Review - Troy 1

Troy: 1. Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell

David Gemmell writes easy, enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable, fantasy. I read half a dozen or so of his Drenai books, but I couldn't tell you now what the plots of any of them were, any more than I could tell you what they were called. Whilst each was a passable read, I stopped, I guess, because at the end of The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend there wasn't any pressing desire to read any more.

That said, when I saw that Gemmell was returning to historical fantasy with his novelisation of the story of Troy, I was intrigued. When I saw that the local library had it, I decided to give it a try.

Be under no illusion. Gemmell's doing nothing groundbreaking or particularly new here. This is a heroic fantasy filled with the characters you'd come to expect from his work: The lonely career warrior driven by revenge; the enigmatic leader with a haunted past; the Independent Woman.

I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. Gemmell sticks to what he does best, which is to write fast paced stories. The action sequences are pretty good, and the bits in between develop those familiar characters quite well. For a by-the-numbers heroic fantasy you could do much worse.

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50 book challenge 2006:

1 = The Soldier's Son Trilogy: 1. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb [review]
2 = The Wheel of Time: 11. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan [review]
3 = Conclave of the Shadows: 3. Exile's Return by Raymond E Fiest [review]
4 = The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman [review]
5 = A Song of Ice and Fire: 4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin [review]
6 = Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz [review]
7 = Troy: 1. Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell

Next = The Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman