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

Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1)

David Gemmell

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What Members Thought

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

Shelves: fantasy, extraordinary-gentlemen, 2017

"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

34 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2016 Scott Hitchcock rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy, abandoned-series

If you like traditional fantasy this is the book/series for you. I enjoyed the story and the writing but did not like the ending.

7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 15, 2025 Richard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, audio

Legend aka Against the Horde by David Gemmell
Book one of the Drenai Saga
Performed by Sean Barrett

Initially I read this in a omnibus titled Legends of the Drenai which collected Legend, King Beyond the Gate, and Quest for Lost Heroes. This hardcover features a splendid Ken Kelly cover. I found it in at the long-since defunct Bank Street Books for a pittance. Initially I wasn’t very taken with these stories and upon a whim I donated the book. Older me chides my younger self.

My initial reading of ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 21, 2019 Clint rated it really liked it

Shelves: dead-trees, sword-sorcery, fantasy, 2019, fantasy-worth-reading

Hovering somewhere in the neighborhood of S&S, this is a great story of heroic adventure asking the question “what is a good death, or a good life?”.

It’s not fantastically written, it bounces from narrator to narrator with little to no transition, but it hangs together and works.

It is a fast, sometimes brutal read that will suck you in. I’m almost afraid to read more of the series and perhaps I won’t. It might spoil this one great read.

That is a point to make: in a genre full of multiple volum ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2021 Liam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great gods of Missael!

Wow, thanks Haas. I can't believe how good this book turned out to be. It's epic fantasy sort of in the form of Sword & Sorcery but it truly is epic and stands as a modern one.
Pretty dialogue driven, which is written well and isn’t unpleasant read out loud. I couldn't help but feel similarites to Drizzt though, this feels like what a Drizzt novel wants to be, but Gemmell blows Salvatore out of the water in writing, pacing, action, philosophy—everything.

I think the titles Le ...more

1 like · Like · see review