Product Description

Skilgannon the Damned had vanished from the pages of history. Following the terrible triumph at Perapolis, the General had taken the legendary Swords of Night and Day and ridden from the lands of Naashan. No-one knew where he had gone, and the assassins sent by the Witch Queen could find no trace of his passing. Three years later, as a mob intent on murder gathers outside a distant monastery, they are faced by a single unarmed priest. In a few terrifying seconds their world is changed for ever, and word spreads across the lands of the East. Skilgannon is back. Now he must travel across a perilous, demon-haunted realm seeking a mysterious temple, and the ageless goddess who rules it. With assassins on his trail, and an army of murderous foes ahead, the Damned sets off on a quest to bring the dead to life. But he does not travel alone. The man beside him is Druss the Legend. In a world torn by war, White Wolf is a page-turning tale of love, betrayal and treachery, which examines the nature of heroism and friendship and the narrow lines that divide good from evil, redemption from damnation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12176 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 588 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
David Gemmell is Britain's most popular writer of hard-edged heroic fantasy. White Wolf opens a new subseries, "The Damned", set in the world of his Drenai saga and featuring the invincible axeman Druss the Legend--now well into middle age. But the central character is Skilgannon the Damned, deadly wielder of a very special pair of swords and a former general whose nickname comes from a war atrocity that he does not deny. His attempt to make a new life as a monk ends abruptly when civil unrest threatens the monastery and Skilgannon's old fighting skills come into play with appalling effectiveness. In flashbacks to decades earlier, a young Skilgannon painfully and plausibly learns the warrior's art, until his boyhood finishes in a blaze of horror. He finds true love, but his lady is also in love with power and gives the orders for a city-wide bloodbath that makes him forever The Damned. Now known as the Witch-Queen, she won't forgive him for leaving her...

Other stories intertwine with Skilgannon's. There's a young lad who wants to be a swordsman; a fey girl haunted by voices; twin brother fighters, one with a personality ravaged by brain cancer; and Druss the Legend, still indomitable but beginning to worry about his heart. Their paths entwine in a land full of disorder, hostile troops, desperate refugees, and escaped arena beasts (sorcerous hybrids of man and animal). Gemmell excels at combat scenes, with a pace, timing and gripping conviction rare in the genre. He makes it clear, with grim compassion, that opponents aren't just straw men to be knocked over. Skilgannon is forced to kill people he admires, or who admire him; even legitimate self-defence turns sour when we hear the version told by the dead man's fiancée. At the climax, Skilgannon, Druss and their surviving companions stage an audacious assault on a particularly obnoxious villain's well-defended fortress. Much bloodshed follows, with satisfactory settlement of many debts and a final gleam of hope for the future. More tales of Skilgannon will surely follow. --David Langford

From the Back Cover
Skilgannon the Damned had vanished from the pages of history. Taking his legendary Swords of Night and Day, he rode from the lands of Naashan. No-one knew where he had gone.

Three years later, as a mob intent on murder gathers outside a distant monastery, they are faced by a single unarmed priest. In a few terrifying seconds their world is changed for ever, and word spreads across the lands of the East. Skilgannon is back.

Now he must travel across a perilous, demon-haunted realm seeking a mysterious temple, and the ageless goddess who rules it. With assassins on his trail, and an army of murderous foes ahead, the Damned sets off on a quest to bring the dead to life. But he does not travel alone.

The man beside him is Druss the Legend.

About the Author
David Gemmell:
Published in 1984, David A. Gemmell's award-winning first novel, Legend, has become a classic. His most recent Drenai and Rigante books are all published as Bantam Press hardcovers and Corgi paperbacks. Hero in the Shadows, Ravenheart and Stormrider are Sunday Times bestsellers. His most recent novel, The Swords of Night and Day, is now available from Bantam Press.

Now widely regarded as 'the finest living writing of heroic fantasy', David Gemmell lives in East Sussex.

Now widely acclaimed as Britain's king of heroic fantasy, David Gemmell lives in East Sussex.

Customer Reviews

White Wolf
For David Gemmell addicts – finally, a new book! White Wolf introduces a new character to the Drenai series named Skilgannon. Throughout the novel, Gemmell uses the quest for atonement to really create character. Skilgannon was a general for the Witch Queen (whom he loves) but left her service after his wife died (who loved him) and Jianna (the Witch Queen) ordered him to slaughter the inhabitants of a city, earning him the title the Damned. Basically, after failing as a monk he goes looking for a special temple to resurrect his wife. On his way he ends up with Druss the Legend (naturally) who is looking for a friend of his who has disappeared. I don’t want to ruin the rest of the story so you will have to find out the rest on your own. Gemmell has a brilliant writing style, making reading his books terribly addictive. White Wolf is a book charged with excitement and humour – definitely a good read!

Another Gemmell masterpiece...
David Gemmell has grown as a writer in the twenty years since Legend hit the shops. Even the most avid Gemmell fan (like myself) has to admit that although the writing was faultless, his early novels were somewhat formulaic. That can no longer be said. Following his superb Rigante books, Gemmell here returns to the world of the Drenai, and to Druss.

The new hero for this new series is Olek Skilgannon, the Damned, complete with the sort of intrigue you would expect from one of David Gemmell's characters. Gemmell has the ability to make you believe in special people, particularly people who are special in combat, and he does that with Skilgannon here. He also has the ability to make you care for characters, to make everything appear in the shades of grey we all know exist. In this book, we see the world from the points of view of a multitude of characters, each of whom brings their own hopes, dreams and point of view to the situation.

The plot, as I hinted, is clever. Interspersed with Skilgannon's life in the present are his memories (and those of others) of the past. The introduction of a number of new heroes, who could feature in future novels is another exciting aspect.

The combat scenes are, of course, one of Gemmell's major strenghts, apparently drawing on his experiences as a London bouncer. They are fast moving, exciting, and seem brutally real. But they are linked with the doubts that always surround wars, with clever thoughts and musings. With jokes and wit (especially from Diagoras in this volume), and with tales of love and acts of heroism.

And, although I have mentioned it once already, let us not forget that this book contains Druss the Legend, who has become one of the most beloved of fantasy heroes. He is the perfect hero for a perfect heroic writer.

One of these days, David Gemmell is going to write a book that makes more than just the fantasy genre sit up and take note. This may not quite have been it, but I couldn't put it down.

another gemmell gem!!
Well Gemmell has done it again!
I found White Wolf a welcome return to the Drenai series. Gemmell has introduced another wonderful character with Skilgannon, and of course the additon of my old favourite Druss just made this book even better.
Being a Gemmell veteren i can understand why people slam his books for being to 'samey' but I find that if I dont read them one after the other and pad them out with other books then each one as enjoyable as the previous,(mostly anyway!)
But for me White Wolf was an amazing read that I just couldnt put down, like many of Gemmell's books. He is a fantastic story teller and is one of my all time favourite fantasy writers. For people who are just starting out reading David Gemmell books I recomend starting with Legend, by far his best ever book.
This was the book that started me down the rich, colourful and imaginative path that is fantasy reading.
White Wolf is a must read for any fantasy fan! A true Gem of the genre.