The Swords Of Night And Day (Drenai Saga, #11) (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
The Swords of Night and Day is just okay. Given the amount of material Gemmell had to work with, this book falls flat but is still somewhat enjoyable. It merely recaps events explained in the previous books, but in a confusing way. Having read and enjoyed Gemmell's books (i.e. Legend, White Wolf, The King Beyond the Gate) I was anxious to delve into another. However, it does not add much to the series.- The Drenai series spans eleven books, though it really is several mini-series with connections to the same land. In this case, “Swords” is a sequel to "White Wolf" in which Skilganon was introduced. Swords of Night and Day explores the magic/technology of resurrecting him (and other heros and villains). Although the magic/technology of resurrection is loosely explored, it is done inconsistently. One moment, these powers are causing everyone to have cancer and become mutated, the next moment the powers are healing people and allowing them to live indefinitely. I am okay with unharnessed powers doing uncontrollable things, but here the powers are told to be controlled… then shown to be uncontrolled for select people.- Despite their rebirth, the characters and motivations are not developed what so ever. I would have hoped to learn more about Skilganon, Jianna, etc. - The book has nothing to do with the titular “Swords of Night and Day”, other than the fact that their owner is a key character; nothing about the demons inside the blade, the weapon's history, its creation, etc. are explored. In fact, the book has several cool powerful items re-emerge from ancient history, but then they are not really used. Seriously, the Armor of Bronze marks a guy as a leader, which elevates his power over a regiment of humans, but it really doesn't do much. One may expect that the armor be magically protective, or impart some supernatural strength to those who wear it--not here. - Many contrived scenes exist that just appear odd. These instances fail to ratchet up the tension and could have been handled much more smoothly and convincingly. (1) In one case, the hero mysteriously detects “undetectable” wraiths approaching...has 30min or so to prepare for the fight???...decides to leave the group he is supposed to protect so he can fight the wraiths… but he doesn't actually know where the enemy is (even though he could detect them???) so he goes to a random location to get ready (so the weaker folk are now vulnerable)...then the shadow creatures find him... but our invincible hero begins to lose the battle… until his less-capable party finds and rescue him???. Why not have the wraiths just attack the group directly?(2) In another case, a women Askari learns her village has been destroyed, and her response is to do nothing emotional... but immediately seduce the man who failed to protect it (and the language is lighthearted…the man calling his wolf-like friends silly rascals as they try to watch).(3) Stavi spends 250pages building a special pack of warrior creatures, helps them join ranks with the human Legion who is afraid of said creatures (they all join a single “pack” and have a mini ceremony), drags his land-lubber pack many miles on barges to do battle because “the creatures want to fight with him”... then when the battle starts, he dismisses them, commanding them to "go hunt and be free" ??? ... so his pack does leave … but guess what? surprise … they come back to fight.
This book certainly keeps its' '4 star' rating. In fact it's a '4.5 star read'... I think it's the bring Skilgannon back from the dead and the 'arcane machines' part that is a bit... too unreal (yes, I know it's fantasy *laughing*)... The way that the story plays out though is done beautifully. And as for the characters... Well, these are some of the best written characters in Gemmell's work. Skilgannon, the deadly swordsman and great general that carries the guilt of his former raid on an ancient city, where men, women, and children were killed. Hence, he became known as Skilgannon The Damned. Then there is his kin, Decado, another reborn (brought back with a shard of his bone) and another deadly swordsman... Oh, and Decado is slightly insane and kill crazy...Then there is Askari, another reborn, who is a huntress great with a bow, and a strong character... There is also Harad, a reborn from Druss's bones, but unlike Skilgannon, his soul has not been returned as well, so he is his own man. As strong and brave as Druss, he makes a good character and allows a few brief returns of the real Druss...There are the Legend riders and the Armour of Bronze... There are The Immortal, a ruthless queen that takes over new reborns to keep immortal. She also happens to be the one true love of Skilgannon, from his previous life... But, I think, other than Skilgannon himself, the best character(s) has to be Stavut the merchant. And his 'lads' (Joinings of man and beast) and the friendship and loyalty that develops. It is this development that truly make the book, as well as making some moral points on what humanity really is...Enough said ;)
What do You think about The Swords Of Night And Day (Drenai Saga, #11) (2005)?
Finished my re-reading of the drennai series. I have enjoyed all the books but none have quite earned that fifth star. As a stand alone book this does not either. So why have I given it 5 stars? If you asked me before I re-read it I would not have listed it among my favourite books or even rated it over other gemmell novels. However having just read all the books back to back, this novel just wrapped it all up. Yes, it shamelessly draws from all the other books and the plot twists are as predictable as Druss using Laddie in every other sentence but it made me laugh, it made me cry and it engaged me completely. What more can you ask from a sword and sorcery sci-fantasy novel that does not take itself too seriously?
—Iceman9t9
Not the best in the series but an entertaining read nonetheless.Good action and some pretty memorable scenes. However, I'm honestly glad this was the last in the Drenai saga as it seemed Gemmell got where he couldn't write a tale without Druss or at least a thousand references to previous works in the series. I also find it odd that in this book (the 11th in the series), he suddenly introduces the idea that thousands of years ago the people that lived in his world actually had what we would consider as science fiction technology. This would have been a cool concept if it had been hinted at and built upon since the first couple of books, but now it just seems like a huge retcon.Regardless, this was an awesome series and I'm definitely moving on to read more Gemmell.
—Joshua Simon
Gemmel doesnt always strike a chord with me. His work is superlative and often brilliant, but I find him mired in the way he tells stories. he doesnt always manage to convince me in his tales when he jumps from one idea to another so rapidly that I lose interest.This however, originally bought to read on holiday, exceeds any expectations I had. its a gore drenched action adventure that has at its heart the essence of a great "Conan" story but does so built on the almost effortless works of the great Gemmel stories (Legend, Druss, etc...). Its quick moving and detailed without losing your concentration, and the character of Skilgannon is one of Gemmel's master strokes.Well worth the investment!
—Jeff
