Knights Dark Renown by David Gemmell (The Drenai Novels)

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Rating 8.0/10

Fine heroic fantasy

David Gemmell’s Knights of Dark Renown is an addition to the author’s Drenai series but is a stand alone novel in its own right. If you have not read any other books in the series, there is not need to worry as this is not necessary to fully enjoy this title. Gemmell is back on excellent form and this is a tale of heroic fantasy, magic and honour.

The story centres on a young boy called Lug and the once-knight called Manannan. Lug is coming of age and this will begin a life as a slave although he possesses great magical talent. Manannan, once a legendary Knight of the Gabala until he refused to travel through a demon-haunted gateway to another world and is now fighting to once again regain his honour.

Gemmell has once again written a page-turner and the main characters quickly take form to make you care about their destinies. The man that links both Lug and Manannan is Ruad Ro-fhessa, once called Ollathair, the legendary armourer of the Knights of the Gabala. He teaches the young Lug skills in building magical birds, made of gold and bronze that can fly with a simple spoken command. He was also once Manannan‘s armourer and cast a curse upon him when he failed to entered the gateway. Manannan can no longer remove his silver helm.

As the story progresses more characters are introduced and their fates intertwine. There are chapters of bravery and stupidity, hate and love. Manannan must travel through the demon-haunted gate that he once fled from in order to rescue his fellow Knights and friends who have been lost for the past six years. At the same time an army is forming in the Forests of the Ocean that may be able to rise and fight of the oppression of the Duke and the mad King. This will need their own knights wo fight the evil that threatens them.

One of Gemmell’s strong points is having his heroic characters travel into a version of hell or netherworld. It is here that he is able to add a certain horror / dark fantasy element to the story. He does this extremely well and this is one of his strengths which he utilises fully within this book.

Nearing the end, we are once again faced with a small army facing seemingly insurmountable odds and are left to see who will prevail and who live and die. If you have read Gemmell before then the style of this book will be of no surprise to you and he does follow a trusted formula that works extremely well. The characters are interesting and well formed and the story is another fine example of heroic fantasy. This is a worthy addition to the Drenai series and a must for all Gemmell fans.

Knights of Dark Renown (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: David Gemmell
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 400
Publication date: 1989-11-16
Publisher: Orbit

RRP: £7.99
Lowest new price: £2.54
Lowest used price: £1.64

'Probably the finest living writer of heroic fantasy' TIME OUT
Product Description

Knights of Dark Renown (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: David Gemmell
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 400
Publication date: 1989-11-16
Publisher: Orbit

RRP: $14.45
Lowest new price: $7.42
Lowest used price: $2.23

The Knights of the Gabala, legendary protectors of the Nine Duchies, have disappeared through a demon-haunted gateway between worlds. Only one held back - Manannan, whose every instinct told him to stay. Now he is the Coward Knight, and in torment. Murder and black magic beset the Duchies. As the storm clouds of war gather, Manannan rides to the Forest of the Ocean and prepares to face his darkest fears. For he must ride through the same gate and seek out his vanished companions. And the secret he will learn there will tear his soul apart ...
Product Description

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