Ravenheart: A Novel of the Rigante

I am a hardcore David Gemmell fan. Ive read everything I can get my hands on, including all the Drenai books, the Stones of Power, Knights of Dark Renown, Mace, and the first two Rigante Books. An entire shelf's worth of books, when you get right down to it. I stumbled over Gemmell about 4 years ago now (I think) and was struck by the thought 'How come I never heard of this guy before?'. I bought Legend first, and went back to the bookstore the following day to clear the shelf of every scrap with his name on it. Thus marked the meteoric rise of Gemmell to the top of my favorite writers list, to keep company with RE Feist and Dave Duncan.Basically, Gemmell is the Louis L'amour of fantasy fiction. Sure, Gemmell's books are a tad formulaic for the most part, but since the formulae is a good one, I think I can live with it. Gemmells gift lies in telling the story of confident and skilled characters in a world of low-magic and gritty adventure. His action scenes are cinematic, and his characters dial in heavily with "cool" factor. Waylander, the Jerusalem Man (Jon Shannow), Druss, et al; Gemmell has a flair for bringing real hard bitten & tough heroes to life in a very concise but informative style that gets the story moving. You wont have to sit thru 10 pages describing the morning sunlight upon the dew-laced leaves of the BLAH BLAH BLAH to get to a single sentence of import. Gemmell has the gift of precise but descriptive language. As a former journalist, I suppose he was always under word-restrictions for his columns or something. Anyway, its refreshing in a genre lately filled with 1000 page monsters in which nothing happens.All that said the Rigante series, started with Sword in the Storm and closely followed chronologically by Midnight Falcon take a different tack from Gemmell's usual formulae; rather than following a hero or band of heroes somewhat past thier prime facing overwhelming odds, the series follows the exploits of its central character from youth to adulthood. Further, the books are set in a variant Celtic parrallel to the british isles. Normally Im not a fan of Celtic flavored books that endlessly re-tell the Arthurian and/or Celtic myths in pointless variations, but fortunately these 3 books do not fall into that category. All three books are great, but while I enjoyed Ravenheart very much, it isnt as good as the first two. Unlike Sword in the Storm or Midnight Falcon which essentially tell the tales of 1 central character each (though MF did give a secondary character some play, it was primarily focused on the main character), Ravenheart is much less focused on any one individual and instead tells the story of a collection of characters. Ravenheart is set 800 years after the 1st two books, and much has changed in the lands of the Rigante. The Rigante clansfolk are a conquered people in an age-of-muskets timeframe to an oppresive white-wigged people from the immediate south. Very Scottish v English in other words. In fact, I was

David Gemmell is one of the best authors I have ever read. His books pull you in and you feel you are living the life of a Rigante. His writing is poetic and his characters are so life like you feel they are alive. His literature is addictive and I find myself re-reading his books sometimes three times."Ravenheart" proved a joy to read. Kailen Ring, Maev Ring and Jaim Grymauch fill your heart with pride and love. His characters are not perfect which is a reason you can relate to them. The conflicts between the highlanders and the Varlish are well thought out and the human emotions are written so well you experience them along with the characters.This book combines the elements of magic, love, and war into a novel worth reading. Few books cause me to shed tears but all of the Rigante series have thus far. This book moved me the most. I cannot wait to re-read this one and to read the seaquel "Storm Rider"

I have NOT read this novel as yet, though I am quite sure, having recently devoured the entire Drenai series (to date) by David Gemmell, that this will live up to his usual spectacularly vivid and compelling standards of storytelling and myth-creation. Gemmell is truly a master. HOWEVER; The above editorial review lists The Rigante series as beginning with Gemmell's 1984 novel LEGEND. Be aware in purchasing this book, that the Drenai Saga (of which "Legend" is the first novel), and this series are two separate series! Legend is Not the first novel of The Rigante series, but of the Drenai series. Having read all of the Drenai books, I can heartily recommend them to anyone who cares for vivid and gritty storytelling. Most reviews say things such as "you won't want to put it down", or "don't open this book unless you're prepared to read it all in one sitting"... In the case of each novel of Gemmell's I've read, this has not been hyperbole, but truth. Long story short; Gemmell is awesome, and a seriously fun and entertaining read.

It would appear impossible for David Gemmell to write a bad book, all of his stuff sits at the top end of the scale. Over here in the UK we were lucky enough to get this some while ago and are now in eager anticipation of the next. This one is the third in the Rigante series which has a very loose base on the English/Scottish battles from way back, but you need no knowledge of British history to enjoy this, but there is a Braveheart element to it! Most Gemmell books may sit in a series but can be read on their own, this is unusual as it does rather link into the next book, but it will not detract from your enjoyment. The flawed central character is based a little on one of Gemmell's relatives who recently died, and this was a worthy tribute to him. As always, well defined characters and strong action scenes. Ask not if this book is good enough for you, ask if you deserve to read it!!

We've seen the characters and the settings before. We've seen the plot before. But who cares! Mr Gemmell spins such a good story that it doesn't really matter. As always the characters are well developed and the action sequences first rate. Reading a new Gemmell is just like your favourite chair after a hard day. Get it, kick back, and enjoy.