Customer Reviews

Quest for Lost Heroes (Drenai Tales, Book 3)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I could've sworn I already wrote this up. Oh, well.

Chronologically, this is set after The King Beyond the Gate, and before Winter Warriors, making it the next-to-last book in the Drenai Saga. It is set in New Gulgothir, the pitiful remnant of the Gothir nation, that we first saw the Nadir crush at the beginning of Legend.

In this novel, a boy's quest to rescue a fellow villager from slavers crosses that of Chareos, Maggrig, Finn, and Belzer, the four survivors of an epic stand against the Nadir horde, led by Tenaka Khan. Ever since, the mysterious circumstances of that survival have dogged them, and now they learn the vast cosmic reason for their survival.

This is, in my opinion, Gemmell's second best novel (only to be bettered by Legend). He writes best about how people go about dying...not the "littering of bodies", necessarily, but the decisions and reasons people make, and the circumstances they face, and how they present themselves. It's an utterly beautiful novel, and it sets up another great story that's itching to be told.

I heartily recommend this novel.

Having read most of Gemmell's excellent novels, this novel especially shines as one of my favorite novels in the series, as well as in the entire fantasy genre. Gemmell is without a doubt one of the best authors in the fantasy genre. Highly recommend this novel, as well as the rest of the Drenai Saga Series.

David Gemmell creates characters you start off disliking but in the end you cry for. I got so caught up in this book i could barely but it down. I recommend this book to everyone. It's a great book. I've read it twice.

David Gemmell fans are among the most rabid and loyal fans any author could enjoy. Several of my friends bristle when an ill word is spoken of the late Mr. Gemmel's work. And it was upon their repeated prodding that I finally decided to read one of his books. I was told Quest for Lost Heroes was as good as any place to start. The story follows Chareos, a cynical war hero and master swordsman who is drawn into a quest to help a young villager rescue the girl he loves from slavers. Soon, the rest of Chareos' comrades in arms (renowned heroes of a battle years past) join him. But this simple rescue mission thrusts them into the middle of a dynastic intrigue with the fate of their civilization at stake.

I wanted to like this book. But it was a disappointment for several reasons. The first half of the book is largely set up, with little action or drama to drive the story. I actually put the book down a couple of times. Fortunately however, once I reached the halfway point, the story took off and became far more readable and engaging. But the climax proved to be underwhelming and the ending felt rushed and patched together. Another frustration is world itself. Aside from brief mentions of succeeding empires (the Drenai, the Gothir and the Nadir), there is virtually no effort to describe the people, places or cultures that inhabit the world, not even a map. Consequently, one has no sense of bearing in the story or the world.

With a few exceptions, the characters are not much better. They're not ill-conceived, just underdeveloped and not particularly compelling or engaging. Two of the main characters, Finn and Maggrig, were so faceless it was distracting. However, there were a few characters that were exceptionally well realized. One in particular, an ambassador named Chien-tsu, was absolutely captivating. And although I didn't find Gemmell's prose to be particularly exceptional or deficient, I do admire the notions of heroism, honor, fellowship, perseverance, sacrifice and redemption that are thoughtfully explored in 'Quest.' Such themes are becoming increasingly rare in modern fantasy it seems to me. It is for these glimpses that I have hope for his other works.

In this particular novel, a young man's village is raided by slavers, and he sets out on the generic quest of rescuing his love, captured in the raid. He is even helped on this quest by the legendary heros of a recent war, Chereos a master swordsman, Finn and Magrig the archers, and Beltzer of the axe. But the generic quest turns out to be no simple task, and their hopeless errand turns into something more than the mere rescuing of a comely peasant girl.

David Gemmell has a way of bringing real life practicalities into his fantasy, his characters are old cynics, drunkards and selfish. Few and far between are the stereotypes of fantasy: the sage that has an answer for anything, the ubermensch or hero without a weakness or flaw. Instead you find characters you might mistake for people in the real world, with realistic motivations and character flaws that make you squirm in disgust.

Granted, Gemmel is not the best author. As a teenager I read this novel and longed to live in this fantasy world. As an adult, I read it and see that it might have been rushed, the plot not entirely fleshed out. Regardless it is a fun distraction that might end too soon for more than just a few, and I enjoyed it no less than I did ten years ago.

-Steven

David Gemmell has done it again. I didn't think he could bring new life to the same type of storyline and quest as his first two, but he has with Quest for Lost Heroes. The writing is crisp and clean, allowing the reader to absorb the pages and without ever wanting to put the book down. His action and dialogue are second to none in fantasy and the characters he has populated in the Drenai world make this book, like his first two, enjoyable to read.

Kiall's village has just been attacked and the woman he loves has been taken away for the slave trade. His small quest will lead three others to join him.

Chareos the Blademaster has been trying to find good in the world as a priest after his years of fighting. But he can never escape his historic past and birth. When he decides to help out Kiall, this small quest turn into something that could change the world.

Beltzer the Axeman shares the historic past with Chareos, but his basic instincts will show his character, even though some of his actions bring that into question. Along for the journey are the famous bowmen, Finn and Maggrig, ending their quiet lives in the woods.

With two nations nipping at the heels of the group, Gemmell has given the reader a tremendous amount of action and depth of character to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The thing that separates Gemmell from his predecessors in fantasy and the current fantasy giants is his appreciation for the history of the Drenai world. He connects the dots between his books so the reader is able to relive some of the scenes from previous books and also learn a little about what happened after the last book ended.

The magic might be subtle in Gemmell's books, but he includes just enough sorcery to quench the reader's thirst for a complete fantasy book. If you have not read any of Gemmell's books yet then start with Legend. You will be pleasantly surprised. Enjoy!

Quest for Lost Heroes by David Gemmell is the third book in the Drenai saga. The first book is Legend and the second is The King Beyond the Gates, both good books. In this book, Gemmell follows what he does well, that being a hero coming out of the past to complete a quest. I don't want to knock Gemmell, but changing things up a little may be helpful once and awhile.

As I mentioned above the plot for this book is straight forward Gemmell, if you have read Legend and The King Beyond the Gates and enjoyed them then I have no doubt you will enjoy this one as well. As with other Gemmell books, this plot is well thought out and moves along at a brisk pace. There is little `down' time in this book, it seems to dare you to put it down and walk away from it. There are some elements in this book that are not found in the first two books, but in my opinion they add considerably to the books power. I can't really explain them here for fear of spoiling something for someone. In my opinion this book is the best one I have read of Gemmell yet, keep in mind I have only read the three listed above though. There is a very good plot twist towards the end that really drives this book and one that I honestly didn't see coming. I think this really solidified the book in my eyes.

The characters in this book are classic Gemmell with a few little tweaks and additions to make them seem like something new. However, one character really stands out and develops very well within the pages of this novel and that would be Kiall. The development of this character is fantastic and well done. The reader is drawn into his quest and really feels for him through his trials. The other characters in this book are equally entertaining as well. For some reason Gemmell's characters really draw me in and get me to care about them.

In the end scheme of things, Gemmell's work will not be considered the Best of the Best in the Fantasy realm, but for those looking for a good tale with some good characters, give Gemmell a try. I have really enjoyed the first three books. This is not Epic fantasy by any means, but there is a good story here none-the-less. Fans of books set in the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance worlds should really try these books, there are lot of similar `feels' to those and Gemmell's work. I highly recommend this book to all fantasy fans.

This is by the best of the Drenai series, and I will go out on a limb and say it is THE BEST stand alone fantasy of all time. (The books are only loosely connected. You can read one with out reading the others, or read them in any order you wish.)

The novel is fast paced. The action is crisp and exciting. Yet it is not a shallow novel at all. There are some deep themes that run throughout.

The characters are great. These are the best Gemmel has done, and he does great characters. They are all flawed, but their flaws do not keep them from being heroic and likeable.

Gemmel introduces some new cultures here to and it works very well. For the first time he has some "chinese style" characters (my favorite in the book) and a "jungle/rainforest" type character.

The plot works great. A group of heroes start off on what at first seems like an insignificant quest to rescue a peasant no one cares about. Each has his own motivations for taking this on. Soon we see that the quest was much larger (and important) than it at first appeared to be.

All told this novel is brilliant. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you read Gemmels first two, then you owe it to yourself to read this one. If you have not read Gemmel, do not worry, this is a GREAT novel.

Same basic setup only by this time in the series the great fortress at the pass that was defended by Druss has been overrun by Nadar for real this time. The cast is arrayed thusly...

A monk who is a former champion of a great battle who is really conflicted about some of his past decisions in which his actions caused men to die.
A drunk axmen who is really conflicted about some of his past decisions most notably his tendency to drink to great excess.
A pair of foresters also veterans of the last battle who are not in this case conflicted but are probably engaged in some form of a relationship with each other considering that they have been alone in the woods for 15 years.


I am not being entirely serious with this view (you can probably spot the parts I mean)
I love GEMMELLstories to death. God help me I am hopelessly addicted to this guy but we all have to be honest and realize that certain character templates get used over and over again.

"The main thread concerns a party of Drenai heroes following the trail of a woman kidnapped by a slave caravan. The leader of the party is also being pursued by henchmen of an arrogant nobleman that he offended"

This was posted by a previous reviewer it is a plot thread that we have seen in DAVID GEMMELL stories before and will see again make no mistake. People who read these books just need to realize that and go ahead and root for the good guys anyway.

I enjoyed the first 2 books in the Drenai Tales Series and have become a fan of David Gemmell. I was disappointed to read a rather shallow highbrow review of this book and almost chose not to buy it. I am glad I did. Not only was the book in keeping with the standard set by the previous 2 books. I believed it added a new dimension to the series.