If you've read and enjoyed any of David Gemmell's previous books, you'll be familiar with their weird place names and deceptively simple prose. You'll also recall the wonderfully flawed characters. But whether you've read a Gemmell book before or not, Troy: Fall of Kings is likely to draw you in like the best of gift horses.

I recommend that you read the two prequels first, though - Gemmell comes up with a clever explanation for the Trojan Horse, but doesn't waste any time describing his conceit to newcomers. A "story so far" introduction or a few brief expository lines would have been very helpful this go-round. But stick with it and the book will reward you as a classic page-turner.

You can read my full review of Fall of Kings on the Charleston Post & Courier website.

BOOK REVIEW: WARRIORS - DARK RIVER

WARRIORS - POWER OF THREE: DARK RIVER. By Erin Hunter. HarperCollins Publishers. 334 pages. $16.99.

In life and in literature, cats have fascinated people for centuries. The source of that fascination lies in the felines’ unpredictable nature. They’ll act like your best friend one minute, then once they’re fed they’ll shun you and scratch at the back door to be let out.

In her series of novels for children, Warriors, Erin Hunter takes Native American motifs and applies them to a population of feral cats. There are clans, magic and medicine cats. The clans squabble and battle, forge friendships and treat Millie, a “kittypet” (domesticated cat) with suspicion.

The relationships between the characters are a strong hook for readers, and a knowledge of previous books is recommended before anyone tackles Dark River (it’s the middle book of a trilogy within the series, to boot).

There are 90 characters alluded to in the book, all saddled with names like Thornclaw, Berrypaw and Tawnypelt. With so many characters and scant description, the writing rapidly becomes repetitive; for example, the word “paw” is used ad nauseam, sometimes twice per sentence.

Somewhere in this book, there’s a solid story about an apprentice shaman. But unlike the capricious cats of real life, Dark River is sabotaged with plodding, predictable prose.