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deathofrats's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
autumn2001's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
whattamess's review against another edition
2.0
These nostalgia books I've been "trying" to read aren't working for me. 
You would think I would fall right into a book from the early 80's since I still rock out to the music.
I wonder how I'll react to Piers Anthony. I really loved his books. I should probably let sleeping dogs lie
spellboundbybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book has been on my TBR for years. I know that some of my favourite fantasy authors have said Gemmell was very influential on their own stories and I can certainly see why. The story does have some flaws, but to be fair it was Gemmell's debut and I have heard his writing improves with future books.
Legend is a Tale. Of brave deeds both big and small. Of a man already a living legend, striding into one final battle. Of another reluctant to fight, but drawn to do so nonetheless. Of others searching for and finding their courage in the face of impossible odds.
I didn't expect to become so emotionally drawn to the characters. I just wanted some action and heroism. Well I got that in spades! I should have known there had to be more to it given it's standing in the fantasy community. I'm only sorry I didn't read it sooner!
Legend is a Tale. Of brave deeds both big and small. Of a man already a living legend, striding into one final battle. Of another reluctant to fight, but drawn to do so nonetheless. Of others searching for and finding their courage in the face of impossible odds.
I didn't expect to become so emotionally drawn to the characters. I just wanted some action and heroism. Well I got that in spades! I should have known there had to be more to it given it's standing in the fantasy community. I'm only sorry I didn't read it sooner!
elimiles's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
jasonlee77's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
What a great, underdog story this was! Sure, the character descriptions were lacking and you didn't get a good feel for many of them, but that wasn't the point. I felt that the main characters were fleshed out well enough to drive the story forward and at the end of the day, the moral of the story was to never give up no matter how slim the odds are that you face.
This series doesn't seem to break a lot of new ground, but it's just the type of fantasy series that I was hoping it would be. I've been looking for another series that I can sink my teeth into as I believe I have found it here. I love that these books are not obscenely long (most look to be right around 300-350 pages). On to the next one I go!
What a great, underdog story this was! Sure, the character descriptions were lacking and you didn't get a good feel for many of them, but that wasn't the point. I felt that the main characters were fleshed out well enough to drive the story forward and at the end of the day, the moral of the story was to never give up no matter how slim the odds are that you face.
This series doesn't seem to break a lot of new ground, but it's just the type of fantasy series that I was hoping it would be. I've been looking for another series that I can sink my teeth into as I believe I have found it here. I love that these books are not obscenely long (most look to be right around 300-350 pages). On to the next one I go!
dmcke013's review against another edition
5.0
"This was the only place in all the world for the last of the old heroes: Druss the Legend, standing with the last hopes of the Drenai on the battlements of the greatest fortress ever built, waiting for the largest army in the world. Where else would he be?"
The very first David Gemmel book I ever read, which I picked up on a whim when I first came across it in the mid-90s in a branch of Easons.
I didn't know it at the time, but Gemmell would become one of my favourite authors thanks, in no small part, to this very book. I was also completely unaware that this was actually his first published work and - following his death in mid 2006 - is actually still one of my favourites.
Oh, sure, there's an argument to be made that the plot may be a tad derivative - swap the Nadir for the Huns, Dros Delnoch for Minas Tirith, Druss for Conan, Bowman for Robin Hood - and, in retrospect, Rek and Virae seem to fall in love out of the blue, but where Gemmell excels is in his down-and-gritty battle scenes, and in his characterisations of his characters.
"The sky was dark and angry, huge clouds bunching to the north. Above the walls a patch of blue waited for the storm. Rek smiled suddenly as the poetry of the moment struck him.
The Nadir began to move forward in a seething furious mass, their pounding feet sounding like thunder.
Druss leapt to stand on the crenellated battlements above them.
'Come on, you whoresons!' he bellowed 'Deathwalker waits!'"
Of those characters, the stand-out is Druss, the Captain of the Axe - it's no small wonder that Gemmell would return to that character four more times in the Drenai series, taking the lead in the prequels "The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend" and "The Legend of Deathwalker" and having a key role in both "White Wolf" and "The Swords of Night and Day" with passing reference even made to him - and the siege of Dros Delnoch - in most of the other Drenai books.
In short, if I was to advise you to read just one Drenai book: it would probably be this one.
____
The first David Gemmell book I read, this is also the first in what would become to be known as 'The Drenai Tales'.
This is the book to introduce us to Druss ('The Legend'), a character who would appear and be referenced in many of his other books: an ageing fighter preparing the defences at a border fort, a fort about to be attacked by the Nadir (essentially: Huns).
Well worth a read!
The very first David Gemmel book I ever read, which I picked up on a whim when I first came across it in the mid-90s in a branch of Easons.
I didn't know it at the time, but Gemmell would become one of my favourite authors thanks, in no small part, to this very book. I was also completely unaware that this was actually his first published work and - following his death in mid 2006 - is actually still one of my favourites.
Oh, sure, there's an argument to be made that the plot may be a tad derivative - swap the Nadir for the Huns, Dros Delnoch for Minas Tirith, Druss for Conan, Bowman for Robin Hood - and, in retrospect, Rek and Virae seem to fall in love out of the blue, but where Gemmell excels is in his down-and-gritty battle scenes, and in his characterisations of his characters.
"The sky was dark and angry, huge clouds bunching to the north. Above the walls a patch of blue waited for the storm. Rek smiled suddenly as the poetry of the moment struck him.
The Nadir began to move forward in a seething furious mass, their pounding feet sounding like thunder.
Druss leapt to stand on the crenellated battlements above them.
'Come on, you whoresons!' he bellowed 'Deathwalker waits!'"
Of those characters, the stand-out is Druss, the Captain of the Axe - it's no small wonder that Gemmell would return to that character four more times in the Drenai series, taking the lead in the prequels "The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend" and "The Legend of Deathwalker" and having a key role in both "White Wolf" and "The Swords of Night and Day" with passing reference even made to him - and the siege of Dros Delnoch - in most of the other Drenai books.
In short, if I was to advise you to read just one Drenai book: it would probably be this one.
____
The first David Gemmell book I read, this is also the first in what would become to be known as 'The Drenai Tales'.
This is the book to introduce us to Druss ('The Legend'), a character who would appear and be referenced in many of his other books: an ageing fighter preparing the defences at a border fort, a fort about to be attacked by the Nadir (essentially: Huns).
Well worth a read!