Troy: Fall Of Kings (Troy) (Hardcover)

A bold literary feat Homer, Aeschylus, Virgil, and other literary giants wrote on the end of Troy. Kudos to David and Stella Gemmell for having risked comparison to them. The "alternate" history is fascinating and convincing: only little flaw, Agamemnon, if this were a graphic novel, should have "bad guy of the tale" tattooed on his forehead, or so it seems. And,well, Agamemnon's end as depicted by Aeschylus couldn't be surpassed, still his demise is admittedly much more spectacular. And one can't but admire the geo-historical precision of the tale, with Hittite, Egyptians, and others. I've loved Helikaon and Odysseus's portrayals. Alas, Gemmell is gone as the heroes he wrote about, but his magnificent novels shall remain.

Disappointment I am a huge David Gemmell fan and thought the first two Troy books were excellent. Unfortunately with the third you can tell where his wife/ghost writer took over, as all of a sudden characters seem two dimensional and behave out of character. I finished the book, but it left me feeling quite disappointed in the end. I gave it 3 stars purely because I appreciate Stella Gemmell (? can't be bothered checking the name) tried to finish her husband's work, but in reality I think 2 stars is closer to the mark.

FANTASTIC! This is book, and indeed a trilogy ,that deserves many more than the 5 stars Amazon allow me to award. It is written with a pace, humanity and realism that most authors can only aspire to. Many of the other reviewers of this book have commented on Mr Gemmell's passing and the major contribution to his legacy of his wife Stella. I can only add that the Mrs Gemmell's contribution links seemlessly with that of her husband and together they have written one the best historical trilogies ever. I was hooked from the first chapter of the first book and stayed there to the end. If you like Cornwell, Iggulden or Scarrow read this, it beats all three hands down.

Good, Not Great This was a very good book but suffered from a few problems. The Ahmose story was predictable in the extreme while characters tended to fade in and out throughout the whole trilogy. The book was also very long and suffered from not having a central figure. Gemmell was a fantastic writer, this book isn't up to the standard of the Drenai saga though

5 stars... just Unlike many other reviewers here, I am not a long-standing David Gemmell fan. As new reader, I was totally enthralled by the first two books in this trilogy and waited with great anticipation for this final book. It was certainly very sad to learn that David Gemmell had died. Without reservation, I will say that I am grateful that the publishers, editor and Stella Gemmell did so much to complete David's vision. It is clear that this is the story David Gemmel wanted to write and after reading it, I felt a real mixed sense of satisfaction and loss, for the story, the characters, the author and myself as the reader. So, why do I call it "5 star... just"? I hate to be so picky, but there are some grammatical faux pas in the prose that are somewhat jarring - mainly to do with sentence construction and the misuse of commas near the beginning of sentences. It is clear that the economical prose employed by David Gemmell are not as well constructed by Stella, or policed by the Editors. These seem more prominent in the early part of the book and either I got accustomed to them, or they weren't present later on. Also, some of the dialogue between Helikaon and Andromache is rather desperate - somewhat Mills and Boon-like (I assume). However, I know that I am really splitting hairs here as this didn't stop me enjoying the story and as I said before, I am grateful to have been able to read the whole of this trilogy. To counterbalance my criticism, that this book was ever completed is a testament to Stella Gemmell and I don't wish to sound churlish or over-critical. Taking the unfortunate aspect of David Gemmell's death out of the consideration, though: this book simply isn't as well written as the first two. It's still a fine conclusion to a wonderful trilogy, though. The story of Troy has been told a million times, but the Heroes come to life in this re-telling. Helikaon, Odysseus and Banokles are drawn so well and leave a lasting impression - giving Achilles and Hektor more than a run for their money. Moreover, given that this story is so well known, it's great to see how David Gemmell has re-imagined some key parts of it - and woven in some rather unexpected lines, too. I would recommend this trilogy to anyone.