Gemmell, David A
Entry updated 22 July 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1948-2006) UK journalist and editor, and then full-time author, primarily of Heroic Fantasy, most famous for his first (and long-lived) Fantasy series, the Drenai Saga, beginning with Legend (1984; vt Against the Horde 1988) and finishing with Hero in the Shadows (2000; vt Hero in the Shadows: Waylander the Slayer Stalks an Ancient Evil 2000), and built around the stress-darkened indomitable 60-year-old warrior Druss; for other series – including the Skilgannon the Damned books, which are related to Drenai; the Hawk Queen books; and Tales of the Rigante – see Checklist (but see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy for fuller coverage). Other works of primarily fantasy interest include Knights of Dark Renown (1989), featuring Parallel Worlds; the Macedon sequence of historical fantasies set in an Alternate-History Greece at the time of Alexander, comprising Lion of Macedon (1990) and Dark Prince (1991), in the second of which Aristotle (who else?) has working knowledge of the secret of portals through time and space that lead to parallel worlds; Morningstar (1992), which introduces a bard and an ambiguous hero faced with necromancy and Vampyre Kings; Bloodstone (1994); and an unfinished sequence of stories retelling the Trojan War, Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (2005) and Troy: Shield of Thunder (2006). These were posthumously well-received.
As a fantasy author, Gemmell was accomplished and tough-minded, and he interestingly varied (but not too much) stereotypical generic situations. His inclusion in this encyclopedia is largely due to his second, Science Fantasy series, the Sipstrassi sequence comprising, Wolf in Shadow (1987; vt The Jerusalem Man 1988), Ghost King (1988), Last Sword of Power (1988) and The Last Guardian (1989), all four being assembled as Stones of Power: The Sipstrassi Omnibus (omni 1992). The components of the series are linked by the Sipstrassi stones of healing and/or destruction, whose source is Atlantis. The middle two volumes, which have Arthurian resonances [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], are set in Britain during and after the Roman occupation, but the framing works are set in a Ruined-Earth venue 300 years after Earth's axis has been tilted by an Immanuel Velikovsky-style Disaster; echoes of Erich von Däniken's Pseudoscience books also abound. The Dying Earth setting (see Far Future) is well achieved; there is Time Travel between Atlantis and its future; ESP, Genetic Engineering and Immortality are other themes.
The David Gemmell Legend Award, for fantasy novels in the spirit of Gemmell's, was first presented in 2009. [PN/JC]
see also: History of SF; Magic.
David Andrew Gemmell
born London: 1 August 1948
died Udimore, East Sussex: 28 July 2006
works
series
Drenai
- Legend (London: Century Publishing, 1984) [Drenai Saga: hb/]
- Against the Horde (Delavan, Wisconsin: New Infinities Productions, 1988) [vt of the above: Drenai Saga: pb/Jerry Tiritili]
- The King Beyond the Gate (London: Century Publishing, 1985) [Drenai Saga: hb/]
- Waylander (London: Century Publishing, 1986) [Drenai Saga: hb/Luis Royo]
- Drenai Tales (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1991) [omni of the above three plus "Druss the Legend": Drenai Saga: pb/Mark Harrison]
- Drenai Tales Volume One (London: Little, Brown/Orbit, 2001) [omni: rev vt of the above, excluding "Druss the Legend": Drenai Saga: pb/Chris Moore]
- Drenai Tales (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1991) [omni of the above three plus "Druss the Legend": Drenai Saga: pb/Mark Harrison]
- Quest for Lost Heroes (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1990) [Drenai Saga: hb/Roger Garland]
- Legends of the Drenai (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 1995) [omni of the above, plus Legend and The King Beyond the Gate: Drenai Saga: hb/Ken Kelly]
- Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1992) [Drenai Saga: hb/Mike Posen]
- In the Realm of the Wolf (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 1998) [vt of the above: Drenai Saga: hb/Luis Royo]
- The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1992) [coll of linked stories: Drenai Saga: Druss the Legend: hb/Chris Baker as Fangorn]
- Drenai Tales Volume Two (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 2002) [omni of the above three: Drenai Saga: hb/Chris Moore]
- The Legend of Deathwalker (London: Bantam UK, 1996) [Drenai Saga: Druss the Legend: hb/Mike Posen]
- Winter Warriors (Birmingham, England: The Birmingham Science Fiction Group, 1996) [story: chap: excerpt from the not yet published novel below: Drenai Saga: pb/Dave Mooring]
- Winter Warriors (London: Bantam UK, 1997) [the full novel from which the above title is excerpted: Drenai Saga: hb/John Howe]
- Hero in the Shadows (London: Transworld Bantam UK, 2000) [Drenai Saga: hb/John Bolton]
- Hero in the Shadows: Waylander the Slayer Stalks an Ancient Evil (New York: Ballantine Books/Del Rey, 2000) [vt of the above: Drenai Saga: hb/Brom]
- Drenai Tales Volume Three (London: Little, Brown/Orbit, 2002) [omni of the above three novels: Drenai Saga: pb/John Bolton]
- White Wolf (London: Transworld Bantam UK, 2003) [Drenai Saga: Skilgannon the Damned: hb/John Bolton]
- Swords of Night and Day (London: Transworld Bantam UK, 2004) [Drenai Saga: Skilgannon the Damned: hb/John Bolton]
Sipstrassi Tales
- Wolf in Shadow (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1987) [Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: hb/]
- The Jerusalem Man (New York: Baen Books, 1988) [Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: hb/Alan Gutierrez]
- Wolf in Shadow: The Graphic Novel (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1994) [graph: adaptation by Stan Nicholls: Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: illus/pb/Chris Baker as Fangorn]
- Ghost King (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1988) [Sipstrassi Tales: hb/Roger Garland]
- Last Sword of Power (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1988) [Sipstrassi Tales: hb/Roger Garland]
- The Last Guardian (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1989) [Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: hb/Roger Garland]
- Stones of Power: The Sipstrassi Omnibus (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1992) [omni: assembling the above four: Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: pb/Mark Harrison]
- Bloodstone (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1989) [Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: hb/Mick Posen]
- The Complete Chronicles of the Jerusalem Man (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1995) [omni: assembling only the three Jon Shannow volumes as listed above: Sipstrassi Tales: Jon Shannow: pb/Mark Harrison]
Lion of Macedon
- Lion of Macedon (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1990) [Lion of Macedon: hb/Geoff Taylor]
- Dark Prince (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1991) [Lion of Macedon: hb/Geoff Taylor]
The Hawk Queen
- Ironhand's Daughter (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1995) [The Hawk Queen: hb/Ciruelo Cabral]
- The Hawk Eternal (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1995) [The Hawk Queen: hb/Dominic Lavery]
- Hawk Queen Omnibus (London: Orbit, 2014) [omni of the above two: The Hawk Queen: pb/]
Tales of the Rigante
- Swords in the Storm (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 1998) [Tales of the Rigante: hb/John Howe]
- Midnight Falcon (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 1999) [Tales of the Rigante: hb/John Bolton]
- Tales of the Rigante (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2001) [omni of the above two: Tales of the Rigante: hb/Luis Royo]
- Ravenheart (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 2001) [Tales of the Rigante: hb/John Bolton]
- Stormrider (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 2002) [Tales of the Rigante: hb/John Bolton]
Troy
- Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (London: Bantam Press, 2005) [Troy: hb/John Bolton]
- Troy: Shield of Thunder (London: Bantam Press, 2006) [Troy: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Troy: Fall of Kings (London: Bantam Press, 2007) with Stella Gemmell [Troy: hb/Larry Rostant]
individual titles
- Knights of Dark Renown (London: Legend, 1989) [hb/Roger Garland]
- Morningstar (London: Century Publishing/Legend, 1992) [hb/Mike Posen]
- White Knight, Black Swan (London: Arrow Books, 1993) as Ross Harding [pb/]
- White Knight, Black Swan (London: Gollancz Books, 2017) as David Gemmell [hb/Deposit Photos]
- Dark Moon (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 1996) [hb/Jon Sullivan]
- Echoes of the Great Song (London: Transworld/Bantam UK, 1996) [hb/John Howe]
- Rhyming Rings (London: Gollancz Books, 2017) [introduction by Conn Iggulden: afterword by Stan Nicholls: hb/blacksheep]
about the author
- Ian Whates, editor. Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell (Alconbury Weston, Cambridgeshire: NewCon Press, 2013) [anth: hb/Dominic Harman]
- Ian Whates, editor. Legends II: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell (Alconbury Weston, Cambridgeshire: NewCon Press, 2015) [anth: hb/Dominic Harman]
- Ian Whates, editor. Legends III: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell (Alconbury Weston, Cambridgeshire: NewCon Press, 2019) [anth: hb/Dominic Harman]
links
- David Gemmell Awards
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy: David A Gemmell
- Picture Gallery
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