Customer Reviews: Read 39 more reviews...
 An Epic from Start to Finish November 29, 2008
I was first introduced to the work of David Gemmell at age 14, when I loaned a copy of Lion of Macedon from my Uncle. I couldn't put it down, and borrowed Dark Prince straight after. They were classics, and I knew it.
I saw this on the shelf of my local waterstones, and after nine months of reading mostly Star Trek and Doctor Who books, I was looking for something a bit different. This was it. It is a gripping read, which never fails to disappoint.
The story itself centres around 'The Golden One' Helikaon, prince of Dardania, and his voyages and escapades sailing his ship, the Xanthos, across the murky waters of 'The Great Green' (Mediteranean Sea). It follows the exploits of him and his friend Zidantas and the crew of his ship.
On her maiden voyage the Xanthos picks up two Mykene Warriors, one who is called Argurios, and is one of the main characters in the book.There is some animosity between Helikaon and Argurios to start with, although this is metered with an amount of Respect and Mutual Appreciation, which leads to often surprising situations and scenarios.
As well as his friendship with Argurios, the story centres around the love of Helikaon for Andromache, a priestess of Thera, who is openly bi-sexual, and apparently very attractive in a non-descript sort of way. Either way there is some Poltical conspiracy in their relationship as Princess Andromache has been given to King Priam of Troy to marry his Son, Hektor, the greek mythos.
What a great read it is! I simply couldn't put it down, although it is true that characters like Hektor and Odysseus only play a supporting role in this re-telling of the Greek Legend, their pressence is felt throughout the story, as are the consequences of Battle, Piracy and Betrayal.
I recommend this to anybody, especially Lord of the Rings Fans!
"Fantastic" what more can one say June 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have just finished reading `Troy fall of kings` the third book in this trilogy & what an uptake on the Troy legend,all three books are absolutely brilliant. I would like to think that some day maybe Peter Jackson or another with his vision & imagination would make some David Gemmell heroic fantasy novels into films & give them the true accolade they deserve. The best heroic fantasy novel books I have ever read.
 Superb swashbuckling adventure with a Greek setting April 11, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although this is set in ancient Greece it could really be set in Drenai or any other of Gemmell's worlds as it reads very similar to those, which is no bad thing as no one does heroic fantasy better than Gemmell.
This book is full of action, violence and war-mongering, along with some very well written characters. Gemmell's heros are never whiter than white, they always have their own flaws, which makes them very believable. Another awesome book from Gemmell.
Fantastic Read! March 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As with a number of other reviewers this was the first time I have read David Gemmell and it won't be the last. I enjoy historical fiction and this book is up there with the best. It is a great mix of awesome battles, romance, legend and humanity that leaves you unable to put it down. I read the last 250 pages on a transatlantic flight and couldn't wait to get volume two out of my suitcase when I got to my hotel room! If you enjoy Cornwell, Scarrow and Iggulden you will love this one.
Almost flawlessly enjoyable March 23, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
David Gemmell was a prolific and popular author of heroic fantasy, penning more than thirty novels (most of them well-receved) between the 1984 release of Legend and his death in the summer of 2006. His final project was The Troy Trilogy, an epic retelling of the Trojan War, its causes and consequences, marrying the likely historical reality of the conflict (now seen less as a story of doomed love and more the explosion of tensions building up over decades between the Greek cities and the Hittite Empire) with some fantastical elements, although these are mostly restricted to prophetic dreams. Arguably the trilogy, or at least Lord of the Silver Bow, barely qualifies as fantasy, instead more neatly falling into the subgenre of the 'speculative historical' novel shared by the likes of Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles.
The time is three thousand years and more in the past. The world is dominated by the Great Green, the vast sea that divides the Greek city-states (now coming under the dominion of Mykene and its ruthless king, Agamemnon) from the Hittites and their colonies in the near east, Assyria further to the east and Egypte to the south. Lord of the Silver Bow is the story of several individuals. Helikaon, Prince of Dardania, is a warrior and sailor beyond compare, dubbed 'The Golden One' for his legendary luck and pride. He has built the Xanthos, the biggest ship on the Great Green, which sailors fear as it challenges the might of Poseidon. Helikaon is being hunted by assassins and has made an enemy of the Mykene for slaughtering their hero Alektruon, a pirate and reaver, but is unaware that Agamemnon has been told of a prophecy that he will be responsible for Agamemnon's downfall.
Meanwhile, the beautiful Andromache, exiled to the island of Thera by her father, is recalled after the death of her sister and is pledged to marry Prince Hektor of Troy, a warrior of legend. Her journey to Troy brings her into contact with Helikaon and his crew, a meeting that will spark many unfortunate events to come. The last of the three central characters is Argurios, a mighty Mykene warrior who loaths Helikaon, but destiny and honour compel him to fight alongside the Golden One and forge a story that will become a legend across the Great Green and challenge Agamemnon's wisdom and reputation.
Around these three central characters other lives become entangled: Xander, the ship's boy who becomes interested in healing; the strange Trojan girl and prophetess, Kassandra; the Egyptean exiled prince Gershom; the mighty warrior and legendary tale-spinner Odysseus, King of Ithaka; and King Priam himself, a contradictary figure, cruel and hateful one moment, with occasional flashes of honour and mercy.
Lord of the Silver Bow is nearly a flawlessly enjoyable book, with a depth of writing that is hugely engrossing and characters that leap clear of the page in their vividness. Such is the strength of the story that you forget you are reading a story that you know the end of, and the moments in the story that do intersect with the legend are all the most impressive for that, such as when the reader realises that Helikaon is actually Aeneas and when Prince Paris crops up for one of his extremely infrequent appearances. The combat sequences are brutal and convincing; the characters' philosophical musings are short, to the point and do not slow down the action; the drawing of the characters is so well-achieved that some of the deaths at the end of the book are almost physically painful to read about.
Lord of the Silver Bow (****) is laying the groundwork for the war to come, but is in itself a hugely accomplished and significant epic fantasy novel with enough closure to make it a great self-contained work. The other two books in the sequence are Shield of Thunder and Fall of Kings.
|
