Would you recommend the Troy series?

[potato junkie]

ive never been drawn to the troy series simply because that whole time period just never interested me.

BUT. my dad bought me wolf in shadow years and years ago and i never bothered reading it because of the guns of the front cover. i was always a fan of the swords shield bows and arrows type of carry on. but one day i just decided id give it ago and turns out the three shannow books are now my favourite gemmell books.

so am i just being cynical about troy? would people really recommend it even to someone who has no interest in that sort of time/geography

thanks

 

[NorthernPaul]

Yes. Definitely!

It's a superb series of books, and if you like the author you will not be sorry!

 

[Threddy]

Definitely, Troy series is incredible.

 

[chump]

I'd definately recommend it. The troy series is Gemmell at his finest. Although it is not quite as good as the shannow series.

 

[nj1]

i was always a fan of the swords shield bows and arrows type of carry on.

Thats Troy all over! It's a great series and if you've seen the (brad Pitt) film on Troy or any other media about the subject then don't worry cos DG puts his own spin on things. If you like Gemmell then you'll love Troy, simple.

 

[Senta23]

It's his best work imo.

 

[Gabriel007]

It's really awesome and highly recommendable specially if you're into the greek mythologi/iliad .

 

[Gunwinds69]

I learned long ago not to avoid a Gemmell book because of a preconceived notion. It took a while for me to read Lion of Macedon, and now it is my favorite book ever! I have read it at least five times.

The attributes of the Troy series are many, and I will list a few:
1. They are more lengthy than any other Gemmell books. Where most of David's books are amazingly close to 300 pages every time, these tip the scales up around 500. This is not just bloat, like many authors can't manage to edit-out in their dotage (George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan, anyone?). These extra pages are simply more of the Gemmell you know and love.

2. The story of the fall of Troy is perhaps the myth-history that most embodies the elements of a Gemmell tale. On reflection, it was the perfect story for David to accomplish before his death. His Everest, his greatest work, his Mountain. If you love Gemmell, you must read this series. Though it may differ a tad from his previous work, it is clearly the result of his evolution as a writer, and you can see how he has grown and improved since Legend.

3. Though it is the story of Troy, there is so much more to it, and much of the tale takes place outside the walls, on the seas, or in nearby kingdoms.

4. Like all Gemmell novels, the character work is amazing. Perhaps his best ever, due to the fact that he has more pages to work with. The depth of emotion is immense and faceted by love, passion, responsibility, vengeance, and so much more.

Yes, you need to read these.

 

[Ashcroft]

I'd definitely recommend the Troy series.

I wasn't actually going to read those because, obviously, Gemmell died whilst writing the final book and it was finished by his wife. However, she did a smashing job of emulating his style and it's barely noticeably different.

This is not just bloat, like many authors can't manage to edit-out in their dotage (George R.R. Martin [...] anyone?).

Hoi! GRRM's novels aren't bloated, they're just rotund (maybe they're taking after their writer? )!

 

[Brian G Turner]

It's certainly worth reading, if you're a Gemmell fan - plenty that will be familiar here.

But for someone new to Gemmell, I'd recommend Sword in the Storm or Lion of Macedon as better ones to start with.

 

[mattwaldram]

Just echoing what others have said, really. It is absolutely worth reading, though on a personal note I enjoyed Lion of Macedon more. It's not really historical fiction in the same way that Troy is... it certainly doesn't have the depth of Troy, but as a story I much prefer it.

I'd also add that Stella Gemmell did a good job on finishing book 3. I read her own debut novel, The City, some months ago and I really enjoyed it. It was strange — very strange — but worth a read.

 

[Frodoabag]

Yes