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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 8) |
| Author | Comment |
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Nov 4, 07 - 4:52 PM |
Knights of Dark Renown
Noticed you had a couple of Gemmell reviews up. I was surprised that you gave Dark Moon 5 stars. I absolutely agree that Gemmell is both awesome and totally sweet, I don't remember Dark Moon really standing head and shoulders over the rest of his work, though it was definitely very good (4 stars at least). Is Knights of Dark Renown on your "to read" list? If it isn't it should be--and it's a quick read. |
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Richard Hayden
Nov 5th, 2007 - 2:34 AM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
It's funny that you should mention Knights of Dark Renown in association with Tom's Dark Moon review. The ringing endorsement he has given the latter title has tempted to get hold of a copy and read my first David Gemmell novel since reading the Knights of Dark Renown x number of years ago and deciding that he'd played out all his ideas. The first Gemmell book I read was Legend and it remains, to my mind, a triumphant debut. His strength in the earlier works I have read is a sense of pace and drama: I can't really recall him being an amazing character writer. These skills kept my interest for six books but couldn't tempt me to follow his entire career. However, it appears, not unreasonably, that his skills have improved and, seeing as I haven't read one of his books for nearly 15 years, I daresay he's due another try. |
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Symbol
Nov 5th, 2007 - 11:01 AM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
Gemmell has a talent for telling the same story over and over again while making it feel fresh each time. I don't know how, but he does. Knights of Dark Renown is archetypical Gemmell. He doesn't stray far from the beaten path, but if I were to choose one of his books to recommend to a new reader it would be a tossup between that and Legend. |
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Thomas M. Wagner
Nov 5th, 2007 - 11:41 AM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
Everything by Gemmell is on my "to read" list. I'll be the first to admit he wasn't a writer to stray too far from his comfort zone. Archetypal notions of heroism and honor, and the characters who represent those ideals, identify his work. It's just that, as you've pointed out, he did that kind of story to perfection. His brand of genius wasn't so much rooted in any kind of grandiose storytelling gestures or bold innovation as it was in the fact he didn't habitually make all the common mistakes many other writers make, and that he sincerely believed in the themes his stories explored. I'm considering going through the whole 11-book Drenai series next and reviewing them all in one go. However, as KoDR is a stand-alone, I might do it first. |
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Steve Hunter
Nov 6th, 2007 - 2:23 PM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
Good news that you are planning more Gemmell reviews, he's a writer who I think doesn't get the credit he deserves, especially in the USA, just compare his sales figures with Brooks and Jordan. So if your reviews can get a few more people reading Gemmell that's all to the good. |
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Richard Hayden
Nov 26th, 2007 - 5:20 AM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
I've just finished Dark Moon and I'm very pleased to have read it. Thanks Tom for drawing me back to David Gemmell. If one thing annoyed me about it, however, it was the jacket blurb. I realise this was nothing to do with Gemmell but really the only thing the two documents had in common was the characters' names. The blurb was very misleading and not a little ridiculous. I suppose deep down I didn't like the role of magic either. He handles it frugally but with the slight ring of cliche - there is good magic and bad magic but no shades of grey. I don't really like magic in fantasy for this reason and also because it is too powerful a device in a lazy author's hands: too many writers succumb to the temptation of raising magicians to godhood. Also, reading about that much power in the hands of one character can become a bit boring; like trying to play Horror Top Trumps while knowing that the Vampire wins every hand. So then, a new topic for discussion. Is magic bad for fantasy writing? When I think of my favourite genre writers, they generally eschew it in any direct form. China Mieville has a type of magic but it is very puny and often looks like medicine in masquerade. Robert Holdstock dips into spiritualism and land energy but nothing as direct as a spell. Mary Gentle deliberately uses science-like dabblings with a dash of theatre to seem magical to her protagonists. Even on the Discworld the use of magic comes at a high price (starting with the user's dress sense). So what do you think? Are there high-quality literary instances of use of magic in the classic sense? |
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Thomas M. Wagner
Nov 26th, 2007 - 9:18 AM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
It's true that magic can offer writers lazy plot devices to help their characters. But what's interesting is that lately, I haven't so much seen fantasy writers being guilty of that as I have seen SF writers using "indistinguishable from magic" technology in the same way. Most recent case in point I've read: the climax of Xenocide. |
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Thomas M. Wagner
Nov 26th, 2007 - 4:57 PM |
Re: Knights of Dark Renown
Oh yes...should be mentioned...cover blurbs have jack to do with the writer. John Scalzi was telling me how he had to ask Tor if he could rewrite the jacket copy for The Android's Dream, because the version they were originally going with had a major plot spoiler. D'oh! |
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