Waylander (Drenai Tales, Book 4)

by David Gemmell

1995

Status

Available

Publication

Del Rey (1995), Edition: 13th ptg., 320 pages

Description

Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML: All of Waylander's instincts had screamed at him to spurn the contract from Kaem the cruel, the killer of nations. But he had ignored them. He had made his kill. And even as he went to collect his gold, he knew that he had been betrayed. Now the Dark Brotherhood and the hounds of chaos were hunting him, even as Kaem's armies waged war on the Drenai lands, intent on killing every man, woman, and child. The Drenai soldiers were doomed to ultimate defeat, and chaos would soon reign. Then a strange old man told Waylander that the only way to turn the tide of battle would be for Waylander himself to retrieve the legendary Armor of Bronze from its hiding place deep within a shadow-haunted land. He would be hunted. He was certain to fail. But he must try, the old man commanded--commanded in the name of his son, the king, who had been slain by an assassin... Waylander was the most unlikely of heroes--for he was a traitor, the Slayer who had killed the king....… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Karlstar

One of the best things about Gemmell's books is that the heroes, no matter how flawed, have doubts and fears. They aren't invincible and often they don't think they are heroes, they just do what they do to the best of their ability. This is the 3rd of the Drenai saga, which is my favorite of

Gemmell's series. Desperate times call for desperate solutions and Waylander has to go on a quest. Great stuff, great characters.

Show Less

4 more

LibraryThing member brakketh

Really enjoy Gemmell's Waylander books, I know many people really like Druss but I far prefer the ambivalence of Waylander.

LibraryThing member Zare

He is a cold-blooded assassin ready to kill whoever it is needed (but no women and children mind you) for a hefty price. After accepting a job offered by the nation bent on total annihilation of his people (after all, money was good) everything changes: ancient enemy invades, his people are hunted

and killed on spot, their cities and villages burned to the ground. There is only one hope left but to achieve the goal he has to embark on a [what looks like at the time] suicide mission. Series of events are triggered that will echo through the years and centuries to follow.

Great story and great characters. If you like heroic fantasy (or fantasy at all) read this one.

Highly recommended

Show Less

LibraryThing member SonicQuack

David Gemmell's work needs no introduction. He has made an everlasting mark on the fantasy genre with tightly woven tales and outstanding chracterisation. In Waylander Gemmell creates the ultimate antihero. An assassin, a killer of women and children, who uncharacteristically saves the life of a

priest. From there onwards his life is thrown in to disarray, and he cannot understand why. Waylander is a story of forgiveness, love and redemption, set in the midst of a chaotic war. The dialogue is outstanding, with Waylander's repartee never deviating from the dry, dark humour he uses from the first chapter. A clever tale of good vs. evil in which the reader will enjoy the journey of several men and women as they traverse the line that divides them from the forgiveness of the Source, or everlasting torment in Hell. Thoroughly recommended.

Show Less

LibraryThing member librisissimo

Substance: Basically, this is a fantasy variation on the military trope that features individual soldiers as "representatives" of particular personalities, although it is both more subtle and more expansive than the usual Hollywood fare. Amid the profane is found the profound, generally argued by

the priest-turned-warrior, Dardalion. The protagonist Waylander and others also personify the philosophical question "Can an evil man make restitution with a single unselfish heroic act?" generally resulting in his death, but not always (there is an authorial dispensation for the lead character). Even more, does a good person (pacifist religious in this case) destroy his soul by defending others by killing the wicked? Gemmel answers both affirmatively, but his evil and good are presented in stark, unmistakable characters, which relieves the dilemmas of some of their force. contains true romance.
Style: More terse than Gemmel's other works in the series, almost in the form of an archetypal tale rather than the more common novelistic narrative, but which fits his subject admirably.
NOTES:
IMO, one good dead does not cancel the lifetime of evil, but allows entry (through the Atonement of Christ) to the post-mortal "reform school" for resurrected souls, so that terminal works of repentance are not "wasted" at the end of life.
Waylander gets more chances than others to demonstrate virtu, as in his choices to (finally) help others and in the companions he willingly chooses.
In re, what difference does it make if the heroes hold the fort (epilogue shows how often those deeds are "cancelled" politically), it doesn't really matter which army or faction wins a particular battle or war (except to the noncombatant populace, since the evil side is much more dangerous to those who survive to live under it), but whether each individual engaged in the fight wins his personal battle against becoming evil (as opposed to practical) in the method of defeating the enemy).
p. ---: Miracles are things that happen when you need them most, and aren't always big or obvious, as shown several times by events, such as the entire sequence of "happenstance" meetings. Waylander complains that the Source doesn't strike down the wolf-men but "only" leads him to a ferry to escape them.

Show Less

Fewer