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David Gemmell
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Hero in the Shadows (Waylander) (Drenai Novels, 9) Paperback – 5 Oct. 2000

by David Gemmell (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,586 ratings
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A heroic fantasy by the Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell in which the forces of good and evil and the living and the dead face each other in battle...Perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, Duncan M. Hamilton and Conn Iggulden.

"Probably the finest living writer of heroic fantasy." -- TIME OUT
"When it comes to heroic fantasy, nobody does it better than David Gemmell." -- THE DARK SIDE
"Hero in the Shadows has everything a fan of heroic fantasy could desire..." - Stephen Donaldson
"Another powerful page-turning adventure from Gemmell" -- ***** Reader review
"The characters are wonderfully bought to life... you will simply fall into the world the Gemmell creates for you." -- **** Reader review

**************************************

Thousands of years ago the evil city of Kuan Hador was defeated by a vast army of mystic warriors, the Enemy banished beyond the Gateway between Worlds. Spells of enormous power sealed the Gateway.

Now icy mists begin to form around the ruins of Kuan Hador. Awesome beasts stalk the hills and forests. The spells are fading. Beyond the Gateway the vengeful armies of Kuan Hador await.

And where years before a host stood against the Enemy, now only a handful of warriors prepare to face it once more: Kysumu the Swordsman, last of a dying breed, Yu Yu Liang, the ditch digger, Ustarte, the Beast-Priestess, and the mysterious Waylander.

Together they must solve an ancient mystery, which will bring the dead to life for a final battle outside Time.

But first Waylander must find a way to kill a man who cannot die...

Previous page
  1. Book 9 of 11
    Drenai Saga
  2. Print length
    448 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Corgi
  5. Publication date
    5 Oct. 2000
  6. Dimensions
    10.6 x 2.7 x 17.8 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    0552146749
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0552146746
  9. See all details
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Product description

Amazon Review

Everything has its season, and in Hero in the Shadows Waylander, the assassin hero of some of Gemmell's earlier books, is now a middle-aged man looking for peace in a world that will, for the most part, let him alone. The crimes of his past come back to haunt him, however, as he finds himself responsible for a young prince whose grandfather he murdered, and as creatures of doomed legend come back to rule the world with blood and horror. An ageing paladin, and a loud-mouthed braggart whom a magic sword has chosen, and a kitchen girl who is unusually handy with her knives become his allies, along with a priestess who is not telling all she knows, or all she is... Gemmell is one of the best writers of fantasy adventure there is and this new book is attractively gloomy in its atmosphere and has a pervading sense of the ironic. The action sequences are powerful and well visualised--Gemmell always knows how a particular sort of fight would feel. And there are no simple morals here--most of the characters, heroic or villainous, exist in the grey hinterland between dark and light, where evil acts are often performed in sorrow and good actions often have mixed motives behind them. --Roz Kaveney

Review

Gemmell has every right to take his place amongst the SF and fantasy greats ― SFX

Gemmell is several rungs above the good - right into the fabulous -- Anne McCaffrey

Has everything a fan of heroic fantasy could desire -- Stephen Donaldson

I am truly amazed at David Gemmell's ability to focus his writer's eye. His images are crisp and complete, a history lesson woven within the detailed tapestry of the highest adventure. Gemmell's characters are no less complete, real men and women with qualities good and bad, placed in trying times and rising to heroism or falling victim to their own weaknesses -- R. A. Salvatore, author of Mortalis

Gemmell is very talented; his characters are vivid and very convincingly realistic -- Christopher Stasheff, author of the Wizard of Rhyme novels

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Corgi (5 Oct. 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0552146749
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0552146746
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.6 x 2.7 x 17.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,586 ratings

About the author

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David Gemmell

David Gemmell

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David Gemmell was born in London, England, in the summer of 1948. Expelled from school at sixteen, he became a bouncer, working nightclubs in Soho. Born with a silver tongue, Gemmell rarely needed to bounce customers, relying instead on his gift of gab to talk his way out of trouble. This talent eventually led him to jobs as a freelancer for the London Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Express. His first novel, Legend, was published in 1984 and has remained in print ever since. He became a full-time writer in 1986. His books consistently top the London Times bestseller list.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
2,586 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Clemens Schoonderwoert
5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Hero(es) Farewell!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2021
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This amazing heroic fantasy novel is the 9th part in the "Drenai Saga" series, featuring Dakeyras, aka Waylander the Slayer, for the final time.

Storytelling is of a superb quality, the story perfectly executed, and all characters come vividly to life in this tale where symbolisms such as heroes and villains, good and evil, light and darkness, and faith and disbelief come very much to the forefront.

The characters in this thrilling heroic adventure can be related to to all kind of cultures, and these cultures are wonderfully interwoven with each other in this brilliant story.

This story is about the ruined city of Kuan-Hador, with its dark mystery and heroic history.

These ruins are the birthing place of sorcerers who seek death and destruction, and only a few heroes are prepared to fight and die against them, and they are, Kysumu, the Rajnee swordsman, Yu Yu Liang, a humble ditch-digger looking for glory, Keeva Taliana, a fierce warrior woman, Ustarte, a woman-meld between human and tiger, and Dakeyras as the Grey Man, aka Waylander the Slayer.

It will turn out to be a race against time for our heroes to step this menace in their desparate efforts to close the gateways of evil.

In doing this they need all the strength and cunning to beat this evil right up till the end, and it will be followed by death for several of our most prominent, glorious and courageous characters, and for them in this astounding tale it will be the end of their road of life and the begin to a stairway to heaven, where salvation and glory will be their reward.

Highly recommended, for this is a most wonderful Waylander conclusion, and that's why I want to call this astonishing episode: "A Glorious Hero(es) Farewell"!
2 people found this helpful
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craig powell
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2024
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Another fantastic read from the master of heroic fantasy.
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Irikefe Okonedo
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2014
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I couldn't put this fantasy novel down when I got into it and was sad it was over when I had finished it. Set in a medieval world, it tells the latest tale (it is part three of a trilogy) of bad guy turned good guy and lethal killer who can kill anything (even demons) Waylander (now known as the Grey Man) and his banding together with other heroes to battle the evil sorcerers and demonic minions that come through a portal from another dimension to Waylander's world (a sort of fictional Earth) seeking to take it over. After his stately home is attacked Waylander joins forces with a mighty swordsman called Kysumu, a lowly ditch digger called Yu Yu and a psychic priestess called Ustarte (who is a meld of man and beast) to battle the evil supernatural forces that have entered the world. Together they must drive the forces of evil back and Waylander must kill a very evil and very powerful sorcerer who cannot die. An excellent fantasy novel with a wonderfully realised fantasy world, great attention to detail, memorable three dimensional heroes that I came to care about, formidable opponents for the book's heroes (who were as interesting and complex as the novel's heroes), good supporting characters, horrifying supernatural creatures that gave me a good scare, a great back story that gave the book added depth and poignant scenes that almost moved me to tears. This book just got better and better as it went on. With themes of good versus evil, the misuse of magic, heroic sacrifice, destiny and redemption, this was an excellent (if not perfect) read and I look forward to reading more David Gemmell fantasy literature.
5 people found this helpful
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George Bloomfield
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2023
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A Sword and Sorcery epic from the master storyteller.
Unputdownable tale of battles, intrigue, demons, and evil wizards
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M Barratt
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 August 2023
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Not a reflection on the book, but why do so many Kindle books not just have the title, but feel the need to add a tag line to it?
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mrogers
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Gemmell master piece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2011
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Ever since reading David Gemmell's 'Troy' series of books I have been hooked on Gemmell as an author. I have since begun to read all of his books and the Drenai books are simply wonderful reads.

I was originally unsure about whether to read the Drenai books as I've never been a huge fan of heroic fantasy - however given just how much I enjoyed the Troy books and the wonderful writing style of David Genmmell I decided to try them. I am so pleased that I did and I have now read nearly all of Gemmell's books and urge anyone considering the books to do it, you will not be disappointed.

All of the books are great and can be read as stand alone books or in order. The characters are wonderfully bought to life, there's love, romance, humour, twists & turns, betrayal, revenge, heroes, villains, sorcery, savagery, battles, noble deeds and you will simply fall into the world the Gemmell creates for you. These books deserve to be read and its a an absolute tragedy that Gemmell is no longer with us.
9 people found this helpful
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Yanny
5.0 out of 5 stars another stunning book from the master of heroic fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 July 2023
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A hard book to put down, this novel has it all - from sorcery to fast moving fight scenes it twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.
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FallenGrace
5.0 out of 5 stars Another powerful page turning adventure from Gemmell.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2015
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This is the third book set around David Gemmell's anti hero Waylander as well as the third book chronologically in the Drenai saga timeline, if not the order he originally wrote them in.

Ever since I was a teenager Gemmell has been my favorite author, no one before or since has written such superb heroes, such unique and powerful characters to me. The instant I start a Gemmell book, even one i've read many times I struggle to put it down and Hero in the Shadows is no different.

Waylander has retired trying to hide from his past and a forgivness he can never give himself ultimately gets dragged into events only he can resolve. Featuring epic battles, demons, magic and a wonderful cast of characters this is a must read for any fan of heroic fantasy.

Recommended.

+ Waylander is just an awesome character.
+ Great cast of characters.
+ Great fights and scenes.
+ Just can't put it down.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Joel Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Every book gets better—and each builds masterfully on the last
Reviewed in the United States on 7 February 2022
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This book ends beautifully and it’s packed with action from the first paragraph. Each character is beautifully crafted and you will feel their triumphs, their pains and sometimes their deaths with strong emotion.
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Brad
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Waylander book!
Reviewed in Canada on 26 July 2019
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This might be my favorite in the series. The other waylander books are good but this final chapter takes more time to flesh out scenes and has many setups and payoffs that enhance the emotional struggles these characters face. It's a great read and well worth buying.
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test
5.0 out of 5 stars super Buch
Reviewed in Germany on 27 May 2014
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selber lesen, bedeutet sich sein eigenens Bild machen und nur sog gehts. super viel Spaß beim selber lesen! Happy Day
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Vu Le
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 2 October 2015
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Wraps up a great character nicely
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James Scott Wilcox
5.0 out of 5 stars Waylander
Reviewed in the United States on 19 October 2022
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David Gemmell is my favorite author of all time and this series doesn’t disappoint. I am now re reading all of his books. Yes he is that good.
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