Books: David Gemmell's Troy

Last month I was experiencing a bit of a book drought, having received no recommendations I had to find something myself, and that something turned out to be the Troy trilogy by David Gemmell.

I've never read any Gemmell prior to this but was aware of him as a science fiction/fantasy writer, Troy however is something different. The trilogy is loosely based on the Trojan war from bronze age ancient Greece as described in the epic poem The Iliad attributed to legendary poet Homer. Gemmells version adheres very loosely to the source and is much akin to a reboot - the characters and places are there but their roles and events are altered to a degree that the story is Gemell's own. The story follows a number of central characters, but the true lead character is Prince Aeneas/Helikaon aka The Golden One. Helikaon is Prince of Dardanos, famed for his successes both as a trader, netting him great wealth (and the moniker Golden One) and as a warrior. Helikaon makes an enemy of the Mykene prior to the events of the story after killing one of their heroes in a sea battle which the Mykene instigated in a pirate raid. Having this feud with the Mykene and being an ally of Troy and close friend to several members of the Trojan royal family (including Hektor, Troy's greatesr hero, crown Prince and premier General) places Helikaon in a good position to maintain central focus throughout the story. The sheer number of characters followed gives the narrative multiple interrelated threads, there are friendships, rivalries, romances, victories, tragedies and blood feuds portrayed in such a manner that several characters share in each one. This sort of narrative gives a great sense of character development and each shared event has perceivable effect on the personalities, attitudes and behaviours of those concerned. The result is a compelling enjoyable story which is hard to put down.

A major part of the allure of this story for me is the presentation - it has a gritty realistic flavour often absent from novels dealing with mythology or any sort of war in general. Here killing is not taken lightly or glorified, characters recognise that the death they inflict has repercussions and often display remorse after the battle rage has dissipated. Many writers have a habit of writing off death, detaching it from the main narrative - battles are fought and people on both sides die, but this is often glossed over unless a main character snuffs it - in Gemmell's narrative you get a real feel for what's going on and characters don't exhibit the blasé attitude to war many heroes from other novels demonstrate.

I've always loved Greek mythology so that perhaps has a lot to do with why I find this story so endearing. It should be noted though that much of the supernatural element from the mythology has been removed, altered or left with a question mark over it. For example the character of Odysseus - who in the mythology had many fantastical voyages featuring monsters and Gods and all sorts of magical shenanigans is portrayed as a legendary story teller who weaves himself and his crew into his tales - his audience may believe his stories, but Gemmell's Odysseus is well aware his adventures are (almost) pure fantasy. Similarly Prince Aeneas mother was said to be Aphrodite in the mythology, however here she dies in madness prior to the events of the first novel believing herself to be Aphrodite and throwing herself to her death from a cliff. There are still some supernatural elements here that suggest that perhaps the Gods of ancient Greece aren't as absent as they first appear - there are several instances of seers and prophets accurately predicting future events which raises some questions about supernatural interference. So far I've read Lord Of The Silver Bow and I'm early into Shield Of Thunder, the former was enormously enjoyable and the latter has already made several riveting revelations that promise what's to come will be equally so. If you're looking for something good to read, look no further. I was rather dismayed to discover that David Gemmell actually died during the writing of the final book in mid-2006, however his wife Stella undertook the completion of the book and it has been published - I hope she has done the series - and her husband - justice. freedoms_stain, out.