From the Bookshelf of Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"…

Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)

David Gemmell

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Jan 04, 2017 Markus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: extraordinary-gentlemen, 2017, fantasy

"I shall die soon ... Here at this Dros. And what will I have achieved in my life? I have no sons nor daughters. No living kin... Few friends. They will say, 'Here lies Druss. He killed many and birthed none'."
"They will say more than that," said Virae suddenly. "They'll say, 'Here lies Druss the Legend, who was never mean, petty nor needlessly cruel. Here was a man who never gave in, never compromised his ideals, never betrayed a friend, never despoiled a woman and never used his strength again ...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Dan rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sword-and-sorcery

Legend in many ways was quite a unique read. At least half the book revolves around the siege of a castle, Dros Delnoch, and the soldiers defending the walls. The other half, or less even, is the gathering of the troops that will defend the walls.

The story has some rather antiquated views of gender, with men being the soldiers and women generally staying out of battle (mostly anyway), and needing defending. Nonetheless the macho atmosphere and themes actually make for a kind of nice escapist fan Legend in many ways was quite a unique read. At least half the book revolves around the siege of a castle, Dros Delnoch, and the soldiers defending the walls. The other half, or less even, is the gathering of the troops that will defend the walls.

The story has some rather antiquated views of gender, with men being the soldiers and women generally staying out of battle (mostly anyway), and needing defending. Nonetheless the macho atmosphere and themes actually make for a kind of nice escapist fantasy in our very politically correct modern world. Unfortunately that aspect will most likely turn away about half of it's potential audience.

With that said though the story is actually quite inspiring. Filled with men of high regard and honour. Doing what needs to be done in the face of great adversity. Legend and it's protagonists fill the reader with pride. Doubly so when it's understood that the blueprints of this story were written as an analogy of battling cancer. With the keep of Dros Delnoch representing David Gemmell himself who had been diagnosed with cancer (misdiagnosed he learned later), the invading army representing the cancer, and the soldiers defending the walls the anti-bodies battling the it.

The action is fast paced and well written, with just the right amount of description for a story such as this. In themes it is more reminiscent of Sword & Sorcery fantasy; dark, violent and macho with light fantastic elements mostly relating to sorcery, and not filled with dragons and elves or grand adventures. Yet in tone I feel it has more in common with high fantasy, Gemmell uses mostly simple language and Legend is not filled with vivid dark imagery often associated with S&S like Karl Wagner's or Robert E. Howard's works. Maybe the length adds to this effect as well, as it's longer than the average S&S story, which normally clock in at 60-70k words or less, though admittedly still shorter than much of the newer high fantasy works.

In some ways it reminded me a bit of another novel I had read recently; The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. They both focus much on themes of honour, both feature a band of bandits recruited along the way, but mostly because they both feature a siege on a castle with odds stacked against the protagonists, though from different sides of the walls.

I like that Legend is a stand alone novel. It can be read and digested on it's own merits, which are many. Overall it was a very enjoyable read, and it just gets better as the story goes on, and climaxes with a very satisfying ending. I will have to look into reading more of Gemmell's work in the future.

3.75/5 ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite-read, fiction-reviews

First I’ve read of David Gemmell, having spoken to a big fan. I bought the paperback and expected something only warlike and medieval. I was right, but I didn’t foresee how much I’d enjoy reading the characters and their outcome. Druss the Legend comes out of his solitude to step back into the boots of his younger self when the Drenai Empire is at risk of being conquered by a MASSIVE barbarian horde. I couldn’t help enjoying every moment Druss stepped into the story, to offer sage advice or prov ...more

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