Winter Warriors

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Unoriginal but enjoyable - Rated
Winter Warriors is more akin to the Dragons series of books by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. There are prophecies, evil wizards, treacherous demons, a city befouled, and lots of protagonists to follow. Whereas Gemmell's work is usually tight and grounded in war, Winter Warriors definitely follows a different path. The plot is somewhat unoriginal, however Gemmell is a masterful author and ensures the characters are well defined (for some have appeared in a previous Drenai tale) and the relationships between them are fraught with tension and honour. It's a book that you won't put down, although it's not Gemmell's best work. An enjoyable fantasy romp.

Quite possibly the best book i've ever read!! - Rated
I read this book around 2 years ago but felt i should share how good it is to everyone else. THIS BOOK IS SIMPLY AMAZING! I had only read one of Gemmell's novels previous to this one (Hero in the Shadows- also brilliant) and was pretty sure it couldnt be topped. How i was wrong. The main characters bring every kind of emotion and perspective to the story that you could think of, not to mention the story is gripping and intense from start to finish. Being a rather slow reader and relatively new to the genre at the time i was pretty unsure as to whether i would ever read it but once i started i was hooked! I would strongly recommend this to any newcomers to the Sci-Fi/ Fantasy genre.

Another cracker - Rated
A very good book as are all Gemmells works. The characters are all well realized but for me the main man is Bison....funny,sad,heroic to the end and HARD AS BLOODY NAILS!!! i loved him .

Not his best - Rated
Winter Warriors simply did not grip me as many of David Gemmell's other have done in the past. The set up is standard fantasy fare including a prophecy, journey, a swordsman, fighter and bowman, and a large evil threat to the world.

Where Gemmell rises above these typical fantasy set-ups is his characters, they drive his stories. However, I simply did not feel an emotional connection with any of the main protagonists. Nogusta the main 'hero' seems distant and did not enliven the tale as a Druss or a Connavar would have.

One interesting aspect is that Bison, Kebra and Nogusta are old men at the end of their military careers. They are all dealing with getting old and leaving the army to start new lives.

The escape from the city lacked tension. The ending, while different (though not entirely unexpected) did serve as an exciting climax.

Do not get me wrong, this is a readable book, I would just recommend other books such as Legend and Sword in the Storm over this one.

Overall 2 and a half stars

David Gemmell is the finest exponent of histroic fantasy - Rated
This book shows histroic fantasy at it`s best level. It is thrilling, exciting and one of kind. Once you start reading it you can`t put it down.I would recomend it to anyone who has never read a science fiction book before.