Thermal

You may not have heard of David Gemmell, although if you read what are tagged ‘fantasy novels’ you really should have. David died in July of this year, only 57, and his death hit me harder than anything has since my dad died in 2001.

Usually when someones death is reported on the news I think ‘thats sad’ and then forget about it. Sounds cold maybe, but I? feel? that it can be hypocritical to mourn for someone you never knew (Diana anyone?) This was different for me, as I read the news of his death I got that slightly numb feeling in my hands & feet, that hollow feeling inside, and it really affected me for weeks after.

I think it went beyond the fact that David was a stunning author (and he was), it was his humanity & his own values that shone through in his work. The good guys didn’t always get what they deserved. Bad things happened. People died.

But: the characters never gave in, people stepped up,the stories were never less than hugely inspiring. It could so easily have been a series of mawkish redemption tales, but the quality of writing never allowed that. The pages turned in a blur, the tales unfolded at speed, and no lectures were ever given. Nothing was ever black and white, and sometimes the difference between good and evil was simply a matter of perception, yours and the supporting characters.

Druss, Waylander, Jon Shannow, Parmenion, Phillip, Alexander, all characters other authors would have cut off limbs to create, and with the exception of the first, were less than shining heroes, but were still people of luminous humanity that you wish you could meet in the flesh. What heroes have we in real life today?

If you have never read Davids work, you really should, and don’t be put off by the fantasy tag. They were fiction, pure tale-telling as old has language itself. Whats a few pounds or dollars on a second-hand copy which could immerse you in a world of 30 magnificent books?

I’ll miss David the author greatly, and only wish I could have known David the person. Septembers (when his novels were published) will never be the same again.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 11th, 2006 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.