Dark Moon - Gemmell Newbie...

[Adasunshine]

Hello

Am completely new to David Gemmell but I'm staying at my mum's and I had no books to read so sitting in my little bro's room I notice Dark Moon. I pick it up... I've barely put it down.

I am really enjoying it and am keen to read his other material so, what would you recommend I look at? Does he have any standalone's or are they all pretty much part of a series?

Did anyone else enjoy Dark Moon? Is it one of his better works or lesser?

Thanks in advance.

Ada
xx

[sanityassassin]

I can't beleive you've never read Gemmell before Ada to be honest when I first read Dark Moon I didn't think it one of his best but enjoyed it a lot better the second time I read it he has a few stand alone books like Knights of Dark Renown, Echos of the Great Song and Morningstar, but most of his drenai books can be read without reading the others but imo you will want to read them all. As for suggestions KoDR and Morningstar are really good and I am a big fan of the Jon Shannow books(Wolf in Shadow, the Last Guardian and Bloodstone).

[the_faery_queen]

i liked dark moon. his one offs are really good, esp knights of dark renown. that's my fav i think. but his drenia books are the best. legend in particular will always be one of my fav books ever. you can read those fairly indepedantly, unless they're specifically a two or three parter (like waylander 2 )

congrats on finding a great writer. sorry if that sounds patronising, but i think he is great

so yeah, i enjoyed dark moon, but i can't remember it that well, which is a sign it's probbaly not as great as some of the others i DO remember well, like knights of dark renown, legend, the waylander, king beyond the gate. i tend to think that if i have only read it once, its good, but not great, unless i can actually remember that it sucked. in which case id remember that and say so so yeah, i think it's good, but not his best

[Blaine_Owynspar]

I gotta say that Dark Moon is one of my least favorite Gemmell books. Morningstar is a good play on Robin Hood and it's my favorite stand alone.
If you read Jon Shannow it might be helpful to read Ghost King and Last Sword of Power first. They're both a play on King Arthur but still very good. You really can't go wrong with anything you pick up with the name David Gemmell on it. Especially if you liked Dark Moon.
Off the topic but does anyone know if Joel Rosenberg's writing is anything like Gemmell's?

[Adasunshine]

Thank you all for getting back to me!

I've now finished Dark Moon and I really enjoyed it, it was a nice easy read and the story was good!

I've seen the Wolf in Shadow book which appeals to me mainly because I have a thing for wolves (it doesn't matter if they're in the story or not) so maybe I'll start there...

As for Dark Moon, if it's one of his lesser works then I have a lot to look forward to as I enjoyed it a lot. The story flowed easily and the characters were interesting, I particularly liked Tarantio/Dace and Forin. Duvodas was ok and Karis was good to read. I will definately be keeping an eye out for his other works now...

Thanks again

xx

[sanityassassin]

wolf in shaddow is my favourite DG book but it is not the usual fantasy story but more of a post appocolypse(excuse the spelling) when the world ended and surviours are without the technology but are starting to regain it and are up to around the 1800's weld west type but it is full of action and twists and is a great read

[Blaine_Owynspar]

Wolf in Shadow is a really, really good book. Up there with Legend and Waylander.

[ladyflorange]

I read Dark Moon and enjoyed it but I wouldn't say it was his best. The Damned series (White Wolf and Swords of Night and Day) are better, as are the Rigante series starting with sword in the storm and a lot of the Drenai, especially the Waylander books.

[Jack]

I did love Dark moon, one of the best characters he has done in a while. IMO a lot of them are a bit samey in a way. I liked Echo’s of the Great Song too, but the 3 Waylander and the 3 Jon Shannow books are my favourites and are at times very cinematic but that just may be me?
Gemmel did very good heroic fantasy, they are no Robin Hobbs, but are very enjoyable all the same. Hope you enjoy them now you have found them

[Caesar]

Dark Moon was the first Gemmell book i ever read, and it is still one of my favourites. The main character is still one of the best he has written. I like the different races he had aswell, as in most of his others Gemmell doesnt really have any others apart from humans and demons

[liamclarke]

if you liked dark moon i would suggest winter warriors it is in no way connected but i think winter warriors is a very good book full of action and the characters are aging not your average young heros also it is the first gemmell book i read and probably the one that has stuck in my mind the most because of that but it is by far not his best i would say white wolf or sword in the storm were among his best but sword in the storm is slightly different in the way of action is few and far between it focusses on the main characters life growing up the most so id say read his stand alone books first get a feel for his writing then go on to a series id say rignate which begins with sword in the storm.

[Connavar]

A question about Wolf in the shadow, in the order of seprassi books Ghost King and Last sword of power is before right?

Cause i bought Wolf in the shadow people letting me to believe Jon Shannow was his own series and not part of seprassi tales or power of stones whaever the correct name for the series is.

[Rahl Windsong]

I thought Dark Moon was a good story, I especially liked the parts about the bard character that could sing rotten fruit and sour milk good again. Am I remembering the correct story here? It has been so long since I read that book.