The Stuff Of Legends (Legend - David Gemmell)

Name: Andy.mack

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Product:	Legend - David Gemmell
Date:	04/09/05 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple writing style that allows the plot to flow and the pages to be turned

Disadvantages: One slightly weaker character in the first half of the book

I've never been much of a fan of Fantasy fiction. I've tried to get into it a few times but with the exception of Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, it's just never seemed like my kind of read. That was until recently while browsing my local bookshop I decided to pick a book at random by an author I'd never read before. So without any knowledge for his reputation or other work I picked up this, the first book by David Gemmell. The book itself proclaimed him as the best writer of fantasy fiction and this made me think perhaps I'd made the right choice.

The book is the first in his Drenai series and takes us to the mountain fort of Dros Delnoch where an attack from the Nadir Hordes. With a force outnumbering the Drenai by almost 60 to 1 the Nadir obviously had the advantage. The Drenai, however were not going to give up without a fight and with 6 Walls between the town and the battle field they at least had a slim chance. To raise spirits around the camp and give the men hope they call in a Drenai legend by the name of Druss. Famous for winning battles against the odds even he thinks there is no hope but is willing to fight anyway. Can they save the Drenai Empire or do the Nadir have simply too many men…..

The first few chapters seemed to pass me by but soon enough it drew me in and all of a sudden I was hooked. It's not often that I get lost in a book but I certainly did in this one. It holds the interest nicely and keeps you turning the pages, which I think is always a bonus with a book. His style seems to draw you in and makes you want to find out what's going to happen. The books focus on the battle at Dros makes it quite fast paced.

When the front of the book proclaimed him to be the best Fantasy writer I have to say I had my doubts but the more I read the more I felt this was a relatively true statement. One of the aspects I really liked about his writing style was the way he introduced us to the history of his characters. I was expecting 100 + pages of build up about the history of the Drenai before the main story really got started. Instead he gradually filled in the gaps as the story progressed.

I thought this was a great way to tell the story and not get bogged down in too much detail that could have dragged the book out. If I was to pick a weakness with his writing then I'd have to say it's within one of his main characters. While Druss is the inspiration that keeps the story moving along the art played by Rek is in complete contrast. One of his main characters commands instant respect and really seems like a lead character in the story, while Rek takes a lot of time to warm to, in fact he doesn't really come into his own till the second half of the book.

I found in the first half of the book that Rek's character, although being portrayed as the antihero, seemed to be a little wishy-washy in the first half. Once he was in the face of the battle a new side to Rek seemed to come through and that vastly improved my enjoyment and overall readability of the story. The rest of his characters are quite strong characters and really make the story a lot more enjoyable, apart from the slight blip with Rek each character in the story adds something and makes Gemmell's style all the more readable.

This was my first taste of Gemmell's work and I think suffice to say it won't be my last. Despite it being a genre I've previously struggled with his book seems to have given me that way in. I've already seen my way to purchasing the next book in the series and would certainly recommend Gemmell to anyone looking to start reading the fantasy genre. Although I currently have no basis for comparison I've found Gemmell quite easy to get into and his style flows nicely. He is certainly an author who opens the genre up to a number of new and perhaps unlikely readers and I'd certainly recommend this book as enjoyable, easy reading.

Amazon.co.uk: £5.59
Amazon Market Place: £1.25

Summary: An excellent and enjoyable introduction to Gemmell and the Fantasy Genre