Legend

*Warning: small spoilers herein*

This book has been on my “to be read” pile for a very long time. I read it mostly to do a vampire cleanse. And, because it was the *only* book on my TBR pile that garnered ONLY positive reviews from my friends. Also, because in my digital sample, Rek fascinated me.

To me, this was a sad, sad book. Not because it was depressing and many people died – Hey, its war, people die. But, rather because there was no villain. No bad guy. No sum of all evil. There was the side about which we read and the side that was attacking them. The warchief for the opposing side, to all intents and purposes, was a decent guy, a good warchief and was just expanding his territory. No different from Hannibal or Alexander. show more He was no Hitler. He treated his people well – or at least as well as could be expected, and respected his opponents. Therefore, there was no glee, no joy, no real celebration when the war finally stopped – there was just . . . relief. Relief that the deaths on *both* sides (at least for this confrontation) were over.

One thing really bothered me. It was a very small thing. But it nagged at my subconscious. At one point, before Rek, Virae and the thirty arrived at Dros Delnoch, the thirty discovered that traitors had poisoned a well. They were shown not to be able to reach our heroes in order to warn them. We had one paragraph where someone drank out of this well and died. That was it. No big AHA! moment where our reluctant heroes determined that OH NO! the traitors have poisoned our well. No masses of people dying. Just one little very brief paragraph. Seemed to me it should have been bigger than that. See, told ya, it was a very small thing. Sometimes that is all it takes in a story to leave that little niggly hmmmm in the back of your mind.

While I *did* actually love the ending, I think the best part of the entire story is the overwhelming theme (OMG my English teacher mother would be so *proud* of me for recognizing an overwhelming theme . . .) that one man *can* make a difference. Whether that man be Druss or Rek or Serbitar or Orrin or Gilad or Bregan or even, yes, Ulric. These men all did what they felt was right, regardless of the consequences to themselves. They defended all that they loved to the best of their abilities, no matter how big or how small those abilities might be. Most of these guys were not born into greatness, they earned it – not by being the best there was or ever would be, but simply by being the best *they* could be. This, in itself, led others to also strive for ‘bestness.’

It is stories such as this that give me strength and confidence to press forward in the face of adversity, no matter how big or how small. For that reason, I give this one 4 stars. show less

According to Wikipedia (without citation), David Gemmell originally began Legend while being tested for cancer. It was a straightforward metaphor: Dros Delnoch represented him, beleaguered by a formidable foe, the Nadir standing in for the cancer. Perhaps the doctor who was able to tell him he did not, after all, have cancer was a crusty old man who felt obliged to keep tending patients because in some way he was the only one to do it.

But that is, of course, just conjecture. The title, Legend, now pertains not only to Druss, renowned hero of past wars, but to the book itself. It is a giant in the genre, a benchmark and milestone for what are now several solid fantasy tropes.

My first Goodreads status update was:
"P. 14, and I'm show more already in awe. The prologue: epic, and the 1st chapter was like a textbook on show-don't-tell. I now know Rek and the others - and about the coming war - and never once did DG come right out and TELL me any of it. It was indirect and through dialogue and I should probably take notes it's that bloody good. Except: head-hopping. No wonder I can't break the habit when my examples are writers like this."

I rate the book highly; I consider it required reading for a fantasy fan. But while it inspired me to read the rest of the first three Drenai novels, there I stopped, and there I'll stay stopped for a little while. One reason was sheer overload. The body count in my reading was growing exponentially, with great battles and villages razed and soldiers, civilians, men, women, children, horses, and anything else writers felt like throwing in dying in their thousands throughout the book(s). In smallish doses I can manage this. I'm more cynical than I'd like to be, but when this sort of thing is unrelenting over several books that I start longing for fluffy puppies and buttercups and a complete absence of epicness and rotting corpses. This isn't to say that David Gemmell's writing is humorless; the characters exchange banter that is genuinely funny. The problem is that – this being war – so many of the characters you laugh with in one chapter are so very, very dead a few pages later. Still, Legend was the beginning of a re-read of Gemmell's books, and – slowly, parceled out over time – I look forward to making my way through the rest of my collection. Interspersed with comfort reads, of course. show less

From the Thermopylae to the Alamo there have been battles where the few have held back the mighty and Legend by David Gemmell is such a story. This fantasy novel, first published in 1984, tells the story of how the Empire of Drenai is under threat from the united tribes of the Nadir. An army of over 500,000 strong marches toward them and all that stands in their way is the fortress of Dros Delnoch, which is built in a narrow pass and guarded by six high walls and a great keep. Unfortunately years of peace have left the fortress under-manned and there are less than 10,000 defenders under the leadership of an unfit General. To give the country time to gather and train an efficient army they need to hold the fortress for three show more months.

Although there are a number of characters, each with their own reason for taking a stand at Dros Delnoch, the story focuses on two in particular, that of Regnak, an ex-army officer who has no desire to be there but follows the woman he loves. The other is the greatest hero of the empire, Druss the Legend. He is now in his sixties and much weaker than he was in his prime. Nevertheless he is still a great warrior and an inspiration to the troops. For him a death on the battlefield is much preferable to that of a quiet one.

Overall I loved this story of overcoming great obstacles and sacrificing for a cause. This heroic tale of honor, courage and duty is definitely one for the ages with it’s fast pace, gripping characters, and vivid violence but it is also a very telling tale of the carnage, waste and futility of war. Certainly not a perfect book, but one that touched my emotions and so deserves the 5 stars I am giving it. show less

I had previously read two of Gemmell's other novels, namely 'Sword in the Storm' and 'Midnight Falcon', and had loved them both so it was with great anticipation that I started reading one of his most critically acclaimed and best selling novels 'Legend'.
The novel centers around Druss, an old warrior who has retreated to a mountain lair but is needed for one last hopeless battle to defend the Drenai people from the invading barbarian hordes. It is a hopeless cause as the Drenai are severely outmatched but Druss has fought in battles hailed as lost causes a thousand times in a thousand lands and so he joins them in defending their city.
Druss is a very noble character who comes across as as a beefed up, warrior version of Grizzly Adams. show more His previous heroics in battle are the stuff of legend (hence the book's title) and his character is fleshed out nicely with an insight into his past and how he came to be known by his many names such as 'Captain of the Axe' and 'Deathwalker'.
Even though Druss is portrayed as the focal point of the novel the story actually revolves around a character named Rek, the role he plays in the war and his love for a woman named Virae. Both characters, Druss and Rek, are intrinsic to the storyline.
With a strong emphasis on heroics, and enough magic to keep Harry Potter happy, 'Legend' is a very well written novel that will certainly appeal to fans of the historical fantasy genre. For me, it wasn't quite up there with the previous two aforementioned Gemmell novels that I had read as I felt it was a tad bogged down in the middle. Towards the end it became very emotional and somewhat down-heartening and although the ultimate message was that of bravery and heroics it was still somewhat bleak. However, there is a happy ending, pertaining to a subplot of the novel, and it left me wanting to read the other novels in which Druss appears. show less

Billed as "heroic fantasy" this book lives up to its name.
I'm still not convinced by the fantasy genre - it always seems to be gallant knights of the middle ages with a dash of ghouls and dragons. But this book nails it - it is a great yarn, well told, and the medieval siege fighting and the supernatural elements are just props in the background of that story.
One jarring note - the casual sexism of the era (published in 1984) allows the fiercely independent Earl's daughter to disappear into the background as soon as she is married, while the husband immediately takes on the role of the Earl, via the marriage, when the father-in-law conveniently dies; and he is able to knock her to the ground in a minor disagreement and feels no show more compulsion to apologise - but she probably deserved it!! show less

It must be a good 10 years since I last read this, and picking it up again was brilliant. Like an old friend. An old friend with a bloody big axe :) I’m really not one for reading about battles and wars in general, but Gemmell’s characters are always engaging and all my usual reading rules go out the window with him. Legend is a classic page turner, Druss is the ultimate hero and I can’t wait to carry on into the series. Unlike so many fantasy authors Gemmell was never one for the waffling, pointlessly drawn out narrative that can drive you mental with 1,000 page tomes. He gives you exactly what you need for a fast paced tale, and I love him for it. If only there were more like him. He’s sorely missed.

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Title: Legend
Series: Drenai Saga #1
Author: David Gemmell
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 369
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

The horse tribes have united under one leader, a charismatic man who is brutal, bloodthirsty and visionary. He has kept the peace with the Drenai Empire for the last number of years with treaties. Now the time has come for him to ignore those treaties and engulf the Drenai. The first step is taking over the gateway show more fortress.

Druss the Legend is now an old man. Throughout his life he has been in many battles and earned that title of Legend. He has been called to the fortress to defend against the horde. What he finds is a corrupt series of officers, a demoralized, understaffed army and a citizenry already talking of surrender. Druss is a warrior though, not a leader. He can inspire and kill, but he can't really lead. The Duke of the fortress is a good friend of Druss, but he's riddled with cancer and dies just a few days after Druss arrives.

Thankfully, the Duke was a good man and knew his time was near. He sent out his daughter to hire the 30, a group of ascetic monks with temporal powers that translated into physical powers. They are also master strategists. Between them and Druss, the Duke hopes to give his city a fighting chance. The daughter runs into a warrior and ends up marrying him. He becomes the next Duke even though he hates fighting.

The city has 7 walls and everyone fights until the last wall. With a million warriors, it would appear that the warlord is assured victory. However, he gets a missive that his nephew has revolted back home and is trying to usurp him. He leaves and the couple of hundred survivors among the Drenai get to live. Druss has fallen in battle, the 30 have fallen, except for one who will start the next 30 and the Duke and his wife magically survive.

My Thoughts:

This was decent epic fantasy. It would seem to be the end of the Drenai Empire, so either the next set of books go back in time or there is a resurgence. My guess is going back in time to see how Druss became the Legend that he is here.

The city/fortress reminded me of Tolkien's Minas Tirith, what with its sets of walls. Also, the whole tone of the book was Forgotten Realms, just with better writing and plotting.

The magical deus ex machina at the end concerning the Duke and his wife was a bit tough to accept but when you want a happy ending, that's pretty much your only option. That, or they both survive the entire battle, which I would find even more unbelievable.

I've avoided Gemmel for decades because the descriptions just never drew me in. Now that I've actually read one his books, I expect I'll be searching out all his stuff and reading it. It is very enjoyable and exactly what I am looking for in a fantasy. Good triumphs, Evil is conquered and lots and lots of fighting. The battles on the walls were great.

★★★☆½ show less