Drenai Tales

One glorious spark, one moment of Rigante rebellion has ignited a revolution and forged a legend. In the mountains of the north, the outlaw leader known as Ravenheart waits, knowing the forces of the blackhearted Moidart will come, led by the brutal ruler’s only son, Stormrider. Unaware that the fate of the world lies in their hands, sworn enemies Ravenheart and Stormrider will be forced to unite—and face the vengeance of an ancient evil.For immense armies of darkness are advancing on the highlanders, and it seems as if nothing will stop them. They crush their victims with ease, until only a few thousand men stand before them, with no help in sight. But these are not ordinary men they face. They are clansmen, and more than that, they are Rigante. . . .

Bloodstone is a very good ending for the saga of Jon Shannow. "I am Jon Shannow and I never lie."Shannow settled down at the end of The Last Guardian. This story starts with him wounded, on the run, and stricken with partial amnesia. The villain of the story, at least in the beginning, is a mysterious religious leader called The Deacon. Shannow's quest takes him across dimensions and ties into the ending of The Last Guardian nicely. Amaziga and Sam Archer make appearances, as do Clem Steiner, Beth McAdam, Daniel Cade, and other characters from the previous two books.The three Jon Shannow books are well worth a read, especially if you like your fantasy with a bit of western flavor, ala The Dark Tower.

When it comes to the crackle of action, high adventure, lush worlds, and vivid magic, bestselling author David Gemmell is the master. But Gemmell’s supreme gift is his ability to create mythic characters, good and evil, who rise up to become flesh and blood. Now, with Ravenheart, Gemmell continues his Rigante series in a novel that is as satisfying as it is astonishing.RAVENHEARTEight 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. The laws are oppressive and severely enforced: No Rigante can own a sword nor wear the clan colors. Any who disobey the law will answer to the Moidart, the cruel and vengeful Lord of Eldacre Castle. They will answer with the swift punishment of death.Only 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 future, the Wyrd finds her initial hopes pinned on two men: Jaim Grymauch, the giant Rigante fighter, a man haunted by his failure to save his best friend from betrayal; and Kaelin Ring, a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the rancor of all Varlish. One will become the Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a legend–and light the fires of revolution.But in truth, all hope may ultimately rest on a third man: a man who must overcome generations of fear and hatred to fulfill his destiny. With the blood of Connavar the King running through his veins, he is a Varlish nobleman. But even worse–he is the son of the Rigante’s most brutal enemy.

The chaos spirit had chosen the child Alexander to be its human host. But Parmenion, most powerful warrior of ancient Greece, had won a small victory over the darkness that sought to rule through Alexander. The boy's soul had not been destroyed by evil, but instead had merged with it -- and now Parmenion aided Alexander in the battle between light and dark that constantly raged within him.But there was another world, where the creatures of Greece's legends still flourished. There, the chaos spirit already ruled, through a demon king. In this Greece, there was a prophecy that a child of great power, the legendary golden child, would come and restore the fading magic of the land to the creatures of myth. The demon king believed also that devouring the heart of this fabled child would give him immortality. He believed Alexander, with the power of the chaos spirit within him, to be that child. And so he called Alexander into his world . . .Only Parmenion, guided by the seeress Derae, his lost love from another life, could hope to save Alexander from the demon king. But who could save the young prince from the chaos spirit that threatened to conquer his soul?From the Trade Paperback edition.

Hmmm.First off I should declare myself as a card carrying long term fan of David Gemmell's work. I've read a dozen or so of his books and variously loved or very much liked them. Technically I like all the components of this book. It's post apocalyptic, its gunslinger-y. I'm not sure why the book didn't really work for me. Possibly it's having read Blood Song, Fool's Assassin, and The Name of the Wind back to back, setting me up for a book-hangover of epic proportions.Many of my Goodreads friends have read Wolf in Shadow and they give it a remarkably high 4.41 average!And yet...The book reminded me of The Gunslinger by Stephen King to some degree and came out only a few years after that work (which I loved). For some reason though I kept getting a Michael Moorcock vibe off this story - the writing and the density of new ideas seemed Moorcockian to me. I like Moorcock - though perhaps less than I did 30 years ago when I really loved his work.So, I'm still saying it was like these things I like but...OK a list:i) It's a short book with a hell of a lot going on. Strange new encounters rush at you. A lot of it felt quite brief without enough flesh on the bones to be real.ii) Lots of the communication between the major characters is by magic and that makes the world feel small to me and the distances arbitrary. The big bad and the big good basically teleport/hologram in for a chat whenever they feel like it and ... I don't like it. It feels random and removes tension.iii) I don't like the magic. The Sipstrassi stones ... I just don't buy into it, the ESPers (hate that name)Gah. I don't know. It just didn't gel for me.There were some things I did like - Gemmell's too good a writer for it all to be miss. So 3* is how I feel about it. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes....

Over and again, the aged seeress Tamis scried all the possible tomorrows. In every one, dark forces threatened Greece; terrible evil was poised to reenter the world. The future held only one hope: a half-caste Spartan boy, Parmenion. So Tamis made it her mission to see that Parmenion would before the deadliest warrior in the world -- no matter what the cost.Raised to manhood in Sparta, bullied and forced to fight for his life every day, Parmenion had no notion of the unseen dimensions of magic and mystery that shaped his fate. He grew in strength and cunning. His military genius earned him the title Strategos in Sparta. His triumphs for the city of Thebes made him a hero. And finally his fate led him to the service of Philip of Macedon.As Tamis had foreseen, Parmenion's destiny was tied to the Dark God, to Philip, and to the yet-unborn Alexander. All too soon the future was upon them. Parmenion stood poised to defeat evil -- or to open the gate for the Dark God to reenter the world.

Morning star, David GemmellThe Angostin hordes raged over the Southern Borders. Evil sorcery ruled, and the vampyre kings lived once more. The Highland people were in much need of a great hero. Jarek Mace needed nothing and no one—not even that bard Owen Odell, with whom he now traveled. But when Mace harassed the Angostins for his own purposes, he inadvertently aided the Highland people. And now he was being hailed as a hero, a legend, the great Morningstar returned. But Owen Odell knew the real man behind the people's tales. Mace was an outlaw, a bandit, a heartless thief. He was no savior of the people. He was no legend. Or was he?عنوانها: تولد یک قهرمان؛ تولد اسطوره؛ ستاره صبح؛ نویسنده: دیوید گمل؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه سپتامبر سال 2011 میلادی؛عنوان: ستاره صبح؛ نویسنده: دیوید گمل؛ مترجم: سهیلا فرزین نژاد؛ تهران، تندیس، 1386؛ در 473 ص؛ شابک: 9789648944341؛عنوان: تولد اسطوره؛ نویسنده: دیوید گمل؛ مترجم: سهیلا فرزین نژاد؛ تهران، تندیس، 1387؛ در 420 ص؛ شابک: 9789648944495؛عنوان: تولد یک قهرمان؛ نویسنده: دیوید گمل؛ مترجم: سهیلا فرزین نژاد؛ تهران، تندیس، 1388؛ در 400 ص؛ شابک: 9789648944495؛جنگی بزرگ در شرف رخدادن است. اشغالگران به سرزمین‌های کوهستانی یورش می‌برند و دست به آشوب و غارت می‌زنند. «جارک مایس» دزدی هوس‌باز و کسی است که به هیچ‌یک از اصول اخلاقی پایبند نیست. اما وی جرأت ایستادگی در مقابل آنگوستین‌ها و نامیرایان را دارد. وی را به عنوان اسطوره‌ ای گرامی می‌دارند، و می‌گویند ستاره صبح افسانه‌ ای آمده‌ است، تا مردم را نجات دهد. زمانی که داستان اوج می‌گیرد و نبرد نزدیک می‌شود، دو شخصیت جارک مایس رو در روی هم قرار می‌گیرند. کدام یک پیروز خواهد شد؟ دزدی خودخواه یا قهرمانی به نام ستاره صبح؟ نقل از متن: «جنگی بزرگ در شرف درگیری است. اشغالگران به سرزمین‌های کوهستانی حمله می‌کنند و دست به آشوب و غارت می‌زنند. جارک مایس دزدی هوس‌باز است و کسی است که به هیچ‌یک از اصول اخلاقی پایبند نیست. اما وی جرأت ایستادگی در مقابل آنگوستین‌ها و نامیرایان را دارد. وی را به عنوان اسطوره‌ای گرامی می‌دارند و می‌گویند ستاره صبح افسانه‌ای آمده‌است تا مردم را نجات دهد. زمانی که داستان اوج می‌گیرد و نبرد نزدیک می‌شود دو شخصیت جارک مایس رو در روی هم قرار می‌گیرند. کدام یک پیروز خواهد شد؟ دزدی خودخواه یا قهرمانی به نام ستاره صبح؟»؛ «به نظرم دو نوع غرور وجود دارد. اولی باعث میشود که آدم از ترس این که احمق به نظر برسد، کمبودهایش را بپوشاند، دومی انگیزه ای میشود برای بر طرف کردن آن کمبودها.» پایان نقل. ا. شربیانی

The peaceful Eldarin were the last of three ancient races.  The mystical Oltor, healers and poets, had fallen before the dread power of the cruel and sadistic Daroth.  Yet in one awesome night the invincible Daroth had vanished from the face of the earth.  Gone were their cities, their armies, their terror.  The Great Northern Desert was their only legacy.  Not a trace remained for a thousand years...The War of the Pearl had raged for seven years and the armies of the four Duchies were exhausted and weary of bloodshed.  But the foremost of the Dukes, Sirano of Romark, possessed the Eldarin Pearl and was determined to unravel its secrets.Then, on one unforgetable day, a dark moon rose above the Great Northern Desert, and a black tidal wave swept across the land.  In moments the desert had vanished beneath lush fields and forests and a great city could be seen glittering in the morning sunlight.From this city re-emerged the blood-hungry Daroth, powerful and immortal, immune to spear and sword.  They had only one desire:  to rid the world of humankind for ever.Now the fate of the human race rests on the talents of three heroes:  Karis, warrior-woman and strategist; Tarantio, the deadliest swordsman of the age; and Duvodas the Healer, who will learn a terrible truth.A new world of myth and magic, love and heroism, from the bestselling author of The Legend of Deathwalker.

“A HUMDINGER . . . A MASTERLY TALE TOLD WITH CLARITY AND VERVE.”–The Times (London)The Avatars are immortal and live like kings–even though the empire is dying. Their immortality is guaranteed by magic crystals whose influence is now waning, overwhelmed by the sheer power of a great flood and a sudden ice age. But when two moons appear in the sky, and the ruthless armies of the Crystal Queen swarm across the land bringing devastation and terror, the Avatars unite with their subjects to protect their universe.As the cities face imminent destruction, three heroes emerge. Talaban, a warrior haunted by tragedy; Touchstone, the mystic tribesman seeking his lost love; and Anu, the Holy One, the Builder of Time. And when all seems lost, two others enter the fray: Sofarita, the peasant girl who will inspire a legend, and the madman, Viruk, who will become a god. . . .

Fierce and proud, the Rigante dwell deep in the green mountain lands, worshiping the gods of air and water, and the spirits of the earth.  Among them lives a warrior who bears the mark of fate. Born of the storm that slew his father, he is Connavar, and tales of his courage spread like wildfire. The Seidh--a magical race as old as time--take note of the young warrior and cast a malignant shadow across his life. For soon a merciless army will cross the water, destroying forever the timeless rhythms of life among the Rigante.Swearing to protect his people, Connavar embarks on a quest that will take him into the heart of the enemy. Along the way, he receives a gift: a sword as powerful and deadly as the Seidh who forged it. Thus he receives a name that will strike fear into the hearts of friend and foe alike--a name proclaiming a glorious and bitter destiny . . . Demonblade.

Once the legendary knights of the Gabala defended the nine duchies. Their hearts were beautiful; their armor was beyond compare. They were greater than princes, more than men.But they were gone, disappeared through a demon-haunted gateway between worlds. Only one held back -- Manannan, whose every instinct told him to stay. Now he was the coward knight, and in torment.Murder and black magic beset the land. Rumors circulated that the king was enchanted, changed, that his soul was dead . . . and that a reign of terror was about to begin.Now Manannan realized he would have to face his darkest fears: he had no choice but to ride through that dreaded gate and seek out his vanished companions.And the secret he would learn there would tear his soul apart . . . ."A sharp, distinctive medieval fantasy. Dramatic, colorful, taut." -- Locus

BLOOD KINGThe Goths followed a bloodthirsty new leader, one who sought to open the Gates of Hell: Wotan. His immortal power stemmed from human sacrifice and dark sorcery, and no sword could touch him. He rode the winds on a leather-winged steed, while his armies cut a deadly swath across the northern kingdoms. Even death's icy hand could not stop them. Only Uther Pendragon could save Britannia. To do so he must wield his birthright--Cunobelin's blade, the legendary Sword of Power.But Uther was chained in Hell, the sword lost in swirling Chaos. All hope lay with the warrior known as Revelation, with the magic of the Sipstrassi Stones, and with Anduine, a blind girl possessed of arcane powers. Only if these unlikely allies united could they hope to stop the invincible foe before the world plunged into darkness.

"David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy."--R.A. Salvatore, New York Times Bestselling authorWhile the Earth quaked, a deadly power burst forth from ancient Atlantis. For the gate of time had been torn open, freeing a cataclysmic evil.Only the last guardian, Jon Shannow, the legendary pistoleer, could shut the deadly portal. But to accomplish this he would have to find the shining Sword of God, said to be floating among the clouds in the perilous lands beyond the wall, where beasts walked like men and worship a dark goddess. As Shannow embarked on his impossible quest, demons gathered in wait. And--somewhere--a golden-haired woman was dreaming of blood . . .

The war of Troy is looming, and all the kings of the Great Green are gathering, friends and enemies, each with their own dark plans of conquest and plunder.Into this maelstrom of treachery and deceit come three travellers; Piria, a runaway priestess nursing a terrible secret, Kalliades, a warrior with a legendary sword, and Banokles who will carve his own legend in the battles to come.Shield of Thunder takes the reader back into the glories and tragedies of Bronze Age Greece, reuniting the characters from Lord of the Silver Bow; the dread Helikaon and his great love, the fiery Andromache, the mighty Hektor and the fabled storyteller, Odysseus.

Bane the Bastard is the illegitimate son of the Rigante king who men called Demonblade. Born of treachery, Bane grew up an outcast in his own land, feared by his fellow highlanders, and denied by the father whose unmistakable mark he bore–the eyes of Connavar, one tawny brown, the other emerald green.Hounded from the country of his birth, Bane found acceptance across the seas–only to have it stripped away in an instant by a cruel and deadly swordsman. Now fighting as a gladiator in the blood-soaked arenas of the Empire, Bane lives for one thing: revenge. And he pursues his goal with the same single-minded determination that won his father a crown.But more is at stake than a young warrior’s quest for vengeance. The armies of the Stone are preparing to march on the lands of the Rigante. The fate of human and Seidh alike will be decided by the clash of swords–and by the bonds of twisted love and bitterness between a father and a son . . .

The armies of the Outlanders crushed the highlanders at the battle of Colden Moor–killing their finest warriors and breaking their freeborn spirit. The highlanders are now a conquered people, ruled by the brutal Baron Gottasson.Prophecies speak of the coming of a new leader, a descendent of Ironhand, mightiest of the highland kings. A leader who will throw off the Outlander yoke. But only one highlander carries the blood of Ironhand: Sigarni, a wild and willful teenage girl who cares for nothing save her own concerns. Until a fateful encounter thrusts her onto a path of rebellion. Now, hunted by the baron’s soldiers and stalked by an evil sorcerer, Sigarni will be forced to fulfill her destiny . . . or perish.