David Gemmell - Fantasy Literature's Best Kept Secret

As I've mentioned a number of times, I'm a big fan of fantasy literature. I've read tons of series written by various authors. There's something about the genre that appeals to me but I'm not exactly sure what it is. Perhaps its the genre's focus on heroism or the frequent stories about the every-man rising from obscurity to defeat a great evil. Or maybe it's that the genre has its roots built firmly on a variety of mythologies. Maybe I just like stories about guys with swords battling monsters. However you slice it, I can't get enough of the stuff.

I'm often asked by newcomers to the genre what authors they should start with and honestly, there's no shortage of choices. A sensible option, of course, would be the father of modern fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, whose novels and stories have been turned into several famous movies. Ditto for Robert E. Howard, whose character Conan has stormed back into the pop culture consciousness in the past few years. Another obvious choice is George R. R. Martin, whose epic A Song of Ice and Fire brought fantasy back into the limelight with its wildly popular television adaption. That's not all, though, there's other notables such as C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, R.A. Salvatore, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Margaret Weiss & Tracey Hickman and many, many others. However, despite the presence of such giants, I tend to recommend a lesser-known author, who in my mind stands shoulder to shoulder with the titans I just mentioned. That author is David Gemmell.

I wouldn't begrudge you for having never heard of David Gemmell, he's not exactly well-known. None of his books, to my knowledge at least, have ever been adapted into a film or television show. His first novel, Legend, wasn't published until his late 30s at a time when there was no shortage of fantasy novels available. He also didn't get a lot of notice in North America, I'm not sure how well he was known in his native U.K. but he flew under the radar here. For those who don't know, David Gemmell specialized in a style of fantasy known as low fantasy, basically it's fantasy without a lot of the fantastic elements common to the genre like magic, elves and monsters, making more grounded. George R. R. Martin would be a good modern example of low fantasy. Gemmell's novels played out almost like historical fiction, which is something that he eventually tried his hand at later in his career.

I was introduced to Gemmell by a friend of mine, Colin, who constantly raved about his novels. Honestly, one of the reasons I decided to give his books a try was just to shut him up. The first book I read of his was called King Beyond the Gate and I burned through it in a couple of days. There was something about his writing that just resonated with me and his novels often dealt with a lot of similar themes. A good amount of Gemmell's books tended to focus on older protagonists - usually men who were once in a position of high standing within their culture but have since fallen into exile or dishonor. These characters, though often the focus of the story, are usually placed in the role of assisting younger, more narratively important, characters in a particular quest or task. In many cases, Gemmell's stories place a good deal of emphasis on the redemption of these older character for whatever sin they feel guilty of (in a lot of cases, it has to do with regret over a violent past). That redemption often comes in the form of facing an unwinnable fight or battle. In that way, the stories are almost mythical and Gemmell never sugar coated the outcomes nor did he succumb to writing the "happy" ending, which more often than not, turned out to be bittersweet (probably why he never took off in North America).

The main thing about Gemmell's writing that appealed to me, though, was his characters. I'm a sucker for good characters to the point that plot isn't so much of an issue for me if a story has engaging characters. I always found Gemmell's characters to be particularly interesting, which has become even more the case as I've grown older and am starting experience a lot of the physical issues encountered by his protagonists (I'm miss being 30 so much). He created characters such as Tenaka Khan, a man born of two worlds and accepted by neither and Skillgannon the Damned, a former killer with a pair of cursed swords seeking penance in a monastery, when he is thrust back into the world of violence, among many, many others. These are common archetypes, to be sure, but there's a reason why they're so common, it's because they resonate with people.

While epic battles and lost causes were a hallmark of Gemmell's writing, it was in the quiet moments before the action where he shined the most. It was at these moments where the characters had the opportunity for introspection. Since his main characters were usually older and approaching middle age, these moments often allowed them to either look back over the life they've led or provide comfort or wisdom to the younger characters surrounding them, some of whom may even survive the ordeals to come. These quiet moments also provide opportunities for levity, which Gemmell provided in his predictably dry British way.

Gemmell also relied heavily on the flashback in many of his books and would use them to great effect, often telling two parallel stories concurrently. I find that an effective way of handling exposition instead of having the information relayed second hand by another character. When Gemmell did go to the flashback well, the story told was always connected in some way to the current events being experienced by the character (although we didn't always realize it right away).

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, Gemmell's novels frequently end with the world irrevocably changed by the preceding events (as is usually the case in heroic fantasy) but its really the characters themselves that see the most profound changes, that is to say those that survive. Old characters, whose time has come and gone have either given their life for the cause or have diminished into a life of solitude to live out their remaining years, leaving the affairs of the world in the hands of the younger generation. In that sense, Gemmell's writing imitates life in that old passes away and what's left offers an abundance of possibilities.

Anyways, I've rambled on enough here. Suffice to say, David Gemmell is one of my favorite all-time authors. If fantasy is your thing, or even if it's not, I wholeheartedly recommend giving his books a try.