Ravenheart: A Novel of the Rigante (The Rigante Series, Book 3) Mass Market Paperback – February 26, 2002

I cried so hard when Jaim died. This series has me absolutely drawn into it. I do kot know if it the power of Gemmell's writing or that I like this world he has written better than reality. Either way I am going to be sad when this book series ends.

This is a standalone novel that ties into the history of the series. That is just one of the things that make this series so good. Each book is in the same land and about the same people although each book is about a different hero of the Rigante from different generations. This allows someone to jump into the series in any order and still enjoy each book by itself. This book finds this generation of Rigante conquered and follows Rigante heroes Grymauch, Kaelin Ring and others as they try to restore the Rigante pride. A very good book but not quite as good as the previous two.

Ravenheart, the 3rd in the Rigante series. You will need to have read the first 2 in the series, Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon, to really understand what is happening in the story. The Highland tribe of Rigante are being persecuted and subjugated by the Varlish. The story traces the lives of the some the principle characters throughout the book, from the quick tempered young Kaelin Ring, who is only to ready to kill, his Aunt Maev who with her excellent business sense makes money than the law allows, the local lord who is cruel to both the Rigante and even his own son. Jaim Grymauch who likes nothing better than to steal prize bulls. As the Wyrd attempts to restore the balance of magic in the land. As with all his books, it deals a lot with the consequences with your actions, both in your own life and in others. Also for the need to stand on the truth and that it is no always the people who you expect, who are the noblest.

A bit of a slow start to this book in my opinion, and slightly confusing as the first part of the book focuses in part on a character that is not central to the story. As I have started reading the following book however, I understand we the character was presented in such a way. About half way the story is gathering momentum and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the tale. Gemmell has a way with building purpose and motivation for his characters, and even though it can be a bit too much at times, it does make you feel for each individual. Read the first two books first to get the backdrop and you'll be ready to enjoy this!

By itself, the book is entertaining and well written. Enough for five stars. However, in comparison to its predecessors, it is not as great. While it does have heroic deeds and several main characters, not one of them has the standing of Connovar or Bane. I hope the next book is better.

Never before have I been afraid that I was going to wake up my wife because I was crying too loud next to her until I read this book. I am a 6'4 230 lb. firefighter for Gods sake I can't be crying in bed next to my wife I said to myself. Little good it did. This book from it's beginning sucks you into a world of one character that I found myself apparently very attached to, Jaim Graimauch. He is the essence of everything great about Gemmell's writing. He is the type of character that inspires me to be better as a human being. I am not an overly emotional guy but this books ending is a goddamn tear jerker. Tough guys beware read it alone. F'ing five stars

David Gemmell was one of the best storytellers ever. All his books are fast paced, easy to read, very suspenseful and they leave you with a strong desire to read more of his books and adventures. He paints his characters and worlds full of color and makes you feel part of his stories. I have reread all his books many times and they never fail to thrill me and make me want to read them yet again.

A worthy addition ro the Rigante series. Highly recommended and doesn't have to be read in order, however best to if you don't like spoilers.

This wonderful heroic fantasy story is the 3rd volume of the amazing "Rigante Series", from the author, the late David Gemmell.Story-telling has been once again of a top-notch quality, the story once more beautifully structured and executed, while all the characters come vividly to life within this exciting adventure.This book is set eight-hundred years after King Connavar's great victory against the armies of Stone, with the immense and most valuable help from his bastard son, Bane, and at first we find our two friends, Lanovar and Grymauch, beginning this new adventure.The story starts off with a prologue in which the Rigante, Lanovar, is tricked into an ambush by the noble Moidart, and although his giant of a friend, Jaim Grymauch, comes into the scene to try to save him, Lanovar will finally die from the wounds inflicted on him by the soldiers from the Moidart, without being able to give his baby by his heavily pregnant wife, Gian, a soul-name.The main two protagonists of this adventure is about on the one hand Kaelin Ring, from the Keltoi tribe of the Rigante, and son of Lanovar and Gian, also called, Ravenheart, but brought up by his aunt, Maeve Ring, after the murder of his mother, and its about his uncle and great friend, Jaim Grymauch.Also very importantly is the role of, Gais Macon of the Varlish, who's the bastard son of the Moidart and his late murdered mother, Rayena, but in time we will find out that due to the fact that his eyes are the same as his real father, he really is the son of Lanovar and Rayena, and because of that fact he's hated and treated brutally and badly by his (step)father, the Moidart.What is to come is a gripping and thrilling adventure, which can be compared to the 13th and 14th Centuries where the Knights and their Crusades have been the shining light of Christendom and where the Church is all powerful and corrupt, and in this environment of loyalty, love, passion and togetherness, against treachery, hate, oppression and personal greed, Kaelin Ring and Jaim Grymauch will do anything to keep the old ways alive while being oppressed and persecuted by the Varlish, and that will end with the unconditional love and spirit of all things Keltoi coming to the forefront in a most fascinating and loving fashion.Highly recommended, for this is heroic fantasy at its very best, look very much forward to the final instalment of this magnificent series, and what this episode is concerned I like to call it: "A Superb Heroic Fantasy Tale"!

I'm sorry to say that this is probably the poorest David Gemmell book I've read. That still leaves it ahead of many authors but he can do better than this.I found the story pedestrian and predictable. There wasn't one surprise in the entire book the characters were little more than sketches and almost entirely uninteresting. For an author who had written some of my favourite fictional people I really was surprised to find that I didn't care about any of this lot.The path of this series has been odd. An attempt at telling the history of a people, clearly based on Scottish Highlanders, but with just a few major incidents and new characters in each book. It's almost worked, but having to introduce new characters each time has meant less space to develop them and make them more than cyphers. This time the story jumped centuries forward. The Rigante are now conquered and subjugated. Bane and Connovar are legends and we have no idea how they're lives developed out the present situation came about. How they finished their war with Stone is skimmed over. Two books setting the scene then skip past all the stuff that was being set up. A strange choice.It still passes an amusing few hours radio out through. Gemmell's talent lets him set a scene and sketch a new world well and quickly but it could have been much more in depth for me. Clearly, the next book will focus on a character who barely participated in this story, so we'll see where it goes, but I haven't enjoyed this nearly as much as any of Gemmell's previous work.

The Rigante series even for David Gemmell takes some surprising leaps through time. Although there are four books in the series they feel more like two duologies both set in the same universe. I still highly recommend they be read in order as there are references but Ravenheart is set literally hundreds of years after Midnight Falcon so previous events are just history and myth at this point ha ha.This book focuses on Kaelin Ring, a young man of the Rigante tribe. The tribe is a pride and fierce people who live well with the land but are currently a conquered people ruled by the Varlish and more specifically their ruler the Moidart, a cruel and brutal man.The story is pretty good though like most of Gemmell's work I find the characters are really what make it. Kaelin's growth is interesting as he tries to control his anger and the interactions between his aunt Maev, mentor Jaim and other Rigante is pretty gripping stuff. The ending even had some pretty emotional bits that are really well done, even brought tears to my eyes. That said it isn't perfect, it's something I noticed more re-reading Gemmell's work but in the Rigante seies it seems especially true that female characters seem to exist solely to be raped or murdered to give the hero motivation which is pretty terrible and getting predictable.Overall though I still loved the book. Easy to read, great world building and characters makes it pretty addictive stuff.Recommended+ Easy to read+ Great characters.+ Well developed world.- Disposible women as plot motivation is getting a little stale in the series.

Found the whole Rigante series a bit odd, in this installment we have progressed many years and now we have muskets and revolvers - which I'm not sure really suits Gemmell's writing style. There is only a lose connection between the earlier books and this one.Nice mix of characters in the book, but its difficult to work out what the book is really about and it just ends with no real conclusion - it only really makes sense when you start book 4 Stormrider and realise that you need to consider both books as a two-part story. Only then do the various continuing characters (both major and minor) really represent a proper story.

This is the third novel in the Rigante series, which just gets better with each book.The story moves ahead 800 years from the time of Conovar and Bane, where the Rigante are now mostly a conquered and oppressed people, but events are about to happen that will reawaken the Rigante fighting spirit.This is a tale that has everything from pulse-pounding action, to gut wrenching emotion and a finale that will leave you emotionally stunned.