Waylander - the one that started me off - Rated 
Waylander is my favourite David Gemmell character ever, head and shoulders above the rest. A good man turned bad, or a bad man turned good? Read all three and then decide.
A classic, not to be missed.
Very entertaining light fantasy story, if only I had not read others that are so similar from Gemmell - Rated 
Let me first of all point out that this book/story is a very entertaining light historic fantasy and this is something that I have come to expect from Gemmell.
And, this is where the problem lies:
I loved Morningstar, and Legend, and First Chronicles of Druss the Legend. I also loved Quest for Lost Heroes (I read Waylander books last first)and Echoes of the Great Song and even though these last two books were diffrent in the types of stories they were, they are still all so similar.
Gemmell seems to have a formulae for his books and doesnt seem to stray far from it:
- Old heroes coming to end of their time, having done lots of 'bad' stuff before but becoming moral now
- Hopeless odds either in their quest or in that they are stuck behind a fortress.
- Some tragedy - either the hero will die or one/some of the characters that you have come to like/love during the reading of the book.
All the books above convinced me that Gemmel was by far my favourite author of "LIGHT" fantasy, where I could very quickly become emersed in the book after a hard day of dealing with responsibilities and realities of moderen day living. I say Light because Gemmell's books are welcome change sometimes from the heavy, endless and involved great epics out there from the top authors like R Jordon (Wheel of Time Series), G R R Martin (Song of Ice & Fire series, S Erikson (Books of the Malazan series).
Let me state again Gemmell writes extremely entertaining light fantasy and this book is no exception, but you are likely to come to the realisation (whichever way around you read his books) that you have been here before once you have read anough of his books. Perhaps I should have a greater gap between the next time I read one of his books
The Ultimate Antihero - Rated
David Gemmell's work needs no introduction. He has made an everlasting mark on the fantasy genre with tightly woven tales and outstanding chracterisation. In Waylander Gemmell creates the ultimate antihero. An assassin, a killer of women and children, who uncharacteristically saves the life of a priest. From there onwards his life is thrown in to disarray, and he cannot understand why. Waylander is a story of forgiveness, love and redemption, set in the midst of a chaotic war. The dialogue is outstanding, with Waylander's repartee never deviating from the dry, dark humour he uses from the first chapter. A clever tale of good vs. evil in which the reader will enjoy the journey of several men and women as they traverse the line that divides them from the forgiveness of the Source, or everlasting torment in Hell. Thoroughly recommended.
Third in the Drenai Series - Rated
Sadly David Gemmell died a short while ago and I find it difficult to review a book that I first read 20 years ago when David was very much alive and only just beginning his craft as a writer of fantasy novels. Admittedly his first offering were acceptable but not great, but he honed his skills and grew to be one of the greatest fantasy writers ever. If you have not read any of his books then now is the time to start, I am sure you will not be disappointed. The only sad thing is that David will not be around to write new books that would bring even more pleasure to his multitude of fans.
The Drenai King is dead, murdered by an assassin. Enemy troops are converging on the lands of the Drenai. Their orders are simple, kill anyone who stands in their way, be it man, woman or child. There is one source of hope for the Drenai, Waylander must travel to the lands of the Nadir, to find the legendary Armour of Bronze. If he is successful there is hope for the Drenai. But can he be trusted? After all he is the man who killed the King. The journey is fraught with danger and Waylander is stalked by shape shifters. Men who act like beats and beast that walk like a man . . .
Re-readable - Rated
As a keen reader of lots of fantasy books over the years, it is not often that you find it worth re-reading books of that kind. Dremmel is as exception and, provided you leave a good amount of time between your first and second readings, it will be worth it. I then went on to re-read the rest of them too!
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