When I initially started reading this book, I was a bit unsure about it. Because Gemmell has set up a whole world filled with tradition and myth there is a lot of information thrown at you and a lot of characters whose names I kept forgetting!

That being said, once I got into the story any doubts I had melted away. The protagonist Connavar is a man of two halves – on the one side he is a perfect hero, selfless, charming, a fearless and skilled warrior with the capabilities to save his people, but, on the other side he is deeply flawed with a quick temper and thirst for revenge. He feels the pressure of his heroic reputation and desperately does not want to disappoint. I liked the fact that he was not perfect. He faces consequences for his ‘wrong’ actions and is driven by his emotions which is highly relatable.

I loved the mystical element to the story which, thankfully, avoided the trap of using magic to fix all of the problems, and instead highlighted the importance of consequences. The prophecies and wishes made are not left as loose ends and come back to play an integral part in the actions of some characters and the paths which their lives take.

The recurring themes of morality, duty, and honour make this so much more than just a book about fighting. The ending did frustrate me, but only because I don’t have the second book to read! I was surprised by how invested I was by the end of the book and now desperately need to know what happens next.

David Gemmell IS the master of heroic fantasy. That is undisputed. The fact that he died in 2006 and will not produce any more works does not negate this title. Indeed, Gemmell is the master most fantasy authors hope to emulate.

His books are the best of the genre and, although some are definitely better than others, there's been Gemmell books on my shelves since the late 1980's. And there they'll stay; too strong to be denied.

So too, this Rigante series.

Sword in the Storm contains all of those essential hallmarks of the perfect heroic fantasy - strong characters that readers bond with, lots of swords, a little sorcery, revenge, and triumph over adversity - but triumph tinged with sadness.

Connovar is trying to save his people and culture from being destroyed and their lands consumed by the Stone people. I believe Gemmell got his inspiration for this from tales of the Celts/Picts vs the Roman Empire - there are definite similarities. But knowing that doesn't at all detract from my enjoyment of this amazing tale.

I'm heading into Book II now, Midnight Falcon (review coming next week, see the poster below) - and I'm anxious to discover what happens next. Exactly the reaction a series should promote in the reader!

Yes, I'm a wholehearted Gemmell fan. But there is a very good reason why.

If you haven't read any Gemmell, you're seriously missing out. Seriously. And the Rigante series is a perfect place to start.

Sword In The Storm is an heroic fantasy tale. The hero is Connavar, a young man who earns his reputation as a great warrior.

He travels widely and, as humans do, makes good and bad decisions that lead to a variety of events and battles as Connava strives to save the Rigante tribe.

There’s magic, fairies and other creatures, with the incredible world building that makes this an action packed, fast paced classic fantasy and a thoroughly entertaining read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of Sword In The Storm

Sword in the Storm is the first of the Rigante Series and I can say that it doesn’t disappoint.  David Gemmell is a past master of fantasy and he does this all the while ignoring the basic tenants of the fantasy that he writes.  He doesn’t use a lot of magic which is a shock in the heroic fantasy style and this really shows that it has more of a feel of a historic style of fantasy.


This book I was offered a chance to read due to a blog tour and I hadn’t read a lot by this author and it had been close to 15 years since I had picked up one of his books.  He impressed me but at that time I was more out of fantasy and didn’t want to push things.  Now I regret not following up on my read of his and picking up every book that I could.


This book had a great pace to it with a tiny bit of slowness only during the middle.  The book made me feel like I was living in the country where the story takes place and could see myself being part of this community and friends with some of the characters.  


Conn when you first started reading this was a scared and confused boy who was desperately trying to show that he was unlike what he believed his father was; a coward.  This puts a lot of pressure on the boy and he makes a few mistakes when he tries to show just how brave he is.


It almost has a feel of a Klingon style nature where honour seems to mean so much to the people.  It made me feel very good reading that while they are honourable and they are good for the most part they also have the dark side as well.


It shows a maturity with the writing that you can feel for the main character Conn and what he has or will become.  I really think this is what made the book so great.  The character really does show a lot of integrity except in the one instance where he seemed to be seeking revenge instead of following what his honour would demand.


The first book somewhat ended on a cliffhanger which is not a good thing for me as I really want to know what is going to happen next.  It is hard to really read a book that you know will be a great series only to find out that the first book ended in a way that just wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been.  


All in All this book really had me wanting more and I was so happy that I got the chance to read it.  The book just had that something extra that a good book needs and I think that the author really has a knack for writing stories where you don’t require magic and it is more about development of story and character.  There is none of the bad tropes about the magic whatchamacallit will save the day in Gemmell books.