David Gemmell

[Jamo2]

Anybody a fan?
I love every book ive read so far. Each one brings there own little thing to his repertoire.
Anybody reading or read one of his books. Give us a holla.

[saru1968]

Loved his stuff right from the first one Legend, loved all the drenai stuff, etched into my brain.

reading latest(i think), The swords of Night and Day, 2nd book of the damned but i really miss Druss and the drenai stories.

the next storyline i really liked was the stones of power.

by the way I've got a few different covers of books i collected of gemmell and i will be soon getting rid of the copies of the books, i'll let you know when i do just in case your interested.


Gary

:-)

[Sgt_Major]

the drenai stuff was great.... havent read anything of him in awhile....

[saru1968]

I think i've all of his books, plus at least 10-20 copies with different covers.

if you have not read the stones of power series, read it, its second only to druss and the drenai stories.

I don't think I've got any on ebook, i'll check.

gary

:-)

[GrappleorWrestle]

WOOT!! I LOVE GEMMELL!! WOOT WOOT!! My favorite author! I have to say I love the Drenai Saga the best...Waylander is my hero and well ok The Damned also! The Rigante Series is pretty cool...Liked them all but the last. Stones of Power series is awesome!! Go Jon Shannow!! WOOT! He is the freaking man! Wish I could be Rolynd also! Haha. I have not got his new book yet though...How is it? Any one read it?

[Jamo2]

Heh, big up the Gemmell. Yeah the stones of power rocked. I was a bit sceptical at first because it wasnt his usual genre, but after the first chapter i loved it.

[Raven Wing]

Yeah he is certainly among the best fantasy authors around at the moment - has been for a long time too. Mostly his stuff is great the only little niggle is he seems to be obsessed with the ageing process in most of his lead characters. Still that aside not many writers can touch him in his field

[Sgt_Major]

The Jerusalem Man was cool. Very easy to read, and even easier to affiliate with the characters..... tho having started The Dark Tower recently I found it hard to keep the Gunslinger seperate from Shannow.....

:(

[Raven Wing]

John Shanow was an interesting character, you can't help but want him to win given who hes up against but how many people would truly feel comfortable around him? But that seems to be a Gemmel thing - he dosnt give you comfortable heros.

[Sgt_Major]

-*Spoiler alert*-












Did he die tho' ...... the book just says he was nowhere to be seen......maybe the weakness of body was a con, and he used the sipstrassi to move back to where he'd come from ????

[Jamo2]

I distinctly remember smiling at the end of the book your talking about, knowing that he didnt die. I cant remember how i figured it out, ill look over the last few pages when i can, but for now im almost certain he didnt.

[Sgt_Major]

thats what I thought. NO WAY Shannow would be beaten like that!

[Jamo2]

Yeah he is certainly among the best fantasy authors around at the moment - has been for a long time too. Mostly his stuff is great the only little niggle is he seems to be obsessed with the ageing process in most of his lead characters. Still that aside not many writers can touch him in his field


I think thats his technique. They all seem to have problems, thats their weakness, if they were all invincible it wouldnt make as much of an exciting read.

[Charm]

i wonder if i like his books?

:D

[Jamo2]

Heh, i think your sig gives it away a bit.
Isnt it supposed to be Iron code of The legend. Or Druss atleast.

[SwordOfDamocles]

I thought Legend was great, but I was disappointed by the other books in the Drenai series. They all have the identical theme of a small, outnumbered force triumphing against insurmountable odds. It gets a little repetitive. And none of his other characters are as compelling and memorable as Druss. The two Deathwalker prequels are also good, as is Knights of Dark Renown.

[john792]

I have more David Gemmell books than any other books in my bookshelf; the man truly deserves a public holiday in his honour :) Most people who borrow one of my Gemmells end up trying to abduct the rest of my collection, which is okay cause I gaff them from my dad as fast as he steals mine. Distribute to the masses, I say!

Although I must admit that I see where Damocles is coming from... there is invariably the 'reluctant hero' who is thoroughly disillusioned with life after his wife/girlfriend is murdered, who harbours a dim view of humanity and generally does not want to get involved in the adventure but of course has to (otherwise he would not be a 'reluctant hero'... he would just be 'reluctant'). Needless to say, the aforesaid protagonist is invariably the most skilled of warriors, and generally gets dragged into the adventure by some suitably naive idealist(s) (e.g., priests or women) who would just get themselves killed if he didn't lend a hand.

I think its great. Of course, its not the sort of book you want to go reading if there are any illegal bare-knuckle boxing matches beingheld nearby, cause by the time you finished the book ... "you'll think you can".

Also pretty nice is the way he puts a new spin on historical figures/events, like he did in Lion of Macedon; I'll be interested to read his Trojan one.

[Ragnarok2005]

Thought I'd bump this thread after discussing Gemmell with two people on this forum recently. :D

Criticism first since we were on that subject? Haha. Yeah criticism first. I read Gemmell 5 years ago when I was 12 and haven't stopped since.

His love stories make me sick. Has he done any good love stories atall? Every single one I've read of his involves mad, true love springing up within days of meeting each other, and the 'falling in love' phase generally involves lots of arguing. Ala,

Regnak / Virae
Tenaka / Renya
Waylander / Danyal

Or indeed there are stories when love springs up for absolutely no reason.

Bane has sex with Lia, and then the next day she's killed and he spends the rest of his days on a quest to avenge his one true love who could have changed his life.... Because we all fall in love after one night stands.

I think Eriatha fell in love with Connavar after a few hours, or at least her crying would suggest.

Parmenion never, ever forgets Derae and she's obviously destined to be with him forever because they were together for 5 days in their teenage years.

Not forgetting Kiall and that Tanaki.

So yeah basically. When I pick up a new book I see a man, I see a woman. I know theres a poor love story coming.

-

I also hate his fighting. Because in the middle of a battlefield people are always rolling around, flying kicking people and ducking under blades and calling to each other. :rolleyes:

-

But for all that he's still an incredible author and the best fantasy writer I've ever had the pleasure of reading!

[saru1968]

But it is Fantasy..

I've got every book to date, i hope. Last one was Lord of the Silver Bow as far as i know.

[Ragnarok2005]

But it is Fantasy..

I've got every book to date, i hope. Last one was Lord of the Silver Bow as far as i know.

Which is excellent. Read Shield of Thunder yet?

The love story between Helikaon and Andromache is, again, terrible.

[boards]

Sheild of Thunder was great, but I was disapointed with how he treats the older characters, and Hectors inabilities. It always seems like Gemmels characters have horrible relationships with there dads, who are often evil psychotic men. I think his earlier books were the best where magic only paid a small part. I would have loved to have read his last book in the trilogy but tragically he is now dead.

[Stevebjj]

I liked them, but I don't think I'm quite the fan that you guys are. It's been a few years since I've read anything by him, but they were fun reads.