The King Beyond the Gate

Jun 182008
 

Another excellent novel and story from David. Set 100 years or so after Legend (his first book) King Beyond the Gate tells how the Drenai are crushed beneath their own evil emperor. The story is gripping, and looks hard at friendship, love and war. It is far deadlier than Legend – if you thought that was bloody and caused the death of many loved characters, the end of King Beyond the Gate will make you think again. However, while death is rampant, it doesn’t feel out of place. The story is what I now recognise as ‘typical’ Gemmell heroism, and ensures you read from start to finish.

It’s not quite as good as Legend, I didn’t become as attached to the characters as I did to Druss and Rek, but you still feel for them when the knife falls.

(This review was written sometime in the late 90′s for the original Gemmell Mania website)

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Legend

Jun 182008
 

The first, and still the best if you ask me. David Gemmell’s first novel, and the first in the Drenai saga. An excellent epic heroic fantasy. It never tries to be anything grander than an heroic struggle for freedom and life. It avoids many of the cliches of ‘modern’ fantasy, and yet covers enough common ground that the reader is not left feeling lost. A story of invasion and war, and yet a story on a very personal level. Gemmell keeps you guessing right up until the last minute before giving you one of the most gripping and emotional endings to a book for many a year.

(This review was written sometime in the late 90′s for the original Gemmell Mania website)

Rating: ★★★★★ 

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For a Few Demons More

Jun 182008
 

Rachel doesn’t like dealing with demons. Unfortunately, they seem to like dealing with her. Having two demons interested in her, one after her soul, would be enough for any Witch but as usual Life gut-punches Rachel when she’s called to the morgue where several unknown Were suicides have turned up. The item she fought to keep secret is threatening to come to the surface again and with it, the threat of an Inderland power struggle.

I found this book much more emotional than the previous four, the latter half engaging me on a deeper level. What had been fairly lighthearted up til now, turned more serious and at times, heart-rending. It showed that while you can struggle to keep things the same, inevitably life changes and often in a direction you don’t want. The characterisations are as strong as ever and I was hit harder than I expected to be, by the death of a loved character. This was the last book I owned and had to order the next one (Where Demons Dare – Book 6) and while I also have that same eagerness to read it that I’ve enjoyed all through this series, I also feel sad that one of them won’t be there anymore.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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A Fistful of Charms

Jun 162008
 

The fourth installment in this series opens three or so months on from the last book, and true to form, opens straight in to the action. Rachel is in deeper trouble with the Demons and due to her decision to keep a secret from Jenks, she and Ivy are without the little pixie and his family. Her ex-love Nick comes back into the scene and she feels obligated to help him out, along with Jenks’ son who went with Nick when he left. They have to travel beyond The Hollows and deal with the mundane world along with everything else and Rachel has to make some hard decisions.

I love the titles of this series, I really do! As I’ve read each book in the series, I keep expecting the quality of writing and plot to start dropping and it just hasn’t, if anything it has gotten better. Jenks’ absence in the beginning is like a huge void and you realise just how well the three main characters work together, as dysfunctional as they can be. The plot runs very smoothly, each event happening in good time rather than feeling overly rushed or too slow and again you get tidbits of history about each of the main cast that rounds them out even more. One of the things I’ve liked about Rachel’s character is how she started looking at things very black and white – white is good and black is evil. To survive, she’s slowly learned that things just aren’t as cut and dried as she thought and that some of the choices she’s had to make may not be ‘good’ but don’t make her ‘evil’.

I know I’ve said it before but I couldn’t help but pick up the fifth book straight away once I was finished with this one. I’m not sure what I will do afterwards as it is the last one I own and there is only one more that has been published at the moment!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Books and Me

Jun 162008
 

Why do I love books? If I had to put my finger on one reason, it would be escapism. To briefly live out someone elses life via pages. I’ve read intensively from quite an early age, always reading ahead of my age group. Not too much of a boast since a lot of things I was behind on ;)

I remember teachers being exasperated and not knowing what to give me to read and trying to find suitable things. I just loved it! I think my love of re-reading stems right from then as there just wasn’t enough out there to satisfy my voracious appetite.

I get such an excited feeling of pleasure when I get a book I haven’t read yet (something which gets harder all the time!) especially if it’s a book I’ve been waiting for and really anticipated. I get a lovely warm feeling when I pick up a much loved book to re-read, always discovering something new each time I do and it’s like greeting an old friend. I read very fast which means I can miss a lot of subtle things so on a re-read, I pick those up.

My dad used to make up bedtime fairy stories for me and my sister and I attribute my love of fantasy to him :) I think I was about 13 when I was bored one summer holiday and picked up J.R.R. Tolkiens – Lord of the Rings (all 3 books in one volume). I didn’t understand half of it but I loved it anyway and every couple of years I would re-read it, getting more and more out of it as my understanding grew with maturity.

Anne McCaffrey was a firm favourite early on as well, my school librarian was a fan so there were a good few of her books available – I never looked back! and still love her work some 17 years on. David Eddings, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, David Gemmell also became much loved around that time.

My tastes have evolved a lot, Fantasy is still my first love but there just simply isn’t enough in the genre to support my ‘habit’ so I pretty much read anything I can get my hands on although I never could read non-fiction apart from the odd comedy book – I think it interferes with the escapism I so love with fiction. I already know how bad or ugly the world today can be, I don’t need to read about it. I also particularly enjoy crime, urban fantasy / supernatural fiction and lighthearted chick lit, but as I said, if it’s fiction, I’ll give it a try ;)

My name is Grete Evans… and I am a book addict… :)

Every Which Way but Dead

Jun 162008
 

Picking up right where The Good, The Bad, and the Undead finished, book three gets off to a promising start, and never lets up. In between Rachel’s problems with a demon, Ivy resuming her blood drinking ways but still trying to stay on the right side of everyone and Jenks being his usual endearingly grumpy self, you would think they had enough problems. If only! Dealing with the outfall of their actions in Book two, the three partners in Vampiric Charms (NOT an escort agency!), try to do their ‘day’ jobs, diffuse the war that is threatening The Hollows after Rachel put away the former head of the Vampire faction and try to stay true to themselves.

The characters develop further still, it seems a little piece of important history of each character is released in each book which is something that keeps you reading to find out. The main characters are very ‘human’ in their actions and it’s something you can identify with – you don’t always agree with their actions but you can understand how they came to make them. Rachel, Ivy and Jenks are so fundamentally different as well, their interactions are always amusing or heartfelt and I enjoy them a lot. The secondary characters are just as entertaining and I was pleased to see some of the less known characters becoming stronger and more integral to the plot. Again I was eager to pick up book four as soon as I’d finished book three which is a real treat!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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The Good, The Bad, and the Undead

Jun 162008
 

I sometimes find that when I’ve really enjoyed a first book in a series, the second can be a bit lacking. I’m happy to say that wasn’t the case here!

The book picks up a couple of months after the end of the first, bursting back into action right from the first page. You learn more history about the characters, making them more rounded and easier to empathise with. The main characters can be a little irritating at times but in all honesty it is part of their charm. They can make bad decisions in moments of stress and do what they think is right, even if it is at odds with their ‘good’ natures. The interactions between Rachel, Ivy and Jenks often produce laugh out loud moments which is always nice.

The plot moves along nicely, with entertaining new characters being introduced of which a few of them you hope will become regulars. I enjoyed this second book as much as the first (Dead Witch Walking) and when I finished, I was eager, again, to dive right back in to number 3.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ravenheart

Jun 132008
 

Without doubt, one of David’s finest books, and now my favourite, just edging Legend into the second place spot. David gives us more emotion, characterisation and heroism of all kinds stuffed into 250,000 words than any other author I know. The characters in this book leap from the page, they are fully rounded, interesting, believable and easy to empathise with. Gemmell presents battles of a different kind in this book, including a court scene which is just excellent as the more conventional battles. There is, a seige, kind of.

The plot clips along at his usual pace, takes slightly unexpected turns, and delivers us to the destination weeping and rejoicing at the same time. I enjoyed this Rigante far more than the previous two [Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon], mainly because the number of major characters is lower, the prose is less abrupt, and the story feels more personal.
A fitting tribute to David’s late step-father, and sadly of course, now to David himself.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Jun 132008
 

An entertaining read, capturing the imagination and providing for me, the one totally essential ingredient in any book. Empathy. I could empathise with the characters, I cared about them and what happened to them. Even a jaded old git like myself has to admit that the book was easy to read, good value for money, and entertaining. Ok, I didn’t spend hours thinking about it, nor did I cry at the end, but never-the-less, the book was well written, colourful, and full of people that mattered.

A boy discovers he isn’t a waste of space after all, learns about his past, discovers his inner strength, and grows. A typical story, presented in refreshing way. Let’s hope it leads a whole bunch of kids [and not-kids] to start reading more.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Jun 132008
 

Well, well. The second Harry Potter book (Chamber of Secrets) isn’t anywhere near as good as the first. It feels contrived in too many places, slow to pick up and then rushed to finish at the end.

The same characters are present, and they are still interesting. The story is weak however, and it feels as though the author felt the book had to have the same pattern as the previous one – of course it is set within the timetable of a school year so some things are bound to seem regimented.

Some funny moments, lots of long not interesting moments, some nice dialog, plenty of annoying dialog.

Overall, not impressed, but then it had a lot to live up to with the first one being rather good. Let’s hope the third one (Prisoner of Azkaban) is better.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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