Of Might and Magic!

Gemmell's second tale of the Drenai, a people modelled loosely on Roman society. This is set a few generations on from "Legend" so while there are some excellent references and indeed cameos for those characters they are by the time of this one very much legendary. These books are like sagas, glorified episodes in history rather than any kind of contiguous series. There is once again a siege and again there is a cast of larger than life characters who excel at various marshal and magical disciplines to take Gemmell's grandiose stage. They are great fun and heroic deeds abound, heroes are made and broken and great evils are encountered. Characters go from first meeting to deeply in love faster than your average boy racer goes from nought to sixty. Magic comes in the form of a brand new version of The Thirty - white cloaked warrior priests dedicated to the cause. Of course they are matched by their own nemesis, The Templars, and as I don't do spoilers I won't tell you what colour their cloaks are but you can might just guess . . .

It's all a great cacophony of saga and legend. Gemmell allows his characters to strut their stuff across the lands of the Drenai and even infuses a bit more humour into proceedings in the process. It's all delivered by Sean Barrett with his usual aplomb and marches along with plenty of fighting and action in an almost Cornwellian style applied to the fantasy genre. You can guess of course that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It would be wrong in 2017 though to not sound at least a small note of caution for anyone who comes to these books afresh. This is 1980s fantasy, actually correction it's GREAT 1980s fantasy, among the very best. However, in the following decades numerous writers, many of them inspired by Gemmell have honed the craft and taken it to new levels of sophistication. This is John Wayne's True Grit rather than Tarantino's Django Unchained, it's The Great Escape more than it's Hacksaw Ridge. Everyone will have an opinion on which are better and personally I love them all but you won't find anything like the sophistication of a Sanderson or Rothfuss here. You will find a bloody good yarn though and for this reviewer that's what's most important.

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26 people found this helpful

loved it

loved it well worth a listen to, would highly recommend this to any one out there

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1 person found this helpful

Great as always

Great as always extra words needed to complete review one two three four five six

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open the gate!

nearly as good as robert jordan or raymond e feist it's going to be the third or forth author of whom I read every publication!

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Highly recommend brilliant heroic fantasy

I loved listening to this book, the narrator Sean Barrett has the perfect voice for this novel, and really brings the characters to life if you are a fan of David Gemmell you should thoroughly enjoy this one!! Five stars *****

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They Chose to Dance

All those who choose to dance with Tanaka Khan pay the ultimate price, and there are many.

I actually think that both Tanaka and Waylander are not that far apart in character. Both are men of honour in their own way. Both are loyal. Both are determined and both will ensure they do whatever it takes to achieve the goals they set themselves. Family is everything for them and woe betide any who try to threaten their safety.

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The King Beyond the Gate: Mature and Full Bodied

Absolutely what the fantasy reader requires, depth mature - fully fleshed out complex characters, a well used but decent plot.

The reading performance is excellent also. The deep voice giving sophistication and gravitas to the personality of the leaders, helping everything become more believable.

A must read.

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1 person found this helpful

Gemmell is unmatched. My all time favourite author

Gemmell is unmatched. My all time favourite author. The way in which he creates a scene, a character, the smells, the thoughts. Full sensory encapsulation. It's like truly being there and experiencing first hand each scene, conversation, subtle look, and all emotions.

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Absolutely Amazing and Fantastic.

I feel very emotional and saddened, by the loss of such a great and powerful author.

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Another great Gemmell book

If you liked Legend you’ll like this. Brilliantly written and superbly performed.
There are so many books and audiobooks to listen to that I rarely stick with a series, but after listening to a Gemmell book I download the next one straight away.
Sean Barrett performs the series perfectly.

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