Legend (Drenai)

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Also very important characters are Reg(nak) and his wife, Virae, the Gan of Dros Delnoch, Orrin, Hugon, Leader of the Legion, and The Thirty, with the likes of Serbitar, Vintar, Menahem, Arbedark and Antaheim as their main representation, while also Gilad and Bregan will make a formidable pair in the defence of the fortress. Flood, Alison (15 April 2009). "Fierce battle for Legend fantasy award narrows to field of five". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 June 2009. Hope is restored, however, when apparitions of Druss and The Thirty appear at the gates and Joachim Sathuli, a tribal prince whom Rek had befriended earlier, arrives with a force of three thousand warriors. Finally, Ulric is forced to withdraw from the siege due to a civil war brewing at home. Reluctantly Druss agrees to come down from his mountaintop to lead this last, hopeless fight. Lost causes mean nothing to him—he has fought in such battles a thousand times in a thousand lands. And he is a hero to inspire a new generation of warriors. He is Druss the Legend. Legend, David Gemmel's debut novel, was published in 1984. My copy is from 1987, so it's actually 36 years since I first and last read it. I went on to read a whole bunch of his books and hugely enjoyed them. I count several of them among my best reading experiences.

Originally intending to be a historical novelist, Gemmell was intrigued by events which ended badly for the protagonists. Citing the Battle of the Alamo and the grisly fate of William Wallace as influences, he said that had he written about the 13th century Scottish revolutionary, he would have found a way in which Wallace was ultimately victorious despite the odds, then eventually realised this kind of storytelling would be more palatable in a fantasy setting. [2] It's time for a Now You Know Moment. Did you know that the recurring term in Legend, baresark, is the Scandinavian term for berserker? Well now you know.One change wrought by 36 years and changing times plus changes in what many of us expect from fantasy writing, was that I now see the book as all rather one-note. The message is of manly men standing up for what's right, even when 'right' is more about obstinacy/honour. The very small number of women are not well written and have fairly minor roles. The new earl's wife does fight (rarely despite being really good at it) and is mainly there to spur change and manliness in her husband. Man alone, it seems, lives all his life in the knowledge of death. And yet there is more to life than merely waiting for death. For life to have meaning, there must be a purpose. A man must pass something on -otherwise he is useless.” Only things are not going great in the fortress. There are six walls and a town to defend, while the force is less than a third of the full complement, and the discipline is rotten because morale is low and fear is rife. The defenders need a miracle or the Dross will fall. And Dross Delnoch needs heroes. Badly.

Legend (1984) (Originally published in the United States by New Infinities Productions as Against the Horde in 1988, [17] re-released as Legend) In Legend we see the legend, Druss, emerge from a short retirement at the grand old age of 60. Which seemed really quite old to me at 21, and at 57, not so much...Legend was David Gemmell's first published novel, which he beganwriting in 1976 when he believed himself to be suffering from a terminal illness (he was misdiagnosed). He wrote what was then tentatively titled The Siege of Dros Delnoch as a way of taking his mind off his illness but thefatalism and theexploration of the meaning of human life thatruns strongly throughout the narrative isno doubt influenced by his state of mind at the time.

Overall I am generally dismayed to rate classic books because quite often the authors of today have borrowed from the classics and the plot points which were once uniquely spectacular now seem commonplace. I fear this was partially the case for me with Legend. Much of the story felt familiar and what made it special is unfortunately lost on me reading it 31 years later. Sure, the basic plot is pretty norm. Small army versus bigger army, oh noes! But it's the characters, their lives and the subtle plot twists that make this book...well, a classic. It's these differences that turn Legend from an everyday fantasy novel, into a heroic-fantasy-legend. Legend has something for everyone."

This book is dedicated with love to three very special people. My father, Bill Woodford, without whom Druss the Legend would never have stood on the wall of Dros Delnoch. My mother, Olive, who instilled in me a love of stories in which heroes never lied, evil rarely triumphed, and love was always true.

Gemmell, David (1984). Legend. This book is dedicated with love to three very special people. ... And my wife, Valerie The characters of Legend are the characters within us all. Fear, doubt, and futility are all present, but so too are the traits which make us greater than the sum of our parts. Honor, courage, duty, and yes, even love are all necessary components for a heroic tale of such resonance. In his own way Druss, the main character in Legend, faced the same choice. Fade into old age and senility, or face down your death with defiance at the cost of a shorter lifespan. Dros Delnoch is the greatest fortress in the world, a narrow pass guarded by six high walls and a great keep, but under Abalayn its complement of defenders has been reduced to less than 10,000 men under the leadership of an unfit General. The fate of the Drenai hinges on the defence of Dros Delnoch. If the fortress can hold the Nadir horde for three months, the Drenai general Magnus Woundweaver might be able to gather and train a Drenai army. However, given the odds, no-one truly believes that Delnoch can be held. ... Storytelling is of a superb quality, the story is wonderfully structured and executed as a whole, and all the characters come tremendously to life within this very exciting heroic adventure.

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The battle itself steals the show and I couldn’t put the book down after its second half. But I would have loved some worldbuilding too, for there is none. Plus, there are two dei ex machina moments which made me roll my eyes. It's not surprising then that when someone doesn't like the books we love, there is a tendency in many to close ranks, to insult, even to seek revenge. Not surprising, but in no way good. The story behind the book is almost as stunning as the work itself. Gemmell was diagnosed with cancer. He began writing a story about siege against overwhelming odds. He wrote it at a frantic pace apparently completing most of it in two weeks but leaving it unfinished. He planned on finishing it when he knew what would happen to himself, if he lived, so would his heroes, if he found out there was no hope, again, the same fate would befall his heroes.