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Legend (The Drenai)
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'Has pace, conviction and gritty resolute vitality...The result is a book that will be enjoyed by Tolkien fans' TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
Book Description
David Gemmell's first novel and the first in the Drenai saga - a bestselling classic of heroic fantasy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To describe the plot of this novel would be to give the impression that it is a parody: the reluctant hero; numberless hordes from the East; dislike turning to love; warriors with mysterious skills; heroism against extreme odds; multiple deus ex machina; spiritual warriors; the battle of Good against Evil - all these appear in thousands of pulp novels churned out every year.
What makes Gemmell's Legend distinctive is its realism - you really believe in these characters; the way in which the action has a single focus - the siege; and, above all, the sense of human determination and suffering against the odds, howver distant and improbable ultimate victory may be. After Legend, all other such plots appear, at best, derivative. Gemmell distils the essence of all the stock characters and situations, blending them into a seamless whole
In a strange way, it wouldn't matter if Evil did triumph over Good in this book - Gemmell's great achievement is to convince us that the struggle is right, necessary and rewarding, in and of itself. Fantasy doesn't come any better than this
What makes Gemmell's Legend distinctive is its realism - you really believe in these characters; the way in which the action has a single focus - the siege; and, above all, the sense of human determination and suffering against the odds, howver distant and improbable ultimate victory may be. After Legend, all other such plots appear, at best, derivative. Gemmell distils the essence of all the stock characters and situations, blending them into a seamless whole
In a strange way, it wouldn't matter if Evil did triumph over Good in this book - Gemmell's great achievement is to convince us that the struggle is right, necessary and rewarding, in and of itself. Fantasy doesn't come any better than this
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What I always enjoy about David Gemmell's books are that the characters are human. They aren't the all-powerful immortal death machines that are in other cliche-ridden novels. They are people, with flaws and insecurities. In addition, the action scenes are all well written and grip you like a vice.
The books starts off slowly, but gathers momentum with each page until the assault on the fortress which was spellbinding page-turning stuff. (I was up until 2:45am on a night before work reading it - just couldn't put it down!) True, the relationship between Rek and his lady seemed a little rushed, but then it was a "love-at-first-sight" thing. If you want heroic, epic fantasy reading, David Gemmel's your man.
I just wish a good film-maker would make a film centred around Gemmell's novels - they'd make epic movies.
The books starts off slowly, but gathers momentum with each page until the assault on the fortress which was spellbinding page-turning stuff. (I was up until 2:45am on a night before work reading it - just couldn't put it down!) True, the relationship between Rek and his lady seemed a little rushed, but then it was a "love-at-first-sight" thing. If you want heroic, epic fantasy reading, David Gemmel's your man.
I just wish a good film-maker would make a film centred around Gemmell's novels - they'd make epic movies.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read the Rigante series, but never a Drenai novel, I thought I'd head back to Gemmell's early work which put him on the page. There is an easy comparison to be made for Legend. Imagine a whole book devoted to the Helms Deep siege of Lord of the Rings and you're very close. The first half is character building, slowly and surely weaving emotional threads around the protagonists. There are some stereotypes in there, but this is enjoyable old-fashioned fantasy and no harm is done. When the siege begins, almost in to the last third, you have been lured in to a page turner. The chaos and death that seeps from the page is cleverly written, it paints a big picture of war, and is also full of the small detail of the central chararcters. Although a self-contained novel the characterisation will ensure you want to return to the Drenai saga. A very well written book of man and war; of love and death. This is war up close and dirty - dive in and read the one that started it all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Superb heroic adventure!
I have no idea what caused me to read this book originally but I'm glad I did - it sparked a passion for heroes and fantasy worlds that has remained with me ever since. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Dakka
Legend - apt title
I have dabbled in Fantasy novels and read some good ones and some bad ones. A friend introduced me to David Gemmell 5 months ago with this book. "Start with this" he said..... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lord Vader
Gemmell at his finest
Ever since reading David Gemmell's 'Troy' series of books I have been hooked on Gemmell as an author. Read more
Published 11 months ago by mrogers
Truely Awesome
This story is one of the best I have ever read. So far no other book; of this genre has even come close. It truly is awesome. Read more
Published 12 months ago by P. Wills
Brilliant
Druss - simply the best hero in this genre rivalled only by the Bloody Nine.
Gemmell popularised the damaged/dysfunctional hero and darker, more realistic (within a... Read more
Gemmell popularised the damaged/dysfunctional hero and darker, more realistic (within a... Read more
Published 12 months ago by woody
The age of conquers and great warriors isn't over yet
"Legend" is a refreshing book, even though it is about war and dead.
The main story deals with the siege of the greatest fortress ever, where a 10K strong army (mostly... Read more
The main story deals with the siege of the greatest fortress ever, where a 10K strong army (mostly... Read more
Published 13 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
Treat this with respect
To counter some of the gainsayers' reviews, this book has to be looked at and read in context. It was written in 1984, was the author's first published novel and virtually started... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Big Jim
loved it when I was 17 - 10 years on...
When I was 17 and just starting to read I was sucked in by this heroic tale. Now I'm nearly 30 and nostalgia prompted a re-read. Read more
Published 16 months ago by si
A timeless classic
I cannot begin to say how much I enjoyed this book and if I sound like a "Dragons and Dungeons" fanboy then I apologise. Read more
Published 17 months ago by JanLuke
My No1 Read!
Fantasy will always be my favourite read. Gemmell will always be my favourite author. Legend will always be my favourite book. Read more
Published 19 months ago by VenturaChris
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