There is something rather appropriate about reaching Quest for Lost Heroes at this point in my journey through David Gemmell’s Drenai novels. By now I have become very familiar with his heroes, his battles and his fascination with people trying to work out what they are supposed to do with the lives they have been given.

But this one feels different.

Perhaps it is because the title tells us exactly what we are looking for. These are lost heroes, people who have already fought their battles and, in one way or another, walked away from the lives they once lived.

Naturally, Gemmell is not going to let them stay retired.

The story follows a group of former heroes brought back together when the Drenai face another terrible threat. These are not young warriors setting out to make their names. They are older, scarred by experience and carrying memories of things they would probably rather forget.

I really liked that.

There is something particularly appealing about the idea that heroism is not necessarily something you grow out of. You might walk away from it, convince yourself that your fighting days are over and build another life, but when the moment comes and people need you, there is still that question lurking in the background.

What are you going to do?

That is one of the themes I found myself thinking about most while listening to Quest for Lost Heroes. Gemmell has always been interested in duty, but here duty is complicated by age and experience. These characters know exactly what war costs. They have seen friends die, made mistakes and lived with the consequences.

They are not rushing towards battle because they think war is glorious.

They are going because somebody has to.

That lands differently with me now than it would have when I was younger.

The younger me would probably have been thrilled by the idea of a group of legendary warriors getting back together for one last adventure. The late-fifties me still loves that idea, obviously, but I find myself much more interested in what happens to people after the songs have been sung and the stories have been told.

What does a hero do when the world has stopped needing him?

And what happens when it starts needing him again?

Gemmell also plays with the idea of reputation. Heroes become legends because people remember the victories, not necessarily the doubts, mistakes and compromises that came before them. The people in Quest for Lost Heroes have to live with the difference between the legends others remember and the people they actually are.

I found that particularly effective.

There is a certain sadness to discovering that the person everybody remembers is not necessarily the person you recognise when you look in the mirror.

It also gives the story a strong sense of redemption.

Gemmell never seems particularly interested in the idea that redemption means forgetting what happened. His characters cannot erase their pasts. What they can do is decide what they are going to do next.

That is a much more believable form of redemption to me.

You cannot change yesterday.

You can, however, decide what tomorrow looks like.

There is also plenty of commentary on power and ambition. The conflict is driven by people who want to control others, while the heroes are forced to confront the consequences of decisions made by people pursuing their own agendas. Gemmell is good at showing how quickly ambition can become destructive when someone starts believing that their own desires matter more than everybody else’s lives.

But what I particularly enjoyed was the contrast between those people and the old heroes.

The former warriors are not interested in power anymore. They have already discovered that glory has a price.

And perhaps that is why they make such effective heroes.

They have nothing left to prove.

Well, perhaps that is slightly unfair. They do still have a few things to prove, particularly to themselves.

There is plenty of action, naturally. Gemmell would hardly be Gemmell without desperate battles, warriors making impossible stands and people charging towards danger when common sense is screaming at them to run in the opposite direction.

I still love all of that.

But the action feels more meaningful because these characters understand what it costs.

And, as always, Sean Barrett deserves considerable credit for filling the world of the Drenai with life. His narration gives these older warriors the weight and character they need, and there is something reassuring about hearing his voice carry me back into Gemmell’s world. The production may feel somewhat dated now, but Barrett remains a big part of my enjoyment of these audiobooks.

Quest for Lost Heroes is ultimately a story about people discovering that they are not finished simply because they thought their heroic days were behind them.

For me, that is what makes it work.

It is not really about becoming a hero.

It is about deciding whether you are willing to be one again.

The younger me would have wanted to be one of these legendary warriors.

Older me is much more interested in why they came back.

And, as usual, Gemmell gives me plenty to think about after the swords have been put away.

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