Never leave home without a weapon, Dakyras taught his adopted daughter Miriel. Though they live a quiet life alone in the mountains, death is never far from the man known as Waylander.
When the Assassin’s Guild puts out a high price on Waylander’s head, both Waylander and Miriel find themselves on the run. With them come two ill-fated gladiators from Drenai: the loyal and steady Angel, and the arrogant and reckless Senta. Both men vie for Miriel’s hand–and both are honor bound to kill each other.
But in the face of the evil hunting Waylander, Angel and Senta must lay aside their vendetta and take up arms against the Gothir army hunting the Wolf clan, tribe of the prophesied chieftain that will one day unite the Nadir. For deep in the realm of the Wolf lies a castle more ancient than the three empires–a castle whose dark secrets threaten to upset the global order forever.
This book was awesome. I loved every moment of it. With each page, the story just got better and better, right up to the climactic finish. If you’re looking for a rousing adventure, you can’t go wrong with David Gemmell.
One of the things I loved the most about this story was the love triangle between Miriel, Angel, and Senta. At first, I thought I knew who was good, who was bad, and which one she’d end up with, but then things changed and I wasn’t too sure. Even though I hated Senta at first, I spent most of the book vacillating with my feelings on him. And the way things ended–I wasn’t disappointed. Not one bit.
Even though the overall story conflict was much, much larger than life, Gemmell’s characters always felt very real. Perhaps it has to do with the way their true nature always seems to come out in battle–and Gemmell gives them plenty of opportunity to show their true nature.
It also has to do with the things they’re fighting for, though–the stakes are always clear for each character, and when they’re confused what they’re fighting for, that’s made clear too. Though the conflict itself is larger than life, the stakes for each individual character never are.
The ending really took the cake for me, though. When I finished the book, I couldn’t help but smile. Gemmell is a master at writing endings that make you want to stand up and cheer.
As awesome as this book was, though, the last book in the trilogy, Hero in the Shadows, is so much better. The last scene of that book stands out so much more to me, now that I know everything about Waylander’s past. So. Freaking. Epic.
But do yourself a favor: don’t read the last book first, like I did. Start with Waylander, which is a good book–not great, but good–and read through the trilogy. If you love stories about true heroes and epic adventures, you won’t be disappointed.
