title: Hero in the Shadows: A Waylander the Slayer Novel
author:  David Gemmell 
description: In <i>Hero in the Shadows</i>, Waylander, the assassin hero of some of Gemmell's earlier books, is now a middle-aged man looking for peace in a world that will, for the most part, let him alone. The crimes of his past come back to haunt him, as he finds himself responsible for a young prince whose grandfather he murdered, and as creatures of doomed legend come back to rule the world with blood and horror. An aging paladin, a loud-mouthed braggart whom a magic sword has chosen, and a kitchen girl who is unusually handy with her knives become his allies, along with a priestess who is not telling all she knows, or all she is.
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  # Praise for  
   ** _David Gemmell_**
  
  
  “I am truly amazed at David Gemmell’s ability to focus his writer’s eye. His
  images are crisp and complete, a history lesson woven within the detailed
  tapestry of the highest adventure. Gemmell’s characters are no less complete,
  real men and women with qualities good and bad, placed in trying times and
  rising to heroism or falling victim to their own weaknesses.”
  
  
  —R. A. SALVATORE  
  Author of _Mortalis_
  
  
  “Gemmell’s great reading; the action never lets up; he’s several rungs above
  the good—right into the fabulous!”
  
  
  —ANNE MCCAFFREY
  
  
  “Everything a fan of heroic fantasy could desire: dramatic heroes, an exotic
  sorceress, deep evil [and] mood-drenched settings.… But the book also has
  something more, a quality which raises Gemmell’s achievement to a much higher
  level: an empathetic and convincing grasp on the complexities and conflicts of
  real human beings. As a result, _Hero in the