Morningstar by David Gemmell

I have been a fan of fantasy writing for a long time now. I have enjoyed the writing of many different authors. Each one brings his or hers own flavor to a book. I am a fan of R.A. Salvator , Robin Hobb, G. Martin , R. Feist . I think I like the writing style of David Gemmel the best. This by no means takes anything away from the other great authors.

Gemmel has an ability to draw you into his stories. He creates characters that walk the line between good and evil. He has the ability to draw you in to love what should be a villain and creates new villains as the stories grow. He is one of few fantasy writes that can have me laughing in one chapter and crying in the next.

Morningstar is a good example of Gemmels great ability to bring all these elements together. It shows his talent as not only a great writer but also a great storyteller. You will get to love the characters in this book.

Morningstar is a great book if you would like an introduction into David Gemmel. This is a stand-alone book, after reading this one you will become hooked. Once you are hooked you can start on the Drenai series.

David Gemmell is my luckiest find. I picked him at random in a used book store and have since read 11 of his books(I think). Morningstar is probably my favorite. As with all Gemmell books, it includes larger-than-life characters with surprisingly regular emotions. These characters are real. Heroes and villains alike possess both noble and ignoble qualities.
The idea of the book is that a national hero, be he Lincoln, Columbus, or whoever, is a myth; the person behind the myth may little resemble his or her image. In Morningstar, Jarek Mace is anything but a hero. But people need heroes, so they make them out of men. Of course, they choose Jarek. The reason Morningstar is my favorite Gemmell book is because it got me thinking about people we call heroes. Who are they? Should we care? Is the legend more important than the person? There are many discussions of heroism throughout the book.
Of course, being a Gemmell book, Morningstar contains plenty of blood and guts. Gemmell may be pondering some aspects of humanity, but he throws in loads of cold-hearted violence, just for the fun of it. He loves placing various types of people in battle situations, where the best and worst of humanity is revealed. But his violence is too entertaining to be taken all that seriously. It's just fun.
This is easy-to-read fantasy, with action, blood, vampires(sort of), wizards(sort of), and plain-ol' humanity. Gemmell is a superior writer, but he's not above being cheesy for entertainment's sake(I mean that in the best way). This is pure entertainment. Check it out, or any of Gemmell's books. He may be your luckiest find, too.