Hero in the Shadows
Author: David Gemmell
Year: 2000
Abstract:
Weylander, a legendary hero of old, has now grown older, bought himself
some land, is beginning to make peace with his life. However, as is usual
with most nearly idyllic situations, evil finds its way to old Weylander. He
must pull out his trusty sword, team up with some odd-ball folks, and go
slaughter some demon ass.
| Advanced Mind | |
| Exploration/Quest |  |
| Military/Fighting | |
| Horror | |
| Magic | |
| Advanced Technology | |
| Time Travel/Alternate History | |
| Science | |
| Aliens/Beasties | |
| Contemporality |
Other books in this series: The Drenai Saga
Legend [1984]
The King beyond the Gate [1985]
Waylander [1986]
Quest for Lost Heroes [1990]
Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf [1992]
The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend [1993]
The Legend of Deathwalker [1996]
Winter Warriors [1996]
Spectre's Review
I read this book on the recommendation of my oldest brother. Odd as this
statistician of a brother is, I went out and bought the only book I could find
from David Gemmell. It just so happened to be the last adventure of Weylander.
So I came into the series not understanding the history, and really seeing the end
of a truly great hero. Although there was a certain literary element that was
missing (David Drake's Lord of the Isle's series has this literary element, and I
think it might have something to do with big words I have to look up in the
dictionary) I loved the book. This book had a story, and a damned good one.
Many of the characters were very well developed, and it looked like a couple of the surviving characters could be involved in a further series. The most surprising element was a common science fiction theme, that is the concept of multiple similar universes. That was masterfully employed in this story, and added a genuinely frightening element.
The fight scenes were very well done, and I very much enjoyed the magic style of this world. Weylander is a good man at heart, tormented by his crimes, and yearns for redemption, knowing he can never achieve it. He fights such horrifying beasts, it's obvious the author pulled these things out of the dark corners of his mind.
The end is what I liked best about the book. As a gift for saving the world, Weylander is given a chance to go back in time and save himself from the darkness that plagued his life. Gemmell kills his main character off, and the end of a beautiful series comes in suprising fashion. This is one to add to your permanent collection.
Date posted: 2001 12 20
Spectre's Rating
Minus one for lacking an indescribable literary element that left me wanting for
something more.