Just a good old school fantasy ( )

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. ( )

I tried to read this, tried to like it. But like the Robert Jordan epic, it was too verbose, too slow, and lacking in many ways. I just couldn't connect with any character. Setting it down and walking away for months at a time proved easy. That told me it wasn't my type of book. ( )

I read this when it first came out in '97 and then once again sometime in '99, before I was keeping track of what I was reading. So this is at least my 3rd read.

First off, you have to accept this book for what it is:
A cast of characters who are larger than life, impossible to kill or defeat, who simply cannot fail and who have between them about the personality of half a person.
Situations of epic proportions that simply get bigger and bigger, spiraling out of control until beaten into submission by the characters.

If you cannot accept the above, then you will hate this book, and hence the whole series.

This book was typified by violence, blood magic with horrific results, awesome supernaturalness and some really kick ass fighting. ( )

Overall, Lord of the Isles was a fun read. The characters are all pretty likable and the world they live in is a bit different than your normal fantasy fare. However, the way the story goes the confluence of so many seemingly important people in one small little hamlet is pretty inexplicable. Perhaps the fates have as much to do with the characters placement as it did with my stumbling upon the book in a bargin bin a couple years ago. Either way it's an enjoyable and simple read and one I recommend if you're looking for some light fantasy. ( )