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Publication Order of The Rigante Books

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Publication Order of Standalone Novels

David Gemmell was born in London, England, UK, on August 1, 1948 and passed away on July 28, 2006. He was a former journalist and newspaper editor, best known as the bestselling author of heroic fantasy.

Growing up in a tough urban area of London, the British author experienced many vicissitudes in his life. Raised alone by his mother until age six, he suffered from bullying and taunts from his peers, and sustained serious injuries from fighting. At 16, he was expelled from school for organizing a gambling syndicate.

After that, Gemmell went on to work as a day laborer, lorry-driver’s mate, and nightclub bouncer before becoming a journalist. He worked as a journalist for several local newspapers in East Sussex, becoming editor-in-chief for five them. He also freelanced as a stringer for the Daily Mail, Daily Express, and Daily Mirror national newspapers.

Gemmell married twice. He was the father of two children during his first marriage to Valerie Ballard. He later married Stella Graham. He died in Hastings on the southeast coast of England, at home with his wife. On July 28, 2006, four days before his 58th birthday, Stella Gemmell found him dead at his desk.

Writing fantasy was not Gemmell’s first choice. Originally, he intended to be a historical novelist, but citing William Wallace and the Battle of the Alamo, he related that he was intrigued by events that ended badly. Declaring that he would have made the Scottish revolutionary victorious if he had written about the 13th century, he realized eventually that this would only be possible in a fantasy setting.

The author also affirms that a major influence of his work was classic western movies. This is evident in one of his books when characters enter a mystical world akin to the Native American spirit world. In the first two books of the Rigante series, Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon, the main character is a pugilist and we can see traces of John Wayne movies.

In 1976, the author was diagnosed with cancer that he believed to be terminal. This drove him to write Siege of Dros Delnoch, hoping to take his mind off his illness and more importantly, to realize his ambition of having a novel published before he died. Later, when he learned that he had been misdiagnosed, the novel was set aside until 1980.

His final book, Troy: Fall of Kings, was published in 2007 after his death, under the joint authorship of David and Stella Gemmel. The bestseller author was writing the novel at the time of his death, an alternative-history trilogy of the legend of the siege of Troy.

Stella believed that she was the only person capable of completing her husband’s work, using his notes and chapter plan. Within two weeks of Gemmell’s funeral, Stella contacted his publisher to make the offer. Stella was more than just David Gemmell’s wife. An aspiring novelist, subeditor, and former junior reporter, she had been involved in Gemmell’s writing process for a number of years.

David Gemmell’s works number over thirty novels, but his career as writer without a doubt began with the publishing of his first and most famous novel, Legend, in 1984. Having sold over one million copies, his work continues to spread worldwide. Legend is the novel that established the British author as a major fantasy novelist and where the character of Druss was introduced, a fierce warrior who would appear frequently in Gemmell’s subsequent books.

Another famous book of the author is Waylander. The novel was published in 1986 as the first of a trilogy, followed by Waylander II and III: In the Realm of the Wolf and Hero In The Shadows. They tell the story of Waylander, an assassin who is doomed to travel the world in search of revenge against those who killed his family.

Two of Gemmell’s works have been released as graphic novels, with artwork by Fangorn and text by Stan Nicholls. Wolf in Shadow was published in 1994 and Legend in 1993.

An award was established in 2008 in the name of the British author and his most famous book, the David Gemmell Legend Award.

9 Responses to “David Gemmell”

1. GARY JOHN PEACOCK: 5 months ago

   Grew up reading David’s books and still read them to this day, my favourite author of all time and a true inspiration.

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2. Penelope Sandalwood: 6 months ago

   I will always be grateful to David Gemmell, his book “Echoes of a Great Song” got my son reading. He is now reading it to his son. That’s legacy.

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3. Philip Maher: 2 years ago

   I take Inspiration from those who have written before me.
   I cried, I laughed and then I cried again. some of the best fiction I have ever read. he will be sorely missed by me and his followers.

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4. Jason Burgess: 3 years ago

   David Gemmell was and is the greatest heroic fantasy writer who has ever lived. I read his novels over and over again. I miss my hero and his writings RIP David Gemmell you will always live on.

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5. Ronnie Vasey: 3 years ago

   David Gemmell was and still is my favourite author of all time.I always say he was the best friend I never knew as his stories and brilliant characterisation helped me through many hard times in my life and still do as I turn to his books time after time for inspiration and hope.Thanks for being there Dave.You are most sorely missed my old friend.

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6. Chris M: 3 years ago

   David Gemmell was truly one of a kind. No one else writes with the same efficient prose, characterization and imagination. He is sorely missed. I was greatly saddened when the David Gemmell awards were discontinued.

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7. Kimberly Anne: 3 years ago

   Cannot put them down! The Rigante series is AMAZING!!! What a masterful storyteller!!

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8. Garry Saunders: 3 years ago

   They are still some of the best books and I read them many times, a great story teller.

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9. david wyngrove: 3 years ago

   Fantastic books

   Reply