Ex Libris: David Gemmell's Morningstar

(Sorry for the delay on posting. My computer had been infected by spyware over the week and I wasn't sure if I should access anything with a password.)

All right: let's make quick work out of this.

Morningstar is David Gemmell's take on a old swashbuckling favorite of many, i.e. the rogue-turned-hero.

You know the type: he robs from the rich to give to the poor, he lives in a forest to avoid the king's law, he bears a bow and arrow and is a master swordsman. In this case, Gemmell takes parts from the legends of Robin Hood and King Arthur to determine what makes a hero.

His protagonist, Jarek Mace, is a thief, a philanderer, a con man and a ruthless bastard living in a country that's being ground by the heel of their Angostin conquerors. Unfortunately, Jarek is a little too smart for his own good and before one can say "it seemed like a good idea at the time", he finds himself creating a legend that would reverbrate through time and space for the vanquished Highland kingdom. He's helped here (unfortunately for him) by a handful of trusty companions: Owen Odell, a bard and the narrator of the story; Wulf, a rough woodsman-bandit; and the giant Piercolo, a talented cook with a powerful swing (well, he's an excellent cook).

Gemmell also likes to make nothing so simple. To this end, he throws in a necromancer who's revived the vampire-kings of yore and an ancient legend of a national hero that would return at a time of need in order to stir things up.

All in all, this is a quick, action-packed adventure read for me, which is generally what I expect from Gemmell. In this case (recovering from a case of Viriconium brain burnout), I even managed to finish Gemmell's book in one night.

The knight riding at the centre of the two, a huge man wearing a shining breastplate of silver and a helmet sporting a horse-hair plume, lifted his arm and halted the convoy... Reining in the giant black stallion, he leaned forward on the pommel of his saddle and gazed upon the tall, lean form of Jarek Mace.

"What do you want fellow?" he asked, his voice deep as distant thunder.

"When you travel upon my road, sir knight, then you must pay my toll," Jarek answered.

"A toll, is it?" responded the knight, as laughter sounded from the knights behind him. "Tell me fellow, how is it that you came to... own this road. For I was under the impression the forest was ruled by Count Azrek."

"He is-- for the present-- the Count of Ziraccu," Jarek told him. "I am the Lord of this Forest."

"And what might your name my lord?" asked the knight.

"Why, I am the Morningstar."

From there, everything is downhill for Jarek.

On the negative side, this is evidently one of Gemmell's earlier works. His prose is workmanlike and unexceptional. His minor characters are cardboard holders with the main protagonists barely an inch above the archetypes they're supposed to represent. The history and geography of his world is sketchy at best and mundane at worst. And the story is predictable: Jarek is an anti-hero only to the extent that the story needs him to be.

(Of course, some may argue that Gemmell has not changed with his later works still suffering the same problems. However, I would say that the U.K. writer has improved a bit over time-- fortunately, he is no David Eddings. But I digress.)

On the positive side, Gemmell wants to tell stories of heroic fantasy and his portrayal of heroes is his greatest strength. Whether defending a besieged fortress in Legend or directing the armies of Alexander the Great in Dark Prince or facing an army of mutants in the Last Guardian, the life stories of Gemmell's protagonists are the stuff of adventure stories.

Moreover, these characters are usually warriors past their prime or reluctant heroes who figure that they are not cut out of the cloth of legends. And at the end of every tale, Gemmell acknowledges that all heroes eventually die and Morningstar is no exception.

Did I forget to mention that Gemmell writes excellent action sequences?

All in all, a satisfying popcorn read.