A fun and easy-to-read fantasy adventure story. My main disappointment with Knights of Dark Renown is that it threatened to be something more, something special: author David Gemmell creates this great scenario of a so-called 'Coward Knight' which is never fully utilised. This knight, Manannan, fled when the other eight knights of his legendary Order entered a portal into a hellish magical plain to battle the demons there. The eight never returned, and now, years later, his past is coming back to haunt him.

It's a compelling idea, but Knights of Dark Renown doesn't exploit it. We have little on Manannan's guilt and even less on how the world perceives this apparent 'coward' as he tries to make his way in the world with that stain on his character. Early chapters hint at it, but the story never mines the drama, angst or pathos of it, and the novel becomes a pretty standard good-vs-evil story with magic and swordfights and the other conventional fantasy trappings. Manannan is relegated to becoming the Ishmael of his own story, as Gemmell weaves a (passably interesting) tale of a rebellion brewing against an evil King. Even here, one of the more compelling secondary characters, the reluctant Robin Hood-like commoner Llaw Gyffes, becomes a peripheral figure by the end.

Ultimately, the one-volume Knights of Dark Renown – a rarity in a genre known for its huge tomes and multi-volume epic storylines – doesn't have the bandwidth for the story it wants to tell. The plot-driven story of the rebellion (complete with world-building) cannot be told satisfactorily in 400 pages, let alone allowing space to explore Manannan's angst and redemption, or the character arcs of others like Llaw Gyffes (there are also numerous other characters who could make a reasonable claim to more page time). In the final chapters, all the tantalising threads have been hastily wrapped up, the early promise and originality snuffed out. The perfunctory epilogue has a "Poochie went back to his home planet" vibe and is scant reward for the reader. But it's not solely about the ending: an earlier chapter after Manannan faces his fears and enters the hell-portal devotes a mere couple of sentences to how he battled through the ranks of demons before winning clear and returning to continue the plot. Knights of Dark Renown is a perfectly fine fantasy adventure – an inspiration for the Elder Scrolls video game Oblivion – but becomes rushed and conventional where it threatened to become remarkably original. The book is a creditable one but there is a pang in knowing the story of the Coward Knight could have been so much more. ( )

An excellent and vivid story, the only problem with which is its length; I wanted more! ( )

This is Gemmell's first novel, but contrary to the series information, this is not a Drenai book. It is set in a different world, with different nations and nationalities. It has nothing in common with Legend, Waylander or the other Drenai books. As Gemmell's first novel, you can see where he is trying to develop his own style and world. There's a lot of borrowing from our world and our mythology here - a city called Furbolg, characters named Mannanan and Morrigan, etc. This is fairly standard Gemmell formula - there are noble heroes, peasant heroes, warrior women and a similar complement of evildoers. Nothing fancy, but still good fantasy reading. ( )

Knights of Dark Renown - David Gemmell ****

This is one of those books that has Gemmell doing what he does best, a fantasy novel set in a different yet similar world to our own, one we can can recognise from history but with enough magic and mayhem to transport us into a whole new experience. Much of the plot is mingled with our own Arthurian legends and myths, but Knights of Dark Renown is as much a coming of age novel as heroic fantasy. We follow a young boy named Lug who possesses a number of strong powers, but he does not yet know how to control them or even their extent. One night he witnesses the Knights of the Gabala passing through a magic portal in order to protect the kingdom. The Knights never returned from this fateful mission, but one remained behind. Now branded a coward he travels the lands looking for redemption. Couple these two pathways with that of the wizard Maerlyn, who is able to breath life into his almost robotic creations, and you have an action packed 400 pages.

A new evil appears, with mass genocide of all citizens of nomadic descent taking place. Can the King be defeated and what part will Lug play? What happened to the missing Knights and how will their destiny play a part? We meet numerous colourful characters from wizards to warriors, and something I love about Gemmell is that we never really know who is next to get bumped off. He certainly doesn't get attached to his creations.

A really brilliant stand alone book from Gemmell, and one that I can easily recommend. I was tempted to award 5 stars, and although it came close I just thought there was something a little missing. ( )

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