Dark Prince [Paperback]

David Gemmell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 1993

The chaos spirit had chosen the child Alexander to be its human host. But Parmenion, most powerful warrior of ancient Greece, had won a small victory over the darkness that sought to rule through Alexander. The boy's soul had not been destroyed by evil, but instead had merged with it -- and now Parmenion aided Alexander in the battle between light and dark that constantly raged within him.
But there was another world, where the creatures of Greece's legends still flourished. There, the chaos spirit already ruled, through a demon king. In this Greece, there was a prophecy that a child of great power, the legendary golden child, would come and restore the fading magic of the land to the creatures of myth. The demon king believed also that devouring the heart of this fabled child would give him immortality. He believed Alexander, with the power of the chaos spirit within him, to be that child. And so he called Alexander into his world . . .
Only Parmenion, guided by the seeress Derae, his lost love from another life, could hope to save Alexander from the demon king. But who could save the young prince from the chaos spirit that threatened to conquer his soul?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Reading this sequel to Lion of Macedon is like reading a compressed, accelerated Lord of the Rings crossed with the classic Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror." Preternaturally precocious 4-year-old Alexander is kidnapped by Philippos, a demonic parallel-universe twin of King Philip of Macedon. Philip's strategos (chief general and strategist), Parmenion, and Philip's assassin, Attalus, form an uneasy alliance in order to retrieve Alexander. Passed (by the sorcerer Aristotle) through a portal to Makedones, a world geographically similar to but historically different from their own, they must first find Alexander and then make their way through hostile, enchanted territory inhabited by magical creatures to a rendezvous with Aristotle. But Philip of Macedon isn't the only person who has a twin in this parallel world, and as Parmenion discovers more about Makedones, he finds that the similarities rather than the differences are the most troubling.

There are two stories here. First, Alexander's mystic quest for redemption (carried out by the chosen few) and Parmenion and the Spartans' parallel last-ditch battle (fought with ordinary weapons); then, David Gemmell follows Alexander and Parmenion home. Although they have beaten a horrific demon in Makedones, they have yet to face the demons of Macedon: Alexander's life and soul are at stake in another battle against darkness.

Review

' Britain's King of Heroic Fantasy...a story to devour at a single setting' GMI 'Fascinating...the ending is a triumph' INTERZONE --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 572 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1St Edition edition (February 10, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345379101
• ISBN-13: 978-0345379108
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,017,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Gemmell was born in London, England, in the summer of 1948. Expelled from school at sixteen, he became a bouncer, working nightclubs in Soho. Born with a silver tongue, Gemmell rarely needed to bounce customers, relying instead on his gift of gab to talk his way out of trouble. This talent eventually led him to jobs as a freelancer for the London Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Express. His first novel, Legend, was published in 1984 and has remained in print ever since. He became a full-time writer in 1986. His books consistently top the London Times bestseller list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greek myths come alive!, March 26, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Billings, MT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Prince (Paperback)

This book was wonderfully written. Gemmel had a wonderful idea with this book of the series. Although I must say, this book is not for young readers. Yet, to others, I must say you need to read this book if you like mythology.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Greek fantasy epic !!, September 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Prince (Paperback)

This sequel to The Lion of Macedon takes the great General Parmenion to a mythical Greece, where fantastic creatures of legend and myth still live...satyrs, dryads and centaurs abound. Parmenion must survive in this new land to find his son, Alexander, before the Dark God does. This is an epic struggle where he must save his son and the world, from this horrible evil, and his own heart, over the one true love he thought lost to him forever. A wonderful book for hours of enjoyment! A ten is given overall, the author is able to make you feel powerful emotions with the story and gives you characters that you truly know. Don't miss this book!! Also look for Stones of Power references inside, such as: Pendarric, Fallen King of Atlantis (Aristotle), and the Sipstrassi stones (gold veined with black)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alexander as it might have been..., August 3, 2006

By 

Mason Sorgdrager "Mace" (Albury, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Prince (Paperback)

This is a companion review to Lion of Macedon.
Dark Prince takes us back to the David Gemmell reconstructed world of ancient Greece. There are a whole heap of goings-on that occurred in Lion of Macedon that led to certain events in Dark Prince, but to tell you them would ruin Lion of Macedon for you, so I won't.
Anyway, this is rather a strange book. It retains some of the feel of Lion of Macedon but is completely different in many aspects. A significant portion of the novel is spent in an alternate reality Greece where mythical creatures such as centaurs and minotaurs still roam the Earth. There is also an evil Phillippos of Makedon to contend with.
Alexander is an extraordinary child in many aspects. He has an extreme constitution and a very high intelligence for one supposedly four years old (in the first third of the book). Actually, despite the possession of the Chaos Spirit, I did still struggle to deal with the adult-like conversations and concerns of the toddler Alexander.
The book improved for me greatly when the setting resumed in the Greece we knew from Lion of Macedon.
Still, in all, this novel had what one expects from a David Gemmell. Heaps of battles, the odd love scene, sword fights a-plenty, revenge, betrayals...
If you pick up this novel expecting an historically accurate re-telling of the Alexander myth, then this is not the novel for you. But, if you are looking for a rousing tale of friendship and loyalty set in a similar world to the ancient Greece we know and love, and a familiar David Gemmell world, then you will not be disappointed.
In my opinion, this sequel does not live up to the heights of Lion of Macedon though. However, it had a satisfying ending that tied together loose strings very nicely.