Last Guardian (The Stones of Power: Jon Shannow Trilogy)

Gemmell's commitment to his readers surely shows in his work. He delivers, and you get good action with mind-blowing ideas and concepts. Jon Shannow is the legendary Jerusalem man, feared and hated by many, but those who become close to him get to know the real pain inside him? He hopes not to be a killer, but still, the threats to the peace of the post-apocalyptic world force him to sling gun and shoot away at any evil that lives. He portrays a great world that mixes sci-fi, fantasy and myth. The frequent use of the Bible here is a great idea. And the ironic mix of Shannow as a Bible reader and heroic killer is fascinating. The way Gemmell weaves Bible lore and history together with his own telling of how the 'actual' events happened is cohesive, beautiful and telling. You can't go wrong with his books if you want action-fantasy.

While most sequels are underwhelming retreads of mealticket stories, some do manage to outdo, or at least match, their predecessor. 'The Last Guardian', sequel to the amazing 'Wolf in Shadow' is the latter; it doesn't quite better the first, but is an awesome story nonetheless.Gemmell manages to take the character of the Jerusalem Man in a new direction, keeping true to the original source material but adding new details and nuances to the story. 'Last Guardian' does what many fail to do; keep the flavour of the original while expanding and adding to the mythos it created. And like 'Wolf in Shadow', 'Guardian' bookends the amazing story with a creative knock-your-mental-socks off finale that will have you turning back pages just to relive the action. Gemmell is a master storyteller and not only knows how to create characters, but guide them through his fantastic stories. Another near-perfect creation.

A deadly power burst forth from ancient Atlantis. For the gate of time had been torn open, freeing a cataclysmic evil. Only the last guardian, Jon Shannow, the legendary pistoleer, could shut the deadly portal. But to accomplish this he would have to find the shining Sword of God. I highly recommend this book. Gemmell is perfect again. So go out and buy this book.

This book is great all the way through, following Jon Shannow trying to have a break from being himself. Jon finds himself trying to go to the other side of a large wall where men have been trying to climb and pass with no success, the land seems to be run by lion-men, men have been mysteriuosly turned into walking lions and soon the great beasts of the wild themselves. The sword of God is an interesting part in the story as the reader wonders how sword could be suspended in the air. Also the story has a link with Atlantis as a gateway has opened between the past and the present, a tidal wave aproaches Atlantis with the capabilities of destroying the past and the future.

This is far and away Gemmell's best ever. Firstly his portrayal of Jon Shannow. His unwavering faith in his ethical system is all the more astounding because it he doesn't actualy understand it totally. Keeping his cool is the secret of his success.Then Daniel Cade, Shannow's brother who, reacting to the same event that made Shannow an evangelist (the slaughter of their parents) became a notorius bandit leader. As a large army begins to eat into his territory, he claims to be inspired by God to unite the bandits and farmers against the invaders.All in all an excellent book about the power of faith and what people will do if they believe God is on their side (something that applies equally to both sides).