Waylander - A Drenai Saga

There are many fantasy realms to explore today, all with their own world structure, hierarchy of power, battles, and individual characterisation. An engaging fantasy world should be well developed, otherworldly, with three-dimensional characters, a great plot, a good versus evil dynamic, and elements of magic.

The protagonists need to have story arcs we are invested in and likeable characters we can cheer on. Most of all, good fantasy fiction should help us forget about the pressures and difficulties of our own lives. Such a realm I discovered in the Drenai saga and the Waylander books.

David Gemmel published his first book, 'Legend', in 1984. This was the first of eleven novels set in his wonderful and highly acclaimed Drenai saga. It centres around a siege at the Drenai fortress Dros Delnoch with a massive invading army at its gate. Druss The Legend, a hero and warrior is the central and titular character who rallies the beleaguered forces in defence of their lands. It features everything fans of the genre clamour for, heroes and villains, magic, adventure, and glorious battles all set in an incredibly well-realised fantasy world.

I came to the party late, reading my first Drenai novel, 'Waylander II: In the Realms of The Wolf', in the late 1990s. I had not hitherto been a particular fan of the fantasy genre until this book caught my eye and set my imagination on fire.

'Waylander II’, sees a mysterious woodsman, Dakeyras, and his daughter Miriel living in the woods of a high mountain pass. Their quiet lives are upended when a host of bloodthirsty warriors come to kill the unassuming woodsman. What they don't know is that Miriel is a woman skilled with weapons, and the woodsman is the infamous assassin, 'Waylander the Slayer'. Let the mayhem commence!

Upon reading 'Waylander II,' I was hooked on the Drenai universe in general and the Waylander books in particular. They are standalone adventures and so even though I read the second novel in this series first, I was able to submerge myself in this world without the need for prior saga knowledge.

Drenai is a land of heroes and villains with the space between a wondrous shade of grey. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and all are fleshed out with believable human traits and desires. There are very few solely good or evil characters. Waylander has a good heart, he loves those close to him, has a penchant for saving the underdog, and only seeks to kill the truly evil. Despite being an assassin we find ourselves cheering for this troubled but essentially good-hearted man.

I searched out the first book in the series, simply titled, ‘Waylander', as soon as I had finished book two. This book sees the Drenai King murdered by an assassin and enemy soldiers hell-bent on invasion. Our anti-hero has been convinced by a wanderer that he is the only one who can turn the tide of war.

The quote that, for me, best sums up what readers can expect from this series comes from 'Waylander' (David Gemmel 1986).

"Stalked by men who act like beasts and beasts that walk like men, the warrior Waylander must journey into the shadow-haunted lands of the Nadir to find the legendary Armour of Bronze".

So, in the way of all cracking yarns, Waylander reluctantly sets off to find the Armour of Bronze and use it to defeat the invading hordes. Cue plenty of heroics, demon and villain vanquishing and lashings of glorious battles.

The third book, 'Hero In Shadows', is the final story in which our hero takes a feature role. He is now a wealthy man seeking a quiet life when demons from his troubled past come for him once more. So, our hero must dust off his trusty crossbow and become the feared assassin once more. This tale doesn't disappoint and serves as a fitting send-off for this beloved fantasy character.

The Waylander saga can be read without having to dip a toe into the wider Drenai universe. In addition to the human protagonists of the series, there are also demons and beasts and dark magics that help bring the whole world to life. There are also, of course, good magics to counter the bad and warrior monks besides. In short, the series contains everything an active teenage, (and middle-aged) mind could ever wish for.

The wider Drenai world contains a series of books dedicated to Druss, in addition to 'The Damned' series, plus several standalone novels. After I had finished with Waylander I ravenously consumed every other Drenai novel I could find. I have since measured every other fantasy work I have read against these books and I have to say, they have never been bettered in my eyes.

The Waylander saga is amongst the only works of fiction that I never tire of reading. Over twenty years I have read them countless times and I can happily lose myself in them for weeks on end.

In the fantasy fiction genre, I have also read and loved 'The Lord of The Rings', 'Game of Thrones', 'The Riftwar' sagas, and many more. If asked which is my favourite fantasy work though, without a moment's hesitation I will pick the Drenai books in general and Waylander, in particular, every time.

To me, these books undoubtedly represent the absolute pinnacle of fantasy fiction ever written.