Product Description

Centuries after Connavar's triumphant battles against the invading army of Stone gained the Rigante their freedom, the clan finds itself oppressed once again. Magic that once flourished has been all but snuffed out. The Varlish king and his barons have stolen Rigante lands and robbed the people of their culture and liberty. From the Rigante's former seat of power the black-hearted Moidart rules; only in the north are the clansmen free. There, in the Druagh mountains, the magic still reigns, strengthened by bold, brilliant victories of the outlaw leader known as Ravenheart. In the south, civil war has drenched the land in blood, and the armies of destruction are slowly creeping north where Ravenheart waits, believing the armies of hated Moldart will come, led by the brutal ruler's only son, Stormrider. Ravenheart and Stormrider: enemies of uncommon courage, are unaware that the fate of their world lies in their hands. Both are destined to be heroes, but one of them is doomed. For a secret lost in the uncharted past has returned to haunt these two warriors as they face, not only the mallce of powerful men, but the vengeance of an ancient evil, rising from the bloodshed to slake its thirst. As immense armies of darkness advance, it seems as if nothing will stop them. They crush their enemies with ease, until only a few thousand highlanders stand before them, with no help in sight. But these are not ordinary men. They are clansmen, and more than that, they are Rigante.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35529 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Stormrider David Gemmell yet again demonstrates the passion for storytelling and the heroic which makes his best books so very much better than his sometimes clunky individual sentences might indicate.

Driven back to the barren hills of their homeland, the Rigante clansmen whose ancient ways have dominated Gemmell's series named for them are the natural world's last resource against crusaders, whose corrupt magic would destroy everything. Yet the crucial hero of the struggle is not the Rigante chieftain Kaelin, but Gaise, the dashing cavalryman son of the Rigante's worst enemy, the Moidart.

Gemmell is fascinated by what makes good men do evil--Gaise becomes hideously ruthless in his pursuit of a righteous war--and also by what makes evil men do good; faced with an ultimate evil that regards him as a personal enemy, the Moidart is forced not only onto the side of Good, but also to an understanding of what he really wants.

Gemmell is fond of the brutal and of the sentimental, but there is an underlying integrity to his work that comes from a real belief in the importance of what he is saying; his work is sometimes ponderous and pretentious, but never trivial. --Roz Kaveney

Review
The final novel in the Rigante series may initially appear to lack the fire of its predecessor, Ravenheart, but Gemmell's spell quickly exerts itself. Centuries after Connavar's triumphant battles against the invading army of Stone gain the Rigante their freedom, the clan finds itself oppressed once again. Magic that once flourished has been all but snuffed out. The Varlish king and his barons have stolen Rigante lands and robbed the people of their liberty. In the north, Ravenheart waits, believing the armies of hated Moidart will come, lead by the brutal ruler's only son, Stormrider. Gemmell is top of the tree in the fantasy field, and his particular skill is the interweaving of several complex plot lines. That skill is more than evident in Stormrider.

SFX
‘Gemmell is a fireside mythmonger; his characters and plots have the authentic feel of legends handed down through the ages’

Customer Reviews

More finely-crafted heroic fantasy in familliar territory
'Stormrider' offers the familliar feast of epic Gemmell fantasy. The usual themes are given treatment- advancing age, the redeeming power of love, can evil be fought with evil etc. But what makes Stormrider unusual for me is that there is a subtle attempt to link David's various worlds via a theory which sets the Seidhe up as a sort of primogenitor race overseeing all possible worlds, of which the Rigante world is the jewel in the crown.

If you're a fan of David's writing then further analysis is unecessary. If you're a naysayer, then this book will offer no new element to change your opinion of the grand old man of english fantasy.

Awesome!
Stormrider is David Gemmell's sequal to Ravenheart continuing his "Rigante" series. While you don't need to be a Gemmell fan to enjoy this book it makes sense to read at least "Ravenheart" first.

Set in the days of pistols and muskets fans of TV series Sharpe will recognise the change in the pitch of battle compared to Gemmell's previous hack and slash battles.

The book revives a darker side to Gemmels heroes who while being men of principle and honour are capable of darker deeds than the blackest villain.

While the last book focused on Kaelin Ring and his indominatble uncle Jaim Grymach this story focuses on the Storm rider Gaise Macon, son of the evil Moidart. Gemmell twists and turns his charecters with rare skill making the evil Moidart a hero and the Valiant Gaise an atrocious killer.

Stormrider while typical Gemmel fare is an amazingly well thought out and thought provoking book, the points he makes on good and evil, on heroes and cowards are intuitive and inspiring.

A brilliant book and a brilliant read, I picked this up and didn't stop reading it until I was finished.

Awesome

You know the drill, another brilliant Gemmel book.
Stormrider the final book in the Rigante series carries on from Ravenheart. At first I was not sure with the complete change in characters, but you soon warm to them and they make more than adequate substituions. The plot (which spans over two books so I would advise to at least to have read Ravenheart)is well constructed and will keep you guessing to the end. The only falt is that this book seems to be very similar to most of Gemmels other books, and it sometimes feels like you are getting the same characters set on different sets and put in slightly different situations. All in all it is a brillint book and I strongly reccomend it.