Lord of the Isles
David Drake
book reviews:
· general fiction
· chick lit/romance
· sci-fi/fantasy
· graphic novels
· nonfiction
· audio books

Click here for the curledup.com RSS Feed

· author interviews
· children's books @
   curledupkids.com
· DVD reviews @
   curledupdvd.com

newsletter
win books
buy online
links

home

for authors
& publishers


for reviewers

click here to learn more




Get *Lord of the Isles* delivered to your door! Lord of the Isles
David Drake
Tor/Tom Doherty Associates
448 pages
Hardcover
August 1997
rated 2 of 5 possible stars

buy this book now or browse millions of other great products at amazon.com

previous reviewnext review

David Drake, an author best-known for his works of military science fiction, enters the realm of fantasy with Lord of the Isles. Quite obviously the beginning of a new trilogy, Drake's foray into fantasy should pull some diehard SF fans in with him. Whether or not he can draw dedicated fantasists into his fold remains to be seen.

Curled Up With a Good BookThe tiny coastal village of Barca's Hamlet is threatened by little -- occasional seawolf raids on pasturing sheep herds is about as serious as trouble gets. But when the waters wash up a wizardess who's been adrift on the tides of time for a thousand years, and the same waters bring in a high court official and a young wizard searching for the true child of a count to shore up the legitimacy of the king's rule, nothing will ever be the same for five residents of Barca's Hamlet. The young wizard Meder and procurator Asera determine that seventeen- year-old Sharina os-Reise is in fact of royal lineage, beginning Sharina's sea voyage to the capital city of Ornifal. Nonnus, a hermit with a past he lives to forget, agrees to accompany Sharina on the trip, on which he will prove to be her only real friend and protector against the heartless machinations of the wizard Meder and Asera.

Sharina's leave-taking breaks Cashel or-Kenset's heart, and he swears to leave Barca's Hamlet behind. Benlo, a sheep drover with hidden motives, agrees to take Cashel on to drive his sheep to a waiting ship in Carcosa Harbor. Garric or-Reise, Sharina's brother, decides to journey with his friend. Garric is driven by disturbing dreams in which Carus, who was Lord of the Isles in the castaway wizardess Tenoctris' time, urges him to find the darkly magic Throne of Malkar, and by the revelation that he is no more truly his parents' child than his sister was. Tenoctris and Ilna, Cashel's sister, join the young friends on their journey. Tenoctris comes to help Garric as his quest takes shape, and Ilna because she secretly loves Garric.

Dark forces will work to ruin those on both journeys. The queen, whose interests are decidedly not the same as the king's, will work to destroy Sharina as this newly discovered heir to the royal line of Haft and the hermit Nonnus sail ever closer to Ornifal. The evil Hooded One will seek to eliminate obstacles -- including Garric, Tenoctris, Cashel and Ilna -- to his own quest for the Throne of Malkar. Friendships will be strained, minds shattered, and the arrogant misuse of magic will endanger the very lives of the questers as they struggle to fulfill their destinies.

Lord of the Isles tells an interesting story -- the plot is sound and the sources of magic well-imagined. The only weakness in the book, but a remarkably distracting one, is the abruptness with which suspenseful scenes occur. Drake leaves the reader little time to feel the tension of rising action before the climax is suddenly there and past. If the pacing of the sequel (for surely there will be a sequel) relaxes just a bit, this could be the beginning of a major crossover success for David Drake.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Sharon Schulz-Elsing, 1997

Also by David Drake:

Buy *Lord of the Isles* online
click here for more info
Click here to learn more about this month's sponsor!


fiction · sf/f · comic books · nonfiction · audio
newsletter · free book contest · buy books online
review index · links · · authors & publishers
reviewers

site by ELBO Computing Resources, Inc.