The Blog Fantastic 037: Last Sword of Power Review (Unread 012)

Have you ever built up an author (or director, musician, etc.) in your head as being one of the greats? Maybe even a genius in their respective field? Now I don’t think David Gemmell is a genius, but I’ve always considered him a skilled writer who excels at certain types of stories. Those stories often focus on tough men put in situations where their survival is in question but the situation often leads to their redemption as heroes for having done the honourable thing in said difficult situation. I’ve pointed out his weaknesses as a writer before (female characters!) and his stories can be similar when looking at them side by side (yet they’re usually varied enough in the details to remain separate individual works). Sometimes he plays with big ideas and when he does, he rivals many of the other great fantasy authors. To be clear, I think David Gemmell is pretty great and up until a few weeks ago, at least, he was one of my favourite fantasy authors, comfortably sitting amongst the other greats in the literary pantheon of my mind.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

The Blog Fantastic 035: Ghost King Review (Unread 008)

One of the best things about this
book is the cover.

David Gemmell is one of my favourite fantasy authors. I first discovered his writing when my brother lent me his copy of Lord of the Silver Bow, the first volume in Gemmell’s Troy trilogy which he was nearing completion before he passed away. His wife, Stella Gemmell, finished the trilogy and has since published a novel of her own titled The City. Since I’m a fan of Greek mythology and The Iliad I was excited to read it and Gemmell really impressed me. He mostly ignored a lot of the specifics of classical writing on the subject. It’s difficult to believe but Homer and Virgil didn’t have as much of an influence on Gemmell’s story as you would have expected. He definitively walked down his own path but that’s alright with me. At that point in his career he knew his strengths and by focusing on soldiers and other characters with strong personalities and by severely limiting the use of magic along with the presence and influence of the gods, he managed to write a trilling and action packed historical fantasy trilogy. This led me to reading several of his books and I’ve enjoyed every one.

After finding copies of most of the Stones of Power series at my local used book store (Bay Used Books) I read up a bit on the series before reading it. The cover of the first two books looked radically different than the other three. As it turns out, they’re two separate series that are tied together by the titular Stones of Power. From what I can tell there aren’t that many more connections between both stories. Sadly, I do not own a copy of the final book in the Jon Shannow trilogy which also happens to be the concluding volume of The Stones of Power. Hopefully I can find a copy by the time I get to that point in the series. I decided to start with Ghost King and its sequel Last Sword of Power because they were published first and they’re also first in chronological order. It’s always fun when that happens. I was really looking forward to Ghost King because it’s yet another book where Gemmell retells a well-known fantasy story. This time it’s the legend of King Arthur. Unfortunately, it’s kind of crap.

The Blog Fantastic 011 - Morningstar review

 

I really like Gemmell’s style of fantasy. It’s grounded in a sense of reality and it makes it feel refreshing when compared to other series filled with dragons, orcs and other magical beings. It’s not to say that Gemmell’s fantasy is devoid of typical elements of the fantasy genre. There’s plenty of magic for example, and Morningstar even has a few Vampyre Kings. The fantastic elements are toned down. The magic, or magick rather, isn’t the Dungeons and Dragons or Forgotten Realms battle magic and it’s not the magic you would find in Epic fantasy series. It’s simple, yet effective. Understated seems to be a good description of his use of magic and creatures. It fits rather well in Gemmell’s overall style of military fantasy and Morningstar fits nicely amongst the rest of Gemmell’s body of work.

Morningstar is based on the legend of Robin Hood. Jarek Mace is a thief who lives in a little village in the forest and steals from the rich for his benefit, sharing the wealth with some of the villagers. Through small encounters with the armies of a warlord, Mace and some of the villagers become accidental heroes and leaders of a rebellion. Morningstar is about heroes. More specifically, it’s about how heroes are just like everyday men and women. Jarek Mace became the legendary Morningstar and the novel is the story of how that legend came to be. The interesting aspect here is that Jarek Mace is an amoral thief whose only concern in life is for himself. The creation of the legend happened because of a misunderstand act of selfishness. Much like self-fulfilling prophecy, once the legend of the Morningstar was created, Jarek feels increasingly obligated to become that person. A significant portion of the novel deals with Mace’s struggle to remain the man he always was or rise up to the occasion and selflessly save the people from the resurrected Vampyre Kings and a conquering warlord.

Magic in Morningstar:

The magic is organized in two different categories, magick and sorcery. Magick is the creation of illusions using tricks of light. Owen Odell regularly uses illusions to entertain patrons in the taverns and inns he visits. The purpose of illusions is primarily to entertain and Odell uses them to make a living as a travelling entertainer. What other use could there be for the Hatchling Dragon, a tick in which a baby dragon is shown to hatch for the crowd?

Sorcery is the kind of magic we’re used to reading about in fantasy novels. It’s harnessing the power of base elements, like heat and light or warmth and contentment, and combining them in a way to create or destroy. Sorcery is essentially a more advanced form of magick. It’s interesting to see Odell’s progression from entertainer to accomplished sorcery. By harnessing heat, building it and shaping it and mixing it with some light, he’s able to make fire. It’s not an original basis for a magic system but I find the relation between illusions and sorcery to be an interesting. One is the building blocks on which the other is created. Sorcery doesn’t seem to have any limitations. A certain character uses it to travel in time. Odell’s mentor, Cataplas uses his magick for necromancy, creating hellhounds out of dead animals.

The creation of a legend:

The story is told in the first person narration. The bard, Odell, tells the story of how Jarek Mace became the morning star from his point of view. It’s fascinating to see a character like Mace change and grow over the course of the book from the point of view of one of his companions. There are numerous books in which a character becomes a hero but the point of view is internal, we have that very same character’s point of view. The narration by Odell is also important to the main theme of the book. It’s not just a first person narration. Gemmell writes a framing sequence of an older Odell telling the story of Morningstar. He specifically tells the story from his point of you as opposed to the legend of Morningstar.

I really like how Gemmell address the fact that a true hero’s work isn’t done when the last evil man is slain. He has to replace the head of state. It’s not enough to wield sword and shield and defend the innocent. You can’t leave a power vacuum to be filled by the next opportunist in line. Mace was singularly adept at thieving, single combat and leading men into battle but he was next to useless when it came to administrating a city-state. It’s not the focus of the book by any means, but it’s addressed because it provides yet another example of why Mace doesn’t think he is suited to be the legend everybody thinks he is.

The tragedy of Jarek Mace is that he’s the only one, aside from Odell, who is aware of the irony that he, thief and overall scoundrel, is acclaimed as a hero of the people. He’s the only one to struggle with the idea that a rogue such as he can be a hero to others. It takes him a very long time to realize that a hero isn’t remember for who he was, but what he did. It’s a person’s actions that are remembered through the ages, not the individual.

The quest of a hero is accidental as is the creation of a hero. The first half of the book is mostly Owen Odell and Jaerk Mace escaping the armies of the Angostin and helping those they come across. Usually, Mace has ulterior motives for helping others (acquiring gold and other riches) but over time, rather rapidly, the legend of his accomplishments as the Morningstar begins to grow. They’re pretty reactionary until the middle of the book where they uncover the evil plot of Cataplas. As always, Mace goes along reluctantly, urged on by his followers which continue to increase in number. It was never his intent or his goal to become the hero of the people. There is a force pushing, urging Mace to fully embrace the legend. It’s not his destiny, though. There is no cosmic entity forcing him to take on the role. Gemmell is arguing that it’s the choices of Mace and his company that were made along their journey that ultimately made a hero out of Mace. He could have run away on numerous occasions but he continuous decided to stay and help those in need. The fact that he often had ulterior motives doesn’t matter because the end result was so positive. Regardless of his reasons, his selfish acts often times didn’t earn him the riches he was working for. Without his wanting to, Mace’s selfish acts were made selfless.

The novel is also about identity and the conflict that every individual has to be true to themselves in spite of exterior influences. It's primarily characterized in Jarek Mace, of course. His internal conflict is a result of the polarized versions of himself, how he sees himself and how others choose to see him. There are similar conflicts of identity with other characters. Young Ilka who is forcefully living the life of a whore and her desire to leave that life behind. Piercollo who doesn't like violence and only takes part when he thinks it's necessary. His love of cooking and singing contrasts with the way others see him because of his giant and muscled body, the body of a warrior. Owen Odell who despite having made his choice long ago t 

o become a bard and magicker, is constantly reminded how he, a bard and magicker is nothing like the brave warriors that are his father and brothers. Even Cataplas whose endless pursuit for knowledge has made him a villainous sorcerer in the eyes of strangers and old friends sees himself very different. His goal in life is the endless pursuit of knowledge, not understanding the amorality of certain types of knowledge.

With Morningstar, Gemmell manages to tell a story that has many similarities to his other works but also defies the genre. The juxtaposition of real events and the story told of them tears down the romanticism often found in the fantasy genre. It’s such a strong element of the genre that it was jarring for me, a regular reader of fantasy, to read about such a complexly flawed character such as Jarek Mace. To know that the hero of the Highlands dismissed the suicide of a woman who loved him as a trivial matter was shocking. It resembles the anti-hero archetype of which we see everywhere today but Jarek Mace is of a different breed. He struggles with both sides of himself and Gemmell told his tale, through the mouth of another, in a beautiful way. He also wrote some kick ass action scenes because he’s David Gemmell and I expect no less. I would recommend this book to anybody who’s ever complained about the lack of single volume fantasy novels or fans of heroic fantasy. 

The Blog Fantastic 004 - Dark Moon review

I've read a few David Gemmell books before, his Troy trilogy and Legend, the first of the Drenai series. I quite like him. His stories weren't filled with magic; he seems to prefer writing in the military fantasy mode. It’s been a few years since I last read a book of his but I don’t remember any other fantasy creatures and races in his books. Legend was a clean cut military fantasy novel dealing primarily with a siege and the battles surrounding it. His Troy trilogy, despite dealing with the story from The Iliad, didn’t deal with many creatures although there was a lot of talk about gods. Again, all three books focuses on military campaigns and those involved with the conflict. Whatever role magic played in those books, it was small. That’s definitively not the case for Dark Moon.

Based on the books by Gemmell I have read, his writing excels at fighting scenes and descriptions of violence. He’s also very good at writing warriors and other characters who deal with war be they healers, politician or other. Gemmell also has a good grasp on strategy which is an important skill to have since all five books of his that I’ve read deal with a military conflict of some sort. He’s also good at writing believable and interesting characters without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary information. His characterizations are quick and unburdened. In short, I’ve read books by David Gemmell in the past and I’ve really enjoyed them. I have no clue why I haven’t read more until now.

With Dark Moon Gemmell offers us a standalone fantasy novel, something few people can and have written. It's understandable why, so much world building goes into it that I can see why an author would like to write a story set in a universe they create without it being a universe they created from the ground up specifically for one story. The other problem with world building seems to be that some others things more is better. More detail translates into more books necessary to develop the world in the entirety of the author's vision. Gemmell doesn't seem to care about the amount of detail in Dark Moon. Instead he focuses on character and story. If the details of the world he created aren't necessary to the story they're left out. However, the elements he kept feel familiar her fresh. 

The book starts during the seventh year of the War of the Pearl. The Pearl is now in the hands of one of the four Dukes but the senseless war continues to be waged. The Duke in possession of the Pearl, an artefact belonging to one of the three Ancient Races, unknowingly unleashes an evil upon the world which long ago had been imprisoned by the Eldarin. A war that was being fought for greed and selfishness turns into a war for survival against the ferocious Daroth. Gemmell leads us through the conflict from the point of view of several interesting characters and all are profoundly affected by the situation taking place in the land of the four Dukedoms. The novel is permiatted with a deep sense of unknown and a possibility of change. Most of the characters are deeply changed by the novels end. None of the character development is reached by means of lazy storytelling, it’s all deserved.

Gemmell begins his book by introducing fascinating character with Tarantio and Dace who are two souls sharing a body, or at least that’s how it seems. The story only begins to solidify dozens and dozens of pages later. The author makes it clear that well developed characters will be a defining element of the novel. Tarantio’s unique relationship with Dace completely enthralled me as did the relationship of other characters later on in the book. Karis, the independent field commander, was particularly enjoyable to read about it. She has difficulty interacting with other people but in no way was this harmful to her development in the book.

The Complexity of War in Dark Moon:

One of the best things about Dark Moon is Gemmell’s meditation on war. It’s absolutely fascinating and it’s a subject he writes about with clarity and ease. By focusing his writing on characters and story, Gemmell is able to display various points of view and philosophies of war through most of the characters in the books. Very few of them share an opinion of war; a clear indication that war is as sensitive an issue in this fictional world as in our very own.

War is a complex issue and simple solutions rarely exist. Gemmell is clearly aware of this and he doesn't attempt to simplify the issue. Tarantio, although he doesn't like war nor approves of it, is opposed to Duvodas's peaceful philosophy. Like the golden skinned Oltor of old, Duvidas refuses to fight. To do so is to go against one’s nature according to Tarantio. He disapproves of war but also disapproves the total absence of fighting. Does Tarantio only believe in fighting for certain causes? Perhaps it's acceptable to fight for the defence of something important such as your beliefs or your way of life? If that is true could there be such a thing as a justifiable war? Tarantio's disapproval of the War of the Pearl is not reflected in his acceptance of the necessity of the war with the Daroth which is quite literally a war for the survival of the human race. Gemmell's decision not to simplify war and to discuss it intelligently with his reader is appreciated and it’s one of the book's strengths.

Gemmell seems to be indicating that war is a foolish undertaking by grown men who are really just children. The reasons for going to war are rarely, if ever, good reasons. He judges these decisions based on the negative outcomes that come with armed battle. Take a look at his main protagonist. Tarantio is a peaceful man. More often than not, he's engaging in combat in self-defence or in the protection of someone else. Yes, he is a warrior and he's paid for waging war but he takes no pleasure in it. When you consider Dace, he's very much the opposite. He relishes the feeling of killing someone, often time playing with his prey. Violence is the air he breaths and blood the water that sustains him. He's animalistic in his ways and it shows through his action and his desire for violence. Like and animal or a child he bases his actions on his instinct and his desires. By characterizing Dace in this way, Gemmell is also informing us of the type of people who engage in armed conflict. They too are children in adult bodies, waging war out of greed and pettiness. Tarantio mentions at one point that if he war ever ends his wants to become a scholar and by doing so he can benefit the world.

Albreck, the Duke of Corduin also feels like war is an exercise in futility. He is forced however to leave one war in order to engage in another. This second war, the war with the Daroth, is one for survival. This doesn't erase the fact that it is still a war, violence, loss and death abound but what else can be done? With the warring dukes, there remains a chance, however so slight, that peace can be brought on by negotiations. No such hope exists with the Daroth who are but a nightmare brought to life.

Gemmell makes us think of war and without necessarily a great deal of effort convinces us of that it’s a horrible thing. He then forces is to assist a new war in which none of the characters had much if any hope to survive. It’s a bit cruel but it helps to deepen our appreciation of the price the people must pay in order to obtain peace in a situation where military conflict is inevitable. Two options are given, fight or die. It seems clear what most people who choose to do but that’s not the case for every character in the book.

Gemmell doesn't limit his commentary on war to the senseless violence and death. He also deals with it from an economic and political point of view. The Duke of Corduin is as preoccupied keeping the city at peace than he is worrying about the Daroth. The city faced a hard winter with alarmingly low food rations to go around. As food stores emptied, the prices of food items rose accordingly and without much time passing by many city dwellers were on the verge of famine. Albreck did not stand idly by; he took it upon himself to buy all the available food so that it can be shared evenly with the populace thus avoiding much conflict amongst those who are starving. But suspending private trade did not solve all the city's problems. One of the other unsavoury aspects of war is that there will always be someone who tries to profit from the situation. The merchant Lunder in this case, sold food at already high prices but under delivered every order under the false pretences of not having enough food in his warehouses to properly fill the order. His defrauding of the city led to unnecessary additional suffering for the sole reason of personal prosperity and wealth. What's even more despicable is that Lunder was already a very successful merchant before the threat of war and famine were at Corduin's doors.

War, even senseless war, is almost continuously allowed to exist in this pseudo-medieval setting because there is a constant supply and demand for mercenaries and soldiers for hire. Tarantio has fought with and against several other characters in the book. Not because he will fight anybody but because nearly all available soldiers do it for the money regardless of how little they receive. Tarantio is far from the only character to fight for money. To them, it’s a way of life. What could these people do without a battle to fight? How do you make a living when the only thing you know how to do is fight and kill? Again, Gemmell asks difficult questions but he doesn’t provide easy answers.

The World of Dark Moon:

The most expansive element of world building in Dark Moon is the three Ancient races of the Eldarin, the Oltor and the Daroth. Little is known of the Oltor. They have golden skill, are adamant pacifists and healers. The Eldarin are furry skinned (like a rabbit’s fur) individuals who are the primary wielder of magic. They also despise violence and refuse to use force even in self-defence. The Daroth, unlike the Eldarin and the Oltor, live for violence. They are unable to socialize with others because any interactions with others lead to conflict. The Ancient races provide the mythological backbone to the story being told but the focus is squarely placed on the human characters and their problems. Gemmell also uses the Oltor and the Eldarin as a counterbalance to the pro war arguments and characters. He also uses them to included environmental messages in the book.

The map of the land is very simple if somewhat loose in its definition. The book has no map for the reader and we’re forced to use our imagination guided by Gemmell’s descriptions. Here’s the gist of it: there is a sea to the West and a vast desert to the North. Below the desert there are two Dukedoms in relatively close proximity separated by a small mountain range and forests. Below that there is yet another mountain range, this one more expansive than the first. There are two more Dukedoms somewhere in the south. That’s about all the information given to us and to be quite honest it’s plentiful. Although it can be very interesting and pleasant to read, overly detailed worlds are not a necessity in fantasy fiction and Gemmell proves it well with Dark Moon.

Magic in Dark Moon:

When starting to read Dark Moon I was looking forward to stepping away from dragons and magic for a while. It turns out; if that’s your intention you probably shouldn’t read Dark Moon. Sure, it there are no dragons, but magic and other fantasy creatures are well at home in this standalone novel.

Magic is related to and is part of nature. It emanates from it and is a quality of it. Sorcerers will use objects and creatures found in nature to power their magic. Healers and other magikers (Gemmell’s term) also use natural objects with magical properties to allow them to wield magic. When Brune gets his eye fix, Aldrin uses a coral stone to power the healing. Having no inner magic, Aldrin’s ability relies in using the magic already present in an object. Without it he is but a common man.

Duvodas grew up among the Eldarin and for that reason he is in tune with the magic of the land. Duvodas is more sensitive to magic and the changes of the land than most other men and for this reason he notices the change in magic when entering a city where the walls and foundations disrupt the flow of magic just like they disrupt the natural elements. We can read from this that the Eldarin society is close to nature much like elves are in most fantasy books. This is one of the ways that Gemmell while creating something new, the Eldarin race, makes it feel familiar. You could criticize Gemmell for creating something that isn't very different from a staple race of the fantasy genre but I won't. He could have easily use elves in his story and modified them even less without garnering any criticism for that choice. The fact that he chose to work harder and to create new elements for his book in order to make the world of Dark Moon unique is admirable.

Sorcery exists in opposition to magic in Dark Moon. It's something more attuned to what we consider magic in the real world. Potions made of rare and exotic ingredients, strange incantations, human sacrifices and other such things. It's not a natural force of the world harnessed through the mind and body, its most about using the strange and dark things that exist in the world in ways that produce effects not intended for those items. It's a malevolent activity that generally destroys instead of create, that sickens instead of heals. Magic can also be an advanced for of meditation where the user puts himself in a trance and can travel the land in spirit form. It requires concentration and the user must fight the urge to return to the body. 

I wanted to take a moment to comment on the cover. I like the cover. Initially I wasn't blown away but my appreciation for it has continued to increase. The artist is John Bolton. I've mostly seen his work in comics but he also does painting and other stuff. Neil Gaiman wrote and directed a short film about him. Look at Tarantio. He looks awesome. The colour of Karis’s face is odd but it looks deliberate. Covers specifically and art in general are one of the reasons I like fantasy. We've all seen a cover that sucked us right in and made us want to buy or read the book. I can think of a few times this has happened and I'm sure it will happen again in the future. I'll have to keep that in mind and make a post of my favourite fantasy novel covers of books I've read and books I haven't read.

One biggest disappointment with the book is the ending. My complaint is in two parts. The first part is that the ending felt sudden. Gemmell spends roughly a third of the book preparing for the conflict with the Daroth and the conflict itself last roughly 50 pages. Sure, those fifty pages where great, but it felt slight considering what preceded it. The second part is that Gemmell spends the entire book demonstrating the complexity of war only to end his book in all too clear cut a fashion. The resolution was too sudden but it was also to clean. It’s unfortunate that Gemmell wasn’t able to stick the landing as well as I would have hope. Had he done so, I would recommend Dark Moon to anyone, readers of fantasy or otherwise. As it stands, Dark Moon is an excellent book but if you’re looking for detailed world building à la Robert Jordan, this might not be the book for you. It’s harsh, it’s violent and it’s uncompromising in its portrayal of war and those who take part in it. If you’ve enjoyed previous Gemmell books, I don’t know how you could go wrong by giving Dark Moon a try.