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Jon Shannow #1
Wolf in Shadow
It is three hundred years since the world toppled on its axis, and civilisation was destroyed. In this savagely reshaped world ruled by brigands and war-makers, a rider seeks a lost city. Pursuing a dream to calm the violence in his soul, Jon Shannow, the brigand slayer, desires only peace. But from the Plague Lands emerges a fresh terror. The Lord of the Pit and his hellborn army seek to plunge mankind into a new satanic era. Seemingly invincible, they make a fatal mistake. They take Shannow's woman for blood sacrifice. And find themselves facing the deadliest warrior of the new age. Jon Shannow - The Jerusalem Man.
326 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
206 people are currently reading
3073 people want to read
About the author
David Gemmell
200 books3,842 followersDavid Andrew Gemmell was a bestselling British author of heroic fantasy. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. He went on to write over thirty novels. Best known for his debut, Legend, Gemmell's works display violence, yet also explores themes in honour, loyalty and redemption. With over one million copies sold, his work continues to sell worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
August 19, 2025
Hmmm.
First off I should declare myself as a card carrying long term fan of David Gemmell's work. I've read a dozen or so of his books and variously loved or very much liked them.
Technically I like all the components of this book. It's post apocalyptic, its gunslinger-y.
I'm not sure why the book didn't really work for me. Possibly it's having read Blood Song, Fool's Assassin, and The Name of the Wind back to back, setting me up for a book-hangover of epic proportions.
Many of my Goodreads friends have read Wolf in Shadow and they give it a remarkably high 4.41 average!
And yet...
The book reminded me of The Gunslinger by Stephen King to some degree and came out only a few years after that work (which I loved). For some reason though I kept getting a Michael Moorcock vibe off this story - the writing and the density of new ideas seemed Moorcockian to me. I like Moorcock - though perhaps less than I did 30 years ago when I really loved his work.
So, I'm still saying it was like these things I like but...
OK a list:
i) It's a short book with a hell of a lot going on. Strange new encounters rush at you. A lot of it felt quite brief without enough flesh on the bones to be real.
ii) Lots of the communication between the major characters is by magic and that makes the world feel small to me and the distances arbitrary. The big bad and the big good basically teleport/hologram in for a chat whenever they feel like it and ... I don't like it. It feels random and removes tension.
iii) I don't like the magic. The Sipstrassi stones ... I just don't buy into it, the ESPers (hate that name)
Gah. I don't know. It just didn't gel for me.
There were some things I did like - Gemmell's too good a writer for it all to be miss. So 3* is how I feel about it.
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...
First off I should declare myself as a card carrying long term fan of David Gemmell's work. I've read a dozen or so of his books and variously loved or very much liked them.
Technically I like all the components of this book. It's post apocalyptic, its gunslinger-y.
I'm not sure why the book didn't really work for me. Possibly it's having read Blood Song, Fool's Assassin, and The Name of the Wind back to back, setting me up for a book-hangover of epic proportions.
Many of my Goodreads friends have read Wolf in Shadow and they give it a remarkably high 4.41 average!
And yet...
The book reminded me of The Gunslinger by Stephen King to some degree and came out only a few years after that work (which I loved). For some reason though I kept getting a Michael Moorcock vibe off this story - the writing and the density of new ideas seemed Moorcockian to me. I like Moorcock - though perhaps less than I did 30 years ago when I really loved his work.
So, I'm still saying it was like these things I like but...
OK a list:
i) It's a short book with a hell of a lot going on. Strange new encounters rush at you. A lot of it felt quite brief without enough flesh on the bones to be real.
ii) Lots of the communication between the major characters is by magic and that makes the world feel small to me and the distances arbitrary. The big bad and the big good basically teleport/hologram in for a chat whenever they feel like it and ... I don't like it. It feels random and removes tension.
iii) I don't like the magic. The Sipstrassi stones ... I just don't buy into it, the ESPers (hate that name)
Gah. I don't know. It just didn't gel for me.
There were some things I did like - Gemmell's too good a writer for it all to be miss. So 3* is how I feel about it.
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...
March 19, 2012
I picked up The Jerusalem Man (aka Wolf in Shadow) because it was on one of those Amazon lists along with Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I was not disappointed.
The title character is Jon Shannow, an Old Testament quoting gunfighter in a post-apocalypitic wasteland searching for Jerusalem, believing it to be paradise. Shannow's a wanderer, gunning down people who have it coming, never settling in one place. Never until he encounters widow Donna Taybard and her son, that is. Shannow saves Taybard's town from a bullying ruler and leaves town with them. Sadly, this paradise isn't meant to be. I won't give too much away but there are cannibals, an army of Satan-worshipping fantatics called The Hellborn, and the Guardians, nigh-immortal beings with psychic powers and forgotten technology.
Gemmell's writing is good. He's less wordy than King so I imagine the next two books in the Jerusalem Man saga are going to go by way too quickly. I caught a couple editting mishaps. Zohak, the renegade Hellborn, is called Batik on two occasions but that might be corrected in later editions. Outside of both being post-apocalyptic westerns, the similarities to the Dark Tower are few although I can't help but wonder if Gemmell read the Gunslinger before he started writing this saga.
The title character is Jon Shannow, an Old Testament quoting gunfighter in a post-apocalypitic wasteland searching for Jerusalem, believing it to be paradise. Shannow's a wanderer, gunning down people who have it coming, never settling in one place. Never until he encounters widow Donna Taybard and her son, that is. Shannow saves Taybard's town from a bullying ruler and leaves town with them. Sadly, this paradise isn't meant to be. I won't give too much away but there are cannibals, an army of Satan-worshipping fantatics called The Hellborn, and the Guardians, nigh-immortal beings with psychic powers and forgotten technology.
Gemmell's writing is good. He's less wordy than King so I imagine the next two books in the Jerusalem Man saga are going to go by way too quickly. I caught a couple editting mishaps. Zohak, the renegade Hellborn, is called Batik on two occasions but that might be corrected in later editions. Outside of both being post-apocalyptic westerns, the similarities to the Dark Tower are few although I can't help but wonder if Gemmell read the Gunslinger before he started writing this saga.
December 24, 2024
Wolf in Shadow is David Gemmell's most effective exploration of the persistent influence of westerns found in much of his work. This is the story of post-apocalyptic gunslinger Jon Shannow, dubbed the Jerusalem Man due to his obsessive quest for the now fabled biblical city where he imagines he will find peace after a lifetime of violence. Shannow ranges across a future earth where geological upheaval has reversed the position of the world's oceans. A gun for hire isolated by his fearsome abilities with the antique six-shooters he carries, he cleanses settlements of marauding outlaws before being politely asked to move on. However, the advent of the Hellborn, an army of Satan-worshippers intent on conquest and human sacrifice, places Shannow at the forefront in the war of salvation, rediscovering his humanity in the process. Distinguished by a wonderfully sombre ending, Wolf in Shadow is, in my opinion, Gemmell's finest book. The sequels, The Last Guardian and Bloodstone, are therefore something of a disappointment, though still thoroughly readable and enjoyable in their own right, they inevitably pale in comparison to the brilliance of their forebear
April 5, 2019
احساس میکردم نجواهای درونی گمل ،قبل از مرگش،بین شخصیتها رد و بدل میشد....جدال میان میل به خدا پرستی و نفی اون....و خدا برنده بود...خیلی فکورانه بود از نظرم
October 5, 2017
"What will you do now?"
"I'll find the Ark and then Abaddon."
"And you will try to kill him?"
"Yes, God willing."
"How can you mention God in the same breath as murder?"
"Don't preach at me, woman," he snapped. "This is not Sanctuary, where your magic fills a man's mind with flowers and love. This is the world, the real world-violent and uncertain. Abaddon is an obscenity to both God and man. Murder? You cannot murder vermin, Ruth. He has forsaken all rights to mercy."
"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life," Shannow countered. "Do not seek to debate with me. He chose to visit death and destruction upon the woman I loved. He taunted me with it. I cannot stop him, Ruth; a nation separates us. But if the Lord is with me, I shall rid the world of him."
"Who are you to judge when a man's life is forfeit?"
"What are you to judge when it is not? There is not this debate when a mad dog kills a child. You kill the dog. But when a man commits the blackest sins, why must we sermonize and rationalize? I am sick of it, Ruth. I've lost count of the number of towns and settlements that have called for me to rid them of brigands. And when I do, what do I hear? 'Did you have to kill them, Mr. Shannow?' 'Was there a need for so much violence, Mr. Shannow?' It is a question of balance, Ruth. If a man throws his food on the fire, who will have pity on him when he runs around shouting 'I'm starving'? So it is with the brigand. He deals in violence and death, theft and pillage. And I give them no pity. I don't blame you, woman; you're arguing for your husband. But I'm not listening."
"Do not patronize me, Mr. Shannow," Ruth said without anger. "Your arguments are simplistic, but they carry weight. I am not, however, arguing for my husband. I have not seen him in two and a half centuries, and he does not know I am alive, nor would he care greatly if he did. I am more concerned with you. I am not a prophet, yet I feel that some terrible catastrophe looms, and I sense that you should not pursue this current course."
Shannow leaned back. "If I am not mad, Ruth, and it was not just a dream, then I can tell you the danger that awaits. The world is about to fall again."
3 3/4 stars
"I'll find the Ark and then Abaddon."
"And you will try to kill him?"
"Yes, God willing."
"How can you mention God in the same breath as murder?"
"Don't preach at me, woman," he snapped. "This is not Sanctuary, where your magic fills a man's mind with flowers and love. This is the world, the real world-violent and uncertain. Abaddon is an obscenity to both God and man. Murder? You cannot murder vermin, Ruth. He has forsaken all rights to mercy."
"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life," Shannow countered. "Do not seek to debate with me. He chose to visit death and destruction upon the woman I loved. He taunted me with it. I cannot stop him, Ruth; a nation separates us. But if the Lord is with me, I shall rid the world of him."
"Who are you to judge when a man's life is forfeit?"
"What are you to judge when it is not? There is not this debate when a mad dog kills a child. You kill the dog. But when a man commits the blackest sins, why must we sermonize and rationalize? I am sick of it, Ruth. I've lost count of the number of towns and settlements that have called for me to rid them of brigands. And when I do, what do I hear? 'Did you have to kill them, Mr. Shannow?' 'Was there a need for so much violence, Mr. Shannow?' It is a question of balance, Ruth. If a man throws his food on the fire, who will have pity on him when he runs around shouting 'I'm starving'? So it is with the brigand. He deals in violence and death, theft and pillage. And I give them no pity. I don't blame you, woman; you're arguing for your husband. But I'm not listening."
"Do not patronize me, Mr. Shannow," Ruth said without anger. "Your arguments are simplistic, but they carry weight. I am not, however, arguing for my husband. I have not seen him in two and a half centuries, and he does not know I am alive, nor would he care greatly if he did. I am more concerned with you. I am not a prophet, yet I feel that some terrible catastrophe looms, and I sense that you should not pursue this current course."
Shannow leaned back. "If I am not mad, Ruth, and it was not just a dream, then I can tell you the danger that awaits. The world is about to fall again."
3 3/4 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2020
Written at a low point in the author's life, around the time of his mother's terminal illness, this perhaps Gemmell's most personal - and hence peculiar - novel: a wrestling out loud with thoughts of death, meaning, and morality, filled with philosophical debates and festooned with Biblical quotations that, rather than providing a smug certainty, instead only add to the doubt and confusion.
It's also a genre novel about a laconic, post-apocalyptic gunslinger. Jon Shannow, who is basically Clint Eastwood, rides across the desolate lands, out-drawing Brigands, in the vain search for Jerusalem (which, like all our cities, has been lost for hundreds if not thousands of years). He's also insane.
There's also Satanists, magic, immortals, Atlantis, and the Titanic. Nobody in the novel really understands what's going on, athough many of them think they do - so the reader's mild confusion is rather in keeping with the themes.
Gemmell is not a masterful writer, but in this case his limitations almost seem to improve the book: we are left with something dreamlike - or nightmarish - punctuated by stilted, yet iconic, symbolic, interactions (some violent; most philosophical). Combined with the uneven pacing and uncertainty whether it wants to be a heroic epic or a picaresque, it never quite coheres into a straightforward narrative... and that's probably a good thing. In the end, for all the words and blood spillt, I'm not entirely sure what conclusion Gemmell has really come to - and that, too, seems appropriate.
Wolf in Shadow is not intentionally bizarre; it's better than that, it's personal. One gets the feeling that the novel is not so much a work of entertainment for the reader - though it's not a bad read! - as much as it is a work of therapy for the author. The sort of therapy that is universal enough that the reader can understand the general contours of the issues at hand... but where the reader, unaware of some small details unique to the author, cannot quite work out the author's train of thought.
Sadly, it's probably too much of a genre novel to be of interest to a broader audience; and perhaps taken as a pure pulp genre novel it is a little slow in places, a little odd, a little preoccupied; and of course, like almost all Gemmell, it's brutal and tragic. I'm not sure it's Gemmell's best novel (combining my memory and a few re-reads, I think that might be Knights of Dark Renown), but it might be one of his most interesting.
I found it both a fun adventure novel, and something intriguing and surprising throughout.
If you want some more details thoughts, my full review can be read over on my blog.
It's also a genre novel about a laconic, post-apocalyptic gunslinger. Jon Shannow, who is basically Clint Eastwood, rides across the desolate lands, out-drawing Brigands, in the vain search for Jerusalem (which, like all our cities, has been lost for hundreds if not thousands of years). He's also insane.
There's also Satanists, magic, immortals, Atlantis, and the Titanic. Nobody in the novel really understands what's going on, athough many of them think they do - so the reader's mild confusion is rather in keeping with the themes.
Gemmell is not a masterful writer, but in this case his limitations almost seem to improve the book: we are left with something dreamlike - or nightmarish - punctuated by stilted, yet iconic, symbolic, interactions (some violent; most philosophical). Combined with the uneven pacing and uncertainty whether it wants to be a heroic epic or a picaresque, it never quite coheres into a straightforward narrative... and that's probably a good thing. In the end, for all the words and blood spillt, I'm not entirely sure what conclusion Gemmell has really come to - and that, too, seems appropriate.
Wolf in Shadow is not intentionally bizarre; it's better than that, it's personal. One gets the feeling that the novel is not so much a work of entertainment for the reader - though it's not a bad read! - as much as it is a work of therapy for the author. The sort of therapy that is universal enough that the reader can understand the general contours of the issues at hand... but where the reader, unaware of some small details unique to the author, cannot quite work out the author's train of thought.
Sadly, it's probably too much of a genre novel to be of interest to a broader audience; and perhaps taken as a pure pulp genre novel it is a little slow in places, a little odd, a little preoccupied; and of course, like almost all Gemmell, it's brutal and tragic. I'm not sure it's Gemmell's best novel (combining my memory and a few re-reads, I think that might be Knights of Dark Renown), but it might be one of his most interesting.
I found it both a fun adventure novel, and something intriguing and surprising throughout.
If you want some more details thoughts, my full review can be read over on my blog.
June 27, 2020
اولین کتاب از مجموعه ی جان شانو
دیوید گمل قطعا یکی از چندتا نویسندهی خیلی مورد علاقهی منه. قلم سر راست و خونریز و بی تعارفی داره و این جان شانو هم از قواعد کلی آقای گمل تبعیت میکنه.
اما داستان و فضاش واقعا عجیب و غریب و تا حد زیادی منحصر به فرده. همهی فانتزی خوانها با فضای اسب و شمشیر و زره و جادو آشنایی دارند، یه فضایی در حد قرون وسطا به علاوهی جادو و جمبل.
اما دنیای این مجموعه بعد از سقوط دنیای ماست !!!! جادو هست، از نوع خیلی قوی هم هست و تفنگ هم هست، من یکی تا حالا همچین فانتزی ای ندیده بودم و این خیلی لذت بخش بود.
نهایتا تا اینجاش خوش گذشت و داستان خوبی بود.
وقتی خیلی بی حال و ناراحت بودید ، دیوید گمل رو امتحان کنید، برای من یکی زیاد سبب میشه که غم و غصه رو فراموش کنم و اوقات خوشی رو بگذرونم.
دیوید گمل قطعا یکی از چندتا نویسندهی خیلی مورد علاقهی منه. قلم سر راست و خونریز و بی تعارفی داره و این جان شانو هم از قواعد کلی آقای گمل تبعیت میکنه.
اما داستان و فضاش واقعا عجیب و غریب و تا حد زیادی منحصر به فرده. همهی فانتزی خوانها با فضای اسب و شمشیر و زره و جادو آشنایی دارند، یه فضایی در حد قرون وسطا به علاوهی جادو و جمبل.
اما دنیای این مجموعه بعد از سقوط دنیای ماست !!!! جادو هست، از نوع خیلی قوی هم هست و تفنگ هم هست، من یکی تا حالا همچین فانتزی ای ندیده بودم و این خیلی لذت بخش بود.
نهایتا تا اینجاش خوش گذشت و داستان خوبی بود.
وقتی خیلی بی حال و ناراحت بودید ، دیوید گمل رو امتحان کنید، برای من یکی زیاد سبب میشه که غم و غصه رو فراموش کنم و اوقات خوشی رو بگذرونم.
September 22, 2021
این کتاب واقعا حرف نداشت خدا رحمت کنه دیوید گمل رو 🥀
فضا سازی کتاب خیلی خوب بود، جوری که همه ژانر ها رو میشد مشاهده کرد; فانتزی''"حماسی""علمی_تخیلی""😇
حال و هوای آخرالزمانی و وسترن هم خیلی جالب بود💀
شخصیت جان شانو طوری بود که از همون ابتدا باهاش ارتباط برقرار کردم.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
فضا سازی کتاب خیلی خوب بود، جوری که همه ژانر ها رو میشد مشاهده کرد; فانتزی''"حماسی""علمی_تخیلی""😇
حال و هوای آخرالزمانی و وسترن هم خیلی جالب بود💀
شخصیت جان شانو طوری بود که از همون ابتدا باهاش ارتباط برقرار کردم.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
January 16, 2011
Perusing a used book store (one of my favorite places on Earth) I stumbled upon a series of books by David Gemmell. I had seen his name before, but as I do not have any personal friends that are fantasy readers I had no idea who he was. I purchased this first in the series about Jon Shannow, and I have to tell you, I experienced that magical euphoria you get when you discover a brilliant writer for the first time. Looking him up on wikipedia, I was downcast to learn he passed away while writing in 2006. Then I got really excited when I learned that in twenty years he turned out thirty novels.
I know I'll be scanning the G section of all the bookstores I frequent from now on.
I loved, loved, loved Wolf in Shadow. This novel will haunt my imagination now for the rest of my life. What a mix of western action, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and thoughtful philosophy! Jon Shannow, the Jerusalem man, is a lonely and somewhat insane drifter who stumbles across bandits, Atlantis, secret societies, love, and a nation of blood thirsty Satan worshippers. There are so many twists that I cannot begin to spoil the action or suspense for you (nor would I want to). At first I was worried that this would be a cheap and strange imitation of the Dark Tower series. As much as I love Stephen King, I loved Jon Shannow's character for its complexity and confused nobility much more than I did Roland, the Gunslinger.
This novel is perfect. I feel like an explorer who has just set his feet in a wondrously strange and entertaining land. I so look forward to reading the many series and novels from this man who I guess to be the ultimate master of late-twentieth century fantasy.
I know I'll be scanning the G section of all the bookstores I frequent from now on.
I loved, loved, loved Wolf in Shadow. This novel will haunt my imagination now for the rest of my life. What a mix of western action, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and thoughtful philosophy! Jon Shannow, the Jerusalem man, is a lonely and somewhat insane drifter who stumbles across bandits, Atlantis, secret societies, love, and a nation of blood thirsty Satan worshippers. There are so many twists that I cannot begin to spoil the action or suspense for you (nor would I want to). At first I was worried that this would be a cheap and strange imitation of the Dark Tower series. As much as I love Stephen King, I loved Jon Shannow's character for its complexity and confused nobility much more than I did Roland, the Gunslinger.
This novel is perfect. I feel like an explorer who has just set his feet in a wondrously strange and entertaining land. I so look forward to reading the many series and novels from this man who I guess to be the ultimate master of late-twentieth century fantasy.
June 23, 2018
A Post-Apocalyptic Spaghetti Western
23 June 2018 – Sydney
The first thought that came to my mind as I started this book was ‘I hope this isn’t a post-apocalyptic version of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’. Well, not quite because it has been ages since I have watched one of those spaghetti westerns that I really can’t compare them, but the trope of the mysterious stranger approaching a town run by thugs really hits me in the face like a bowl of spaghetti western. Actually, I even went as far as ringing a friend and asking him if this was a spaghetti western, right down to the percussion pistols (not that I actually know what a percussion pistol actually is). Well, it pretty quickly changed its tune, though honestly it really did seem as if Gemmel decided he didn’t want to go down the way of the spaghetti western and basically had all of the bad dudes in Rivervale killed off within a couple of pages.
So, it ends up being some sort of a quest. Okay, Jon Shannow is on a quest already – he is looking for Jerusalem. I’m not sure what he intends on doing once he finds it, but then again neither is he. Hey, it isn’t as if many people in the past have had this desire to travel to Jerusalem. Well, I’m not really all that keen, though I would be interested in checking out of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (which happens to be a small town just outside of Jerusalem). Then again, getting into Israel isn’t the easiest of things to do.
Hey, this guy even carries a Bible around with him, and reads it regularly. Once again, I’m not sure what benefit it offers him because it seems as if he continually skips over the verses such as ‘blessed are the peacemakers’ and ‘vengeance is mine says the Lord’. Yeah, it isn’t as if nobody in the past have picked and chosen what they wish to read in the Bible and what they wish to ignore. Hey, he even goes as far as condemning people for misusing the Bible, but seems to be perfectly fine going around killing people because, well, they happen to be bad. Okay, Gemmel doesn’t actually claim that he is a good guy – he is more of an anti-hero, but hey, it all goes together to make an interesting story.
Or does it? I’m not really all that sure. I read this quite a while back, and a part of me wanted to read it again because, well, I remember enjoying it the first time and sort of wanted to do it justice, something that I didn’t bother doing when it came to the Forgotten Realms books. Then again, they do happen to be Forgotten Realms books, so I guess I had a point there. However, I’m still wondering whether that was a really wise move on my part, particularly since I found it very difficult to suspend my disbelief in parts. Okay, it is a post-apocalytic world where the ice caps became exceptionally cold, and when the planets aligned it caused the axis of the Earth to tip because, well, you know – Gravity. Woah, another astrological phenomena that people are making up things for.
Yet what got me was that all of the parts of the oceans that were underwater rose, and everything else sank. Yeah, I find it very hard to accept that because, well, tectonic plates and all that. There is a reason why the oceans are where they are, and that is because all of the land is below sea level. Okay, maybe, just maybe, some plates were pushed up, while others sank, but good luck surviving all of that. In fact I’m not all that sure if it is possible, but then again I’m hardly a geologist, so I might have to ask somebody else if that is at all possible, though they might just laugh at me and tell me that I happen to be living in fantasy land.
So, what did I think of this book? Well, not much. I’m not going to be too harsh on it, but the whole mysterious stranger trope, and the fact that all of the bad guys are Satanists, and then at the end all of the bad guys ended up being pawns in a much bigger game, a game that I wasn’t all that sure how it was being played. I’m not even sure why on Earth the big bad guy simply had to reinact the sinking on the Titanic. It just felt to be some sort of plot device to have the entire Atlantic flood into the real world for some not so obvious reason.
Oh, and these blood stones. Yeah, in the Arthur series that wasn’t all that bad, but it really started to wear down on me in this one, and there are another two books in the series. I did really want to read this one after reading the stories of Uther because they were actually pretty good, but honestly, I’m not really all that sure how much more I can put up with Jon Shannow, and also since this story was such a world shattering event, where is Gemmel actually going to go from here. I guess I’ll end up seeing what happens sometime in the future.
23 June 2018 – Sydney
The first thought that came to my mind as I started this book was ‘I hope this isn’t a post-apocalyptic version of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’. Well, not quite because it has been ages since I have watched one of those spaghetti westerns that I really can’t compare them, but the trope of the mysterious stranger approaching a town run by thugs really hits me in the face like a bowl of spaghetti western. Actually, I even went as far as ringing a friend and asking him if this was a spaghetti western, right down to the percussion pistols (not that I actually know what a percussion pistol actually is). Well, it pretty quickly changed its tune, though honestly it really did seem as if Gemmel decided he didn’t want to go down the way of the spaghetti western and basically had all of the bad dudes in Rivervale killed off within a couple of pages.
So, it ends up being some sort of a quest. Okay, Jon Shannow is on a quest already – he is looking for Jerusalem. I’m not sure what he intends on doing once he finds it, but then again neither is he. Hey, it isn’t as if many people in the past have had this desire to travel to Jerusalem. Well, I’m not really all that keen, though I would be interested in checking out of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (which happens to be a small town just outside of Jerusalem). Then again, getting into Israel isn’t the easiest of things to do.
Hey, this guy even carries a Bible around with him, and reads it regularly. Once again, I’m not sure what benefit it offers him because it seems as if he continually skips over the verses such as ‘blessed are the peacemakers’ and ‘vengeance is mine says the Lord’. Yeah, it isn’t as if nobody in the past have picked and chosen what they wish to read in the Bible and what they wish to ignore. Hey, he even goes as far as condemning people for misusing the Bible, but seems to be perfectly fine going around killing people because, well, they happen to be bad. Okay, Gemmel doesn’t actually claim that he is a good guy – he is more of an anti-hero, but hey, it all goes together to make an interesting story.
Or does it? I’m not really all that sure. I read this quite a while back, and a part of me wanted to read it again because, well, I remember enjoying it the first time and sort of wanted to do it justice, something that I didn’t bother doing when it came to the Forgotten Realms books. Then again, they do happen to be Forgotten Realms books, so I guess I had a point there. However, I’m still wondering whether that was a really wise move on my part, particularly since I found it very difficult to suspend my disbelief in parts. Okay, it is a post-apocalytic world where the ice caps became exceptionally cold, and when the planets aligned it caused the axis of the Earth to tip because, well, you know – Gravity. Woah, another astrological phenomena that people are making up things for.
Yet what got me was that all of the parts of the oceans that were underwater rose, and everything else sank. Yeah, I find it very hard to accept that because, well, tectonic plates and all that. There is a reason why the oceans are where they are, and that is because all of the land is below sea level. Okay, maybe, just maybe, some plates were pushed up, while others sank, but good luck surviving all of that. In fact I’m not all that sure if it is possible, but then again I’m hardly a geologist, so I might have to ask somebody else if that is at all possible, though they might just laugh at me and tell me that I happen to be living in fantasy land.
So, what did I think of this book? Well, not much. I’m not going to be too harsh on it, but the whole mysterious stranger trope, and the fact that all of the bad guys are Satanists, and then at the end all of the bad guys ended up being pawns in a much bigger game, a game that I wasn’t all that sure how it was being played. I’m not even sure why on Earth the big bad guy simply had to reinact the sinking on the Titanic. It just felt to be some sort of plot device to have the entire Atlantic flood into the real world for some not so obvious reason.
Oh, and these blood stones. Yeah, in the Arthur series that wasn’t all that bad, but it really started to wear down on me in this one, and there are another two books in the series. I did really want to read this one after reading the stories of Uther because they were actually pretty good, but honestly, I’m not really all that sure how much more I can put up with Jon Shannow, and also since this story was such a world shattering event, where is Gemmel actually going to go from here. I guess I’ll end up seeing what happens sometime in the future.
August 15, 2010
I remember reading this book when I was a teen after it was first released around 1987, and even back then I thought it was a good novel. Re-reading now nearly twenty years later and it still is good. Not so much traditional fantasy, more a combination of some different genresm such as old Westerns, Fantasy and dare I say a bit of Dennis Wheatly. Premise is this: Jon Shannow is the Jerusalem Man, a sort of Christian warrior in the form of a gunslinger travelling across a post-apocalyptic wasteland where he has a price on his head for being such a formidable force of good in an otherwise very bad land, a land where Brigands roam freely. He is on a mission to find Jerusalem, and during this quest he becomes involved a battle against dark forces that are trying to take over the post-apocalyptic world.
Its a good book, different in many ways from David Gemmels other works and in places is quite thought provoking, for instance questioning the nature of the world, of God, etc. I can see why I liked the book when I first read it all those years ago; it made me think about things.
Its a good book, different in many ways from David Gemmels other works and in places is quite thought provoking, for instance questioning the nature of the world, of God, etc. I can see why I liked the book when I first read it all those years ago; it made me think about things.
August 12, 2019
I thought maybe after some time my perspective of this series would change. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. This is my least favourite novel by my most favourite author. This ‘review’ may be subjective. I abhor organized religion. But still love and respect the MAN.
April 9, 2019
Enjoyable, but not as much as I remember enjoying it first time around. Parts of it felt deeply silly.
May 20, 2020
I am a huge Gemmell fan, but unfortunately Wolf in Shadow is not up there with his best. The book feels very dated, in terms of character attitudes, lack of female characters unless they're young sex objects or wise old crones, and I'm afraid that gun-based combat in books simply doesn't really do anything for me. I was also averse to the concept of being Rolynd, which just seems to mean 'Born better than everyone else.'
In some ways this book is a bit like The Gunslinger by Stephen King, but not as good. A rare 2 stars from me.
In some ways this book is a bit like The Gunslinger by Stephen King, but not as good. A rare 2 stars from me.
July 28, 2010
I hesitated a bit at reading the Jon Shannow books because they looked like they'd be in a more modern setting, and they are, with guns. However, I came to like the Shannow character as well as any of Gemmell's heroes and much enjoyed the whole set of Shannow books.
January 5, 2023
I've read a fair amount of fantasy, and this is something unlike any of the more popular fantasy fiction that I have read in recent years. Think witcher meets red dead redemption, but with all the religious trappings of a Dan Brown novel, yet it's set in a dystopia future earth. Bloody loved it from start to finish, and the pace itself was super pleasing to me at least, not being afraid to just get into it without too much exposition around how the grass smells, what the wall textures feel like (looking at you GRRM). Ultimately, I felt this was a really nicely contained story, and I'm intrigued to fi ish the trilogy, and especially branch out to other stories within the same Canon.
December 30, 2008
Jon Shannow is the hero of Wolf in Shadow. A larger than life,tragic hero which i couldnt help but feel so much in the darkness of his world.
The interesting post apocalypse/fantasy world,western feel makes this book a great read if you like stories like this.
If you like a good yarn in Heroic Fantasy or a Clint Eastwood like western but in post apocalypse world you will enjoy this book.
The interesting post apocalypse/fantasy world,western feel makes this book a great read if you like stories like this.
If you like a good yarn in Heroic Fantasy or a Clint Eastwood like western but in post apocalypse world you will enjoy this book.
September 2, 2022
A long overdue reread. Brilliant! I miss the writing of Gemmell
July 4, 2017
4,5*
érdekes egyvelege a disztópiának, a vallásnak és a halott világunkat követő, western-regényes tájakon újjáéledő törzsi térhódításnak, misztikummal, egy kis mágiával és némi Titanic-kal.
érdekes egyvelege a disztópiának, a vallásnak és a halott világunkat követő, western-regényes tájakon újjáéledő törzsi térhódításnak, misztikummal, egy kis mágiával és némi Titanic-kal.
July 5, 2020
Pretty dark but for whatever reason I enjoyed more than Legend.
7/10
7/10
February 24, 2016
Mondi e rimandi
Primo volume di una Saga che si prospetta essere di ampio respiro temporale, che qui getta alcuni interessanti semi in maniera frettolosa, così come sono frettolosi (e ripetitivi) i continui duelli del protagonista, uomo dalla personalità indubbiamente forte ma che la penna di Gemmell ancora stenta a valorizzare.
Un'avventura postatomica in fase di incubazione e dal sapore western.
Primo volume di una Saga che si prospetta essere di ampio respiro temporale, che qui getta alcuni interessanti semi in maniera frettolosa, così come sono frettolosi (e ripetitivi) i continui duelli del protagonista, uomo dalla personalità indubbiamente forte ma che la penna di Gemmell ancora stenta a valorizzare.
Un'avventura postatomica in fase di incubazione e dal sapore western.
February 2, 2009
I was just talking about how much I connected and cared about all David Gemmel's characters and Jon Shannow is not an exception. I think he might be insane but so what he's awesome. Who cares about the book just read it for the Shannow. P.S. this is book three but one and two in this series hacve little to do with the storyline of three, four, and five. Start with this one it is the best.
January 25, 2026
Dark Wolf Rising
In Cherokee folklore, a Dark Wolf signifies a blend of negative, instinctual, and powerful, often misunderstood traits. It can also be a silent, resiliant warrior.
This is Jon Shannow, AKA The Jerusalem Man, a gunslinger of the Wild West, living in a post-apocalyptic, yet magical world. No doubt inspired by Stephen King’s gunslinger in the Dark Tower books, or maybe Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name.
The Shannow trilogy is also part of the larger Stones of Power cycle, where the Sipstrassi meteorite provides the power, making the books a mix of sci-fi and fantasy.
David Gemmell is, or rather was, the King of Fantasy. He lived in England, and bought the farm way too early. I was, and still am, a huge fan of his fantasy books. However, I can easily restrain my enthusiasm when it comes to the Jon Shannow stories.
Wolf in Shadow was published in 1987, just three years after the debut, Legend, which is a much better novel. The author tried to mix the elements of a Mad Max setting, combined with his magical world of Atlantis, a mighty kingdom that existed before Greece. We follow a bible-thumping, gun-toting horseman drifting from village to village, seeking a mythical city that no longer exists, Jerusalem. Jon Shannow is already past his prime, not as quick on the draw as he used to be, but wiser and more experienced. He battles other gunmen alongside his inner demons. And he finds love.
For a while the story works quite well, but just as the Titanic we later meet in the same novel, it begins to spring a leak. There are massive plotholes, factual errors, and mistakes in the language. The author struggles with how firearms work. A pistol round consists of a cartridge filled with black powder (and later smokeless gunpowder), a primer, and the bullet. The bullet is propelled through the barrel, rifled or smooth, and exits at high velocity. A bullet is not hollow, it’s a very solid and heavy chunk of metal. Two major mistakes are consistent throughout the text: The projectiles are called «shells», confusing bullets with artillery shells, which are hollow and filled with explosives. They are also causing people to be «catapulted from the saddle» and «slammed sideways». This is not consistent with real life.
The Earth has experienced plenty of ice ages, often lasting millions of years, but this is not the reason the planet wobbles on its axis—creating the seasons—nor can it make the Earth «topple». The Milankovitch cycles are the main reason for these ice ages, but the twenty-three degree wobble of today, was caused by an extra-terrestrial object slamming into the planet a long time ago (probably our moon).
A little bit more research can go a long way when writing novels like Wolf in Shadow, with all these modern firearms, orbital mechanics, and rocks falling from space. On the whole I really enjoy reading every book written by David Gemmell, but a lot could’ve been improved in the editing and proofreading process. A good proofreader knows the difference between «meteor» and «meteorite», «Eskimo» and «Inuit», «barrel» and «chamber», «Big Ben» and «The Elisabeth Tower».
In Cherokee folklore, a Dark Wolf signifies a blend of negative, instinctual, and powerful, often misunderstood traits. It can also be a silent, resiliant warrior.
This is Jon Shannow, AKA The Jerusalem Man, a gunslinger of the Wild West, living in a post-apocalyptic, yet magical world. No doubt inspired by Stephen King’s gunslinger in the Dark Tower books, or maybe Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name.
The Shannow trilogy is also part of the larger Stones of Power cycle, where the Sipstrassi meteorite provides the power, making the books a mix of sci-fi and fantasy.
David Gemmell is, or rather was, the King of Fantasy. He lived in England, and bought the farm way too early. I was, and still am, a huge fan of his fantasy books. However, I can easily restrain my enthusiasm when it comes to the Jon Shannow stories.
Wolf in Shadow was published in 1987, just three years after the debut, Legend, which is a much better novel. The author tried to mix the elements of a Mad Max setting, combined with his magical world of Atlantis, a mighty kingdom that existed before Greece. We follow a bible-thumping, gun-toting horseman drifting from village to village, seeking a mythical city that no longer exists, Jerusalem. Jon Shannow is already past his prime, not as quick on the draw as he used to be, but wiser and more experienced. He battles other gunmen alongside his inner demons. And he finds love.
For a while the story works quite well, but just as the Titanic we later meet in the same novel, it begins to spring a leak. There are massive plotholes, factual errors, and mistakes in the language. The author struggles with how firearms work. A pistol round consists of a cartridge filled with black powder (and later smokeless gunpowder), a primer, and the bullet. The bullet is propelled through the barrel, rifled or smooth, and exits at high velocity. A bullet is not hollow, it’s a very solid and heavy chunk of metal. Two major mistakes are consistent throughout the text: The projectiles are called «shells», confusing bullets with artillery shells, which are hollow and filled with explosives. They are also causing people to be «catapulted from the saddle» and «slammed sideways». This is not consistent with real life.
The Earth has experienced plenty of ice ages, often lasting millions of years, but this is not the reason the planet wobbles on its axis—creating the seasons—nor can it make the Earth «topple». The Milankovitch cycles are the main reason for these ice ages, but the twenty-three degree wobble of today, was caused by an extra-terrestrial object slamming into the planet a long time ago (probably our moon).
A little bit more research can go a long way when writing novels like Wolf in Shadow, with all these modern firearms, orbital mechanics, and rocks falling from space. On the whole I really enjoy reading every book written by David Gemmell, but a lot could’ve been improved in the editing and proofreading process. A good proofreader knows the difference between «meteor» and «meteorite», «Eskimo» and «Inuit», «barrel» and «chamber», «Big Ben» and «The Elisabeth Tower».
June 6, 2023
Den femte boken i vår bokklubb är David Gemmells Wolf in Shadow som Erland valt ut.
Boken från 1987 handlar om den ensamma Shannow som genom en dystopisk framtid (300 år framåt) rider fram i sällskap av sin häst och bibel i sökandet efter Jerusalem. På vägen träffar han på ett folk som hotar att utrota allt och alla i hans närhet.
Om jag ska vara ärlig så var jag sådär taggad på denna fantasy men jag blev ordentligt överraskad över hur välskriven och intressant hela storyn var. Det fanns ett djup i allt som jag gillade skarpt. Även om jag kunde tappa fokus emellanåt så var den röda tråden lätt att följa och därför var det enkelt att komma in i läsningen igen.
Jag läste boken på engelska (finns ingen översättning till svenska, vad jag vet) och språket var tydligt och utan onödiga beskrivningar som stoppar flödet. Det var mycket som hände och lätt att hänga med.
Jag ger boken 5/5. Jag vill gärna läsa den igen någon dag.
Boken från 1987 handlar om den ensamma Shannow som genom en dystopisk framtid (300 år framåt) rider fram i sällskap av sin häst och bibel i sökandet efter Jerusalem. På vägen träffar han på ett folk som hotar att utrota allt och alla i hans närhet.
Om jag ska vara ärlig så var jag sådär taggad på denna fantasy men jag blev ordentligt överraskad över hur välskriven och intressant hela storyn var. Det fanns ett djup i allt som jag gillade skarpt. Även om jag kunde tappa fokus emellanåt så var den röda tråden lätt att följa och därför var det enkelt att komma in i läsningen igen.
Jag läste boken på engelska (finns ingen översättning till svenska, vad jag vet) och språket var tydligt och utan onödiga beskrivningar som stoppar flödet. Det var mycket som hände och lätt att hänga med.
Jag ger boken 5/5. Jag vill gärna läsa den igen någon dag.
August 20, 2025
(3.7) Not Gemmell’s best but one of his early ones. A fantastic premise - a society trying to put down roots after a global environmental apocalypse with an American West flavour to it. Jon Shannow is an intriguing Bible-believing, gun-slinging character.
The first half of the book is the strongest, with constant action and surprise heartbreak and death.
I found the love(?) story with Donna Taybard and Jon Shannon a little bizarre.
As the lens and world widens in the second half of the book, I found the story weakened, with too much being achieved too quickly and too easily by the main characters. The magic was a little vague and the action was samey compared to Gemmell’s best.
It felt like a great concept poorly executed here.
The first half of the book is the strongest, with constant action and surprise heartbreak and death.
I found the love(?) story with Donna Taybard and Jon Shannon a little bizarre.
As the lens and world widens in the second half of the book, I found the story weakened, with too much being achieved too quickly and too easily by the main characters. The magic was a little vague and the action was samey compared to Gemmell’s best.
It felt like a great concept poorly executed here.
October 7, 2017
It’s been a while since I read anything of Gemmell’s, and I almost forgot how much I enjoy his writing. This series seems to have a strong religious element to the plot line, but it was an element I’m familiar with from my childhood - I knew all the bible passages and stories that were used/referred to. The magic & technology aspect saves it from becoming too “preachy” though.
April 15, 2019
i really enjoyed this book. I really was not sure at the beginning, but I really could not put the book down in wanting to know what would happen next with Shannow. Very interesting view on religion/future/evil/and good. I hope to continue with the series.
May 25, 2019
An excellent story of good vs evil after Armageddon comes.
July 21, 2014
David Gemmell comes up trumps again with WOLF IN SHADOW, the first of his Jon Shannow trilogy. These books are slightly set apart from the rest of his writing because they're post-apocalyptic science fiction efforts rather than straightforward fantasy.
Fans, however, will quickly realise that it's business as usual for the author, with flawed heroes wandering through a dangerous countryside and facing insurmountable odds in their quests for justice. This time around, the action is mainly inspired by Westerns, with Jon Shannow a solitary gunslinger who fights his opponents in bloody shoot-outs rather than sword battles. As per usual, the action scenes absolutely zing along and are the best thing about the book.
Plot-wise, the story has much in common with Gemmell's fantasy writing. The villains are another army set to devastate the country, and the victims are settlers trying to set themselves up as successful farmers. The heroes are far from clear-cut but that's what gives them character; Batik, the ex-Hellborn, is a particular favourite.
WOLF IN SHADOW is linked to two other Sipstrassi books, GHOST KING and THE LAST SWORD OF POWER, but you don't have to have read them in order for it to make sense. I liked the presence of technology in this, although there's still plenty of magic and demonic stuff as per usual. The narrative is terse and compelling enough for me to look forward to reading the next in the trilogy.
Fans, however, will quickly realise that it's business as usual for the author, with flawed heroes wandering through a dangerous countryside and facing insurmountable odds in their quests for justice. This time around, the action is mainly inspired by Westerns, with Jon Shannow a solitary gunslinger who fights his opponents in bloody shoot-outs rather than sword battles. As per usual, the action scenes absolutely zing along and are the best thing about the book.
Plot-wise, the story has much in common with Gemmell's fantasy writing. The villains are another army set to devastate the country, and the victims are settlers trying to set themselves up as successful farmers. The heroes are far from clear-cut but that's what gives them character; Batik, the ex-Hellborn, is a particular favourite.
WOLF IN SHADOW is linked to two other Sipstrassi books, GHOST KING and THE LAST SWORD OF POWER, but you don't have to have read them in order for it to make sense. I liked the presence of technology in this, although there's still plenty of magic and demonic stuff as per usual. The narrative is terse and compelling enough for me to look forward to reading the next in the trilogy.
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