The King Beyond the Gate

The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell, with its familiar setting and new characters, allows itself to stand alone in the Drenai Tales series. As a distant sequel to Legend, where all of the characters from the first have become legends themselves, new characters arise to engross the reader in a thrilling and heroic tale. The pacing and fluidity of the novel make it an easy read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Tenaka Khan faces a problem unlike any other. With the hatred still existing between the Drenai and the Nadir, being born into both worlds has left Tenaka Khan alone and without a home. He finally finds a cause worth his focus in the assassination of Ceska, the evil emperor of the Drenai who has created Joinings, half-man and half-beast, to terrorize and place fear in the people. Along the way, Tenaka Khan runs into some old comrades, Ananais, a great general, and Decado, a great warrior priest. All three come together, along with the help of many other enjoyable characters, to attempt to eliminate the evil that resides in the Drenai lands under the rule of Ceska, even with the horrible odds. I relished in The King Beyond the Gate, more so than Legend for the simple fact that it involved just as much fighting but also contained much more sorcery with the addition of the Dark Templars and the Joinings. It was a fun read and I look forward to picking up the third in the series and seeing how the history of The King Beyond the Gate is told in the next. I would highly recommend this read to all, even those looking to find a new adventure to bridge the gap while they are waiting for another series' installment. Everyone enjoy!

This was a good book. The story NEVER gets boring. And the battle scenes are everything you expect from Gemmell. The characters are good; my favorites are Pagan and Decado, the Ice Killer. I think that is a strong point in this book. Gemmell has great characters that the reader will enjoy. The story is good too. Definitely worth reading! I still think Legend is #1!

This book is the epitome of what a good heroic fantasy novel is supposed to be. The characters are all to human & run the range of emotions with a clarity that is almost eerie. David Gemmell is without a doubt the BEST fantasy author ever to pick up the pen. Only Paul Edwin Zimmer has written Heroic Fantasy of this caliber (with his 'Dark Border' novels). WARNING-Once you read Gemmell's books, you will have a hard time accepting the cheesy, boring fantasy stuff being pumped out by lesser authors...

this book is impossible to put down. Tenaka Khan is a hero worth reading and the charecters in this book will make you laugh,cry, and belive in heros