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A review by righteousridel
Legend by David Gemmell
3.0
Legend deserves praise for the tone and type of story it tells, but it was written in the 1980s and has aged poorly. I think a lot of readers are rating it based on nostalgia and a sense of obligation. When matched up against modern grimdark military fantasy -- even forgiving it for its racist and sexist biases -- this tale is mediocre and an excellent case study of how to identify an author's initial work.
David Gemmell's writing is plagued by the introduction of character viewpoints. I haven't done a count, but there are likely well over 20 viewpoints. Many of these narrations are inserted in order to provide visibility for what would otherwise be writer fiat. This is a sign of weak writing. If there are multiple narrators (third person or not), I like to only have a few and to keep them as the only narrators of each subplot. The author introduced six POVs by the time the fourth chapter rolled around, and there is a notable instance where a character POV was introduced for the first time, and that character dies within two pages through someone else's POV.
Then there are the pacing problems. The eponymous legend Druss shows up six chapters into a book where his narration is meant to be the primary story, and easily the most interesting and thrilling part of the novel. I picked up this novel to read heroic fantasy and the defence of Dros Delnoch, but we have to spend entirely too much time on Rek's subplot before everything finally comes together. I felt like I was reading filler and until the story starts to get into preparation for the siege, I was tempted many times to put down the novel.
I will not touch on the racism and sexism. It's not blatant, but it is there and is a reflection of the times.
At the end of the day, this novel is overrated. There are many better thrilling military fantasy novels, with better characterization, world building, and grimdark story telling. The latter half of the novel is enjoyable, but I would not recommend it as there's too much to suffer through before you get to the good stuff.
Unlike others, I actually didn't mind the idea that the enemy would prioritize the civil war over finishing off Dros Delnoch. Leaving based on sands in an hourglass instead of finding more resistence (Woundweaver was coming) was silly, but it was acceptable. What was done poorly was the enemy was truly about to win, and they were days ahead of reinforcements.
This (again) is an example of a weak author. He wanted the dramatic final battle scene and Hollywood style climax where the heroes suddenly win. In order to make this happen, the world building suffered and characters acted out of character. There is a moment near the end when two thousand of the local Northern tribe show up to save Rek at the sixth wall. They appeared inside the fortress in a dramatic scene where the enemy broke the gates and stormed inside... but then if they were inside the fortress, why were our heroes surprised at their appearance? It doesn't make any actual sense and is drama for drama's sake.
Finally, the ending was written from a happy perspective (recounting how the enemy fell apart in the subsequent two years and Rek's growing family). Thematically, this was unnecessary. A grimdark ending needed to focus on the losses, and the terrible cost of human lives that had been paid to hold a single mountain pass. I wonder if the author was forced by their publisher to end the story on a bright note. It's unfortunate because the last half of the book was an unreserved success. Instead it ends just as it begins: poorly.
David Gemmell's writing is plagued by the introduction of character viewpoints. I haven't done a count, but there are likely well over 20 viewpoints. Many of these narrations are inserted in order to provide visibility for what would otherwise be writer fiat. This is a sign of weak writing. If there are multiple narrators (third person or not), I like to only have a few and to keep them as the only narrators of each subplot. The author introduced six POVs by the time the fourth chapter rolled around, and there is a notable instance where a character POV was introduced for the first time, and that character dies within two pages through someone else's POV.
Then there are the pacing problems. The eponymous legend Druss shows up six chapters into a book where his narration is meant to be the primary story, and easily the most interesting and thrilling part of the novel. I picked up this novel to read heroic fantasy and the defence of Dros Delnoch, but we have to spend entirely too much time on Rek's subplot before everything finally comes together. I felt like I was reading filler and until the story starts to get into preparation for the siege, I was tempted many times to put down the novel.
I will not touch on the racism and sexism. It's not blatant, but it is there and is a reflection of the times.
At the end of the day, this novel is overrated. There are many better thrilling military fantasy novels, with better characterization, world building, and grimdark story telling. The latter half of the novel is enjoyable, but I would not recommend it as there's too much to suffer through before you get to the good stuff.
Spoiler
I've read a number of other reviews and agree that the Virae's character suffers the most -- not only does she become utterly useless the moment she finds her man, but also her death and revival is extremely cheap. There's zero foreshadowing that it was a possibility and added to the incredibly poor ending.Unlike others, I actually didn't mind the idea that the enemy would prioritize the civil war over finishing off Dros Delnoch. Leaving based on sands in an hourglass instead of finding more resistence (Woundweaver was coming) was silly, but it was acceptable. What was done poorly was the enemy was truly about to win, and they were days ahead of reinforcements.
This (again) is an example of a weak author. He wanted the dramatic final battle scene and Hollywood style climax where the heroes suddenly win. In order to make this happen, the world building suffered and characters acted out of character. There is a moment near the end when two thousand of the local Northern tribe show up to save Rek at the sixth wall. They appeared inside the fortress in a dramatic scene where the enemy broke the gates and stormed inside... but then if they were inside the fortress, why were our heroes surprised at their appearance? It doesn't make any actual sense and is drama for drama's sake.
Finally, the ending was written from a happy perspective (recounting how the enemy fell apart in the subsequent two years and Rek's growing family). Thematically, this was unnecessary. A grimdark ending needed to focus on the losses, and the terrible cost of human lives that had been paid to hold a single mountain pass. I wonder if the author was forced by their publisher to end the story on a bright note. It's unfortunate because the last half of the book was an unreserved success. Instead it ends just as it begins: poorly.