Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Which of David Gemmell's 32 novels is your personal favorite?

The nominees for the 2013 David Gemmell Legend Awards were announced earlier this week, and the winners are scheduled to be announced on Halloween at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, England.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Legend Awards, they were established in memory of British fantasy writer David Gemmell, who died in 2006 at the age of 57 from coronary artery disease. The Legend Awards are currently given in the categories - the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel, the Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art.

This year’s slate of nominees are as follows:

The Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel:
- “The Red Country” by Joe Abercrombie
- “Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff
- “King of Thornes” by Mark Lawrence
- “The Gathering of the Lost” by Helen Lowe
- “The Blinding Knife” by Brent Weeks

The Morning Star Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer:
- “Throne of the Crescent Moon” by Saladin Ahmed
- “The Red Knight” by Miles Cameron
- “Malice” by John Gwynne
- “Irenicon” by Aidan Harte
- “Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff

The Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art:
- Didier Graffet and David Senior for the cover of “The Red Country” by Joe Abercrombie
- Dominic Harman for the cover of “Legion of Shadow” by Michael J. Ward
- Clint Langley for the cover of “Besieged” by Rowenna Cory Daniells
- Silas Manhood for the cover of “The Blinding Knife” by Brent Weeks
- Colin Thomas for the cover of “Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff
- Stephen Youll for the cover of “The Black Mausoleum” by Stephen Deas

The Legend Awards were established in 2008 and were first awarded in 2009. What follows is a complete list of the all-time winners:

The Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel:
2012 – “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss
2011 – “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson
2010 – “Empire” by Graham McNeill
2009 – “ Blood of Elves” by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Morning Star Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer:
2012 – “Heir of Night” by Helen Lowe
2011 – “Warrior Priest” by Darius Hinks
2010 – “The Cardinal’s Blades” by Pierre Pevel

The Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art:
2012 – Raymond Swanland for cover of “Blood of Aenarion” by William King
2011 – Olof Erla Einarsdottir for cover of “Power and Majesty” by Tansy Rayner
2010 – Didier Graffet, Dave Senior and Laura Brett for cover of “Best Served Cold” by Joe Abercrombie

As mentioned, the David Gemmell Legend Awards were named in honor of David Gemmell, a former newspaperman who, by my count, wrote 32 novels. What follows is a complete list of Gemmell’s books, in order of publication.

1. “Legend” (1984)
2. “The King Beyond the Gate” (1985)
3. “Waylander” (1986)
4. “Wolf in Shadow” (1987)
5. “Ghost King” (1988)
6. “Last Sword of Power” (1988)
7. “Knights of Dark Renown” (1989)
8. “The Last Guardian” (1989)
9. “Lion of Macedon” (1990)
10. “Quest for Lost Heroes” (1990)
11. “Dark Prince” (1991)
12. “Morningstar” (1992)
13. “Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf (1992)
14. “The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend” (1993)
15. “White Knight, Black Swan” (1993)
16. “Bloodstone” (1994)
17. “The Hawk Eternal” (1995)
18. “Ironhand’s Daughter” (1995)
19. “Dark Moon” (1996)
20. “The Legend of Deathwalker” (1996)
21. “Winter Warriors” (1996)
22. “Echoes of the Great Song” (1997)
23. “Sword in the Storm” (1999)
24. “Hero in the Shadows” (2000)
25. “Midnight Falcon” (2000)
26. “Ravenheart” (2001)
27. “Stormrider” (2002)
28. “White Wolf” (2003)
29. “The Swords of Night and Day” (2004)
30. “Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow” (2005)
31. “Troy: Shield of Thunder” (2006)
32. “Troy: Fall of Kings” (2007)

In the end, how many of the Legend Award-winning novels mentioned above have you had the chance to read? How many of Gemmell’s books have you read? What did you think about them? Which did you like or dislike? Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.

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