Tuesday, 29 March 2011

The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell

Synopsis

Heroes from the past, such as Druss and Skilgannon, are revered throughout the war-torn lands of the Drenai where men and women live in abject fear of the Joinings, abominable meldings of man and beast, and of their mistress the dark sorceress known as the Eternal. None can resist the relentless progression of the Eternals army . But what if the soul of a hero could be called back from the void, his bones housed again in flesh?

An ancient prophecy foretold that Skilgannon would return in his people’s darkest hour. To most, this is a foolish hope, but not so to Landis Kan. For years Kan searched for the tomb of Skilgannon the Damned. And at last, he found it, gathered up the bones and performed the mystic ritual and a thousand years after he fell in battle Skilgannon is reborn.

But the reborn hero is an enigma; a young man whose warrior skills are not as honed as they once where and whose memories are fragmented. Skilgannon is a man out of time, in a world as strange to him, remote from all he knew and loved. Or nearly all. Before bringing Skilgannon back, Landis Kan had experimented with other bones in the hero’s tomb. That ritual resulted in a surly giant who possessed astounding strength, but no memories. To Kan, he is a dangerous failure. To Skilgannon, this giant represents their last hope.

As the ageless evil of the Eternal threatens to drown the Drenai lands in blood, two legendary heroes rise again.

Review

I have always been a fan of David Gemmell, reading a number of his books in the past, so I had great expectations of this book and it did not let me down. I would describe this book as a page turner, a book I struggled to put down.

The story never stalls or looses it place, it relentlessly moves on with all its principal players being well rounded in a way that you end up empathising with the characters as the book progresses.

David Gemmell has the knack of telling engaging stories with sound plots in a simplistic language, this all helps the pace of the book and as a result it keeps you engrossed, wanting to know what happens next but not wanting the book to end.

It has been a while since I have read a fantasy novel but this book has rekindled my love for this genera, and I may have to keep an eye out for others

Rating

I give this book 9.5 out of 10, loved it

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