's standard. But after that it was gripping I couln't put it down. I can only recommend it. A must for all Gemmell friends.
Rating: Summary: David Gemmell fans lets be honest here Review: Same basic story every time right? Flawed hero overcomes big odds and eventually wins the day. Does that mean the story is not good? Of course not but the approach does get old at times. This particular installment shifts focus from Calin Ring ward or Jam Grimothe to Gaise Macon son of the "evil" Moidart. Some people have not liked this book because of the transformation of this charecter from a bad guy to a good guy. Now I was fine with what almost ruined the experiance for me was the supposed conflict between good and evil it just came across to me as rushed and unfinished like something Gemmell thought of at the last minute. Overall-A tad weak but still very solid all round a good read
Rating: Summary: David Gemmell fans lets be honest here Review: Same basic story every time right? Flawed hero overcomes big odds and eventually wins the day. Does that mean the story is not good? Of course not but the approach does get old at times. This particular installment shifts focus from Calin Ring ward or Jam Grimothe to Gaise Macon son of the "evil" Moidart. Some people have not liked this book because of the transformation of this charecter from a bad guy to a good guy. Now I was fine with what almost ruined the experiance for me was the supposed conflict between good and evil it just came across to me as rushed and unfinished like something Gemmell thought of at the last minute. Overall-A tad weak but still very solid all round a good read
Rating: Summary: Great read for Gemmel Lovers Review: Something about Gemmel grabs hold when you enter his worlds. I have read most that have shown up in the U.S. He keeps it simple but somehow adds a depth to his characters that entices real emotional responses to their life / love / adventures / etc. Stormrider is set in pretty much the same "world" as his other novels. His hero is Gaise. An unloved Prince put in a position of battling evil. This is not Gemmels best, but is still better than anything Jordan has written.
Rating: Summary: Great read for Gemmel Lovers Review: Something about Gemmel grabs hold when you enter his worlds. I have read most that have shown up in the U.S. He keeps it simple but somehow adds a depth to his characters that entices real emotional responses to their life / love / adventures / etc. Stormrider is set in pretty much the same "world" as his other novels. His hero is Gaise. An unloved Prince put in a position of battling evil. This is not Gemmels best, but is still better than anything Jordan has written.
Rating: Summary: great characterisation and gripping storyline Review: Stormrider focuses on Gaise Macon and Kaelin Ring who face an impending war against Winter Kay and the armies of a dead king. The enemy is fueled by an ancient evil, embodied in a skull known only as the Orb of Kranos, bent on the destruction of all mankind. The Black Rigante joins with the forces of the Moidart in a twist of fate against their common foe. Although a conquered people and against insurmountable odds, the Rigante fight with courage and integrity, serving as shining examples in a war that will bring bloodshed, death and destruction to the people. Gemmell in Stormrider has done it again. He has an amazing talent for developing his characters and unfolding a storyline that is exciting, sad and gripping at the same time. He describes the events through the eyes of his main characters and offers contrasting viewpoints as events unfold. His characters are very real and their reactions are believable. From the very first page to the last, Stormrider fails to disappoint. Gemmell has shown his mastery over the heroic fantasy genre. I can't wait for his next installment.
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