David Gemmell

Page Updated: 20/09/2006

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David Gemmell - Page 2

British Pbk Original - Bantam (2002)

Drenai Tales Vol 3
Gathered together for the first time in one magnificent volume, three of the very finest of David Gemmell’s best-selling Drenai Tales, with new introductions by the author.
The Legend Of Deathwalker Continuing the cycle of Druss stories begun in Legend, a battle-charged epic of love, romance and heroism, as five thousand soldiers of the Gothir army face a handful of savages and one renegade Drenai warrior: Druss the Legend.
Winter Warriors The terrifying forces of evil are ranged against a pregnant queen. With her are three warriors, the last remnants of the once proud Drenai army. The fate of empires rests on their fading skills as they embark on a perilous quest to save the unborn king.
Hero In The Shadows To defeat a timeless evil, an ancient riddle must be solved and Waylander, the prince of assassins, must kill a man who cannot die. David Gemmell returns to the savage lands of his acclaimed Drenai Saga with an action-packed story of malevolent sorceries reborn, and the brave men and women who dare to stand against them.
`Gemmell is several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous.’ Anne McCaffrey

First British Edition Orbit (2001)

Drenai Tales
Volume One
David Gemmell is one of the greatest storytellers of modern times and his Drenai series is regarded as a masterpiece of imaginative fiction. Now, with new introductions by the author, three of these epic tales are brought together in this magnificent omnibus edition.
LEGEND
The Drenai people are on the verge of annihilation. Besieged on all sides by the savage Nadir they retreat to their last, and greatest, fortress: Dros Delnoch. Here they will make their desperate stand - led by the man known as Druss the Legend.
THE KING BEYOND THE GATE
A century has passed since the heroic defence of Dros Delnoch. But the Drenai face a new terror: a mad emperor kept in power by two forces of unsurpassed evil. The Joinings are werebeasts of awesome power. The Dark Templars are warrior priests whose fighting skills are without equal. Against them, the Drenai face certain defeat.
Only one man can save them: Tenaka Khan - the Prince of Shadows.
WAYLANDER
The Drenai King is dead - murdered by a ruthless assassin. Enemy troops storm into Drenai lands. The warrior Waylander must journey into the shadow-haunted lands of the Nadir to find the legendary armour of bronze. With this he can turn the tide - but can he be trusted? For he is Waylander the Slayer.
He is the traitor who killed the King.
`On the surface, David Gemmell’s Hero in the Shadows has everything a fan of heroic fantasy could desire… But the book also has something more, a quality which raises Gemmell’s achievement to a much higher level: an empathetic and convincing grasp of the complexities and conflicts of real human beings. As a result, Hero in the Shadows has true power and poignancy.’ Stephen Donaldson
‘In the best sense of the word, you could say Gemmell’s a brand: an assurance of passionate, cleanly written prose, imaginative plots and, above all, terrific storytelling.’ Time Out
`Gemmell has every right to take his place among the SF and fantasy greats.’ SFX
`Gemmell is several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous.’ Anne McCaffrey

First British Edition Bantam (2001)

Paperback - Corgi (2002)

Ravenheart
A Novel of the Rigante
Eight hundred years have passed since King Connavar of the Rigante and his bastard son, Bane, defeated the invading army of Stone. In that time, Connavar has become a legend, and the Rigante have lost the freedom so many gave their lives to preserve. A conquered people, they live and die under the iron rule of the Varlish, their culture all but destroyed.
One woman remains who follows the ancient paths once trod by the Rigante. She is the Wyrd of Wishing Tree Wood, and she alone knows the nature of the evil soon to be unleashed on a doomed and unsuspecting world.
In a perilous land, facing an uncertain destiny, she pins her initial hopes on two men: Jaim Grymauch, the giant Rigante fighter, a man haunted by his failure to save the friend he loved from betrayal, and Kaelin Ring, a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the enmity of all Varlish. One will become Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a legend and light the fires of rebellion.
The Wyrd knows that ultimately all hopes will rest on a third man. Of the bloodline of Connavar the King, he will need to overcome generations of fear and hatred if he is to achieve his destiny. For he is a Varlish nobleman, and - worse - the son of the Rigante’s greatest enemy...
`An entertaining fantasy set in a meticulously crafted world created by a master storyteller.’ SFX
‘Gemmell never puts a foot wrong and as the plot of Ravenheart unfolds . . . the tension rises to almost unbearable levels.’ Starburst
`Characterization; always a strength in this writer’s work; is even deeper and subtler. In the realm of people-driven, solidly plotted fantasy fiction, Gemmell sets the standard’ Time Out
`Gentle humour and hard bloody steel combine to give every fantasy fan what they most desire. . . it’s refreshing to see that one of Britain’s greatest fantasy writers continues to go from strength to strength.’ Enigma

First British Edition Bantam (1999)

Midnight Falcon
The ghosts of the past stand close in an epic story that begins with a young man's avowal: 'Tell him that one day I shall cut his vile heart out.' The speaker is Bane, a Wolfshead living outside the law, known as Bane the Bastard - though none said it to his face. Born of treachery, his name a curse, he grew up among the warriors of the Rigante. They valued his skills in war, but they feared the violence in his heart.
Seventeen years after his birth, self-exile takes Bane to a rats' nest, seen by some to represent all that is eternal and holy: the Great City of Stone. Here, where gladiators kill for a living, where learning and culture conceal an inner corruption and decay, the Crimson Priests have created a reign of terror by breeding enough malice and hatred to last a hundred lifetimes. Yet here, too, the beleaguered Tree Cultists, led by the mysterious Veiled Lady, endeavour to practise their philosophy of love and harmony.
By now seeking the ultimate vengeance, Bane the Bastard prepares to join battle to destroy the Myth of Stone. The days of blood are drawing near, and this son of an undefeated warrior king - Connovar. the fabled Demonblade - must fight to save his world.
Midnight Falcon continues the compelling tale of the Rigante, which began in Sword in the Storm, and confirms David Gemmell as one of the most absorbing contemporary writers of heroic fantasy.
Jacket illustration by John Bolton (http://www.johnbolton.com)
Critical acclaim for David Gemmell:
Echoes of the Great Song
'A humdinger, a masterly tale told with clarity and verve' The Times
'A story of domination, war and tragic heroism from one of the genre's foremost entertainers' Sunday Express

Paperback - Corgi (1999)

Sword in the Storm
Book one in the Rigante series
Deep in the green mountain lands of the Rigante lies the settlement of Three Streams, whose people worship the gods of Air and Water, and the spirits of the Earth. Among them lives a boy whose destiny is written in starlight. He is Connavar, the Demonblade, born in a storm that doomed his father.
A man with the makings of greatness will always have enemies and from the start of this epic chronicle it is prophesied that the Armies of Stone will one day cross the water… and that their coming will be like an avalanche. Here the strangest forces, wise and evil, play their allotted part - from the Ghost General and the malignant Morrigu to the Woods whose magic harks back to a world before the coming of Man.
This is David Gemmell at his best, illustrating his legendary imaginative powers in this latest epic tale of courage, love and sacrifice. Not until you read Sword in the Storm will you appreciate why Gemmell is considered one of Britain's greatest living storytellers.
'Probably the finest living writer of heroic fantasy' Time Out
'Gemmell is several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous' Anne McCaffrey
'The best fantasy inspires genuine involvement, David Gemmell's novels do just that' Interzone
'Compelling stuff, and superbly realised in an eloquently drawn world… thoughtful and challenging' SFX
'Gemmell's premium-grade heroic fantasies stress the positive values of individualism… stirring, emotionally charged, superbly written' Time Out