New Releases by David Gemmell

David Gemmell was the UK''s number one fantasy and historical novelist until his death in 2006. A regular Sunday Times bestseller, and international sensation, his legacy lives on through his novels, his influence on the genre, and through the David Gemmell Legend awards. White Knight/Black Swan was David Gemmell''s crime thriller debut, first published under a pseudonym in 1993 and long out of print, and highly sought-after by readers. Re-editing and republished under his own name, it''s a must read for fans of his heroic and powerful style. An action-filled story set in working class London in the 1980''s, Jardine is a bouncer and gang enforcer with a heart of gold. To protect a friend, he goes up against an Irishman demanding protection money - only to realise too late that they work for the same employer. One act of kindness will lead to murder, betrayal, blackmail and some long-hidden secrets . . .

David Gemmell was the UK''s number one fantasy and historical novelist until his death in 2006. A regular Sunday Times bestseller, and international sensation, his legacy lives on through his novels, his influence on the genre, and through the David Gemmell Legend awards.Rhyming Rings is a never-before-seen Gemmell novel, discovered in his papers by his widow, Stella Gemmell. Merging autobiographical details of Gemmell''s life as a journalist in South London with a serial killer and a tinge of the supernatural, this is perfect for fans of David''s work, as well as readers of gritty crime novels. Set against the backdrop of a London simmering with poverty, change and racial tension, this taut thriller is a fitting legacy for the great writer.This book includes a brand new introduction from massive Gemmell fan Conn Iggulden, and an afterword by Gemmell''s friend Stan Nicholls.An ambidextrous killer is murdering women, leaving virtually no evidence behind, and struggling journalist Jeremy Miller wishes he was covering the case. Instead, he''s stuck with heart-warming local stories about paraplegic teenagers and elderly psychic ladies. So when his stories and the murder case start to converge no one is more surprised than Jeremy.Or, it turns out, more at risk.

Le vieux guerrier se nomme Druss, mais on l''appelle Légende. Sa vie est un combat sans fin. Pour l''ennemi nadir, il est Marche-Mort, un surnom synonyme de destruction. A la veille de son dernier combat, le vieux guerrier raconte à une jeune recrue comment il a obtenu ce titre. Comment des années auparavant, il s''est embarqué aux cotés de l''énigmatique Talisman dans la plus incroyable des aventures, en quête des joyaux d''Alchazzar, et comment cette épopée l''a conduit jusqu''au plus profond du royaume des morts. Lorsque Légende se lève et marche, il ne fait pas bon se dresser sur sa route...

Tous croyaient Skilgannon le Damné disparu à jamais, et avec lui les légendaires Épées de la Nuit et du Jour. Pourtant, trois ans plus tard, une rumeur se répand à travers les terres de l''Est : Skilgannon est de retour. Et c''est un terrible périple qui l''attend : poursuivi par des tueurs, contraint de faire face à une armée d''ennemis, il devra traverser un royaume hanté par les démons. Sa destination ? Un temple mystérieux habité par une déesse sans âge. Car le Damné se lance dans une quête pour ramener les morts à la vie. Heureusement, il ne voyage pas seul. L''homme qui marche à ses côtés est aussi une Légende. Il s''appelle Druss.

“David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy.”—R. A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author Twenty years have passed since Jon Shannow, the legendary Jerusalem Man, cracked open the gate of time and brought the Deacon and his followers into the world. Twenty years during which Shannow was missing and the Deacon ruled from Unity, intent on building a new promised land . . . in his own image. But the Deacon’s Jerusalem Riders spread their own wave of terror, unleashing bigotry and death, massacring unbelievers and mutants in the name of peace. Until a lone reader appeared, bent on avenging the dead. Wounded, his memory shattered, Shannow combated evil and injustice the only way he knew—head-on, both guns blazing. But would that be enough to stop the mysterious Deacon and his mad crusade? Even if Shannow succeeded, he’d still face the satanic hordes of the Hellborn and their bloodthirsty lord, Sarento, the living embodiment of the stone of power known as the Bloodstone!

Winged demons gather, silent and unseen, above the city of Usa, their talons long and sharp. Their purpose is clear, as is the prophesy: Upon the deaths of the three kings, the demon riders of the Krayakin will become flesh, free to slake their thirst with human blood - and the stench of evil will cover the land. Two of the kings are already dead. For the prophesy to be fulfilled, spreading carnage across the world, the Demon Lord must sacrifice the third king: Queen Axiana''s unborn child. When Emperor Skanda disbands his army, the pregnant queen takes flight, pursued by the Lords of the Undead. All hope lies with three ancient heroes, though discarded by the emperor, they are still Drenai soldiers: Bison the giant, Kebra the bowman, and the great swordsman Nogusta - the Demon Lord''s greatest foe. But will these warriors - once the best in the land - be enough to stem the tide of gruesome horror that threatens to envelop the world?

Enter a powerful realm of legend, dark sorcery, and conquest, where the mighty Drenai warrior Druss faces his most deadly opponent . . . Druss the Legend, the dark axman known as the Deathwalker, must join the warrior Talisman on a mission of blood and glory. Only the stolen Eyes of Alchazzar--mystic jewels of power--will save Druss''s dying friend, then unite the Nadir tribes against the evil of the Gothir. Druss agrees to help look for the twin gems--hidden for centuries in the shrine of Oshikai, the Demon-bane, the Nadir''s greatest hero. It has been prophesied that with the recovery of the stones, there will come the Uniter, a magnificent fighter who will free the Nadir from brutal oppression. But Garen-Tsen, the sadistic power behind the Gothir throne, also seeks the gems. To control them, he will send five thousand men against a handful of savages, Talisman, and the one Drenai warrior.

The ruined city of Kuan Hador reeks of dark mystery. Shunned by brigands and merchants alike, it is home to fearsome wild things and legends that freeze the blood--tales that speak of slavering white beasts, locked behind a powerful wall of spells, who possess an insatiable appetite for death. Millennia have passed since they were bound, and the spell of imprisonment has begun to fade. Soon the foul minions will be free to wreak a horrible vengeance against all that lives. But no army waits to oppose them, only a ragtag group of unlikely heroes. Leading them is the mysterious Gray Man, an enigmatic figure with a blood-drenched past who has killed for principle and for payment--a man of destiny known throughout the lands of the Drenai as Waylander the Slayer . . .

The Drenai stronghold had fallen. Now blood-hungry Nadir hordes spread desolation and despair across all the lands... ...even tiny Gothir, where slavers seized a young girl while the villagers looked the other way--all but the peasant boy Kiall. His unlikely rescue attempt would lead across the savage steppes and on through the Halls of Hell. The youth would face ferocious beasts, deadly warriors, and demons of the dark; he would emerge a man--or not emerge at all. But Kiall would not face these dangers alone. Heroes out of legend joined his quest: Chareos the Blademaster, Beltzer the Axeman, and the bowmen Finn and Maggrig. And one among their company hid a secret that could free the world of Nadir domination. That one was the Nadir Bane, the hope of the Drenai. That one was the Earl of Bronze. Thus did a search for a stolen slave girl become a quest that would shake the very world.

"David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy." --R. A. Salvatore, New York Times Bestselling author The Goths followed a bloodthirsty new leader, one who sought to open the Gates of Hell: Wotan. His immortal power stemmed from human sacrifice and dark sorcery, and no sword could touch him. He rode the winds on a leather-winged steed, while his armies cut a deadly swath across the northern kingdoms. Even death''s icy hand could not stop them. Only Uther Pendragon could save Britannia. To do so he must wield his birthright--Cunobelin''s blade, the legendary Sword of Power. But Uther was chained in Hell, the sword lost in swirling Chaos. All hope lay with the warrior known as Revelation, with the magic of the Sipstrassi Stones, and with Anduine, a blind girl possessed of arcane powers. Only if these unlikely allies united could they hope to stop the invincible foe before the world plunged into darkness.

Enter the extraordinary, action-filled world that became Legend-- as the exciting Drenai adventure continues to unfold . . . A mighty warrior and a feared assassin among the Drenai, Waylander the Slayer is now a man hunted by his own people--with a fortune in gold offered as grim reward for his murder. But this is only one of many evils closing in on Waylander and his daughter, Miriel, the beautiful and deadly Battle Queen of Kar-Barzac. For, once separated, father and daughter face certain death as the sorcerers and demons, soldiers and shamans of three empires summon their blackest, most destructive powers in an effort to annihilate these two most gifted Drenai warriors.

“A HUMDINGER . . . A MASTERLY TALE TOLD WITH CLARITY AND VERVE.” –The Times (London) The Avatars are immortal and live like kings–even though the empire is dying. Their immortality is guaranteed by magic crystals whose influence is now waning, overwhelmed by the sheer power of a great flood and a sudden ice age. But when two moons appear in the sky, and the ruthless armies of the Crystal Queen swarm across the land bringing devastation and terror, the Avatars unite with their subjects to protect their universe. As the cities face imminent destruction, three heroes emerge. Talaban, a warrior haunted by tragedy; Touchstone, the mystic tribesman seeking his lost love; and Anu, the Holy One, the Builder of Time. And when all seems lost, two others enter the fray: Sofarita, the peasant girl who will inspire a legend, and the madman, Viruk, who will become a god. . . .

“David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy.”—R.A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author Chaos and terror stalked the realm. The king had been slain by traitors, and the sword of power had been lost beyond the Circle of Mist. Armies of Saxons, Angles, Jutes, and Brigantes cut a gory swath across the land, led by puppets of the ruthless Witch Queen—whose minions included dark, bloodthirsty creatures and a savage, undead warrior. All hope lay with young Thuro—in whose veins flowed the blood of kings. He would have to defeat the Witch Queen’s monsters and travel to the land of the Mist, there to seek a ghostly army. And the only one who could prepare Thuro to achieve his birthright was the mountain warrior Culain, the one man who knew the queen’s deadly secret . . . The legend of the mystic Stones of Power begins with a tale of blood and glory, of love and betrayal, as a boy must come of age amidst the seemingly impossible quest to become the High King.

Over and again, the aged seeress Tamis scried all the possible tomorrows. In every one, dark forces threatened Greece; terrible evil was poised to reenter the world. The future held only one hope: a half-caste Spartan boy, Parmenion. So Tamis made it her mission to see that Parmenion would before the deadliest warrior in the world -- no matter what the cost. Raised to manhood in Sparta, bullied and forced to fight for his life every day, Parmenion had no notion of the unseen dimensions of magic and mystery that shaped his fate. He grew in strength and cunning. His military genius earned him the title Strategos in Sparta. His triumphs for the city of Thebes made him a hero. And finally his fate led him to the service of Philip of Macedon. As Tamis had foreseen, Parmenion''s destiny was tied to the Dark God, to Philip, and to the yet-unborn Alexander. All too soon the future was upon them. Parmenion stood poised to defeat evil -- or to open the gate for the Dark God to reenter the world.

Once the legendary knights of the Gabala defended the nine duchies. Their hearts were beautiful; their armor was beyond compare. They were greater than princes, more than men. But they were gone, disappeared through a demon-haunted gateway between worlds. Only one held back -- Manannan, whose every instinct told him to stay. Now he was the coward knight, and in torment. Murder and black magic beset the land. Rumors circulated that the king was enchanted, changed, that his soul was dead . . . and that a reign of terror was about to begin. Now Manannan realized he would have to face his darkest fears: he had no choice but to ride through that dreaded gate and seek out his vanished companions. And the secret he would learn there would tear his soul apart . . . . "A sharp, distinctive medieval fantasy. Dramatic, colorful, taut." -- Locus

A captivating all-action tale of otherworldly magic, death, destruction and a fight for survival by the Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell, perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, Duncan M. Hamilton and Nicholas Eames. "Gemmell''s great reading - the action never lets up. He''s several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous!" -- ANNE MCCAFFREY "In my pantheon of literary greats, David Gemmell stands alone . . . he put me on the path I still walk today" -- CONN IGGULDEN "Gemmell has every right to take his place among the SF and fantasy greats." -- SFX "When it comes to heroic fantasy, few do it better than David Gemmell." -- TIME OUT "One of my most favourite books of all time" -- ***** Reader review "Gemmell at his finest" -- *****Reader review "Great fantasy, great story, great author" -- ***** Reader review ********************************************************** The Great Bear will descend from the skies, and with his paw, lash at the ocean. He will devour all the works of Man. Then he will sleep for ten thousand years, and the breath of his sleep will be death. The prophecy had come true. The world spun. Tidal waves lashed the planet, and a new ice age dawned. The few survivors of a once great empire struggled to rebuild, to hold their ground against the rising barbarian tide. Then two moons appeared in the skies, unleashing a terrible evil that threatened not only the new empire, but the survival of the world itself.

The Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell brings the myth and legend of Troy to life in this epic story filled with triumph and tragedy. Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. "This is how the oldest tales should be read and known. Gemmell is a master of plot, but his triumph is creating men and women so real that their trials are agony and their triumph is glorious" -- CONN IGGULDEN " [A] vivid, inspirational re-creation of the Troy myth." -- MANDA SCOTT "The best book that I have ever read" -- ***** Reader review "The characters are rich, engaging and easy to visualize...perfect historical fiction writing." -- ***** Reader review **************************************** The war of Troy is looming, and all the kings of the Great Green are gathering, friends and enemies, each with their own dark plans of conquest and plunder. Into this maelstrom of treachery and deceit come three travellers; Piria, a runaway priestess nursing a terrible secret, Kalliades, a warrior with a legendary sword, and Banokles who will carve his own legend in the battles to come. Troy: Shield of Thunder takes the reader back into the glories and tragedies of Bronze Age Greece, reuniting the characters from Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow; the dread Helikaon and his great love, the fiery Andromache, the mighty Hektor and the fabled storyteller, Odysseus. The story concludes in Troy: The Fall of Kings. Have you read the previous title Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow?

Outside the golden city of Troy, Prince Hektor leads the Trojan cavalry in daring raids against the forces led by his young rival, the peerless warrior Achilles. Meanwhile, burning for vengeance after the brutal murder of his wife, Helikaon commands the Trojan fleet, sowing misery and death among the Mykene navy and supply ships. But even these mighty efforts are of scant avail against the hordes of battle-hardened Mykene infantry, the Myrmidon soldiers of Achilles, and the cunning strategies of Odysseus, compelled against his heart’s urgings to aid the cause of Agamemnon. Now, before the gates of Troy, Hektor and Achilles will find themselves inexorably drawn into a battle of champions that will decide the fate of the innocents trapped within the city walls. There, as King Priam slips into madness, Andromache–wife of Hektor, lover of Helikaon, mother, warrior, and priestess–must navigate a maze of treachery and danger to save her children and her city from the massacre about to unfold.

Druss, Captain of the Axe, was the stuff of legends. But even as the stories grew in the telling, Druss himself grew older. He turned his back on his own legend and retreated to a mountain lair to await his old enemy, death. Meanwhile, barbarian hordes were on the march. Nothing could stand in their way. Druss reluctantly agreed to come out of retirement. But could even Druss live up to his own legends?

The Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell brings the myth and legend of Troy to life in this epic story filled with triumph and tragedy. Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. "This is how the oldest tales should be read and known. Gemmell is a master of plot, but his triumph is creating men and women so real that their trials are agony and their triumph is glorious" -- CONN IGGULDEN " [A] vivid, inspirational re-creation of the Troy myth." -- MANDA SCOTT "The best book that I have ever read" -- ***** Reader review "The characters are rich, engaging and easy to visualize...perfect historical fiction writing." -- ***** Reader review **************************************** The war of Troy is looming, and all the kings of the Great Green are gathering, friends and enemies, each with their own dark plans of conquest and plunder. Into this maelstrom of treachery and deceit come three travellers; Piria, a runaway priestess nursing a terrible secret, Kalliades, a warrior with a legendary sword, and Banokles who will carve his own legend in the battles to come. Troy: Shield of Thunder takes the reader back into the glories and tragedies of Bronze Age Greece, reuniting the characters from Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow; the dread Helikaon and his great love, the fiery Andromache, the mighty Hektor and the fabled storyteller, Odysseus. The story concludes in Troy: The Fall of Kings. Have you read the previous title Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow?

Three travellers journey to Troy just prior to the war where they will face triumph and tragedy.

With this first masterly volume in an epic reimagining of the Trojan War, David Gemmell has written an ageless drama of brave deeds and fierce battles, of honor and treachery, of love won and lost. He is a man of many names. Some call him the Golden One; others, the Lord of the Silver Bow. To the Dardanians, he is Prince Aeneas. But to his friends, he is Helikaon. Strong, fast, quick of mind, he is a bold warrior, hated by his enemies, feared even by his Trojan allies. For there is a darkness at the heart of the Golden One, a savagery that, once awakened, can be appeased only with blood. Argurios the Mykene is a peerless fighter, a man of unbending principles and unbreakable will. Like all of the Mykene warriors, he lives to conquer and to kill. Dispatched by King Agamemnon to scout the defenses of the golden city of Troy, he is Helikaon’s sworn enemy. Andromache is a priestess of Thera betrothed against her will to Hektor, prince of Troy. Scornful of tradition, skilled in the arts of war, and passionate in the ways of her order, Andromache vows to love whom she pleases and to live as she desires. Now fate is about to thrust these three together–and, from the sparks of passionate love and hate, ignite a fire that will engulf the world.

“Gemmell’s great reading—the action never letsup. He’s several rungs above the good—right into the fabulous!”—Anne McCaffrey While the warlike and merciless Aenir wreak havoc upon the territory outside the mountain stronghold of the clans, Sigarni, the Hawk Queen, arrives in a parallel version of her own universe through a gate in space and time. Taliesen, last of the gatekeepers, has no idea why she has come. But he knows that heroes are needed and grants her passage into the ravaged land. Only Caswallon—loner, warrior, and thief—realizes the true extent of the danger and the mayhem that his people will come to face. As Taliesen tries to discover Sigarni’s purpose, Caswallon must attempt to unite the clans to overcome their greatest peril. “For anyone who appreciates super heroic fantasy, David Gemmell’s offerings are mandatory.”—Time Out London

With mythic sweep and epic scope, David Gemmell’s bestselling novels of magic and adventure feature brooding heroes who fight to preserve all that is good and honorable in themselves and in the worlds through which they stride like lonely giants. In times of terror and despair, theirs are the swords that carve a shining path, inspiring others to follow. Even after their deaths, their names live on. . . . A thousand years after they fell in battle, two heroes—Druss and Skilgannon—are revered throughout the war-torn lands of the Drenai. Yet men and women live in abject fear of the Joinings, abominable meldings of man and beast, and of their mistress, the dark sorceress known as the Eternal. None can stave off these ruthless foes. But what if the soul of one such hero could be called back from the void, his bones housed again in flesh? An ancient prophecy foretold that Skilgannon would return in his people’s darkest hour. To most, this is a foolish hope. But not so to Landis Kan. For years, as the power of the Eternal grew, Kan searched for the tomb of Skilgannon the Damned. And at last, he found it, gathering up the bones and performing the mystic ritual. But the reborn hero is an enigma: a young man whose warrior skills are blunted and whose memories are fragmented. This Skilgannon is a man out of time, marooned in a world as strange to him as a dream, remote from all he knew and loved. Or nearly all. Before bringing Skilgannon back, Landis Kan experimented upon other bone fragments found in the hero’s tomb. That ritual resulted in a surly giant who possessed astounding strength, but no memories. To Kan, he was a dangerous failure. But to Skilgannon, this giant represented their last hope. For as the ageless evil of the Eternal threatens to drown the Drenai lands in blood, two legendary heroes will once again lead the way to freedom.

“For anyone who appreciates superior heroic fantasy, David Gemmell’s offerings are mandatory.”—Time Out London The blood-drenched lands of the Drenai are protected by a man who has been hated and feared as much as he has been loved: the living legend known as Druss, Captain of the Ax. But this is also the land of Skilgannon, a man who is armed with the mythic Swords of Night and Day, and perhaps Druss’s equal on the field of battle. Brought together by a brutal attack, the two lone warriors form an unlikely alliance. But as Druss and Skilgannon face the supernatural threat of the Joinings—monstrous werebeasts with unholy strength and more than animal savagery—respect and trust will grow. Their alliance will become a friendship destined to change both men—and the lands of the Drenai—forever. “[Gemmell’s] fiction has always carried the genuine flair ofthe classic sword and sorcery pieces of the 1930s and ’40s. This installment is no exception.”—Starlog “A multitude of good battle scenes! . . . Readers will be carried along by the nonstop action and heroic characters.”—Booklist