Legend by David Gemmell

“David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy.”—R. A. Salvatore Druss, Captain of the Ax, is the stuff of legends. Tales of his battles are told throughout the land, and the stories expand with each telling. But Druss himself grows older, until finally, the warrior turns his back on glory and retreats to his mountain lair. There he awaits his old enemy: death. But far below, the barbarian Nadir hordes are on the march. All that stands between them and the Drenai people is a mighty six-walled fortress, Dros Delnoch—a great citadel that seems destined to fall. If it does, the Nadir will sweep inexorably across the land, killing all who oppose them. Reluctantly Druss agrees to come down from his mountaintop to lead this last, hopeless fight. Lost causes mean nothing to him—he has fought in such battles a thousand times in a thousand lands. And he is a hero to inspire a new generation of warriors. He is Druss the Legend. Thus begins David Gemmell’s most celebrated novel—an unrivaled classic of mythic heroism and magnificent adventure. . . .

I kept hearing how good and seminal this book was, but also kept putting it aside in my Tbr list because i feared it would feel dated. And it's true. It is a great book and it does feel really dated.

engaging prose, too slow pacing, no compelling plot.

The whole book is about a battle that is about to happen, where the protagonists have no hope to win, something like 10k vs 500k soldiers. The story focus on each character's perspective of the event, some embrace the defeat and the glorious death that will come with it, it, others plan to flee when it's most convenient to them.

There is a strong focus on painting the characters as either real people or just plain anti heroes. This spells drama to me, and its not something I look for in my fantasy stories.

Overall this is just the tale of the lives of a few selected people who might stand out in an upcoming battle. It's not interesting.

Read 3:24 / 13:13 26%

Every but as good as when I first read it. An original classic of the genre.

“By all the gods that ever walked, I swear that you are the finest men I ever knew. And if I could have chosen the end of this tale, and peopled it with heroes of the past, I would not change a single thing. For no one could have given more than you have. And I thank you.”

This is the biggest surprise of the year for me. I expected to like this book. I LOVED this book. The fact that it was Gemmell's first book, and with the knowledge that the siege is meant to represent Gemmell and the invading horde his cancer, just made the book so much more poignant. Helm's Deep and the battle of blackwater being two of my favorite battles ever makes me think retroactively I should have prioritized this book way sooner.

Gemmell is very good at making simple lines of dialogue or simple sentiments come across very sincerely. There were many moments in this book where I was close to tears or I was fist-pumping because of how something was phrased. His prose is simple while being wholly immersive and effective. He was really excellent at this in the Troy trilogy too; I sense a new favorite author on the horizon.

He is also great at character. This book is peppered with a lot of “warrior dude who thinks honor is most important” and yet they all feel realistic and despite the overwhelming odds against the main characters, I felt every death. I think Gemmell makes little narrative choices that are irregular but kept me on my toes where I felt like the story would be predictable but he changes the formula just enough to leave me impressed. A quick example of this is a POV shift in the middle of a skirmish where we start following a random enemy soldier. You think you know where that's going to go but then it does something different. Or a POV cut to a random soldier's wife. In general, the omniscient narration was well done here and used to great effect.

“When I die, he thought, everyone will mourn for Druss the Legend. But who will mourn for me?”

And of course, the legend himself!!! It is really hard to write “legendary” characters. In general, the exploits people talk up about them are going to be more impressive than actually writing the character being an active participant. But Druss is an all-timer. Every line of dialogue, every action he takes, every moment where he thinks of his illustrious past is just incredible. I would be a little bitch in a siege, but I would stand a lot taller if Druss was there with me.

My one negative for this book would be some super quick insta-love at the beginning, but I did end up liking how the relationship was depicted. I just wish it developed at a more realistic pace.

“I have four armies like this - can I be stopped?”
“Stopping you is not important,” said the Earl. “It never was.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“We are trying to stop you.”

10/10, on the strength of this and the Troy trilogy, I think I will read all of Gemmell's work.