Legend - David Gemmell

Written by Tom Clare in Book Reviews, Tuesday 26 September, 2006

A Legend Is Born!

My good friend and fellow-writer Gildor_Inglorion knows a thing or two about books - and more specifically, about the fantasy genre from which seemingly no major work has escaped him. A little while ago, he gave me a copy of 'Legend' to borrow. Before I had the chance to read it though, it emerged that author David Gemmell had died. His death was a brief topic of conversation for us as I had heard little of the man, but the surprising media coverage surrounding the death of the 57 year-old fantasy author reminded me that I should get around to reading the novel that began his successful but sadly all-too-short career.

Legend was first published in 1984, and was the first of many books based in the same world (comprising the Drenai Saga), though in spirit it is very much a standalone story. Considering it was Gemmell's first novel, Legend proves an excellent alternative to the longer, more involved fantasy epics of George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) and Robin Hobb (Farseer), and to me it proved preferable to Stephen Donaldson's much-lauded Lord Foul's Bane (and far more palatable), which seemed disinteresting in comparison.

After wading through a number of hefty trilogies, Legend proves refreshingly compact at 432 pages. Despite this relative lack of length, Gemmell does a superb job of establishing a strong storyline, vivid setting and, in particular, a host of excellent characters.

The story revolves around a number of personalities, the majority of whom are destined to meet up with each other in a place known as Dros Delnoch - a mountain fortress/town and the gateway to the Drenai empire. The reason for the convergence on Dros Delnoch involves war with Lord Ulric, the leader of a race from 'beyond the gate' known as the Nadir. The Drenai have legends, courage and six giant defensive walls on their side, but whilst their army totals 10,000 at an optimistic count, the Nadir are thought to number over 500,000.

The reader is introduced to a host of characters who have entered themselves into this seemingly hopeless situation for a catalogue of reasons. Rek, a young wanderer who rescues (and promptly falls in love with) Virae, unwittingly inherits command at Delnoch - he feels a sense of duty to Virae, and proves a fine, very humane lead who grows in stature as the story progresses, with a nice line in witty quips. Gemmell builds up his characters in simple but brilliant ways; short but eminently readable passages can quickly reveal character traits and weaknesses, as well as creating auras around the most formidable figures. Druss, the 'Legend' himself, is the best and most-successful example of this. It is quickly established that he is known for countless remarkable acts and is, both physically and by reputation, a giant among men. But the now-ageing recluse sets off from his mountain retreat with the sense that he has cheated death for long enough. Though perhaps technically not the central character of the story, he is nevertheless its driving force - his feats in leading the Drenai and holding back the Nadir hordes make for great reading (it regularly feels like you could be witnessing an action-movie sequence on paper), but so too does the examination of his vulnerabilities, and the constant worry that he would be remembered merely as a legend and not as a man.

It isn't just the main figures who are distinguishable either - you have the side-kicks such as Orrin; a man described as a competent leader in peacetime but out of his depth during war, though Gemmell doesn't simply discard him (something many in his place may have considered), and proves all the better for it; there's the easy-going forest-thief Bowman who has a complexity of character that isn't initially apparent and there is also a group known as 'The Thirty' with their mysterious mind-powers and thought-provoking prophecies. It would have been nice to have had a few more sections from the point of view of the leader of the opposition, Lord Ulric, though the reader is still treated to a solid and ominous foe.

Legend doesn't waste time dallying with useless details or convoluted descriptions; it moves a long at a lively pace and yet still manages to paint a very rich picture of the central protagonists and the world in which they live. There are passages that detail characters backgrounds, but thankfully the author doesn't get lost in chapter-long rants; they are generally short and yet more often than not, very insightful - helping to build the readers understanding piece by piece. Despite the narrative switching perspectives rapidly, the story remains on track and never strays into filler material.

As a more traditional, sword and sorcery style of fantasy story it is highly effective and atmospheric. Gemmell allows the reader to witness passages not just from the high-ranking Drenai officers, but also foot-soldiers, civilians and even from the viewpoint of certain Nadir soldiers. The admiration the two opposing forces have for each other is made apparent, revealing that the struggle at Dros Delnoch is nothing as crude as good-versus-evil. Thus Legend comes across as a very complete story.

Gemmell's writing style seems tailor-made to this kind of story. It doesn't require a map - as his descriptions make things perfectly easy to follow. He also doesn't need a glossary of flowery terms in the back of the book - as they simply aren't required. It is a pleasingly straightforward tale in many respects, strengthened by the authors simple, to-the-point style and excellent moral and character-based examinations.

Are their any criticisms to be levelled at Legend? Well, perhaps if you're picking at straws it isn't the most original of works. Perhaps that's the wrong word... maybe Legend is a little more 'uniform' in its delivery than most fantasies - only the concept of 'The Thirty' is notably unusual and though the towns and landscapes are dynamically described, they certainly aren't out of the ordinary. There is also the potential to argue that, because you get to see things unfold from so many different viewpoints in a modestly-sized novel, that certain figures aren't developed to their full potential, though I wouldn't personally subscribe to this train of thought as its somewhat unfair.

It is gritty and features some fairly graphic, violent sequences which given the plotline, is entirely understandable. Despite this, there is a pleasantly optimistic feeling to Legend - despite the subject matter, I rarely felt downcast during the book; there are many trials and tribulations that have to be met, but Gemmell doesn't beat up on his characters to an excessive degree - something Robin Hobb does a lot of in her excellent-but-depressing Farseer trilogy. Instead, a sense of hope is created from unlikely situations and lessons are learnt.

Legend is a great fantasy novel and the perfect place to start if you are new to the fantasy genre. Exciting, gripping, easy to read and not long-winded, and it can be read either as a standalone novel or as part of Gemmell's extensive Drenai Saga - I strongly recommend it either way, though if you enjoy Legend half as much as I did, you won't want to stop after this!

Leave a Reply