The Islander

Stormlands #1

by John Maddox Roberts

Hael, a young herder cast out of his tribe for killing a taboo beast, is thrust into a foreign world where steel is so rare it is used as currency, and where a simple herder must become a warrior in order to survive.

Genres: Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Fiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1990

About the author

aka Mark Ramsay

John Maddox Roberts is the author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. The first two books in the series have recently been re-released in trade paperback.

Reviews

[Economondos · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.8 rounded to 3 stars. This was a slow build giving the life of a post-apocalyptic semi-nomadic warrior in the style of Conan. Each chapter would have been a good slower-paced intermission between exciting battles - but there were few battles. To me, the whole book just dragged. Nothing really wrong with the book, but not very interesting to me nor up to other works I have enjoyed by this author.

[S.wagenaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid three star book, I found it a little slow at times, possibly padded a little to reach an allotted page count. This first book sets up the rest of the series (I’m thinking) by describing the world that our hero is born into, and by having him banished from his home islands, he is set onto his path of learning and destiny.
It touches a little on barbarism vs civilization as our Barbarian hero compares the two in his travels. He believes he’s destined for greatness and conquest, so he pays close attention to everything he encounters and asks a million questions in order to absorb everything he can about the ‘civilized’ nations. Soon, he wants to forge the barbaric tribes into one nation, under his leadership.
Great world building, realistic settings and cultures, and no magic (so far). Not a lot of action, but I’m betting there will be more in the subsequent books now that everything is in place and the quest for empire is set into motion. Recommended.

[Torrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, fun read.