Winter Warriors (Drenai Tales, Book 8)

Rating:
Summary: Gemmell does it again...
Review: Once again, David Gemmell leads us into the harsh yet fantastic world of the Drenai. The book is "Winter Warriors," and it showcases Gemmell's steadfast refusal to try to fix something that just isn't broken. If you're familiar with previous Drenai novels, the themes should be familiar - three old soldiers (a master swordsman with a tragic past, a bowman whose eyes are failing him, and a hulking brute with more heart than brains) find themselves embroiled in a quest to save Queen Axiana and her unborn son from the hordes of demons who seek them out. If the unborn king is sacrificed... yep, you guessed it, the world enters an age of unending darkness, and all mankind will suffer.

It's true, you could fault Gemmell's cast of characters for being too archetypical, and bearing more than a passing resemblance to previous characters in the Drenai series (compare Nogusta of "Winter Warriors" to Chareos in "Quest For Lost Heroes," or Bison to Beltzer in the aforementioned tome)... but be that as it may, each and every principle character in "Winter Warriors" is a living, breathing, flesh-and-blood human being, and few fantasy authors can achieve such a claim. Each man and woman behaves in a realistic, believable fashion, and comes out of the adventure dramatically changed by the experience. In an attempt to wow you with magical doo-dads, action set pieces, and enigmatic creatures, most fantasy authors forget to inject humanity into their work - but not David Gemmell. "Winter Warriors" is a deeply human story, no matter what demons or magical spells come into play. The action works because you genuinely care about the people fighting for their lives... and if you know David Gemmell, you know too that no hero is immortal.

I can find few faults in "Winter Warriors," to be quite honest. Granted, the premise is not very original, and the plot sometimes gets a little bit convoluted. Yes, "Winter Warriors" mimics the same themes of previous Drenai books (see "Legend" and "Quest For Lost Heroes," to name but a few), but I'm not sure that qualifies as a fault. It's very moving, inspirational stuff packed with at least as much drama as action. I just don't get tired of desperate men, underdogs by all accounts, standing up for what they believe in against seemingly insurmountable odds in the David Gemmell vein. If more of us lived our lives like Nogusta, Chareos, or Druss the Legend, I think this world would be a better place. Can I truly pay Mr. Gemmell a higher compliment than that?

Rating:
Summary: Out to pasture
Review: Some authors manage to completely ruin great characters by simply stopping to care about them. I think most readers of this genre love it when we get the great awe-inspiring acts of fresh on the scene heroes. David Gemmel manages to show the readers what happens when those same heroes get old.

Gemmel has a talent for creating great scenes. There are other authors out there, who can perhaps describe a fight scene with more detail or zeal, but David Gemmel can deliver a simple scene and make it seem like a pearl hidden in an oyster. The action is not packed into this book, but there is enough for readers like me to keep us turning the pages. I enjoyed the character intereaction in this book. He doesn't try and make you love all the characters, in fact with one of the characters it is quite the opposite.

Simply put it is a great book, by an author who writes some great fantasy. It is definately worth picking up if you love the fantasy genre.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This book is great. This is a fantasy novel that does not involve a quest, is self-contained, and the CHARACTERS are the most important element--not the quest. The only probelem is that the story takes awhile to move forward. However, you don't really notice because the characters are so interesting and fun to read.

Rating:
Summary: Gemmell excells again
Review: This is a brilliant Novel with a brilliant plot and twist toi the tale. It at first seems pretty simple with demons needing to sacrifce a baby to bring about the end of mankind and only three old men can protect the child but as you read the plot gets deeper and twists and turns at breakneck speed. The action and sword fights it has to be said were not as well detailed as in some of his other books but still good enough for enjoyment purpses.

The charachters are all human and you do find yourself caring for the main Hero's of Nougasta,Kebra and Bison (although I just could not like Antikas Karios.

Overall this is a brilliant fantasy novel and should be read by all fans of the fantasy genre.

Rating:
Summary: As Always, A Great Read
Review: This is the first book I ever purchased from Amazon, so I feel a special responsibility to review it.

As other people have said, this does have a similar feel to Quest for Lost Heroes. It's the latest in the chronology, set some 200 years after QFLH, and the Drenai (a vaguely Greco-Roman hybrid) version of Alexander the Great is off conquering the vaguely Persian empire. As the book opens, the older warriors are being sent home, as their enlistments are up. We're introduced to the three main characters, and the book goes from there into the obligatory great magical threat.

The writing is very good; Mr. Gemmell only improves as he goes along (aside from the fact that Legend still was his masterpiece), and certain scenes are enormously powerful, such as one of the main character's self-sacrifice.

One thing I noticed is that the cosmology of the Drenai keeps changing. We've had the Source and demons, but the depiction of the demons in this novel, as the Windborn, is more than we've ever had. It does explain their love of being summoned, but at the same time, I found it a bit...odd. It doesn't detract from the book at all, but it's worth noting.

All in all, a great read, especially since it's paperback.

Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This was a very good book. I thought the characters where great. Nogusta, Bison, Kebra, and Antikas Karios make great heros. I really didn't care for the ending though. This book was action-packed.

Rating:
Summary: Wow, was this good...
Review: Well, after a recommendation from someone awhile ago I started reading the Drenai series. I started with Legend and read each book in proper order.

I absolutely devoured them, finishing them at a speed that I couldn't believe. Each book was outstanding as a whole. Occasionally in one or two of the novels I felt like I was going down a path that Mr. Gemmell had blazed before, yet there is always something fresh, and I'll tell you what it is; The characters.

I have had more lumps in the throat reading these novels than I can ever recall with any other author. Certainly, these books are heavily influenced by combat, but there really is so much more. I can relate to these (fictional) people, and perhaps that is the best compliment one can pay to an author.

So after feeling like I had read every major fantasy author of the past 30 or so years I came upon this series, and I am grateful.

Winter Warriors is my favorite thus far. Yes, I love Waylander and Druss, and actually a few of the other major chars in the series. But I just finished WW and I was sitting here at my desk practically sobbing at the end.

Mr. Gemmell has an interesting view of Father Time and the way he impacts humanity. In my view there is more than a little existentialism in his writings. As an aspiring writer, I cannot remember the last time I was this motivated and inspired by an author.

Thank you David Gemmell.

Rating:
Summary: Wow, was this good...
Review: Well, after a recommendation from someone awhile ago I started reading the Drenai series. I started with Legend and read each book in proper order.

I absolutely devoured them, finishing them at a speed that I couldn't believe. Each book was outstanding as a whole. Occasionally in one or two of the novels I felt like I was going down a path that Mr. Gemmell had blazed before, yet there is always something fresh, and I'll tell you what it is; The characters.

I have had more lumps in the throat reading these novels than I can ever recall with any other author. Certainly, these books are heavily influenced by combat, but there really is so much more. I can relate to these (fictional) people, and perhaps that is the best compliment one can pay to an author.

So after feeling like I had read every major fantasy author of the past 30 or so years I came upon this series, and I am grateful.

Winter Warriors is my favorite thus far. Yes, I love Waylander and Druss, and actually a few of the other major chars in the series. But I just finished WW and I was sitting here at my desk practically sobbing at the end.

Mr. Gemmell has an interesting view of Father Time and the way he impacts humanity. In my view there is more than a little existentialism in his writings. As an aspiring writer, I cannot remember the last time I was this motivated and inspired by an author.

Thank you David Gemmell.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatness of Gemmel: Narnia's Next
Review: Winter Warriors was the first David Gemmel book I became entranced in. If there are any readers out there who have already been absorbed by the magic of Narnia, I believe you will find an even more scintillating, awesome adventure here. A good compare to Narnia, David Gemmel vividly maps out a world, a land of good, evil, and as one of his characters puts it, "the shade of grey inbetween". But unique is this book in that never before, not even in the fantastic tines of Tolkien, have characters been developed, fleshed out, and woven together by destiny's bonds than in Gemmel's reads. Winter Warriors is one of his best. In fact, he causes his readers to become so attached that the emotion conveyed in the text leaves the page and becomes sentient. There were points in this novel where I cried, sections that made me laugh, and parts where I felt dread and horror. Can fantasy really be so powerful? Reader, it is up to you to find out.

Rating:
Summary: best gosh darn book i read all year long....
Review: you will not put it down till the early dawn...and one would definitly reread this scifi many times... a real heart getter....Gemmell in his finnest hour! please anyone who reads anything great email me and let me know @ [e-mail]