Hero In The Shadows (Waylander) [Paperback]

Everything has its season, and in Hero in the Shadows Waylander, the assassin hero of some of Gemmell's earlier books, is now a middle-aged man looking for peace in a world that will, for the most part, let him alone. The crimes of his past come back to haunt him, however, as he finds himself responsible for a young prince whose grandfather he murdered, and as creatures of doomed legend come back to rule the world with blood and horror. An ageing paladin, and a loud-mouthed braggart whom a magic sword has chosen, and a kitchen girl who is unusually handy with her knives become his allies, along with a priestess who is not telling all she knows, or all she is... Gemmell is one of the best writers of fantasy adventure there is and this new book is attractively gloomy in its atmosphere and has a pervading sense of the ironic. The action sequences are powerful and well visualised--Gemmell always knows how a particular sort of fight would feel. And there are no simple morals here--most of the characters, heroic or villainous, exist in the grey hinterland between dark and light, where evil acts are often performed in sorrow and good actions often have mixed motives behind them. --Roz Kaveney

Everything has its season, and in Hero in the Shadows Waylander, the assassin hero of some of Gemmell's earlier books, is now a middle-aged man looking for peace in a world that will, for the most part, let him alone. The crimes of his past come back to haunt him, however, as he finds himself responsible for a young prince whose grandfather he murdered, and as creatures of doomed legend come back to rule the world with blood and horror. An ageing paladin, and a loud-mouthed braggart whom a magic sword has chosen, and a kitchen girl who is unusually handy with her knives become his allies, along with a priestess who is not telling all she knows, or all she is...Gemmell is one of the best writers of fantasy adventure and this new book is attractively gloomy in its atmosphere and has a pervading sense of the ironic. The action sequences are powerful and well-visualised--Gemmell always knows how a particular sort of fight would feel. And there are no simple morals here--most of the characters, heroic or villainous, exist in the grey hinterland between dark and light, where evil acts are often performed in sorrow and good actions often have mixed motives behind them. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

" Everything a fan of heroic fantasy could desire."
--STEPHEN DONALDSON
" I am truly amazed at David Gemmell's ability to focus his writer's eye. His images are crisp and complete, a history lesson woven within the detailed tapestry of the highest adventure. Gemmell's characters are no less complete, real men and women with qualities good and bad, placed in trying times and rising to heroism or falling victim to their own weaknesses."
--R. A. SALVATORE
Author of Mortalis
" Gemmell is very talented; his characters are vivid and very convincingly realistic."
--CHRISTOPHER STASHEFF
Author of the Wizard of Rhyme novels

The long-awaited third Waylander novel.

Thousands of years ago the city of Kuan Hador, a place steeped in evil, was defeated by a vast army of mystic warriors, the Enemy banished beyond the Gateway between Worlds. Spells of enormous power sealed the Gateway.

Now, in the Duchy of Kydor, two thousand miles from the lands of the Drenai, icy mists begin to form around the ruins of Kuan Hador. Awesome Beasts stalk the hills and forests. The spells are fading, the days of blood drawing nearer.

Beyond the Gateway the vengeful armies of Kuan Hador await.

And where years before a host stood against the Enemy, now only a handful of warriors prepare to face it once more. Kysumu the Swordsman, last of a dying breed, Yu Yu Liang, the ditch digger, Ustarte, the Beast-Priestess, and the mysterious Waylander. Together they must solve an ancient mystery, which will bring the dead to life for a final battle outside Time. But first Waylander must find a way to kill a man who cannot die.

The ruined city of Kuan-Hador reeks of dark mystery. Shunned by brigands and merchants alike, it is home to fearsome things - slavering white beasts who possess an insatiable desire for death and destruction. The sorcerers and their foul minions will soon be free to wreak a horrible vengeance upon all that lives. Only a rag-tag group of unlikely heroes are prepared to stand against them: Kysumu, the Rajnee swordsman; Yu Yu Liang, a humble ditch-digger with dreams of glory; Keeva Taliana, a warrior woman as fierce as she is beautiful; and the mysterious Grey Man, a man with a blood-drenched past known throughout the lands of the Drenai as Waylander, the Slayer.

Now, to defeat a timeless evil, an ancient riddle must be solved, and Waylander, the prince of assassins, must kill a man who cannot die...

In Hero of the Shadows, David Gemmell returns to the savage lands of his acclaimed Drenai Saga in an action-packed tale of malevolent sorceries reborn - and the brave men and women who dare to stand against them.

David A. Gemmell's first novel, Legend, was first published in 1984 and went on to become a classic. His most recent Drenai and Rigante novels are available as Corgi paperbacks; all are Sunday Times bestsellers.

Widely regarded as the finest writer of heroic fantasy, David Gemmell lived in Sussex until his tragic death in July 2006.