Synopses & Reviews
Even in death, Skilgannon the Damned's name lives on. Now, as an ancient evil threatens the Drenai heartlands, he returns.
A thousand years after they fell in battle, two heroes 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 stave off these ruthless foes. 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.
But the reborn hero is an enigma; a young man whose warrior skills are blunted and whose memories are fragmented. This Skilgannon is a man out of time, marooned in a world as strange to him as a dream, 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
"[E]ngrossing....Though the story brims with standard swordplay and unremarkable battle sequences, the puzzling out of what a possessed sword might actually be...provides delightful diversion and should make this one popular with idea-starved fantasy readers." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[F]ast and furious....With [this] much action, Gemmell is guaranteed to hold readers, despite his not-always-top-flight world building and sometimes less-than-lucid prose." Booklist
Synopsis
A thousand years after he fought alongside Druss the Legend, Skilgannon the Damned has been resurrected to face the ruthless evil of the Eternal.
Synopsis
With mythic sweep and epic scope, David Gemmell s bestselling novels of magic and adventure feature brooding heroes who fight to preserve all that is good and honorable in themselves and in the worlds through which they stride like lonely giants. In times of terror and despair, theirs are the swords that carve a shining path, inspiring others to follow. Even after their deaths, their names live on. . . .
A thousand years after they fell in battle, two heroes Druss and Skilgannon are revered throughout the war-torn lands of the Drenai. Yet 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 stave off these ruthless foes.
But what if the soul of one such 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, as the power of the Eternal grew, Kan searched for the tomb of Skilgannon the Damned. And at last, he found it, gathering up the bones and performing the mystic ritual.
But the reborn hero is an enigma: a young man whose warrior skills are blunted and whose memories are fragmented. This Skilgannon is a man out of time, marooned in a world as strange to him as a dream, remote from all he knew and loved.
Or nearly all. Before bringing Skilgannon back, Landis Kan experimented upon other bone fragments found in the hero s tomb. That ritual resulted in a surly giant who possessed astounding strength, but no memories. To Kan, he was a dangerous failure. But to Skilgannon, this giant represented their last hope. For as the ageless evil of the Eternal threatens to drown the Drenai lands in blood, two legendary heroes will once again lead the way to freedom."
About the Author
David Gemmell's first novel, Legend, has become a classic of heroic fantasy. His most recent novels, Hero in the Shadows, Ravenheart, Stormrider, and White Wolf have all been Sunday Times bestsellers.