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Lord of the Isles #1
Lord of the Isles
Following a savage storm, two pairs of siblings from a tiny seaport town embark on challenging adventures in this epic fantasy series debut.
"An epic with the texture of the legends of yore, with rousing action and characters to cheer for." —Terry Goodkind
With Lord of the Isles, David Drake returns to fantasy with a towering and complex epic of heroic adventure in an extraordinary and colorful world where the elemental forces that empower magic are rising to a thousand-year peak.
In the days following an unusually severe storm, the inhabitants of a tiny seaport town travel toward romance, danger, and astonishing magic that will transform them and their world.
"True brilliance is as rare as a perfect diamond or a supernova. Lord of the Isles is truly brilliant. We are in at the birth of a classic . . . There is a lot of fantasy out there, but there is only one Lord of the Isles. " ―Morgan Llywelyn
"David Drake's work here is original, engrossing, and instantly credible. After all the hackneyed, repetitive fantasy I've read recently, Lord of the Isles seems quite wonderful." ―Stephen R. Donaldson
"An epic with the texture of the legends of yore, with rousing action and characters to cheer for." —Terry Goodkind
With Lord of the Isles, David Drake returns to fantasy with a towering and complex epic of heroic adventure in an extraordinary and colorful world where the elemental forces that empower magic are rising to a thousand-year peak.
In the days following an unusually severe storm, the inhabitants of a tiny seaport town travel toward romance, danger, and astonishing magic that will transform them and their world.
"True brilliance is as rare as a perfect diamond or a supernova. Lord of the Isles is truly brilliant. We are in at the birth of a classic . . . There is a lot of fantasy out there, but there is only one Lord of the Isles. " ―Morgan Llywelyn
"David Drake's work here is original, engrossing, and instantly credible. After all the hackneyed, repetitive fantasy I've read recently, Lord of the Isles seems quite wonderful." ―Stephen R. Donaldson
641 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1997
About the author
David Drake
329 books899 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
July 10, 2026
David Drake wrote quite a few books, and I've been interested in starting somewhere in his catalogue. When I read that the Lord of the Isles series was similar to the Wheel of Time, I knew I needed to start there. And honestly, there are a lot of similarities...but also some differences.
As the title suggests, this is a series with quite a nautical theme. Rather than a huage mainland with a small amount of ocean around it, this book features a ton of small islands around an enormous sea. As such, Drake is able to automatically set his series apart from other 90s Fantasy sagas by bringing in not only nautical influences, but also Sumerian, Greek, and some medieval influences.
Drake features a story centered around 2 sets of siblings: Garric and Sharina and Ilna and Cashel. All of them start the book in the same place...but they slowly drift apart (see what I did there) and go their separate ways. Without spoilers, I did love how by the end of the book Drake reunites them all together.
The book does start out very slow. The first 100 pages all of the characters are still in their hometown of Barca's Hamlet (think Emond's Field). It takes until page 200 that all 4 main characters have set out on their journey (roughly 1/3 of the book). This is slower than most other fantasy novels would take. However, I think David Drake did such a great job of fleshing out the characters and making them interesting and unique, that I was perfectly ok with the slower pace. Once they've all set out, the book picks up a bit in the middle third. However, the final third of the book when all of the storylines reconverge is when it truly gets quick and epic!
Drake includes a mix of hard and soft magic systems, but I'd say his leans closer to a soft magic system. What I partciularly liked was that I understood everything that was happening whenever magic came into play.
We only really see 2 isles in this book. However, we learn a lot about some of the other isles, and thus this world feels very lived in and fleshed out. I appreciate that all of the worldbuilding seemed natural to the story, it didn't just feel like exposition dumps.
Now, I referenced earlier the Wheel of Time inspirations. Clearly, Drake was inspired by the Wheel of Time.
1. Garric is very much similar to Rand Al'Thor, even down to his having a previous leader from his world in his head. Garric also has a potential love triangle in this book like Rand does.
2. Cashel is written a lot similarly to Perrin (although I will point out he has a relationship/dynamic with a character that's actually more similar to Kaladin from the Stormlight Archive).
3. Tenochtris is very much in the role of Moiraine.
4. Sharina and Ilna diverge from the Wheel of Time female character influences, although there are a few ways Sharina could be similar to Egwene.
5. The villain "The Hooded One" is clearly similar to "The Dark One".
Now, with all those similarities...is this just a Wheel of Time ripoff? no, absolutely not. But it is clearly inspired from the Wheel of Time and taking obvious tropes and archetypes from it and going in it's own direction. A ton of fantasy novels have taken clear inspiration from Tolkien (even Wheel of Time did) and they're still great books on their own.
David Drake does a great job of pacing in this novel. He regularly jumps between the character POVs, and as such the book moved along excellently. I was never bored with the book, even when the plot slowed down. This might be due to the fact that the book has like 120ish chapters for 600 pages, so the POV's change quite often (which is something I love).
The book has some tropes about heroism that I really love. Garric and Cashel quite often represent the kind of male character honor and heroism that are refreshing in today's environment.
There's also a sequence following Sharina's plotline in the middle that really reminded me of the Conan the Barbarian short stories.
The book works as both the first in a series (originally a 6 book series and also has a 3 book follow up series), but also works as a standalone. So you do get a solid story here.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book. Sometimes you love books a ton, but feel that you may not be able to recommend them to people...and I kind of feel that way here. I loved the book thorughout, but I can totally see readers getting frustrated with the first 200 pages slow start. However, I really believe the book is worth it. This is the kind of fantasy I really love, and I had a smile on my face throughout. 9 out of 10!
As the title suggests, this is a series with quite a nautical theme. Rather than a huage mainland with a small amount of ocean around it, this book features a ton of small islands around an enormous sea. As such, Drake is able to automatically set his series apart from other 90s Fantasy sagas by bringing in not only nautical influences, but also Sumerian, Greek, and some medieval influences.
Drake features a story centered around 2 sets of siblings: Garric and Sharina and Ilna and Cashel. All of them start the book in the same place...but they slowly drift apart (see what I did there) and go their separate ways. Without spoilers, I did love how by the end of the book Drake reunites them all together.
The book does start out very slow. The first 100 pages all of the characters are still in their hometown of Barca's Hamlet (think Emond's Field). It takes until page 200 that all 4 main characters have set out on their journey (roughly 1/3 of the book). This is slower than most other fantasy novels would take. However, I think David Drake did such a great job of fleshing out the characters and making them interesting and unique, that I was perfectly ok with the slower pace. Once they've all set out, the book picks up a bit in the middle third. However, the final third of the book when all of the storylines reconverge is when it truly gets quick and epic!
Drake includes a mix of hard and soft magic systems, but I'd say his leans closer to a soft magic system. What I partciularly liked was that I understood everything that was happening whenever magic came into play.
We only really see 2 isles in this book. However, we learn a lot about some of the other isles, and thus this world feels very lived in and fleshed out. I appreciate that all of the worldbuilding seemed natural to the story, it didn't just feel like exposition dumps.
Now, I referenced earlier the Wheel of Time inspirations. Clearly, Drake was inspired by the Wheel of Time.
1. Garric is very much similar to Rand Al'Thor, even down to his having a previous leader from his world in his head. Garric also has a potential love triangle in this book like Rand does.
2. Cashel is written a lot similarly to Perrin (although I will point out he has a relationship/dynamic with a character that's actually more similar to Kaladin from the Stormlight Archive).
3. Tenochtris is very much in the role of Moiraine.
4. Sharina and Ilna diverge from the Wheel of Time female character influences, although there are a few ways Sharina could be similar to Egwene.
5. The villain "The Hooded One" is clearly similar to "The Dark One".
Now, with all those similarities...is this just a Wheel of Time ripoff? no, absolutely not. But it is clearly inspired from the Wheel of Time and taking obvious tropes and archetypes from it and going in it's own direction. A ton of fantasy novels have taken clear inspiration from Tolkien (even Wheel of Time did) and they're still great books on their own.
David Drake does a great job of pacing in this novel. He regularly jumps between the character POVs, and as such the book moved along excellently. I was never bored with the book, even when the plot slowed down. This might be due to the fact that the book has like 120ish chapters for 600 pages, so the POV's change quite often (which is something I love).
The book has some tropes about heroism that I really love. Garric and Cashel quite often represent the kind of male character honor and heroism that are refreshing in today's environment.
There's also a sequence following Sharina's plotline in the middle that really reminded me of the Conan the Barbarian short stories.
The book works as both the first in a series (originally a 6 book series and also has a 3 book follow up series), but also works as a standalone. So you do get a solid story here.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book. Sometimes you love books a ton, but feel that you may not be able to recommend them to people...and I kind of feel that way here. I loved the book thorughout, but I can totally see readers getting frustrated with the first 200 pages slow start. However, I really believe the book is worth it. This is the kind of fantasy I really love, and I had a smile on my face throughout. 9 out of 10!
December 27, 2023
This was an old school 90s epic fantasy series. It was probably deliberately written in the mould of the successful Wheel of Time series. Lord of the Isles was the opening tale in a 6 book epic. It followed the adventures of 4 older teen kids as they got caught up in an epic destiny that flung them into an epic battle between good and evil! It was a tale of action, adventure, magic, demons, weird creatures, and even a touch of romance.
Truth is I first read this series back around publication date but I’m definite I never got to the end of the series. I’ve had a 50/50 success rate with returning to the classic epic fantasy series of the 80s and 90s that I read back in my teen years when I first stumbled into, and fell in love with, the fantasy genre. Jordan, Erikson, and Goodkind all stood the test of time. Unfortunately Eddings, Feist, and now Drake have not fared so well now that I’m a more seasoned reader of the genre!
Despite having all the elements of the old school 80s and 90s classics that I loved I never really managed to get sucked into my reread of Lord of the Isles. I found Drake’s writing a bit distant and a lot of the story and action had a haphazard and confusing feel to it. The characters honestly just seemed to stumble from one weird happening to another with very little cohesion. It made this a slightly frustrating read.
The basics of a good old school tale were here as we followed brother and sister duos Garric & Sharina and Cashel & Ilna as destiny dragged them out of their backwater village into a journey filled with crazy magic, action, and adventure. I did find the story a bit disjointed but the characters were mostly OK. A bit similar in style to Jordan’s WoT characters in feel to be honest!
Meh…I’m not sure if I’ll press on with the rest of the series or not. I feel like this one struggled to hold me at times but that I can still feel the presence of a fun old school fantasy tale in here somewhere!
Rating: 2.5 stars. I’ll be kind and round up to 3 stars here on Goodreads.
Audio Note. Michael Page narrated this one. He struggles with female voices but is otherwise competent. That said, I felt he was an awful choice for this particular story. The four lead POV characters were all teens and Page sounds older than Methuselah!
Truth is I first read this series back around publication date but I’m definite I never got to the end of the series. I’ve had a 50/50 success rate with returning to the classic epic fantasy series of the 80s and 90s that I read back in my teen years when I first stumbled into, and fell in love with, the fantasy genre. Jordan, Erikson, and Goodkind all stood the test of time. Unfortunately Eddings, Feist, and now Drake have not fared so well now that I’m a more seasoned reader of the genre!
Despite having all the elements of the old school 80s and 90s classics that I loved I never really managed to get sucked into my reread of Lord of the Isles. I found Drake’s writing a bit distant and a lot of the story and action had a haphazard and confusing feel to it. The characters honestly just seemed to stumble from one weird happening to another with very little cohesion. It made this a slightly frustrating read.
The basics of a good old school tale were here as we followed brother and sister duos Garric & Sharina and Cashel & Ilna as destiny dragged them out of their backwater village into a journey filled with crazy magic, action, and adventure. I did find the story a bit disjointed but the characters were mostly OK. A bit similar in style to Jordan’s WoT characters in feel to be honest!
Meh…I’m not sure if I’ll press on with the rest of the series or not. I feel like this one struggled to hold me at times but that I can still feel the presence of a fun old school fantasy tale in here somewhere!
Rating: 2.5 stars. I’ll be kind and round up to 3 stars here on Goodreads.
Audio Note. Michael Page narrated this one. He struggles with female voices but is otherwise competent. That said, I felt he was an awful choice for this particular story. The four lead POV characters were all teens and Page sounds older than Methuselah!
January 8, 2009
I'm tempted to put a new category for my bookshelves: Didn't have anything better to read. But I guess I wouldn't have many books to put there, since I am usually able to put a book down if it's this bad. However, being that I was traveling (and partially that I'm just a bit compulsive about finishing books) I read it all the way through. It's not so easy (or cheap) to get books when traveling in Thailand, especially far from Bangkok. And as I have so many books already, I thought I'd just stick with the ones I've already purchased. But it may have been worth it to buy one.
That said...I'm appalled that the book got any kind of positive reviews. It's a deus ex machina all the way. Everything that happens in it is so orchestrated, it's just awful. Something happens and someone arrives in a small hamlet...and then other people arrive at nearly the same time, for no apparent reason, just because. Then shortly after, more people arrive. There's no real reason for all these things happening at the same time, they just do. The characters are flat. FLAT. The "hermit" Nonnus is the best character in the book, and he, of course, dies, because he's a supporting character. But Garric, Cashel, Ilna, and Sharina have next to no personality. They are country people, but educated, or if not educated, then gifted with extraordinarily keen insight into how things work, why people from other places behave a certain way, etc. I got sick to death of reading how tough someone was because they were from a small, country hamlet. I got the feeling that if Drake had chosen city rat kids for his heroes, we'd be reading about how tough city kids are.
It's truly a pity that fantasy writers pay so little attention to characters, strangling them with some self-important sense of omniscience.
This books was only good enough to fill time I didn't have anything better to do with. And only just barely.
That said...I'm appalled that the book got any kind of positive reviews. It's a deus ex machina all the way. Everything that happens in it is so orchestrated, it's just awful. Something happens and someone arrives in a small hamlet...and then other people arrive at nearly the same time, for no apparent reason, just because. Then shortly after, more people arrive. There's no real reason for all these things happening at the same time, they just do. The characters are flat. FLAT. The "hermit" Nonnus is the best character in the book, and he, of course, dies, because he's a supporting character. But Garric, Cashel, Ilna, and Sharina have next to no personality. They are country people, but educated, or if not educated, then gifted with extraordinarily keen insight into how things work, why people from other places behave a certain way, etc. I got sick to death of reading how tough someone was because they were from a small, country hamlet. I got the feeling that if Drake had chosen city rat kids for his heroes, we'd be reading about how tough city kids are.
It's truly a pity that fantasy writers pay so little attention to characters, strangling them with some self-important sense of omniscience.
This books was only good enough to fill time I didn't have anything better to do with. And only just barely.
June 12, 2024
This is the first of a series of nine long classic high fantasy novels. ...Spoiler avoidance... The world is pretty much modeled on the Roman empire at the height of its power, though the mythology is Sumerian. The supernatural elements are clever and consistent. It's a leisurely-paced, immersive story which sees a variety of characters split up to accomplish various parts of an overall goal, but they're re-united by the end for a satisfying conclusion. They're mostly country folks who have to cope with weight-of-the-world challenges, and I enjoyed their tales. The novel gets more than a bit violent and graphic at times, as aspects of sacrifice, sex, slavery, etc. are realistically examined. Readers who are looking for something similar to Hammer's Slammers will be disappointed, but Robert Jordan fans should feel at home.
August 16, 2021
4 stars.
If you enjoy old-fashioned epic fantasies like The Wheel of Time or the works of a writer like Raymond E Feist, you should try this series, because it is an unashamedly old fashioned epic fantasy novel.
Four young people from a remote village leave their homeland and are drawn into extraordinary adventures, along with a hermit who proves to be an amazing fighter and a wizard who has been catapulted forward from her own time to theirs.
See how familiar that plot sounds? If you've read any older fantasy, you've probably read something similar at some point. For all that, I found the story different enough from the fantasy pack to hold my attention; the main characters were engaging enough for me to enjoy spending time with them.
If you like old fashioned fantasy with enjoyable characters, engrossing adventures and the feel of the start of a long, sprawling saga, you'll probably enjoy this novel. I'm just about to read the sequel and plan to read the entire series.
If you enjoy old-fashioned epic fantasies like The Wheel of Time or the works of a writer like Raymond E Feist, you should try this series, because it is an unashamedly old fashioned epic fantasy novel.
Four young people from a remote village leave their homeland and are drawn into extraordinary adventures, along with a hermit who proves to be an amazing fighter and a wizard who has been catapulted forward from her own time to theirs.
See how familiar that plot sounds? If you've read any older fantasy, you've probably read something similar at some point. For all that, I found the story different enough from the fantasy pack to hold my attention; the main characters were engaging enough for me to enjoy spending time with them.
If you like old fashioned fantasy with enjoyable characters, engrossing adventures and the feel of the start of a long, sprawling saga, you'll probably enjoy this novel. I'm just about to read the sequel and plan to read the entire series.
May 17, 2011
Got to page 292 and can’t anymore with the animal abuse. It seems like every other page is a blood sacrifice for magic. Not my bag.
2, I liked it ages ago but not now, stars.
2, I liked it ages ago but not now, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2013
An exciting modern fantasy that is highly original and filled with such spectacular characters.
I was so excited when I discovered magnificent writer David Drake, who appeared within the fantasy genre with a refreshingly new fantasy epic as to rival many top writers. Similarly to stand-out authors like Robert Jordan, who is a master of heroic fantasy, or Terry Goodkind whose phenomenal imagination and power is simply mind-blowing Drake stands equally alongside them. This inspired work of creativity and individuality is breathtaking and which is certainly one of the finest epic fantasies of the decade ~ to date. I was utterly enchanted by the extensive world-building, the engrossing saga and magnitude of this creation which I envisage as a very detailed, lengthy story.
Unlike most modern fantasy, David Drake’s Lord of the Isles contains such thrilling action and exquisite multi-layered texture it is truly wonderful. If you are looking for something with memorable, well-rounded characters that propel the story forwards and who are likeable then look no further ~ Lord of the Isles has it all! From treacherous Queens to faithful and faithless courtiers, peasants and shepherds who are more than they seem, wizardry and magic alongside your heroes and heroines. This powerfully evocative tale beautifully blends vivid characterization with spectacular imagery and intensely gripping action, as to have you glued to the pages entranced…
The epic adventure begins in book one, which is filled with magic and passion set within an extraordinarily rich world where the elemental forces begin to stir. Survivors of such an event include Tenoctris; a sorceress swept out of the past as her civilization sank beneath the sea, and the ghost of a great ruler King Carus of the Isles, together with a magician (the hooded one) who was the sole reason for this catastrophe.
Reminiscent of Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars series, this is a mighty tale in which heroes are created and evil is fought against. Drake’s take on magic is wonderfully complex in this ambitious work, and his settings and magical creatures provide such drama and surprise to make it quite colorful. This substantial fantasy, in which moral and physical threats are serious and wherein actions have consequences, will appeal to those who delight in mythological works. (i.e JRR Tolkien or Arthur for example).
I was so excited when I discovered magnificent writer David Drake, who appeared within the fantasy genre with a refreshingly new fantasy epic as to rival many top writers. Similarly to stand-out authors like Robert Jordan, who is a master of heroic fantasy, or Terry Goodkind whose phenomenal imagination and power is simply mind-blowing Drake stands equally alongside them. This inspired work of creativity and individuality is breathtaking and which is certainly one of the finest epic fantasies of the decade ~ to date. I was utterly enchanted by the extensive world-building, the engrossing saga and magnitude of this creation which I envisage as a very detailed, lengthy story.
Unlike most modern fantasy, David Drake’s Lord of the Isles contains such thrilling action and exquisite multi-layered texture it is truly wonderful. If you are looking for something with memorable, well-rounded characters that propel the story forwards and who are likeable then look no further ~ Lord of the Isles has it all! From treacherous Queens to faithful and faithless courtiers, peasants and shepherds who are more than they seem, wizardry and magic alongside your heroes and heroines. This powerfully evocative tale beautifully blends vivid characterization with spectacular imagery and intensely gripping action, as to have you glued to the pages entranced…
The epic adventure begins in book one, which is filled with magic and passion set within an extraordinarily rich world where the elemental forces begin to stir. Survivors of such an event include Tenoctris; a sorceress swept out of the past as her civilization sank beneath the sea, and the ghost of a great ruler King Carus of the Isles, together with a magician (the hooded one) who was the sole reason for this catastrophe.
Reminiscent of Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars series, this is a mighty tale in which heroes are created and evil is fought against. Drake’s take on magic is wonderfully complex in this ambitious work, and his settings and magical creatures provide such drama and surprise to make it quite colorful. This substantial fantasy, in which moral and physical threats are serious and wherein actions have consequences, will appeal to those who delight in mythological works. (i.e JRR Tolkien or Arthur for example).
January 26, 2011
At one point in Lord of the Isles a character thinks how when weaving you need to have the pattern in mind before you start or else you'll be a poor craftsman. This seems to be a nod to the reader that Drake has carefully planned out his story, has got the pattern straight before he has begun. And indeed the broad outline of this first book in a nine book series is a familiar pattern of characters raised in humble circumstances rising to heroic nobility. The problem with the book is not the familiar archetypical patterns, it is how David Drake improvises within them.
Drake does action really well. He knows the mechanics, the feel and the energy, and makes them sing. It's not surprising he's known for his military fiction if the action in LotI is any indication. I actually grew to like his 'good' characters (this is traditional fantasy with a heavy demarcation between good and evil. At first I only could really distinguish Nonce, the hermit, and Iternia, the old wizard woman, but eventually the four younger characters emerged, mirroring inexperienced youths slowly accumulating knowledge and experience. It was a slow emerging though, and probably listening to the story rather than reading it helped me get through the rather blank character spots at the beginning.
So Drake does good good, but unfortunately his treatment of evil undermines his goodness. To put it bluntly: Drake's forces of evil are all unremitting arses. If you are evil in this book you are an asshole, not only are you an asshole, which I could accept with an evil dude, you're also a complete idiot. In any type of fiction, good characters get to shine when they have a worthy villain to go against, in this book the evil dudes seem to be continually offing themselves leaving the hero standing around and the reader wondering why the hell we needed to read the story.
This leads to the problem of how Drake uses magic in the book. Except for Tecnotris, who is the goodie, nobody seems to know how to use magic. The evil guys use magic all over the place, indiscriminately, and they're always getting blow up cause they don't use it wisely. I mean, why are there any evil wizards in this world? They should have killed themselves in the first five minutes. While in a book like The Wizard of Earthsea the young hero is taught the rules, it feels like the characters in this world are playing with the nets down. It is no fun, frustrating and makes for an anti-climactic ending. Drake would do much better if he followed the example of someone like George R.R. Martin, who's said that magic should be used very lightly, like a strong spice, not as the main ingredient.
Drake does action really well. He knows the mechanics, the feel and the energy, and makes them sing. It's not surprising he's known for his military fiction if the action in LotI is any indication. I actually grew to like his 'good' characters (this is traditional fantasy with a heavy demarcation between good and evil. At first I only could really distinguish Nonce, the hermit, and Iternia, the old wizard woman, but eventually the four younger characters emerged, mirroring inexperienced youths slowly accumulating knowledge and experience. It was a slow emerging though, and probably listening to the story rather than reading it helped me get through the rather blank character spots at the beginning.
So Drake does good good, but unfortunately his treatment of evil undermines his goodness. To put it bluntly: Drake's forces of evil are all unremitting arses. If you are evil in this book you are an asshole, not only are you an asshole, which I could accept with an evil dude, you're also a complete idiot. In any type of fiction, good characters get to shine when they have a worthy villain to go against, in this book the evil dudes seem to be continually offing themselves leaving the hero standing around and the reader wondering why the hell we needed to read the story.
This leads to the problem of how Drake uses magic in the book. Except for Tecnotris, who is the goodie, nobody seems to know how to use magic. The evil guys use magic all over the place, indiscriminately, and they're always getting blow up cause they don't use it wisely. I mean, why are there any evil wizards in this world? They should have killed themselves in the first five minutes. While in a book like The Wizard of Earthsea the young hero is taught the rules, it feels like the characters in this world are playing with the nets down. It is no fun, frustrating and makes for an anti-climactic ending. Drake would do much better if he followed the example of someone like George R.R. Martin, who's said that magic should be used very lightly, like a strong spice, not as the main ingredient.
August 16, 2010
The world-building seems decent at first glance, but it didn't feel like there was enough to it. You have your generic euro-fantasy peasants and traders and politicians, and a handful of "foreign" cultures. The most inventive part was the various jellyfish-looking monsters, shaped like giant alligators or made out of dead people. I felt that I was supposed to think there was some greater history behind what was shown, but that it was just a facade. The various human cultures didn't quite feel real, and I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to see an Earth parallel or not.
It bothered me that as I learned more about each character, it began to seem that theirs had been a whole village of secret changelings with special powers. It ended up a little silly, and I couldn't bring myself to care about them as much. After each revelation, I was a little more frustrated that most of the characters were only able to survive or accomplish their goals because of the specialness (seee-cret specialness!) of their parents. With few exceptions, Drake never convinced me that their success was due to anything in themselves.
See entire review at The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf.
It bothered me that as I learned more about each character, it began to seem that theirs had been a whole village of secret changelings with special powers. It ended up a little silly, and I couldn't bring myself to care about them as much. After each revelation, I was a little more frustrated that most of the characters were only able to survive or accomplish their goals because of the specialness (seee-cret specialness!) of their parents. With few exceptions, Drake never convinced me that their success was due to anything in themselves.
See entire review at The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf.
July 23, 2009
Totally awesome fantasy series.
January 23, 2016
While it started out very slow, and I found myself almost ready to quit reading, I pushed on. I'm glad I did. The pace picked up, the plot thickened, and the characters became more interesting. A good book is when you find yourself rooting for certain characters. I found myself rooting, and worrying for them. Some events made me gasp, while others shocked me. Many times, I found myself thinking "Well, I didn't see that coming." Very good read, and looking forward to the next book.
February 16, 2017
Good read, original world, well developed characters. Tenoctris may be one of my favorite wizards in all of fantasy.
Similar to The Wheel of Time, the story quickly splits the main characters and follows them separately through their various adventures. Unlike the Wheel of Time, Drake keeps it relatively easy to keep track of who is doing what and weaves the various subplots back together at the end of the book for an impressive conclusion.
Similar to The Wheel of Time, the story quickly splits the main characters and follows them separately through their various adventures. Unlike the Wheel of Time, Drake keeps it relatively easy to keep track of who is doing what and weaves the various subplots back together at the end of the book for an impressive conclusion.
December 18, 2010
This book was so bad I threw up while reading it. Okay, I didn't actually throw up because of the book. I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me. But the book was really bad.
January 4, 2022
Just a good old school fantasy
May 28, 2018
Rating
Review
*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***
There were two problems I had with Lord of the Isles: (1) the characters didn't reach out and grab me and (2) the author didn't allow for any time for the characters to reach out and grab me before the story swept them away. Unlike a Robin Hobb novel, for example, where the reader is introduced to the characters with a steady, depthful narration while the story moves along in like fashion, Drake dumps both characters and story on us with such brusqueness it was difficult to enjoy either.
The prologue details magic gone awry as a sorcerer successfully repels an attack by invaders but sinks his own city in the process. A trireme is thrown off-course from the resulting choppy seas and comes upon a small, out-of-the-way town where they discover the missing daughter of an important count and countess who were slain years before. Next thing we know this young woman is aboard the trireme and being whisked away to claim her birthright. Meanwhile, her brother, who we now know is not really her brother, looks to also be leaving the town via a visiting merchant. I stopped at that point, so I can't say what happened next.
While Drake is an accomplished writer of military fiction, he fired a blank on this one. Lord of the Isles, unfortunately, isn’t worth your time.
Review
*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***
There were two problems I had with Lord of the Isles: (1) the characters didn't reach out and grab me and (2) the author didn't allow for any time for the characters to reach out and grab me before the story swept them away. Unlike a Robin Hobb novel, for example, where the reader is introduced to the characters with a steady, depthful narration while the story moves along in like fashion, Drake dumps both characters and story on us with such brusqueness it was difficult to enjoy either.
The prologue details magic gone awry as a sorcerer successfully repels an attack by invaders but sinks his own city in the process. A trireme is thrown off-course from the resulting choppy seas and comes upon a small, out-of-the-way town where they discover the missing daughter of an important count and countess who were slain years before. Next thing we know this young woman is aboard the trireme and being whisked away to claim her birthright. Meanwhile, her brother, who we now know is not really her brother, looks to also be leaving the town via a visiting merchant. I stopped at that point, so I can't say what happened next.
While Drake is an accomplished writer of military fiction, he fired a blank on this one. Lord of the Isles, unfortunately, isn’t worth your time.
October 12, 2025
Solid Old School Fantasy
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August 4, 2011Drake says he's using Sumerian mythology to build his story. Smart move on his part. There are very few Sumerian-oriented fantasy novels, so Drake is guarranteed to produce something original from this angle. More on that below.
Granted, Drake's thesis is rather cliche: farm boy with a mysterious past goes on a journey and finds out he is secretly the king. Meanwhile, the world is about to suffer cataclysm or some evil wizard, etc. I suppose that's inevitable. One simply can't get around that.
While I don't know much about science and physics, I know a lot about philosophy and the philosophy of science (e.g., interpreting scientific trends from an a priori base). And I do have a passing interest in physics. At times in the book the characters, be they sprites or wizards, mention about living on "another plane" (earlier in the prologue we see--yeah, this is a spoiler but it is only 10 pages into the book, so you can deal with it--one character bend space and time and send another character into the future, but not exactly). Well, given the Philadelphia Bell experiment, along with the idea of aether theories and tortion physics, this is not exactly far-fetched.
I understand the talk of "other planes" can bother some Christians. Fair enough. It does sound a bit like New Age nonsense, and in Drake's case it may very well be just that. However, Christians do believe in other dimensions (not just "heaven"). The Nicene Creed, while putting a lid on much neo-Platonic speculation, does say that God is the creator of all things visible and invisible. Early Christians--well, even well into the late Middle Ages--did not simply believe that God exists and other beings don't. It was not uncommon--if not at times entirely Orthodox from a confessional standpoint--do believe in other beings--call them spirits, angels, whatever--living in other dimensions. Or to see different folds within dimensions (the Calvinist scholar Herman Dooyeweerd actually has some interesting thoughts on this. He calls it "enkapsis").
Granted, Drake's thesis is rather cliche: farm boy with a mysterious past goes on a journey and finds out he is secretly the king. Meanwhile, the world is about to suffer cataclysm or some evil wizard, etc. I suppose that's inevitable. One simply can't get around that.
While I don't know much about science and physics, I know a lot about philosophy and the philosophy of science (e.g., interpreting scientific trends from an a priori base). And I do have a passing interest in physics. At times in the book the characters, be they sprites or wizards, mention about living on "another plane" (earlier in the prologue we see--yeah, this is a spoiler but it is only 10 pages into the book, so you can deal with it--one character bend space and time and send another character into the future, but not exactly). Well, given the Philadelphia Bell experiment, along with the idea of aether theories and tortion physics, this is not exactly far-fetched.
I understand the talk of "other planes" can bother some Christians. Fair enough. It does sound a bit like New Age nonsense, and in Drake's case it may very well be just that. However, Christians do believe in other dimensions (not just "heaven"). The Nicene Creed, while putting a lid on much neo-Platonic speculation, does say that God is the creator of all things visible and invisible. Early Christians--well, even well into the late Middle Ages--did not simply believe that God exists and other beings don't. It was not uncommon--if not at times entirely Orthodox from a confessional standpoint--do believe in other beings--call them spirits, angels, whatever--living in other dimensions. Or to see different folds within dimensions (the Calvinist scholar Herman Dooyeweerd actually has some interesting thoughts on this. He calls it "enkapsis").
December 17, 2014
This was a nice little throwback to some great 90s fantasy. That may sounds snarky, but I was in high school then, and I have a great fondness for that period of SFF. This reminds me of Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series, Steven Erikson or perhaps early Robert Jordan or late Terry Brooks. In any case, if you were reading and loving epic fantasy in the 90s, you probably read and loved this.
The plot spools along at a good clip, with interesting characters and locations. Drake puts his characters through absolute hell, and you can't help but ache for them. The plot "twists" weren't particularly twisty, though I can't speak to how they were received on publication. But really, you're not here for the plot twists. You're here for a great ensemble epic fantasy of the 90s. And Lord of the Isles perfectly delivers.
I'd like to say I'm going to continue with the series, and I may. Drake brings this first episode to such a satisfying conclusion, though, that I'm not immediately pulled into the next (good for my TBR, probably not best for Drake).
The plot spools along at a good clip, with interesting characters and locations. Drake puts his characters through absolute hell, and you can't help but ache for them. The plot "twists" weren't particularly twisty, though I can't speak to how they were received on publication. But really, you're not here for the plot twists. You're here for a great ensemble epic fantasy of the 90s. And Lord of the Isles perfectly delivers.
I'd like to say I'm going to continue with the series, and I may. Drake brings this first episode to such a satisfying conclusion, though, that I'm not immediately pulled into the next (good for my TBR, probably not best for Drake).
August 6, 2011
I was a bit disappointed. I came to Drake via his military SF, beginning with Redliners, and have read pretty much everything he's written in the genre, as well as the writings of his frequent collaborators David Weber and Eric Flint - the holy trinity of military SF. This book was an enjoyable read, and an original concept, but ultimately not, in my opinion, up to the standards of his SF.
Still, I'll read the next book in the series!
Still, I'll read the next book in the series!
May 7, 2008
Took me a year to get through this; partly because I read ebooks slowly (except when traveling; then I read them in great gulps), but largely because it never really grabbed me. Interesting world, some pretty good characters, but too much going on for me to keep straight . . . and in the end, I don't really care all that much about any of it.
Won't be continuing with this series.
Won't be continuing with this series.
November 24, 2017
Like the blues in the 1960s, Isles starts off as straight-ahead fantasy with the usual building blocks, but takes it in some interesting directions. It explores planes of existence and the characters morph and develop along the way. In the beginning, you think you've read this before, but you really haven't. Stick with it, it is worth the ride.
July 19, 2025
A solid Sword and Sorcery tale. Book one of I'm not sure, but it's off to a pretty good start. I'm going to wait and hold my opinion until I finish the series, and it's a long one.
*On a side note I've given up on most of the "achievements" for the reading challenge. If I get them, I get them. If not that's okay too.
*On a side note I've given up on most of the "achievements" for the reading challenge. If I get them, I get them. If not that's okay too.
February 19, 2019
Very intriguing due to innovative characters and universe that events take place in.
The Hooded One character is simply awe-instilling, and the enigma behind him and his throne propel this story forward.
The Hooded One character is simply awe-instilling, and the enigma behind him and his throne propel this story forward.
Currently Reading
February 7, 2009Character Driven story with an excellent pace that catches you in the first pages and drags you along with it.
March 4, 2019
Lord of the Isles by David Drake
By RJ Jenson
I bought this book like a year ago as part of an effort to impress a girl. It didn’t work, and I was stuck with a book that I was only sort of interested in. Eventually, I ran out of money to buy new books, so I decided to read what I already had on my shelf, and this is the one I chose. It’s exactly as interesting as it needs to be for me to read the whole thing- and not one iota more.
People would ask “Hey RJ, what’s that book about?” and I was never quite sure how to answer that question. “Uh,” I would flounder, “This wizard shows up on an island so everyone leaves.” There’s no real plot, it’s just four distinct stories that branch off from the one point in the beginning, and then they meet up again at the end. And then they go fight an evil wizard for no reason whatsoever.
The action in the story is very well exciting and well written. In fact, I read a review for the book that says “David Drake is good at writing action, which is why he wrote all those military science fiction stories, but his fantasy is totally lame,” or something to that effect. Sure enough, I looked him up and most of his writing history is violent science fiction. After learning that, the rest of the book felt like a drag because I wanted to go read some of that other stuff.
I wouldn’t say that his fantasy work is “totally lame.” His world is cool and the culture based on boats was really interesting and felt pretty realistic. There was a lot of lore that I could really get behind. But the magic is so boring. There appears to be no rules for magic in this world, which takes all the risk out of it. The only downside to magic is that literally everyone who uses it is insane. If magic made you into a murderous nutbar, that would be a nice downside and would make wizards pretty scary. But it’s not written that way, that’s just the way those characters are. At one point the coolest character says that regular folk can do anything that wizards can do, it just takes longer. But the “bad guy” wizard changes the wind and turns himself into a demon. I’d like to see any regular folk do that.
The characters are really well defined and I liked most of them, even if their tasks in the story seemed endless and mundane. The way their separate stories all came together at the end was pretty cool, even if the lack of a plot was annoying the whole way. I also felt like all of the main characters were completely infallible, which is super boring. I remember thinking it was a nice turn that Ilna learned how to weave magic mind-control fabric, and how she was the bad guy and how everyone would have to go fight her now. But that wasn’t the case, she just fell asleep and woke up as she was but she kept the weaving power. Not even the girl who made a deal with the devil was the bad guy. Nobody has a character arc in this story. They just learn new things about the world without changing or growing in any way. How droll.
Magic is boring, the characters never change, and there’s no plot. But the world was cool and fun to explore, and I did like the characterization. All in all, it slightly sucks. Not recommended.
By RJ Jenson
I bought this book like a year ago as part of an effort to impress a girl. It didn’t work, and I was stuck with a book that I was only sort of interested in. Eventually, I ran out of money to buy new books, so I decided to read what I already had on my shelf, and this is the one I chose. It’s exactly as interesting as it needs to be for me to read the whole thing- and not one iota more.
People would ask “Hey RJ, what’s that book about?” and I was never quite sure how to answer that question. “Uh,” I would flounder, “This wizard shows up on an island so everyone leaves.” There’s no real plot, it’s just four distinct stories that branch off from the one point in the beginning, and then they meet up again at the end. And then they go fight an evil wizard for no reason whatsoever.
The action in the story is very well exciting and well written. In fact, I read a review for the book that says “David Drake is good at writing action, which is why he wrote all those military science fiction stories, but his fantasy is totally lame,” or something to that effect. Sure enough, I looked him up and most of his writing history is violent science fiction. After learning that, the rest of the book felt like a drag because I wanted to go read some of that other stuff.
I wouldn’t say that his fantasy work is “totally lame.” His world is cool and the culture based on boats was really interesting and felt pretty realistic. There was a lot of lore that I could really get behind. But the magic is so boring. There appears to be no rules for magic in this world, which takes all the risk out of it. The only downside to magic is that literally everyone who uses it is insane. If magic made you into a murderous nutbar, that would be a nice downside and would make wizards pretty scary. But it’s not written that way, that’s just the way those characters are. At one point the coolest character says that regular folk can do anything that wizards can do, it just takes longer. But the “bad guy” wizard changes the wind and turns himself into a demon. I’d like to see any regular folk do that.
The characters are really well defined and I liked most of them, even if their tasks in the story seemed endless and mundane. The way their separate stories all came together at the end was pretty cool, even if the lack of a plot was annoying the whole way. I also felt like all of the main characters were completely infallible, which is super boring. I remember thinking it was a nice turn that Ilna learned how to weave magic mind-control fabric, and how she was the bad guy and how everyone would have to go fight her now. But that wasn’t the case, she just fell asleep and woke up as she was but she kept the weaving power. Not even the girl who made a deal with the devil was the bad guy. Nobody has a character arc in this story. They just learn new things about the world without changing or growing in any way. How droll.
Magic is boring, the characters never change, and there’s no plot. But the world was cool and fun to explore, and I did like the characterization. All in all, it slightly sucks. Not recommended.
August 7, 2023
This book has some elements I really enjoyed. The action is well done, and there are some interesting world-building elements such as the Sumerian-inspired mythology. Some of the more interesting parts of the world are found later in the book, namely the Serians and the Floating Folk. They don't get much emphasis, but perhaps they return in later books.
It strikes me that magic in this world is so wild and dangerous as to be not worth using: very often spells seem to go awry and put the spellcaster in extreme danger. Perhaps this is not the normal way of things, but a result of the rising evil forces in the world. It's not very clear though.
Most of the characters were not very interesting to me at first, with the exception of Nonnus. However, Cashel did grow on me toward the end of the book.
Overall, there are things here to like, though the book feels longer than it needs to be. I plan to try some of Drake's shorter works, particularly the military science fiction he's best known for, as writing action seems to be his greatest strength as a writer.
It strikes me that magic in this world is so wild and dangerous as to be not worth using: very often spells seem to go awry and put the spellcaster in extreme danger. Perhaps this is not the normal way of things, but a result of the rising evil forces in the world. It's not very clear though.
Most of the characters were not very interesting to me at first, with the exception of Nonnus. However, Cashel did grow on me toward the end of the book.
Overall, there are things here to like, though the book feels longer than it needs to be. I plan to try some of Drake's shorter works, particularly the military science fiction he's best known for, as writing action seems to be his greatest strength as a writer.
January 25, 2022
If you like world building epic fantasy this is for you. It does move around faster than say World of Time, so you have to pay attention. That is because there is a lot going on. If you are not thinking while listening to or reading this book it will zoom past you. Those that claim it has no hooks clearly were not paying attention.
If you want combat scenes that take forever to resolve this is also not for you. Instead time is spent with details about how the magic in this universe works. It's like comparing the style of Tolkien versus R.A. Salvadore (Drittz). I enjoy both, but knowing what kind of style I am starting helps.
When I picked up this book I was exhausted from romance stories that are set in a fantasy world promoting the fantasy and trivializing the romance in the summary previews. Lord of the Isles is what it says. Drake delivered what was advertised.
If you want combat scenes that take forever to resolve this is also not for you. Instead time is spent with details about how the magic in this universe works. It's like comparing the style of Tolkien versus R.A. Salvadore (Drittz). I enjoy both, but knowing what kind of style I am starting helps.
When I picked up this book I was exhausted from romance stories that are set in a fantasy world promoting the fantasy and trivializing the romance in the summary previews. Lord of the Isles is what it says. Drake delivered what was advertised.
April 14, 2023
This book has some elements I really enjoyed. The action is well done, and there are some interesting world-building elements such as the Sumerian-inspired mythology. Some of the more interesting parts of the world are found later in the book, namely the Serians and the Floating Folk. They don't get much emphasis, but perhaps they return in later books.
It strikes me that magic in this world is so wild and dangerous as to be not worth using: very often spells seem to go awry and put the spellcaster in extreme danger. Perhaps this is not the normal way of things, but a result of the rising evil forces in the world. It's not very clear though.
Most of the characters were not very interesting to me at first, with the exception of Nonnus. However, Cashel did grow on me toward the end of the book.
Overall, there are things here to like, though the book feels longer than it needs to be. I plan to try some of Drake's shorter works, particularly the military science fiction he's best known for, as writing action seems to be his greatest strength as a writer.
It strikes me that magic in this world is so wild and dangerous as to be not worth using: very often spells seem to go awry and put the spellcaster in extreme danger. Perhaps this is not the normal way of things, but a result of the rising evil forces in the world. It's not very clear though.
Most of the characters were not very interesting to me at first, with the exception of Nonnus. However, Cashel did grow on me toward the end of the book.
Overall, there are things here to like, though the book feels longer than it needs to be. I plan to try some of Drake's shorter works, particularly the military science fiction he's best known for, as writing action seems to be his greatest strength as a writer.
August 1, 2017
The setting of the book is varied and interesting and just enough different from your usual fare to hit the pro list. It’s a mix of medieval and renaissance-like cultures and societies which is par for the course for the genre. He liberally grabs into the goodie bag for other planes, demons, demon dogs, sprites, nymphs, undead, Bug-people, reptilian people and much more. So much more. It’s a crazy mix but it works. And interestingly the religion is based of Sumerian religion which also twists the setting off the well-trodden course of celtic/norse et cetera’s and therefore also a plus. I wrote a whole lot more on this on the blog so you'll have to swing by for the full (spoilerfree) chuckle:
https://walkoffthepath.wordpress.com/...
https://walkoffthepath.wordpress.com/...
June 24, 2019
Argh. This is a hard one to review. It's a series of at least 5 books. The fact that I don't know exactly how many tells you something already. I would have given this first one about 3.5 stars for a pretty standard story with some weaknesses in the telling but some characters with potential. I particularly liked Tenoctris, the wizard who was really more like 99% librarian and 1% magic, and was cool with that. But then I read the second book. And the third. And, god help me, even about half of the fourth. And the storytelling weaknesses increased while the characters evolved not a whit. By the fourth book I was pretty sure the author was a MAGA type. I hope I'm wrong. Go ahead and read them, but don't say I didn't warn you.
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