Troy: Fall of Kings is one of those books that leaves you both in awe of its brilliance and perplexed by its obvious flaws. The good points of this book are many. Gemmell and his wife (Who I understand finished said book after her husband’s death.) continued the series’ trend of creating realistic characters, who fit perfectly into the historical narrative of this period. These characters are multi-dimensional, behave realistic based upon their established personality, and burst off the page. The same can be said of the battle scenes, where one can feel the adrenaline rush of fear and the sound of clashing weapons as the Greek and Trojans warriors clash. And the final duel between Hector and Achilles is one of the best written I’ve read between two, heroic warriors. Even the final “Trojan Horse” resolution is well thought out and makes historical sense.
Still, there are instances where the story just doesn’t ring true. Helikaon and Andromache, in particular, make certain decision that seem forced so that other important moments in history can be written about. Another is the resolution - if you can even call it that - of Gershom’s strange plot line that was somewhat mystifying throughout the series. There are other examples of this in the later part of the book, especially the last few chapters where Troy’s survivors are shown fleeing for their lives, but I do not want to belabor the point, only point out that these "what the" moments detract from the effect of the narrative as a whole.
With all that being said, I enjoyed the novel. It was a fitting ending to a good series. A trilogy where the Gemmells did an excellent job of taking the myths about Troy and turning them into compelling historical fiction. Not to say they did not take artistic liberties with historical fact, but that, even though they did, it rang more or less true. For attempting to shed a light of reason on the Trojan War, this novel and series is a must read.
Finally, I would be remise if I did not salute the legendary David Gemmell. There will never be another writer who can do justice to a warrior’s true spirit as he did in this series and all his novels. A final triumph for a true master of his craft.
