Legend by David Gemmell

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Summary Superb heroic fantasy from the fire-side storyteller.

Legend was David Gemmell's first novel. Published in 1984, it has become a world-wide best-seller and is the beginning of Gemmell's Drenai saga.

Druss is a legend who's life stories are told everywhere. He has shunned a life of comfort and wealth in favour a solitary life spent on a mountain bordering the clouds. He is sixty years old and death awaits him when he receives a request of help from the defenders of the fortress of Dros Delnoch.

The Nadir are conquering all before them, as did the Drenai in years past. All that stands before them and victory is the fortress, protected by six outer walls and the stronghold of the Drenai empire. If the fortress falls, so do the Drenai...

The is the kind of book that the term fire-side reading was invented for. This book is far from perfect, this was Gemmell's first foray into the realm of writing fantasy and his skills are from as honed as they would later become. But this is where it all began, the book in which Gemmell stamped his trademark on the fantasy genre. This showed just how enjoyable heroic fantasy could be and in Druss, invented an unforgettable figure able to overcome insurmountable odds.

This is a wonderful heroic fantasy with great characters and way of describing landscapes and setting moods that fully immerses the reader in the world of the Drenai. The characters are given just the right amount of back history, not too little and not too much. There is a pleasant mixture of action, suspense and plot and these all merge together to create a story that is rich and satisfying.

This is not Gemmell's best but surely his most important, a great place to start if you have not read any of his work before and a great blend of sword, sorcery and heroism. A MUST read for any heroic fantasy fans.