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Stones of Power #2
Last Sword of Power
BLOOD KING
The Goths followed a bloodthirsty new leader, one who sought to open the Gates of Hell: Wotan. His immortal power stemmed from human sacrifice and dark sorcery, and no sword could touch him. He rode the winds on a leather-winged steed, while his armies cut a deadly swath across the northern kingdoms. Even death's icy hand could not stop them.
Only Uther Pendragon could save Britannia. To do so he must wield his birthright--Cunobelin's blade, the legendary Sword of Power.
But Uther was chained in Hell, the sword lost in swirling Chaos. All hope lay with the warrior known as Revelation, with the magic of the Sipstrassi Stones, and with Anduine, a blind girl possessed of arcane powers. Only if these unlikely allies united could they hope to stop the invincible foe before the world plunged into darkness.
The Goths followed a bloodthirsty new leader, one who sought to open the Gates of Hell: Wotan. His immortal power stemmed from human sacrifice and dark sorcery, and no sword could touch him. He rode the winds on a leather-winged steed, while his armies cut a deadly swath across the northern kingdoms. Even death's icy hand could not stop them.
Only Uther Pendragon could save Britannia. To do so he must wield his birthright--Cunobelin's blade, the legendary Sword of Power.
But Uther was chained in Hell, the sword lost in swirling Chaos. All hope lay with the warrior known as Revelation, with the magic of the Sipstrassi Stones, and with Anduine, a blind girl possessed of arcane powers. Only if these unlikely allies united could they hope to stop the invincible foe before the world plunged into darkness.
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
92 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
David Gemmell
199 books3,821 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 62 reviews
September 13, 2022
3.5-stars.
Good, but still not as good as his Drenai books.
Good, but still not as good as his Drenai books.
December 22, 2025
⭐⭐⭐1/2. This completes the Stones of Power duology, something of a retelling of Arthurian mythos. Set about 25 years after the first installment, the Last Sword of Power contains many of the previous characters, but with a new protagonist, Cormac, who we soon learn is the only child of the Blood King, Uther. We also learn that Uther and his estranged wife do not know he survived; he was raised as an orphan by a kindly Saxon ex-soldier.
We also have a new evil force to beset Britain, another immortal who the others thought they banished/killed thousands of years ago. Since the sinking of Atlantis, the immortals have been meddling in human affairs, often acting as gods, and Gemmell keeps tossing in all kinds of references to them that I enjoyed. Like the last installment, this felt a bit rushed; if Sanderson wrote this, each volume would be a 1000 page epic.
While war will eventually come to Britain, Gemmell spends most of the time oscillating among the main characters, many of whom undergo various quests of sorts. The Blood King's soul was captured by the evil immortal, who wants the titular Sword of Power, but the King cast it into chaos before he succumbed; now he sits in Hell being tortured. His son, on the other hand, seems to relive his father's tale, being taken to the same mountain cabin in Scotland, learning to be a warrior and a man by the same tutor, who now calls himself Revelation. The remainder of the king's court have to deal with the potential massive invasion by the Goths led by the evil immortal.
Overall, solid read, but not one of my favorites by Gemmell. The guy can tell a story, but I thought he tried to pack too much into these two volumes. I love his pithy dialogues and the words of wisdom that pepper the pages here.
We also have a new evil force to beset Britain, another immortal who the others thought they banished/killed thousands of years ago. Since the sinking of Atlantis, the immortals have been meddling in human affairs, often acting as gods, and Gemmell keeps tossing in all kinds of references to them that I enjoyed. Like the last installment, this felt a bit rushed; if Sanderson wrote this, each volume would be a 1000 page epic.
While war will eventually come to Britain, Gemmell spends most of the time oscillating among the main characters, many of whom undergo various quests of sorts. The Blood King's soul was captured by the evil immortal, who wants the titular Sword of Power, but the King cast it into chaos before he succumbed; now he sits in Hell being tortured. His son, on the other hand, seems to relive his father's tale, being taken to the same mountain cabin in Scotland, learning to be a warrior and a man by the same tutor, who now calls himself Revelation. The remainder of the king's court have to deal with the potential massive invasion by the Goths led by the evil immortal.
Overall, solid read, but not one of my favorites by Gemmell. The guy can tell a story, but I thought he tried to pack too much into these two volumes. I love his pithy dialogues and the words of wisdom that pepper the pages here.
May 15, 2016
This book, like the prequel, suffers from the opposite problem of most books nowadays--it's too short. There's so much depth that's skimmed over in this book, so many missed opportunities to explore the characters and the world. It's as if David was told, "condense this book into as few pages as humanly possible," and he did.... And it suffers as a consequence.
February 19, 2018
Uther in Hell
19 February 2018
Well, it seems like I haven't read this one previously, even though a part of me thought that I did. I know that I have read a few of Gemmell's books, namely because one of my friends is a big fan, and I do remember reading the previous Arthurian one, but I suspect that by the time this one had come around I had basically moved on. However, since I had just finished rereading the first one I was somewhat keen on getting onto the sequel and in all honestly, I found it a little underwhelming.
The story is set twenty-five years after the first book, and a king named Wotan is rampaging across Europe, and in all intents and purposes is unstoppable. Not surprisingly he is one of the immortals, though it was believed that he was killed eons ago, but it appears that death isn't always the final arbiter, particularly when it comes to sorcerers. Anyway, a lot has happened in the preceding years – Uther has been constantly at war, and we also hear of the great betrayal, where his wife and his mentor are caught visiting each other (and there is a suggestion that there was a sexual liason between the two). While a part of the story deals with the threat of Wotan, interweaved through the tale is the story of the affair between Gwen Avar and the Lance Lord, or rather revealing what exactly happened and who in fact ended up betraying whom.
The disappointing thing about this book was that it seemed, plotwise, pretty similar to Ghost King. We have a young lad who doesn't know who his parents are being forced to flee the village where he grew up, finding himself lost in the woods only to be rescued by a mysterious stranger. Halfway through the story we also have them travelling to a different realm and thus have the story play out in both realms simultaneously. I suspect that this may be why Gemmell left the series at this book because it seems as if he was starting to run out of ideas. Then again, it has been a while since I have read his other books so I can only really comment on the two that I have read.
I guess the major theme running through here is the idea that the truth isn't always what we believe it to be. Uther's major flaw seems to be that he is stubborn, at least when it comes to love. He has one interpretation of events as they played out, and refuses to see any other point of view. When Culain appears at the end of Ghost King announcing himself as the Lance Lord, those of us who are familiar with the tale of King Arthur pretty much know what is going to come next. Then again, as the previous book played out it wasn't surprising when he appeared at that time. I guess, in a way, this is why Gemmell was able to jump twenty-five years. We know that there was going to be an affair, and it wasn't necessary for him to spell it out.
Then again Gemmell's stories don't always move the plot in the way that we expect it to move. Remember, he has been making some slight adjustments because the story of Arthur has come down to us as a legend – it is debatable as to whether he really existed or not, and the various elements of the story evolved over the centuries. In the original text there is no mention of Lancelot, no cuckolding, and certainly no Holy Grail. As such, we can expect that Gemmell is going to twist the story somewhat, and it is going to turn out in a way that is a little unexpected (though in the end somewhat predictable). If anything though, at least he did manage to wrap this up reasonably well and, unlike some writers who continue to flog a dead horse, ended it here.
19 February 2018
Well, it seems like I haven't read this one previously, even though a part of me thought that I did. I know that I have read a few of Gemmell's books, namely because one of my friends is a big fan, and I do remember reading the previous Arthurian one, but I suspect that by the time this one had come around I had basically moved on. However, since I had just finished rereading the first one I was somewhat keen on getting onto the sequel and in all honestly, I found it a little underwhelming.
The story is set twenty-five years after the first book, and a king named Wotan is rampaging across Europe, and in all intents and purposes is unstoppable. Not surprisingly he is one of the immortals, though it was believed that he was killed eons ago, but it appears that death isn't always the final arbiter, particularly when it comes to sorcerers. Anyway, a lot has happened in the preceding years – Uther has been constantly at war, and we also hear of the great betrayal, where his wife and his mentor are caught visiting each other (and there is a suggestion that there was a sexual liason between the two). While a part of the story deals with the threat of Wotan, interweaved through the tale is the story of the affair between Gwen Avar and the Lance Lord, or rather revealing what exactly happened and who in fact ended up betraying whom.
The disappointing thing about this book was that it seemed, plotwise, pretty similar to Ghost King. We have a young lad who doesn't know who his parents are being forced to flee the village where he grew up, finding himself lost in the woods only to be rescued by a mysterious stranger. Halfway through the story we also have them travelling to a different realm and thus have the story play out in both realms simultaneously. I suspect that this may be why Gemmell left the series at this book because it seems as if he was starting to run out of ideas. Then again, it has been a while since I have read his other books so I can only really comment on the two that I have read.
I guess the major theme running through here is the idea that the truth isn't always what we believe it to be. Uther's major flaw seems to be that he is stubborn, at least when it comes to love. He has one interpretation of events as they played out, and refuses to see any other point of view. When Culain appears at the end of Ghost King announcing himself as the Lance Lord, those of us who are familiar with the tale of King Arthur pretty much know what is going to come next. Then again, as the previous book played out it wasn't surprising when he appeared at that time. I guess, in a way, this is why Gemmell was able to jump twenty-five years. We know that there was going to be an affair, and it wasn't necessary for him to spell it out.
Then again Gemmell's stories don't always move the plot in the way that we expect it to move. Remember, he has been making some slight adjustments because the story of Arthur has come down to us as a legend – it is debatable as to whether he really existed or not, and the various elements of the story evolved over the centuries. In the original text there is no mention of Lancelot, no cuckolding, and certainly no Holy Grail. As such, we can expect that Gemmell is going to twist the story somewhat, and it is going to turn out in a way that is a little unexpected (though in the end somewhat predictable). If anything though, at least he did manage to wrap this up reasonably well and, unlike some writers who continue to flog a dead horse, ended it here.
June 8, 2011
Not one of the author's best books, but fans should still enjoy it. This one follows on from GHOST KING and is much of the same, with the myths and legends of Arthurian Britain mixed up with sorcery and demonic creatures. A familiar template for Gemmell, then.
This one loses points by having too many characters in a rather jumbled storyline. Most of the characters from the first book come back, a whole new cast are introduced, and to complicate matters even further, when characters die they don't really die, their souls are transported instead to a netherworld where they find further adventure. Merely keeping track of where/what and who everybody is (I should mention that other characters have dual personalities and are able to adopt different forms at will) becomes an ordeal in itself.
Still, as with every book I've read from this author, THE LAST SWORD OF POWER has guts - and heart. The characters and in particular their motivations are never less than believable. The action scenes are exquisite and the human flaws that propel the protagonists are what makes this book so readable.
This one loses points by having too many characters in a rather jumbled storyline. Most of the characters from the first book come back, a whole new cast are introduced, and to complicate matters even further, when characters die they don't really die, their souls are transported instead to a netherworld where they find further adventure. Merely keeping track of where/what and who everybody is (I should mention that other characters have dual personalities and are able to adopt different forms at will) becomes an ordeal in itself.
Still, as with every book I've read from this author, THE LAST SWORD OF POWER has guts - and heart. The characters and in particular their motivations are never less than believable. The action scenes are exquisite and the human flaws that propel the protagonists are what makes this book so readable.
June 17, 2023
2023 reread; a magnificent sequel, set in the same hodge-podge of history and fantasy, featuring the same Magical Celts(tm) that Gemmell will use at least twice more in his career, once with the same storyline for a character. But it’s wonderful, with an ending brimful of tears and joy. It’s Arthurian in name only but it’s also one of my favourite versions of the myth.
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"We cannot hold this bridge," said Oleg. "Weight of numbers will force us back, and once we are on level ground they will overwhelm us."
"Now would be an exceptionally good time to think of a second strategy," observed the Lance Lord as the Goths drew rein at the end of the causeway.
"I was just making conversation," replied Oleg. "Do you object to me taking the right side?"
Much better than its predecessor, Ghost King. This story takes place a generation later and we pick up the story of a new struggle against some ridiculously evil villains cobbled together from various mythologies. But the setting feels a little more realistic and lived-in than the last book and the story benefits from it.
And it's a great story, too: Cormac has lived in isolation all his life because of the circumstances of his birth. One day he is driven from his village and becomes embroiled against his will in the struggles of those far more powerful than him. He also discovers his true history...
Like Ghost King this book suffers from being too short: there are many characters and storylines that really needed to be longer to have had a greater impact and, while it says it's set in Dark Ages Britain (tm), it feels more like a Fantasyland with some historical trimmings.
But it tells a tighter, more disciplined story and presents characters who have aged and grown but are still as confused by everything as they have always been. Especially the relationship between Uther and Gian Avar which is basically a marriage built between two people far too proud to be any real good to each other. But we also have Galead who is the most interesting character in either book: his transformation from wastrel merchant prince to sensitive pacifist is a great story and highlights the contradictions of the genre that Gemmell was often trying to plumb in his books. Which is part of what's terrific about Mr Gemmell's books: people who are confused or unable to cope with some aspects of life but are able to cling to what they do understand and make some new meaning from it and add purpose to their life.
It still feels like a rehearsal for some of his later books but there's enough exciting and interesting stuff going on that it isn't noticeable. This isn't Gemmell at his best but you can see traces of what makes him so damn good when he is there.
December 21, 2021
I swear, every time I think I'm not going to give a DG book a high rating, he pulls out an ending that just floors me. This is one of those Gemmell books that is uneven, containing some of his flattest, first-draft-like writing, but also some of his best. Works like White Wolf, Morningstar, and the Troy series are far more good all-around, but this is still a David Gemmell book. The characters have feelings, damn it. An even 3 stars, even if it's a bit far-fetched at times.
August 9, 2024
فقط از پایان کتاب و مجموعه راضی بودم جز کارای ضعیف گمل محسوب میشه
July 7, 2014
One of the few let downs by the Author. I haven't enjoyed Gemmell's Stone of Power series and this one is worse then it's predecessor having the same problems. Too many characters and plots with nothing significant for them to be there in the book. Also the many discrepancies and changes in character are unnatural. The surprises are given away too early and the climax are without a punch. There was no thrill reading it. None of the Protagonist leave a lasting impression. Any other author it would have been a ok book but being Gemmell it's bad.
After reading many of his books i can say safely he is not good when it comes to magic and should stick to melee style (Sword & Dagger)
After reading many of his books i can say safely he is not good when it comes to magic and should stick to melee style (Sword & Dagger)
April 13, 2016
Though I love Gemmell's succinct prose, his gritty exposition and near complete lack of flowery language rarely inspires a strong emotional reaction from me. To me it is simply a different type of literature than say Tolkien. Yet this novel somehow got a real emotional reaction out of me at the end. I was really touched by the sorrow and regret of the characters as they looked back on the mistakes of the past and yearned to have chosen differently, wishing to remove the scars they had caused from the hearts of their loved ones. It was a surprisingly touching end to a legend that has been told and retold countlessly.
June 22, 2020
Probably not my favorite Gemmell novel (or series) but still worth a read if you are a die-hard David Gemmell fan. The Last Sword of Power has the classic Gemmell heroic characters and the brilliant matter-of-fact story sequences. But this book was all over the place with over-the-top fantasy elements. Multiple worlds, characters dead by not dead, extreme magic, and key players changing into different key players. It was tough to follow at times. And book 2 seemed to repeat the same basic premise or storyline from book 1. Three stars from me. But I have no plans to move Gemmell away from my top 5 authors list. Not a chance.
January 12, 2015
Uther and the Fawn of the Forest have a son who survived his birth because of a magic stone. If the previous book was about love, this one is about forgiveness, letting go of anger and mistakes made in the past. New point of view from Ursus/Galead: the world is best without magical powers.
April 14, 2008
This was fun, but I think I would have to be a teenage boy to have enjoyed it to its fullest.
May 30, 2016
Absolutely loved this book. Read it and re-read it...
September 7, 2019
goodread...
September 7, 2022
Le jeune Cormac Filsdudémon, chassé de son village, va croiser la route du mystérieux Révélation, qui va l'entraîner. Pendant, ce temps, le dieu Wotan à la tête de ses troupes envahit l'Europe et désire annexer Britannia. Uther Pendragon saura-t-il résister?
Un livre correct sans plus avec les qualités et défauts de l'auteur. Le style reste bien évidemment extrêmement fluide mais on voit venir énormément de mécanismes scénaristiques qui ne sont pas très fins, d'autant plus que cette suite est encore plus ancrée dans la mythologie arthurienne. J'ai eu énormément de mal à croire au couple Cormac/Anduine et j'ai trouvé dans l'ensemble que l'intrigue patinait un peu et s'étendait pour rien. Si la fin rachète un peu le reste, je tiens tout de même à signaler qu'un personnage (que je ne peux pas nommer pour préserver un retournement scénaristique visible à l'instant où on le prépare) a une attitude que je trouve exécrable à un point que j'en suis venu à le détester.
De plus je m'interroge sur la pertinence de lier cette saga avec Le Lion de Macédoine car cela crée une incohérence en fin de lecture (je considère que le spoiler est osef mais c'est ma propre appréciation, à vous de voir) :
.
Un livre correct sans plus avec les qualités et défauts de l'auteur. Le style reste bien évidemment extrêmement fluide mais on voit venir énormément de mécanismes scénaristiques qui ne sont pas très fins, d'autant plus que cette suite est encore plus ancrée dans la mythologie arthurienne. J'ai eu énormément de mal à croire au couple Cormac/Anduine et j'ai trouvé dans l'ensemble que l'intrigue patinait un peu et s'étendait pour rien. Si la fin rachète un peu le reste, je tiens tout de même à signaler qu'un personnage (que je ne peux pas nommer pour préserver un retournement scénaristique visible à l'instant où on le prépare) a une attitude que je trouve exécrable à un point que j'en suis venu à le détester.
De plus je m'interroge sur la pertinence de lier cette saga avec Le Lion de Macédoine car cela crée une incohérence en fin de lecture (je considère que le spoiler est osef mais c'est ma propre appréciation, à vous de voir) :
.
March 16, 2022
Simply superb
I have read this book at least three times thorough my life. Fist in my list tennes, then in my late 20's and now at 50. It is a deeply emotional and moving tribute to life, love, and the principles of right vs wrong. Good vs evil. It sings to my soul, my heart and my spirit of adventure. It is in my opinion, an absolute triumph. A gift from the Author to the world that finds on and resonates long after the author has passed. May the source hold him in its infinite embrace.
I have read this book at least three times thorough my life. Fist in my list tennes, then in my late 20's and now at 50. It is a deeply emotional and moving tribute to life, love, and the principles of right vs wrong. Good vs evil. It sings to my soul, my heart and my spirit of adventure. It is in my opinion, an absolute triumph. A gift from the Author to the world that finds on and resonates long after the author has passed. May the source hold him in its infinite embrace.
December 19, 2022
After the first book in this series that was somewhat disappointing following my completion of the great Drenai series, I was pleasantly surprised by Gemmell returning to a faster paced action that kept the pages turning. The makeshift molding of the Roman-Britain world with quasi-historical roots still cannot substitute for a totally made up fantasy world like the Drenai but character development and suspense left me looking forward to the next book in the series.
December 30, 2023
Fantastic conclusion to this duology! The next three books are in the same world but supposedly post apocalyptic set a couple of thousand years in the future. Still no explanation why all the King Arthur references happen to Uther Pendragon but this is a loose retelling after all. Hard to believe Gemmell books and in particular these two ones are becoming more obscure as time passes.
August 14, 2024
Superb!
In the era of heroes, many talk but few can walk,
The Immortals shaped the world as their thing of play,
It’s the pursuit of power after which the tyrant/titans stalk,
Come, join us for the journey, come see them all play!
The man who should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for his epic contributions to Fantasy Fiction has done it again, outstanding!
In the era of heroes, many talk but few can walk,
The Immortals shaped the world as their thing of play,
It’s the pursuit of power after which the tyrant/titans stalk,
Come, join us for the journey, come see them all play!
The man who should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for his epic contributions to Fantasy Fiction has done it again, outstanding!
July 6, 2025
Very classic style heroic fantasy. I could see some not liking it as much as Drenai, I just love the Arthurian legend and this just took everything I love about the first book in the duology and added to it and threw in all the Arthurian stuff I was missing and wanted to see through Gemmell's lens.
October 12, 2020
A retelling of Arthurian Legend, from typical Gemmell viewpoint. All his typical characters are there, but still, it fails. No character stays with you like Waylander or Reg, not even Karnak. For what it is worth even his Troy series was better than this.
May 17, 2022
Uther Pendragon is the only hope of the people of Britain, Uther is banished to hell. Britain's only hope is the young blind mystic girl and her protector tasked with entering Hell itself to bring Uther out of Hell.
March 20, 2023
“This was war. Not the golden glory of young men in bright armor carving their names in the flesh of history. Not the Homeric valor of heroes changing the face of the world. No, just an awful stillness, a total silence, and an appalling evil that left dead children in its wake.”
I found this story difficult to start, but I liked it in the end. I had to get used to the fact that Uther was no longer the focus, but that other characters played a bigger role in this book. I think the side characters got a bigger role here. In the end, it wasn't so bad because it benefited the story, I could see the final battle and the preparations for it from everyone's mind. And of course I got to know them better as a result.
“Peace … death … Perhaps they are the same.”
The end of the story was exciting, the book was also about love and forgiveness in addition to the battle. It was a pity that the preparation for the battle was extended and the battle was too short. Although the end of the book was not perfect, but all the fights ended, everyone forgave the other and the characters found peace.
I found this story difficult to start, but I liked it in the end. I had to get used to the fact that Uther was no longer the focus, but that other characters played a bigger role in this book. I think the side characters got a bigger role here. In the end, it wasn't so bad because it benefited the story, I could see the final battle and the preparations for it from everyone's mind. And of course I got to know them better as a result.
“Peace … death … Perhaps they are the same.”
The end of the story was exciting, the book was also about love and forgiveness in addition to the battle. It was a pity that the preparation for the battle was extended and the battle was too short. Although the end of the book was not perfect, but all the fights ended, everyone forgave the other and the characters found peace.
June 6, 2018
As with the first book, this one felt far too short. Still, everything was wrapped up nicely in the end.
June 9, 2018
Pretty meh for me. I loved all his other series. But this one didn't feel the same to me
January 26, 2019
This was a fun read but not nearly as entertaining as the first. Felt like there was a lot going and some things were not properly explained or not at all.
March 8, 2019
3 1/2. Still fun.
August 12, 2019
not so much action like the first book
a little bad in mixing gods and humans.
but i think in next book the things get better.
a little bad in mixing gods and humans.
but i think in next book the things get better.
March 24, 2021
Same overall plot idea. Same overall themes. Good writing keeps it interesting still. But no surprises.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews