The King Beyond the Gate (Drenai Tales, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

David Gemmell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1994

Once the mighty fortress had stood strong, defended by the mightiest of all Drenai heroes, Druss, the Legend. But now a tyrannical, mad emperor had seized control of the fortress, and his twisted will was carried throughout the land by the Joinings --- abominations that were half-man, half-beast. Tenaka Khan was a half-breed himself, hated by the Drenai for his Nadir blood and despised by the Nadir for his Drenai ancestry. But he alone had a plan to destroy the emperor. The last heroes of the Drenai joined with him in a desperate gamble to bring down the emperor -- even at the cost of their own destruction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous Anne McCaffrey --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

David Gemmell is so committed to his work that he's offered to leap naked out of an airplane if it would appeal to readers. We haven't taken him up on the offer. However, David has also acknowledged that three of his major influences were Louis Lamour, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Stan Lee. Tolkien wrote back, Lamour passed away before David had any opportunity to contact him, and Stan Lee lived thousands of miles away from David's British home. One out of three wasn't bad, but it could be improved upon.

We were at the San Diego ComicCon, rustling up new readers, and David had just finished a two-hour continuous signing. A friend of mine spotted a familiar face, so I excused myself and darted away, returning a few moments later to say, "David Gemmell, I'd like you to meet Stan Lee." A tall, ruddy, and normally poised individual, David was struck speechless. Here was the man who, through his Marvel Comics stories, had reinvented the relationship between heroes and villains, forever blurring the barriers between good and evil. Before long the two fantasists were chatting away happily. Stan's wife, Joan, being British, was especially gracious to the London-born Gemmell. And Stan quickly demanded an autographed copy of LEGEND.

David's a dynamic storyteller. His lands live and breathe. His heroes are mighty swordsmen, ax-wielders, and post-apocalyptic adventurers. In their prime they were the best in the business, but in David's tales, they've often passed their prime, so all they really want is peace and quiet. But life (and the author) aren't that kind, and these heroes are forced out of retirement, forced to face bloody hordes of the undead, armies from Hell. Worse, his heroes are generally saddled with young, green heroes. (Nothing drives you crazy more than a cocky kid.) But they overcome, and the cocky kids become heroes, too. This is great reading.
                                                                        --Steve Saffel, Senior Editor

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 17th ptg. edition (December 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345379055
• ISBN-13: 978-0345379054
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,428 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable book - Read Legend First, February 21, 2006

By 

Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The King Beyond the Gate (Drenai Tales, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

The King Beyond the Gates by David Gemmell is a follow up novel to the book Legend. This is not really a sequel to Legend though as this story takes place many years after Legend. This series of books is under the Drenai Tales, so it really is just a collection of stories under the Drenai banner.

After reading Legend I was very intrigued by Gemmell's style and flow. For some reason I find him very easy to read. Not easy in the sense that his books don't have character development or a good plot, they have both, but easy in the words he uses and how he writes. The reader is not required to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out what the author is saying. For those looking for a quick escape, Gemmell is definitely an author to look to.

The characters of this book are what really drive this story. Gemmell seems to have a knack for creating very believable characters that the reader can't help but care about. Characters from Tenaka Khan to Scaler are all interesting. They all have `something' that makes them standout on their own within the novel. Each character in this book has faults and insecurities; they are not this all powerful character that the reader knows will never die. The flaws are not some trivial little thing the author throws in there to try to make it interesting. There is a hard edge to some of the characters who know they may die. I don't think I could talk about the characters enough in this book.

The plot of this book was slightly disappointing to me. I feel that this plot is very similar to the plot of Legend, but with a different set of characters. Heroes from the past come out of the hills to stop a great evil and fight a large scale battle. Gemmell tries to throw a couple elements in that are different thereby making the story seem fresh and new. He succeeds, but only to a point. To me, this is not a big problem as I enjoyed each novel by themselves, but I can easily see readers being frustrated by the `recycled' feel this book may have for some.

For those thinking about reading this book, I would suggest starting with Legend and then moving to this one. That way you will understand some of the back story of this book. If you are a fan of fantasy and are looking for a fairly easy read then I recommend this book with no reservations. However, if you are looking for a deep involving plot with multiple characters and locales this book is probably no the best for you. In the end I think this is a fun book to read and think many would enjoy it as well.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and fluid..., July 21, 2005

By 

Matthew Watt (TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The King Beyond the Gate (Drenai Tales, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

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!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you crazy? No way to describe the book in one line., November 17, 1999

By 

Faebinder "malec" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The King Beyond the Gate (Drenai Tales, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lets put it this way, I bought the book the first edition it came out. Till now, I still reread it. I read Waylander before it and I couldn't believe how good that was until I got knocked off by King Beyond the Gate. I hate to compare the book to books from other authors, but seriously, the book shines even in the presence of the 200 fantasy books in my collection.