There is something slightly odd about reading The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend after coming to Druss through Legend. We already know the man he will become. We know the legend, the reputation and, most importantly, the kind of man standing behind both. So this is not really a story about discovering whether Druss will become a hero. It is about discovering why.

And that distinction makes for a surprisingly thoughtful piece of heroic fantasy.

The story takes us back to Druss’s younger days, when he is still a relatively unknown young man living a quiet life with his wife Rowena. Then, naturally, everything goes spectacularly wrong. Rowena is kidnapped by slavers and Druss sets off to rescue her, beginning the journey that will eventually turn him into the legendary warrior we already know. The audiobook runs for just over fourteen hours, with Sean Barrett once again behind the microphone.

On the surface, this is classic Gemmell. There are warriors, assassins, slavers, magic, monsters, larger-than-life characters and plenty of people making the unfortunate decision to underestimate the bloke carrying the enormous axe.

But underneath all of that, Gemmell is asking some rather more interesting questions about destiny and responsibility.

Druss spends much of the story trying to avoid the destiny that seems to be waiting for him. He is not particularly interested in becoming a legend. He certainly does not set out to become the greatest warrior in the Drenai world. His motivation is considerably simpler. His wife has been taken from him, and he intends to bring her home.

That is important because it strips away much of the usual heroic fantasy machinery.

Druss is not doing the right thing because some prophecy tells him he has to. He is not chasing glory, fame or some grand historical purpose. He does what he believes is right because he cannot live with himself if he does nothing.

And that is probably the theme that resonates with me most strongly now.

There is something very appealing about the idea of doing the right thing no matter what it costs. Gemmell never suggests that the right choice will necessarily be the easy choice, or even that it will produce a happy outcome. Quite the opposite. His characters often have to make choices knowing perfectly well that they are going to hurt, and Druss is at his best when he simply accepts the price.

That is what makes him different from the stereotypical destined hero. Destiny might have plans for Druss, but Druss himself is far more interested in making his own decisions.

There is also something rather lovely about the fact that Gemmell based Druss on his own stepfather, Bill, as a tribute to him. Gemmell later explained that he used Bill as the model for Druss and that the character would subsequently appear in various forms throughout his work. Knowing that adds another layer to the character for me. Druss can be an almost mythological figure, but there is clearly something deeply personal at the heart of him.

You can feel that in the way Gemmell writes him.

Druss is not perfect. He is stubborn, violent and sometimes spectacularly single-minded. Yet there is an underlying decency that holds the character together. He has a very straightforward moral compass, even when following it leads him into situations that would have most sensible people running in the opposite direction.

And, of course, there is Snaga.

The axe is practically a character in its own right, and its presence adds another dimension to the question of destiny. Druss inherits a weapon with a dark history, and with it comes the possibility that he might become the sort of man his grandfather was. The temptation is there, but so is the choice. Druss does not simply accept that because something is in his blood, or because an enchanted weapon has a particular history, he must follow the same path.

That feels very Gemmell.

Your past may shape you, other people may have expectations of you and circumstances may push you in a particular direction, but ultimately you still have to decide who you are going to be.

And then there is Sean Barrett.

Once again, Barrett does a superb job of filling the world of the Drenai with life. He understands the rhythm of Gemmell’s writing and gives the characters distinct personalities without turning the narration into a parade of exaggerated voices. His Druss has exactly the right sense of weight and presence, while the quieter characters get enough individuality to make the sprawling cast easy to follow. The 2017 audiobook is an unabridged production, and Barrett is a big part of why these Drenai stories work so well in audio.

What I particularly enjoy about The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend is that it does not simply tell us that Druss is a hero.

It shows us how he becomes one.

And perhaps more importantly, it shows that becoming a hero is not really about destiny at all. It is about the choices you make when doing the right thing is going to cost you something.

That is a message that probably means rather more to late-fifties me than it would have done when I first discovered Gemmell.

The young me would have been there for the axe.

The older me is increasingly interested in the man holding it.

And that, for me, is where the real legend begins.

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