Farewell, old friend

David Gemmell, the greatest fantasy author of his generation died yesterday at the age of 57 after a heart bypass surgery. My favorite living fantasy author is gone, and I along with millions of his fans mourn at his passing. He was the only author whose books I always bought without even bothering to check the back cover or reading any reviews.

1976 David Gemmell was being tested for cancer and this spurred him to write his first novel, Legend where perhaps the greatest of his heroes, Druss the Legend was brought to life. He survived and became an author after a life as a bouncer and a day labourer. Though not innately talented writer, Gemmell worked incredibly hard at his craft, and by the end of his life his craftsmanship of writing matched the passion and his knowledge of combat that was always present in his works. He might never had the divine gift of writing like Bulgakov or Dickens, but he more than made that up with hard work and perseverance.

He gave us 29 books (the last of his work, sequel to the magnificent Lord of the Silver Bow to be published September of 2006), that I believe will stand the test of time in the field of heroic fantasy. He will pass into the same fabled realm as his literary creations, the realm of legend.

In his books the heroes are larger than life, flawed, yes, but utterly humane. He gave us mighty Druss and the deadly Waylander, the driven Jerusalem Man and moody Tenaka Khan. He brought to life the heroes of Greece: Parmenion the general, Agamemnon from Iliad and Alexander the Great. Every single of his heroes and characters is alive and believable in the pages of his books, full of all the faults and virtues that make us human. He crafted worlds of Drenai and Rigante, and the terrible land of post-apocalyptic world that serves as the backdrop of annals of Jerusalem Man. He created their enemies too, the city of Stone and the Nadir hordes, the terrible Joinings and the deadly Vagrian empire, treating them with the similar understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, showing to the reader that they, too were human.

Deeply spiritual and religious, the supernatural theme runs through Gemmell's books. Despite his deep commitment to Christianity, Gemmell's books expose tolerance of other faiths, strong anti-racist sentiment and understanding of other sexual orientations. For him such issues were questions of right and wrong, not of religious dogma.

He also actively encouraged his readers to help those in need and intervene and stop any crimes they witnessed. Though this brought a lot of criticism, he never changed his opinion on this: those who can should always help others in need, regardless of personal danger.

Though David Gemmell is dead, he and his heroes will live forever in his books. They will always be there for me, encouraging me to not to run from danger, help those I can, and remember that even those who oppose me are human, too. This is my consolation -as long as his books are read, as long as Druss treks across the mountains in the mind's eye of his readers, David Gemmell is not truly dead, but lives on in the hearts of the people his writings have touched.

"Farewell, old friend."
(From Legend by David Gemmell)

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