After finishing Sword in the Storm I rushed out to get this second book in the series. It has a totally different feel to the previous one, but wasn't less enjoyable. I liked the story, but as with all tales that span a generation or two, the cycle of time does bring with it heartache and sorrow and I felt it while reading the story of Bane. A big chunk of that emotion came from being reunited with familiar characters from the previous book and to see how time has carved its progress in their lives. I enjoyed Bane's evolution from hothead fighter to lethal gladiator in the Arena. That was a satisfying experience. And as with the previous book, the story is far from predictable, and as with my previous review I'm keeping it short and vague. This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in heroic fantasy. I'm on a mission to read all of David Gemmell's books, and I think my next one will be Legend.