Morningstar: A Novel

Gemmell is a great writer, but he does one thing particularly well...he makes you actually care about the characters. This is the story of the legend of "Morningstar" told by an old bard/wizard to his imaginary friend over dinner one day. The story is to important to allow a real person to hear, so the protagonist passes the time with ghosts. The Morningstar is in reality nothing more than a common bandit who through a set of circumstances is thrust into greatness...but unlike other books with this theme, the morningstar continues to be a rogue...That is until the war breaks out and an evil necromancer tries to resurect the vampire kings... then someone must act...Despite being dislikable, the morningstar attracts quite a follwing and he can be described as a robin hood/conan compilation... A really enjoyable book with a great ending that doesnt leave room for a sequel, but at the same time we know that the morningstar will be back... anyone who reads this book (which i suggest you do) will understand what im talking about...

I've been reading fantasy since junior high. (Almost 20 years). I enjoyed the Hell out of this book. It completely transcends the typical, blah, two-dimensional fantasy novel and offers us the true irony behind the forming of a legend - about a "hero" who is several rungs below the decent. It is a rites of passage awakening for the main character (and reader?) as he sees his supposed idol caught between the desires of his selfish nature and the misguided perceptions of the world he lives in. Great character development. Dark Irony. No powder-puff BS. Classic!

Even thought the first person point of view is an experiment for Gemmel, it works well in Morningstar. As with most of Gemmel's works, the heroes are motivated by something less than heorism, evil is relative, and trajedy intertwines with triumph. But Morningstar has even more heart than Gemmell's typical excellence.This is Gemmell's best. Buy it, read it, and relish it.

I give David Gemmell's Morningstar: -5 Stars for the writing-style -5 Stars for the characterization -5 Stars for the depth of the story -4 Stars for the story itself The average of this is 4.75 Stars, which I round up to 5 Stars. Remark: Although the story is quite simple at the beginning (small force of outlaws rebelling against tyrants), it gets original soon enough. And, most important, it is all very logical. Re-enforced by great characterization, good English and some depth to the story, it makes this book very good.

Well, these reviews are for the benefit of those who might be interested in the book so lets start... Well, this book is written in true David Gemmell style as his other fans would probably testify. Heroes with plenty of flaws, companions who are more than just bit players...they have a real character and display it every chance they get. Well in this book I love the style he uses... the never ending story style mixed up with a narrative style..keeps you going. ..it also lets you know that the story was well planned from start to finish...David Gemmell knew where he wanted to finish and how and proceeded to write his story. This book is gripping...no doubts about it.. I loved it and think it's one of his better books.. buy it and read it. You won't regret it. I personally rate this book a wee bit higher than The Quest For Lost Heroes which was my fav David Edding book.