David Gemmell

 

David Andrew Gemmell (August 1, 1948–July 28, 2006) was a popular British fantasy writer and occasional historical fictionalist.

Biography

Born in West London in the summer of 1948, he was expelled from school at the age of sixteen for organizing a gambling syndicate. He became a day labourer and a nightclub bouncer in Soho. He also worked as a freelance writer for the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, and Daily Express. One rejection letter he received in the early 1960s read: "You mention in your resume that you are working as a lorry driver's mate for Pepsi Cola. This is an occupation not without merit. Good luck with it."

He published his first novel, Legend, in 1984 but continued as a journalist. He was an editor of newspapers in Sussex, but this career ended after the publication of his third novel, Waylander, in 1986, in which he used his work colleagues' names for characters in the story. Recalling the event he stated "The managing director regarded it as a poisonous attack on his integrity".

At this point Gemmell became a full-time writer and published 29 books under his own name, all of which have remained in print. He also published a novel White Knight, Black Swan under the name Ross Harding, a thriller based on his own personal experiences growing up in London which to this day is his only novel out of print. His most recent release was Troy: Fall of Kings, the sequel to 2006's Troy: Shield of Thunder. His novels have also appeared in some collected editions and graphic novel form.

Before his death, Gemmell was Patron of the Hastings Writers' Group, following Catherine Cookson.[1] As patron, he was the main judge in the national literary competition run by the group, The Legend Writing Award[2], which was named after his first book Legend.

David Gemmell died of coronary artery disease, on Friday 28th July, 2006, two weeks after undergoing heart bypass surgery ^[1] and four days before his 58th birthday.

In his words "I tried to quit smoking and found that the years of polluting my brain with nicotine meant that I couldn't string a reasonable sentence together without filling my lungs with smoke. I went three months without a drag, took a good look at the crap I was writing and lit up." [3]

Works

Fantasy fiction

Drenai Series

• Legend (1984) (Originally published in the USA as Against the Horde, re-released as Legend)
• The King Beyond the Gate (1985)
• Waylander (1986)
• Quest for Lost Heroes (1990)
• Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf (1992)
• The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (1993)
• The Legend of Deathwalker (1996)
• Winter Warriors (1996)
• Hero in the Shadows (2000)
• White Wolf (2003)
• The Swords of Night and Day (2004)

Anthologies:

• Drenai Tales Volume I: contains; Legend, The King Beyond the Gate and Waylander
• Drenai Tales Volume II: contains; Quest for Lost Heroes, Waylander II and The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
• Drenai Tales Volume III: contains; The Legend of the Deathwalker, Winter Warriors and Hero in the Shadows

Rigante Series

• Sword in the Storm (1999)
• Midnight Falcon (2000)
• Ravenheart (2001)
• Stormrider (2002)

Stones Of Power — Sipstrassi — Jon Shannow

This series is known by several names. The entire series deals with the Stones of Power, also known as the Sipstrassi. The last three novels involve the protagonist Jon Shannow. The first four novels were published in an omnibus edition as Stones of Power: A Sipstrassi Omnibus in 1992. The last three novels were published in omnibus form as The Complete Chronicles of the Jerusalem Man in 1995.

• Ghost King (1988)
• Last Sword of Power (1988)
• Wolf in Shadow (1987) (first published as The Jerusalem Man)
• The Last Guardian (1989)
• Bloodstone (1994)

Hawk Queen Series

• Ironhand's Daughter (1995)
• The Hawk Eternal (1995)

Individual Fantasy Titles

• Knights of Dark Renown (1989)
• Morning Star (1992)
• Dark Moon (1997)
• Echoes of the Great Song (2002)

Historical fiction

Greek Series (alternate history)

• Lion of Macedon (1990)
• Dark Prince (1991)

Troy Series

• Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (2005)
• Troy: Shield of Thunder (2006)
• Troy: Fall of Kings (August 2007)

Although Gemmell died before completing the final novel in his Troy trilogy, Transworld announced that around 70,000 words were completed shortly before his death. His wife, Stella, has completed the remainder of the book, working from his very detailed chapter notes. Stella Gemmell has been heavily involved in the research and creation of the trilogy since its inception in 2003 and David left behind a plan of exactly how each character should develop for Fall Of Kings.

Non-fantasy

• White Knight, Black Swan (1993) (under the pen name of Ross Harding)

Gemmell wrote White Knight, Black Swan under the pen name Ross Harding to avoid disappointment from his dedicated fans, as he feared that they would resent his departure from heroic fantasy. White Knight, Black Swan is extremely rare and copies fetch up to £1,500 on internet auction sites. There are no plans to rerelease it at present.

Graphic Novels

• Both Legend (1993) and Wolf in Shadow (1994) have also been released as graphic novels, with text by Stan Nicholls and artwork by Fangorn.

Controversy

In October 2007, it was revealed that the prologue to Gemmell's Dark Prince was copied without attribution in the as-yet-unpublished Of Atlantis, by Mary Kellis, under the pen name "Lanaia Lee".^[2]

References

External links

• David Gemmell FAQ
• Interview at SFFWorld.com
• BBC News - Fantasy writer Gemmell dies at 57

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