| Title | : | Dark Moon: A stunning, high-octane page-turning adventure from the master of heroic fantasy |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 418 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1996 |
Dark Moon: A stunning, high-octane page-turning adventure from the master of heroic fantasy Reviews
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I was given this book by a reader of my own work. It was a rather special present as the book was signed by David Gemmell "To Mark". Not to me, some other Mark, years earlier. But since DG is sadly no longer with us it's the closest I'll get to a dedicated book!
I'm a big fan of Gemmell's work. This wasn't my favourite of his books but it has a lot to recommend it.
To me it had a rather Moorcockian flavour to it, with strange non-human races introduced (three of them) and plenty of 'classic' magic thrown in. That felt a bit dated to me, and the writing style jumping quite rapidly between multiple points of view in places wasn't particularly to my liking.
However, Gemmell is a fine writer and there were two interesting characters that saved the day - firstly the female mercenary leader turned general, Karis, who despite her slightly awkward I-can't-have-a-serious-relationship-with-a-man-cos-my-father-was-a-bastard backstory was quite fun, and secondly our split-personality hero with his peerless sword skills, Dace/Tarantio.
The whole 'defeat the baddies' siege story that develops in the second half is fun and there's a fair bit of creativity. A decent read with enough Gemmell polish on it to earn 4*.
If you're looking to try Gemmell on for size though I would start with Sword in the Storm.
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This was an enjoyable enough standalone fantasy story. Not that I'd not consider it one of Gemmell's better stories, but is was still worth reading.
Humanity have vanquished the ancient race of the Eldarin and the Dukes that rule the four major city states in the region have been warring over possession of the last remaining magical artefact of that lost magical race. A pearl of great magic. The ambitious Duke Siriano is a sorcerer and while seeking to harness the power of the Pearl for his own ends he discovers its true purpose. It was a spell trapping a war hungry race called the Daroth. Siriano's meddling releases the spell and returns the Daroth to the human world. The Daroth are powerful creatures and easily destroy two of the city states killing thousands. The best of the humans gather at the third city in a bid to hold back the Daroth.
The story mainly focused on the exploits of three people. The pacifist mage Duvous, he was trained by the Eldarin before their fall. The troubled female warrior Karis, a brilliant general who inspires loyalty. The last was Tarantio, a brilliant swordsman who shares his body with a bloodthirsty alter ego named Dace. Together they and a host of secondary characters must work to save their city from the invading Daroth.
It was fairly interesting. The main flaw was in Gemmell's slightly disconcerting writing style. The POV's jumped around a bit too much for my liking. Often a few times in the same scene!
Rating: 3 stars. -
Dark Moon doesn’t pull any punches. It has sex and violence, both dished out unsparingly. The latter is of a pretty graphic nature more often than not. In short: It’s grim as hell. This is probably also what makes the novel work, since the characters are very, very believable for the most part, and before you know it you’ll find yourself caring about what happens to them, even though many of them have almost no redeeming qualities. It seems that Gemmell actually understood human nature better than most.
I’m not sure what one of the other reviewers was referring to, but there are no orcs or elves or dragons or any such to be found here. Instead, there are three powerful elder races that have disappeared from the world and are now only known through myth and legend. I suppose an argument could be made that the Oltor are representative of the traditional Elven trope, but even that would be a bit of a stretch. The plot of the novel revolves around the return of one of these three races, the Daroth. Unfortunately, they aren’t the nice guys and without further ado set out to slaughter humankind. Quite literally. They’re also invincible and unstoppable, which is obviously a bit of a dilemma…
An aspect which drives the novel, with admirable results, is the “troubleshooting” dynamic. Faced with an enemy that defies conventional rules of war, the humans have to come up with some pretty creative ideas and strategies in order to survive.
It is military fantasy, and it’s all rough and dirty. It’s also a stand-alone, which is pretty rare. As for pacing: I can’t remember when last I’ve seen better. If you like Gemmell, you might as well read this, you could certainly do worse. -
“You know what talent makes us great?”
“No.”
“The best of us just never know when to give up.”
And that is why my dear author is known as "his hero’s journey is always more tragedy than triumph".
Did I just fucked ten years of my life and half of David Gemmell's books by not reading them in original language?!! -
Brilliant another masterstroke!!!
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**Should Read as 4.5 Stars!**
This excellent heroic fantasy is a book with a deep message that can be called in my view, its better to have true peace of mind than to wage blind savage war.
Story-telling has been again of a superb quality, the story is greatly structured and executed, and all characters with their highs and lows come vividly to life in this story about human frailties and shortcomings against toughness and prowess.
All characters can be referred to all kinds of cultures, and all with their positive and negative influences in life, whether dealing with other races of people and/or different kind of circumstances.
This book is mainly about three people who will each live and die in this world of love and hate, and of peace and war, and they are Karis, a warrior-woman of renown, the formidable swordsman and split-personality, Tarantio/Dace, and the magical Healer, Duvodas.
In this dark world, at first there was the original Oltor people, only to be slaughtered and demolished as a race just like and closely followed by the peaceful Eldarin, and all the hands of the power hungry Daroth, who are intent on ruling the world on their own, and with no resistance.
What is to follow is an astonishing heroic fantasy, where light and peace v darkness and evil will come to the forefront, and in which battles will be hard fought, but in the end where those who are seeking peace will be triumphant, and all this is brought to us in a most wonderful fashion by the author.
Highly recommended, for this is heroic fantasy at its best, and that's why I want to call this great humanlike tale: "A Bright Dark Moon"! -
Dark Moon is a stand-alone fantasy novel -- a rare thing, in my experience, and thus worth a read for that alone, I thought. It has a lot of fascinating ideas and characters in it: a warrior with two personalities; a warrior woman troubled by her abusive past; a harpist raised by a gentle and non-violent race, who gets pulled nonetheless into death and destruction. The world is surprisingly rich in history and detail, considering it's a one-shot, and without being overburdened with it, either. It feels natural.
There were parts that troubled me -- the magical healing of disabled people, for example, like nobody could be a whole person with a limp or a damaged eye. The constant use of the word whore relating to a woman who is sexually active with more than one partner. But there are counterpoints to some of this in the narrative, and Gemmell doesn't shy away from presenting his damaged, unhappy characters as strong and worthwhile people.
He doesn't go gently on his characters, so the end of the book feels something like real life: a horrible compromise, with lovers dead and the world utterly changed, but nonetheless, with hope for the future. -
I was a massive fan of David Gemmell and gutted when he left us far, far too early.
His legacy is a range of fantastic books, mostly fantasy. This is one of his rare books that is a one off and not part of a series. It’s not quite up to his best but still way ahead of so much out there.
A world at war with itself and a Duke takes a desperate step to use old magic to gain advantage. Sadly this allows the return of ancient seemingly indestructible enemy who seek total annihilation of humans.
Ancient knowledge and force of will may not be enough to help the human race survive, but they have a fighter with darkness within him and a female leader famed for her ability in battle and tactics.
Lots of familiar themes here used by Gemmell, including a siege and a warrior with unworldly skills, but a strong female character and supporting cast balance out the familiar.
I read this when it came out so a 25 year gap before picking this up on kindle, so glad to find it hadn’t aged and I still got swept up into a well told story. -
8/10
Second stand-alone book that I read from Gemmell and, I have to say, that I found Dark Moon quite enjoyable and well written. Of course I wouldn’t put it along with his best books, but it has good action, beautiful characters, a touch of humor, which is a bit rare coming from Gemmell, and most important, an interesting story.
The Oltor, an ancient immortal race, leaved peacefully in the Four Duchies for many years until two other races, the Daroth and the Eldarin, came through other worlds so they could find new lands. The Oltor invited them to share what they had but the Daroth proved to be an evil race that wanted everything they had and so they killed them.
The Eldarin though, seeing that the Daroth wouldn’t stop there and that they could destroy the entire world, made sure they would not hurt anyone else anymore; and so they vanished from the face of the earth.
After that, came the humans, who brought their own wars, until the last of the ancient races faded through history.
Now, Duke Sirano, an arrogant and selfish magician, having found one of the last relics of the ancient Eldarin will try to discover its secrets but what he will find is something he didn’t believe he would ever see again. But now their world is once again threatened and a new great war will begin; only this time they will have no one else to help them.
Through this war three unexpected heroes will try to defeat this enemy, but the price for their salvation of the humanity is, perhaps, even greater than they believed.
As I started the book I have to admit that some parts of the story, and especially some ideas, reminded a lot of
Echoes Of The Great Song as in both books Gemmell mentions of the gates from the other worlds and about the “Great Song”.
Of course I do not know if it had simply “stuck” in his mind or if he used the same ideas and wanted to develop them more in
Echoes Of The Great Song since both were published within a year apart. But all other similarities stop there, although both books have definitely the same style.
Besides all that I really liked how Gemmell manages, through this “small” story, to develop the characters (which I believe he does it quite good) and also make some great heroes.
The story on the other is pretty good, though definitely not perfect, as it keeps the interest until the end. But I think Gemmell tried really hard to make this story really epic only he didn’t quite reach it as much as in some of his other books. Of course in ending Gemmell has put all his talents, leaving a bittersweet taste that made me wish there was more.
Ελληνική κριτική: -
A lot of what's fallowing may seem like backhanded compliments, but Gemmell's one of my absolute favorite authors and they're really not.
You know when you finish a book and you really envy those who haven't read it yet because they can experience the joy for the first time?
Sure you can reread as many times as you want and it'll feel just as awesome, but you can't help but wish you were somehow able to read it again for the first time.
With Gemmell you kind of can. You can read one of his books, fall in love with his work, then read another one and it'll feel the same.
(I am not being sarcastic. This really is a compliment, just read on.)
I'm not saying the books are the same, The worlds are different, the characters are different, the stories are different, But I can guarantee you'll get the same feeling. The same awesome feeling and it's magical that the books still don't feel old or repetitive. It's really like you're reading a favorite for the first time. again.
That being said, his books are of course different in quality and this one for me is sort of at the bottom. By the way, the fact that my least favorite book of his still gets a 4-4.5 stars should really give you some ideas about his work.
You see, this book is really really mellow, specially compared to his other works. It's a good read, It's got awesome characters. We get the warrior woman and brilliant strategist Karis.
Who "Lives like a whore, fights like a tiger and looks like an angel"
And we get Tarantio, with a split personality, blue eyes and best sword skills in the world.
Just based on these two you can see we have no problem in this area.
The writing is simple and great like always. The ending is of course great in the typical Gemmell way.
The storyline is decent and the pace while not being the fastest is alright.
The problem really is what I pointed out earlier, the book is too chill. It doesn't have the emotional thrill rides of his other works, it doesn't have as many wow moments. It felt like the author didn't care about this story as passionately as he did his others.
Of course overall it's still great. If you're already a hardcore Gemmell fan you don't need to worry about being disappointed, but if you're new to his work, you should start with one of the most awesome books of all time named Knights of dark renown.
And then thank me later. -
Didn't enjoy this book as much as other David Gemmell novels. The story began interestingly enough, but as it progressed it seemed to increasingly lose focus. The opening character, Tarantio/Dace seemed to drift away from his own story and end up with nothing resolved. Instead, other characters were introduced who spent a lot of time talking about themselves, and talking about other characters, then talking about logistics, then more about other characters. It was hard not to imagine that the publisher had told Gemmell to pad the story with an extra twenty thousand words, just for the sake of wordcount.
There was a lot of promise and potential in the story, but by the end I felt as though it just fizzled out with the same lack of focus it suffered from early on. By all means, there are the classic siege and morality relativity typical of Gemmell's work, but in this instance it just didn't really come together very well for me. Not a terrible book, but pretty average fantasy fare and below average for Gemmell.
2.5 stars. -
A rare stand alone fantasy novel by David Gemmell about a mystical, non-Drenai world that was once inhabited by three ancient races, the Eldarin, Oltor and Daroth.
Enter our three heroes: the delightful dichotomy that is Tarantio/Dace, the tortured, genius strategist Karis and the musical healer, Duvodas.
"It seemed almost blasphemous to consider music in such a cold and empty landscape, but music was all he had, and his slender fingers danced upon the strings, sending out a stream of melancholy notes to echo among the rocks."
Re-reading David Gemmell has been a joy, like returning to a long-last friend and realising that the magic is still there, albeit with a tinge of melancholy: I am now much older in years from our first encounters and there are only a finite amount of Gemmell books... -
It was a very good read. Why then the 4 stars (and not 5) ? Because I have just realized that I am not experiencing this I-have-finished-the-book-but-I-am-already-missing-the-characters kind of feeling. So.
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https://delivreenlivres.blogspot.com/...
Les hommes ont éliminé la race paisible des Eldarin. De leur passage ne reste qu'une perle qu'ils convoitent tous car elle a grand pouvoir. Ce qu'ils ne savaient pas, c'est que cette perle était la porte de la prison des Daroth, cette race sans pitié qui menace maintenant de tout engloutir sur son passage...
Un des points fort de ce roman c'est déjà qu'il est assez original : mondes parallèles, races limite extraterrestres aux comportement uniques ... Je n'ai pas eu l'impression d'avoir déjà lu ce type de récit ou rencontré ce genre de races, malgré le fait que le livre date des années 90 et que l'auteur est un classique.
Le récit m'a réservé des surprises aussi. Il n'est pas allé la ou j'imaginais qu'il irais et il y a pas mal de retournements de situation. Les thèmes abordés sont d'actualité avec l’égoïsme des humains qui saccagent leur monde sans se remettre en cause et vont causer sa perte.
Par contre, j'avoue que je suis resté sur la réserve au niveau des personnages. En dehors de Tarantio (que je n'ai pas pu m’empêcher d’appeler Tarantino durant tout le livre xD) les autres n'étaient pas assez développés à mon gout. Il faut dire qu'il y en a pas mal finalement pour un roman qui fait tout juste 330 pages en grand format.
Par exemple Duvodas, le barde. On le rencontre sur moins d'une dizaine de passages rapides, c'est finalement très peu pour un personnage si important qu'on suis sur des années et sur qui repose toute l'histoire. Tout les personnages auraient mérités plus car ils sont intéressants mais survolés.
Il y a aussi le problème des cliché sur les femmes, on est en plein dedans. Finalement il n'y a que deux types de personnages féminins dans le récit : la vierge et la putain. Aucun entre les deux ou avec plus de nuances que ça. Ça m'a un peu refroidit. Karis est l'exemple typique de la façon qu'avaient les auteurs à ces époques la pour créer un personnage de guerrière : c'est juste un changement de sexe. Elle aurait été un homme que ça n'aurais strictement rien changé au récit et à la façon dont on la traitait, d'ailleurs elle se comporte totalement comme un homme.
Ceci dit j'ai bien aimé l'ambiance. Pour tout dire elle m'a fait pensé à celle du troisième tome du seigneur des anneaux avec le coté "grande bataille pour la survie de l'humanité toute entière". Je me suis bien attaché aux personnages qui avaient chacun leur personnalité propre et bien marquée.
Bref, dans l'ensemble ce n'est pas une totale réussite mais finalement c'est moins pire que ce que j'avais peur en commençant le lire, sachant que j'avais de mauvais souvenirs car j'avais déjà tenté certains des livres de l'auteur il y a longtemps et je n'avais pas aimé.
Du coup je pense que je suis prête à retenter d'autres livres et à lui redonner sa chance.
15.5/20 -
This is one of Gemmells' best 'stand alone' reads. When it comes to character description and depth there is only one master, and I have yet to find Gemmells' equal. I am so tempted to upgrade my 4 star review to 5 stars. And by the end of this review, I may do just that.
The dual characteristics and personalities of Tarantio (and Dace) are brilliantly done. Dace being the much deadlier swordsman than the more amiable Tarantio. And, this was a really good way to start the story. Build a really strong and complex character to draw your reader in.
Another great character (and dual/secondary lead) is Karis, the warrior woman general who has the best strategic skills for the coming war. Her complexity makes her one of the best female characters that Gemmell has written. And her skills are tested to the max as they face a war with the Daroth - a deadly, inhuman race that are hard to kill. The Daroth aim to wipe humans from the face of the earth, and they like the salty taste *smiling* (more of a *grin*, actually)...
Though Tarantio, along with Dace (you'll understand if you read this book) and Karis remain the best and main characters, many others are also really well written.
There are three ancient races, all of which have been destroyed, apparently. The sadistic Daroth, the magical and peace loving Eldarin, and the Oltor - known for their healing magic.
It may sound complex, but this is (IMO *smiles*) one damn fine read. Yes, I'll upgrade this book to 5 stars, and I don't give a book 5 stars so easily. If you doubt this, then take a look at my reviews on my 'Not-Good-Crap' shelf *smiling*...
Enjoy! -
I cannot overstate the immense respect I have for David Gemmell's writing. Dark Moon carried me away to a fantastic world of peril and romance and desperate hope. The promise of wonder I experienced reading the Jon Shannow series is fully realized in this stand-alone fantasy epic.
Because of the greed of a Duke, the Daroth, a uniquely horrific fantasy race, or pale immortal monsters have awoken. These immortals devour all they see, including the very spirit of the land. Swept up in the hasty defense of one mortal city are Tarantio, the greatest swordsman with two spirits sharing one body, Karis, a haunted warrior-woman (and a stellar character study of a strong, but tortured woman), and Duvodas, a healer who had been raised by the gentle Eldarin. Of course, with all of David Gemmell's books, the side characters are well executed and take on an emotional life of their own. All are round and fluid characters, fully realized, fully human.
It is hard to leave behind this world and these characters. More pathos and action are in this four hundred + sized novel then in many-volumed fantasy epics by other writers. I cannot think of a more poetically satisfying read for a fantasy lover, nor can I think of a more frightening and fully realized villain as the Daroth. My only wish is that some day these fantasies will be discovered by someone as talented as Peter Jackson and given life on the big screen. -
David Gemmell is one of my favorite fantasy writers. So I was happy to find this book on a recent trip to England. This is a stand alone fantasy book, which is also a rare thing.
In this book an ancient evil race that was thought extinct returns and in good David Gemmell tradition results in lots of bloodshed, heroic deeds and sacrifices in the face of overwhelming odds.
This book is actually very formulaic and very predictable. There is only one moment in the whole book when I was surprised. Up to that moment I thought that I knew how the story would unfold. that moment (which I'm not explaining because of spoilers) changed the course of the story, but I immediately knew the new course the story would take and I was right about this.
But this was still a very entertaining book because I really like David Gemmell's characters and his action scenes. I also think that Joe Abercrombie read this book, because there were some things in here that also seemed to show up in his the first law books.
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Dark Moon is just "pack-jammed" (my wife's way to say it) with interesting characters, sex, violence, weaponry, tactics and potent but small doses of fantasy. All in a compact single volume. I would not have minded if he had expanded this story to a larger volume or even another book. The heroine is the general commanding the forces against an immortal race implacably devoted to destroying all humans. Several complex, interesting heroes in the story. Unique and enjoyable. 3.5 Stars. Would have liked more on some of the various races and characters. -
This is the first book I've read by David Gemmell and now I can understand why others do recommend him. Dark Moon is a good, fast-paced, highly imaginative, and a hard book to put down. When it comes to heroic fantasy, this book is right up there with Dylan Doose in my opinion.
There is a lot of myth and not much fact on the Eldarin race during the war for the Pearl. The human race is facing extinction if they can not put a stop to the Daroth invasion. -
At least my third reading of this novel And I enjoyed it the most this time. Pace, action, world building and taut storytelling. I miss new Gemmell
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Un gemmell poco in forma
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This was my first David Gemmell book and I am very happy that it was! I was hooked once I was into chapter 2 and flew through the remainder of the book.
The characters are interesting and have some unique qualities. The world building is rich but not too heavy. This is an action packed, epic fantasy as a stand alone and I am living for it! I may have found a new favourite author... let's see.
Definition felt some Dragon Age and DnD vibes due to the Daroth threat and the characters with POV switching. This is definitely not a bad thing for me at all. (There was only one jarring jump in the whole book which is quite impressive considering how many there are).
Simply put, I stayed up late to finish this and I will be recommending it to people in the future.
Fantastic read. 4/5. -
3.5 Stars
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It's my favorite author. Should I tell anything?!?
Dark Moon is Highly Recommended.. -
We're back with another book review of a David Gemmell Book. Today it is the Sword and Sorcery book, Dark Moon. This is another Standalone Fantasy title that is somewhat unique for David Gemmell. As always Gemmell's writing is functional and fun to read.
Characters:
The cast of characters includes Tarantio who has a split personality, Karis a brilliant strategist woman that doesn't like being attached to anyone and Duvadal a man that is spent his life with a foreign race and learned their secrets. Tarantio's other personality is Dace a maniacal character that only seems to care for battle and killing. He is a badass that can kill anything that comes his way. Tarantio/Dace seemed interesting at first but they're not that deep; in fact, they're pretty much a one-note character. The same could be said for the rest of the cast. I can't remember most of the secondary characters and the other two main characters are forgettable. I won't spend any more time talking about them because isn't worth it.
The Book Dark Moon by David Gemmell
Plot:
The premise of the novel is that the humans who were afraid of the Eldarin, an ancient peaceful race, attacked them. The Eldarin disappeared when the humans attacked and they left behind a magical pearl. A duke named Sirano, with a tragic and sadistic backstory seeks to gain power from the pearl. He unwittingly unleashes the ancient Daroth who come to kill and conquer anything in their path. Tarantio and Dace seek to survive and deal with the threat as much as they can. While Karis is hired by a Lord to stop the incoming invasion. And, Duvadal tries to set up a life and bring back the Eldarin to help. Of course, things don't go according to plan for any of them. The plot was somewhat of a disappointment for me. I felt like this story has been done a thousand times already and nothing was particularly unique about it. A lot of the philosophy Gemmell weaved into the narrative was getting on my nerves and pulling me out of the story.
The Book Dark Moon by David Gemmell
Setting:
The setting is fairly standard for a Fantasy series. Other than including three other races and song magic that is. The three races are the Oltor, Eldarin, and Daroth. The Oltor were a peaceful race that are extinct because they didn't understand or have the capability to fight the Daroth. The Eldarin are also so similar and at the beginning of the story have disappeared with no one knowing where they have gone. The Daroth were a warrior race that destroyed everything in their path and were sealed away by the Eldarin. The song magic is only used by one man and he learned from the Eldarin who learned from the Oltor. He uses it by playing his harp which changes many things like how people perceive things and can heal among other things. I would say that the setting is ok. Worldbuilding was never one of Gemmell's strengths so that comes as no surprise.
Closing Thoughts:
As always Gemmell's writing is functional and fun to read. But, he has a problem creating cardboard characters and flip-flopping between black-and-white morality and shades of grey. I honestly wouldn't recommend this book. I have only disliked two of Gemmell's books that I have read, this and the other being The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend. I think the next book will be a Michael Moorcock novel, I need a break from Gemmell. Check out another one of my book reviews here. That's all Folks, see you next time. -
2024 reread: I think I nailed it in the review below.
———————Very tight and well-paced epic told over only one volume. It lacks bloat and tells its tale economically.
The characters are well-differentiated and have realistic motives and histories. Dace/ Tarantio start off as an intriguing pair but having their origin explained away as a result of childhood trauma feels a bit pat and (given the number of similar books written about the same time about multiple personalities and repressed memories) pandering to popular tastes. I did enjoy the possibility of future stories that was left open by the conclusion of this story though. Karis came across as a totally believable character: tough as nails but with a softer side that didn't feel two-dimensional or patronising. Other characters were equally well-written, especially Duvodas and the dilemmas faced by him with his vow of pacifism and the circumstances that lead him to break that, and Duke Albreck who I felt was only a few shades away from being a villain in some other books - the idea of a character who imposes a wall between themselves and people who could make them vulnerable is pretty much the theme of this book and it spills out into other books after this. It's just that in later books these characters are more likely to be split down the middle of heroes and villains whereas previously they were more likely to be the villain.
I had mixed feelings about the healing of Shira: in part because of the whole "handicapped person can only live as a whole person" idea isn't really played out here: she's accepted that her leg was healed badly after her accident and doesn't let it affect her life except to make her falling in love with Duvodas more consequential to them both. I really didn't feel that it added anything to the book except to highlight how fab the Oltor Prime was. And her fate felt a bit fridge-like, to be honest.
The worldbuilding is great, too: most of Mr Gemmell's books have had a generic alt-medieval setting with some mental and occult powers added as a magical element. This is a rare outing where he gives us fantastical creatures with their own cultures and histories and while it feels a little tentative in places, it's great fun to read about intelligent monsters with cultures of their own, as well as being a pleasure to not have to deal with elves and goblins again.
In summary, this is a rare singleton from Gemmell. There are clues to further stories and developments for these characters but we never got them. Part of me is disappointed but I'm always happy when a story finishes and I want to hear more about the characters: it means the author has done their job properly.
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Anche se questo è il primo romanzo di Gemmell che leggo, so bene che è un esperto del sottogenere chiamato Heroic Fantasy e su esso ha fondato le sue fortune letterarie. In Dark Moon dà un chiaro sfoggio della sua abilità: in poche pagine delinea un piccolo cast di interessanti protagonisti non bidimensionali e un discreto stuolo di comprimari. Quando necessario definisce con pochi tratti un'ambientazione perfettamente funzionale alla trama: non aggiunge neanche un dettaglio di troppo, evitando lo spiacevole tentativo di imitazione di Tolkien tipico di molti altri scrittori meno abili. Tolkien infarcisce di dettagli il suo masterpiece e l'effetto è strepitoso perché il suo romanzo è cresciuto su un enorme corpus mitico frutto del lavoro di una vita. Quando lo fanno gli altri, lo scarso spessore del lavoro di definizione finisce sempre col trasparire.
Gemmell evita con cura questo rischio, tenendosi fermamente ancorato ai suoi punti di forza: un ritmo pazzesco, un nemico temibile e alieno, un gruppo di personaggi interessanti e pronti a tutto, e soprattutto uno stile narrativo perfettamente adattato al genere, che rendono lo scritto fluido e avvincente e la lettura mai pesante.
Consigliato a: gli amanti dei romanzi di fantasy d'azione, quelli che si infastidiscono a leggere descrizioni lunghissime di dettagli inutili, i fan dei Libri Game e quelli che quando giocavano a D&D non vedevano l'ora di spaccare qualche mostro.
In sintesi: Una gita ad alta velocità nell'Heroic Fantasy. -
Drenai Series Remains Gemmell’s Best:
I was initially attracted to Dark Moon because I had already enjoyed much of Gemmell’s entertaining Drenai Series, which ostensibly is Sword & Sorcery (really 90% sword, 10% sorcery) and I wanted to see how he could handle more magic. Dark Moon promised to be that book.
The first portion was outstanding: a complex protagonist (Tarantio/Dace) emerges in a world with an apparently rich history of magic/creatures (three races of alien like humanoids: Daroth Eldarin Oltor). But the plot shifts away from Tarantio and never really capitalizes on the dynamics of the magical cultures. Sorcery quickly takes a back seat with the first protagonist.
Instead, the latter half is dedicated for explaining the intricate working of catapults and ballistae…and instead of developing Tarantio’s awesome background, we are introduced to a dozen other characters as they defend a city (sound like Legend?). In fact, the first 6 books of Drenai were published by the time Dark Moon emerged as a stand-alone book (~1996), but the similarities with Drenai were obvious: the Daroth might as well have been “Joinings” and the city of Corduin could have been “Dros Delnoch.”
So more sorcery was presented, but it was delivered superficially. It did not seem like a new Gemmell experience; instead of offering a new experience, Gemmell demonstrated the limits of his formulaic approach. Not bad, but not nothing spectacular either. -
Another good book by David Gemmell, the characteristics of the three elder races is really different from what we normally get from fantasy fiction world and Gemmell does great job in incorporating them in the standard medieval human world.He builds up the story without rushing and is still able to maintain the pace -the book is a page turner.Really enjoyed the unique personality of Tarantio/Dace and the singer Duvodas but as the story progresses they takes a back seat. With the shift of focus on Karis and siege in the city the other main characters lost their shine.
Enjoyed the weird and unexpected ending, it’s a great read, only complain is none of the main characters were heroic type, the stuff which inspires legend and emotions, stays with you for life, the stuff I have come to expect from Gemmell’s heroes.
