Customer Reviews

Ghost King

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well, one time I was coming home from school, and wandering through the Cincinnati airport looking for something to read. I ran across this book, and devoured it on the way home. (For some reason, the little kiosk in the "Puddle-jumper" concourse of the Cincy airport always has good books...it's uncanny, really)

For all intents and purposes, this is a re-working of the Arthur story, where we meet Arthur as a young Romanized Briton. He gets taken in by a near-immortal Atlantean warrior after his father is killed by other nobles, and trained to take care of himself. He then goes on a quest to find the sword his father threw to the Lady in the Lake, in an alternate universe ruled by an insane Atlantean sorceress.

What's really interesting is that Mr. Gemmell weaves a lot of real-life history into his work, making it very realistic. It is indeed far more likely that the "real" Arthur was simply a Romanized Briton, fighting after the Empire's exit from the Isles. The Legion that he finds in the Mist was actually destroyed, except for its auxiliary cavalry, in the Iceni revolt; instead, in this, they were exiled into the Mist in a fit of pique.

The Sipstrassi stones are also interesting...they allow magic, but a limited supply exists, which is a good limiting mechanic.

This is a very good book to pick up. The second in the series is a sequel, and then the next three are the rather unique John Shannow (post-apocalyptic gunslinger) novels, which are worth their weight in gold. They're set in the same continuity, also. Much of the cosmology (particularly the cataclysm bits) derive heavily from modern fringe theory. I won't go into that, but to say that it's never had a better use.

I've read all of David Gemmell's books except for the Stones of Power series. Book One is another gem. Loosely Arthurian, Prince Thuro, later self-named Uther Pendragon, is a teen hunted by the assasins of his father. He learns to become a man and a leader of warriors seeking justice on two separate worlds (dimensions). Unlike the Drenai series, this story claims roots in Earth's history and legends of ancient Western culture.

One of Gemmell's gifts is telling a story of adventure and fantasy while exploring shades of good and evil within a person. Good people will do terrible things in fits of anger or perceived need for the greater good, and bad people will inexplicably or deliberately do an act of kindness that makes a difference. This story is no exception, or is exceptional as a Gemmell story--and for that I am grateful. Uther, Culain, Korrin, Goroien, and Gilgamesh are some to watch in this vein.

David Gemmell past away in July, which means a great loss to the fantasy genre of complex warrior heroes. He is one of my fantasy heroes I will sorely miss, except when I reread his stories. Ghost King is another classic that you will find a good story, lessons on living life humbly and straight forward, sacrifice, and of course heart pounding adventure.

As a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy writing, I dread The Storyline. You know, the cookie-cutter model that almost all sci-fi and fantasy adheres to? Insert young boy here, father dying there, beautiful girl here, add a dose of magic and a few sword fights and volia! A fantasy novel. You all know. That's why you're reading these reviews, looking for something a little different.

But not too different - we're happy in our comfort zone of magic and dragons and heros... we're just ready for the young boy to do something besides fight the evil forces for his father's throne with the aid of a beautiful woman, a knight by his side... and maybe a wizard or two thrown in for good measure.

So don't be fooled by the idea that this is just another Arthur remake. It's anything but! And after reading it, I'm kind of insulted by the comparison. Yes, his name is Uthur. Yes, there's a lady in the lake. Yes, there's a magical sword. But the story is much more than that! The details in Arthur that define it are mere afterthoughts in this, they are almost insignificant to the main themes of this story.

This book deals with ties to Atlantis. Roman Britons, the Sipstrassi stones, and some pretty fun battles. Uthur turns out to be an extremely likeable character.

This is book 1 of 5 in the "Stones of Power" series. If you're a big fan of fantasy and sci-fi, the entire series is highly recommended. But if you hate sci-fi, just read the first two books. The last three take the idea behind the stones of power - and indeed, have some of the same characters - but strays from the romantic era to a mythical future where the world has toppled (literally), and the world is once again ruled with a six shooter.

Ghost King is the first novel within the loosely associated "Stones of Power" sequence. Basically, this sequence is heavily concerned with Stones of Power, also known as Sipstrassi. These Stones give wielders the ability to manipulate things about them, like "magic", but they are also like batteries that eventually lose their power (as evidenced by black veins appearing on the stones, until the whole stone becomes black and is useless). They can be "recharged" though (this is discussed in the later period Jerusalem Man books and the method used to recharge Sipstrassi isn't very nice). Anyway, I am off topic.
Ghost King is also loosely based around the Arthurian saga, though, apart from the odd name here and there, it really bears little to no resemblance to a traditional Arthurian re-telling. To enjoy the book, you will need to move past the knights-in-shining-armour mentality very quickly.
At the beginning we meet our hero, named Thuro. But he isn't much of a hero. He is a bookish young man whom a strong wind could blow over. Anyway, several key events occur that sweep him into the stuff of legends. You follow him on his path, like when he meets the mysterious Culain, who, judging from many posts I have read remains among the most respected of all Gemmell characters.
It is really a classic "coming of age" story in a way and it is enjoyable because of it. Gemmell clearly researched well the culture and nature of the ancient peoples discussed, such as the Britons, Romans and Saxons. But this historical accuracy is combined with pure speculative fantasy. And, somehow, it all fits together to be a very enjoyable read and sets itself up for a sequel.
Ghost King is classic Gemmell set in a Dark Ages Britain...that never was.

This is book 1 of the Stones of Power series. It is a solid fantasy. Basically it is a reworking of the Arthur legend. The story is about what you would expect from Gemmell. Good writing, lots of action, and interesting characters. As the series progresses to book 2 and beyond, it changes into a more science fiction type of story. If you enjoy this book, go pick up Last Sword of Power, Wolf in Shadow, The Last Guardian and finished up with Bloodstone. Good series.

A fast-paced epic adventure needlessly based on the King Arthur Legend.

Story:
After his father is assassinated, a sickly prince named Thuro must become a powerful warrior to restore order to the kingdom. While being hunted by dark spirits and bounty hunters, Prince Thuro escapes into a parallel dimension. Unfortunately, this dimension is ruled by an insane immortal sorceress.

World:
The setting is the European Dark Ages with battles between the Romans, Saxons, Angles, and Jutes.
The parallel universe has magic, foul beasts, undead, and an evil sorceress.
The series its name from "Golden Magical Stones" that essentially enable the wielder to cast spells.
The parallel universe is so well written and interesting, the ties to Roman history feel a bit extraneous.
The book would have been just fine without this.

Writing Style:
David Gemmell is one of the best writers of epic/heroic fantasy of all time. His characters act as real people in difficult situations, not idealistic archetypes. The action is gritty and violent. His stories are inspirational. There's also a lot of insight to the human spirit in his books. His only flaw is that he is formulaic. After you've read about 10 of his books, you start to see the same scenes over and over again. Ghost King is under 300 pages and contains epic struggles in two different fantasy universes. As a result, the story moves at an incredibly fast pace.

Fantasy Overload:
This book has everything!!! A Sorceress, Immortal Heroes, Battles, Castles, a Magic Sword, Beasts, Undead Spirits, etc... There is almost too much in the book. It also seems unnecessary to name the main character Uther Pendragon (after Arthur Pendragon), and have a Lady of the Lake, an Excalibur type sword, Romans, etc... This book didn't need any of that. It would have been just fine as a completely original 'boy becomes a man and fights evil' story.

Action:
As with all David Gemmell books, there's LOADS of action: Fist fights, skirmishes, epic battles, monster slaying, heroic duels, undead battles, etc... This book is crammed from cover to cover with every type of action you can imagine. You'll feel the thundering hooves of the cavalry, you'll see the bloody swath as a sword slashes through an enemy soldier... It's all great.

Maturity:
There's tons of violence with a bit of gore, and some adult situations, but nothing overly graphic.

Overall:
This is a very fast-paced novel that is like a cross between King Arthur, Roman History, the Wizard of Oz, and Conan the Barbarian. If you're looking for a Robert Jordan deep world adventure, you wouldn't like this. But if you want tons of action in a fast paced story with strong characters, then you really need to pick this one up. I didn't think this book was as good as Gemmell's Waylander, Winter Warriors, Legend... because it moved too fast. You never really get to settle into the characters. But if you want some light reading with tons of action, this book is perfect.

A Gemmell-esque take on the Arthurian theme. Britain is entering the Dark Ages, and no-one is doing a lot about it. A Witch Queen and a bunch of undead just make things worse.

Then Culain, the Lord of the Lance, a once immortal hero decides to take a stand. He alone knows what the Witch Queen is.

He just needs allies beyond the young boy with potential, to do be able to do something about it.

In short, this is a retelling of the Arthurian myth, and it starts by telling Uther Pendragon's story. Uther, who is named Thuro, is the gawkish boy similar to Arthur who is a misfit in his father's kingdom, eventually becomes a man, then a king, and this book appears to follow a pretty standard formula.

I got about 30 pages in and was pretty well turned off by this book. However, I kept at it, in an effort to be fair. Around the time Thuro's father is assassinated is when the book really gets going. The scenes between Thuro and Culain were what kept me going at first, and then the introduction of Prasamaccus sold me on the book as a whole.

The charaters are very well written. The interactions between them is what makes this an enjoyable read. The plot is sometimes fleshed out in a rather dry way, but those passages were for the most part easily skipped, and I didn't miss anything.

Anyone who is a fan of Guy Gavriel Kay should pick this up as light reading. Anyone who loved this book should really pick up Tigana by Kay. The approach to character is very similar, and Kay is able to keep a complex plot going without making it sound like a history recitation.

Although I am not a big fan of historical fantasy novels by nature, I have really enjoyed reading this series very much (along with his other historical fantasy tie-in to this series 'The Lion of Macedon' & 'Dark Prince'). Once again Mr. Gemmell works his literary genius & brings us believable, flawed characters that are likeable & distasteful at the same time. His ability to weave strong character driven storylines is what always end up putting him on the top of the 'must read' fantasy novel list. What I like especially about the Stones of Power series, is how it spans from our past to our future, explaining many of history's biggest mysteries along the way (Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, Greek/Roman Mythology, etc). As Gemmell himself stated in the introduction to this novel...this is not necessarily the way history/legend was in reality, but it's the way it should have been! ^_^

Chaos and terror stalked the realm. The king had been slain by traitors, the sword of power had been lost, and savage armies--led by the Witch Queen's minions--swarmed the land. All hope lay with young Thuro--in whose veins flowed the blood of kings.

I highly recommend this book to all. Gemmell is perfect again. Go get this book.