Lord of the Isles - Softcover

D. Drake

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812522400 ISBN 13: 9780812522402

Publisher: Tor Books, 1998

Synopsis

Mysteriously transported one thousand years into the future after a cataclysm destroys the empire of the Isles, a woman sorcerer finds herself in a small town, far from the centers of power, where she and a small group of individuals become the focus of a new struggle for dominance. Reissue.

About this title

Review:

David Drake made his name in genre fiction with the "Hammer's Slammers" series of military SF about tough future mercenaries, launched in 1979. A versatile writer, he's also published well-received fantasies: Lord of the Isles opens a massive new saga of clashing swords and spells in an archipelago world. 1,000 years beforehand, potent sorcery won a war only for its backlash to sink the winning island. Now, with magic reaching another millennial peak of power, the world is endangered. Among the players are a king's ghost and two magicians who were present at the ancient disaster (one of them caused it), plus modern wizards, warriors and unknowing descendants of royalty. Drake skilfully juggles multiple storylines as his engaging characters meet a wild variety of danger: rising and vanishing lands, the reanimated dead (not only human dead), out-of-control sorcery, demons, riots, traps and other planes of reality including hell itself. The magic comes in several fascinating and often unpleasant flavours. Even likeable characters may die. This story reads well and halts at a satisfying moment of victory rather than a nail-biting cliffhanger. It doesn't quite achieve epic scale--clearly Drake is keeping major trump cards in reserve for the coming sequels. A promising start. --David Langford

Review:

"One of the finest epic fantasies of the decade." --Piers Anthony
"Unlike most modern fantasy, David Drake's "Lord of the Isles "is an epic with the texture of the legends of yore, with rousing action and characters to cheer for." --Terry Goodkind
"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

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0812522400
• ISBN 13: 9780812522402
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 640