The Iron Code: Stories In Honour Of David Gommell edited by Ian Whates (book review)
This anthology is published to mark twenty years since the passing of fantasy author David Gemmell, whose most famous character was Druss the Legend. I confess that I haven’t read ‘Legend’, the book where Druss first appeared but I did read a graphic novel adaptation of it by Stan Nicholls and Fangorn years ago and liked it. I also wish I’d kept it because it costs £80 now second-hand. Oh well. ‘The Iron Code’ appears here just before the introduction by editor Ian Whates.
The Iron Code of Druss the Legend:-
‘Never violate a woman, nor harm a child.
Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men.
Protect the weak against the evil strong and never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.’
There are twenty-one stories in the book. Here are some that made an impression.
‘The Other’ by Dan Abnett. Relieved of duty by the company’s barber-surgeon, the captain rides south to warmer lands and stays at an inn run by another old soldier. Whereas the captain has been stationed in the bitter cold north, the owner served in the hot south. Eventually, the captain tells his story of fighting the Outsiders and there’s plenty of gory action.
‘Candles’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky is set in his Palleseen world. Irwen Gravenhand and Eliz Gosch, raised up warlord Urtsewyn Gravenhand, dead five hundred years, to help them fight the tyrants who have taken over his old town. Told from the point of view of a revived corpse, this has many amusing moments and plenty of action at the end.
Everyone knows soldiers should train hard and fight easy but the Muranai tribe in ‘Shadow Of The Ice Cross’ by RJ Barker take this to extremes. ‘They beat the children with switches, and those that cried they beat more.’ Kids soon learn not to cry. Guiden, our hero, believes completely in the hard warrior code fostered in his cold land and rises up the ranks, although odd incidents and characters give him doubts. One day, he may even join the Vireer, the exalted shock troops who seem not to fear death at all. They don’t. By the end of the story, he finds out why.
‘The Apothecary’ by Stephen Deas features a new cult in town called the Magalor. They break into Shur’s shop in search of his assistant, Corto, a foreigner. In order to make things great again, like they used to be, lazy people, foreigners and criminals will have to be sorted out by those who work hard and have unity of purpose. There was something vaguely familiar about this theme, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Shur does his best to cope.
Stan Nicholls helped found the David Gemmell Awards and compiled previous anthologies in honour of the late writer. He also wrote the aforementioned graphic novel adaptation of ‘Legend’, so it’s nice he has a story here. ‘The Calaker’ is an old-fashioned adventure about two brothers, Taskas and Bord, who arrive in Morvender seeking a special treasure and fall in with the resistance. Morvender is ruled by evil Mazoch Tiel, the Puppeteer. Many stories herein have an anti-war tone, that being the modern way, but Taskas and Bord slaughter their enemies as cheerfully as Conan. This could have appeared in ‘Weird Tales’.
‘The Code’ by Mark Lawrence actually quotes the Iron Code and ponders how words can be interpreted differently in shades of grey rather than black and white. Olaf Ivarson, out to make a rep for himself, tries to pick a fight with Snorri Ver Snagason, a renowned warrior aged forty-three. This was worth it for a good joke.
The young buck taking on the old warrior is a theme in many westerns and Anne Nicholls’ story ‘Bloodhorn’ is practically a western, goddarn it. Kira, her family and a few hired hands are moving a herd of razorhorns to market to sell them. It’s all gone wrong. Her Pa is dead and so is Lemayer, a trusted old hand. Carver has vanished. He was a troublesome bully but competent. Now she has to get the herd to town with just a few men left, plagued by direwolves all the way. There’s magic thrown in towards the end of this tale but it still reads like a western. That’s not a complaint because I liked it very much.
‘The Binding’ by John Gwynne begins with Alcyon, chieftain of the Kurgan clan of giants, returning home with a band of warriors after a raid on another tribe. Alcyon has a wife and son. A surprising turn of events leads to a great crisis. This reads like a prologue and probably is just that. John Gwynne is the author of the ‘Banished Lands’ fantasy books in which Alcyon is a key character and this provides an introduction to that series. I liked it well enough.
In ‘The Hiring Fayre’, writer Ian Whates heroine Kaytine leads her band of fighters to a hiring fayre to look for work. She has a grey-white stripe that runs from front to back of her auburn hair and is known and feared as…the Badger! Recently, she toppled a gang of sorcerous tyrants known as the Storm Kings but two of them escaped and are out for revenge so she’s trying to keep a low profile. It’s a solid adventure yarn.
Most of the stories fit the Iron Code of the title into a fantasy setting but Gavin Smith takes a different approach in ‘Know When to Walk Away’. Davey is pulled underwater at the serpentine in Hyde Park by another kid, Jamie Prentice. When Davey’s mother intervenes, Mister Prentice slaps her for daring to touch his kid. She gets home and tells Jack, Davey’s stepfather, and begs him not to get in trouble. But the Iron Code says, ‘Never violate a woman, nor harm a child.’ A touching story with hints of fantasy from Davey’s imaginings about a vampire in his wardrobe.
‘The Iron Code’ is a solid collection which honours David Gemmell rather well. Like all anthologies, it’s a chance to sample the work of different writers and might lead you on to their longer works. They won’t mind. Worth a look for fans of sword and sorcery.
Eamonn Murphy
July 2026
(pub: NewCon Press, 2026. 314 page small enlarged paperback. Price: £14.99 (UK), $ (US). ISBN: 978-1-917735-28-5. ebook: £ 4.99 (UK))
check out websites: www.newconpress.co.uk and www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.asp?id=280&referer=Hp
