Lord of the Isles

Lord of the Isles, Book 1

By: David Drake

Narrated by: Michael Page

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.

©1997 David Drake (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

good read from drake.

the reading style was a bit strange. I really don't like the inner conversations because they just went over the top and added a reverb to them.

Too many 'Mary Sue' characters

Too many 'Mary Sue' characters from the word GO; and tangents galore, it's not always clear WHY what the main characters are doing is even important. If one was running this as a D&D campaign it would be amazing but as a novel it gets tiresome

Too distracted by the voice…

…Of Mr. Page.
I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so distracted by his “Monty Python”-esque character voices… a British accent can only go so far… beware!

Too many characters doing too many things

I lost track of characters and the seemingly random events they fell into.

I suspect there is a grand scheme and a theme, but I kept getting lost. Then stopped caring.

The start of an epic

Well told story told in the classic fantasy style of myth, magic, and mayhem. Michael Pages does a great reading creating distinct characters as he introduces us to the Lord of the Isles saga. David Drake lays out a solid foundation to build his world. Great ear candy if your looking for a good fantasy tale.

An epic to rival the Wheel of Time

It's upsetting when you finish a great series like the Sword of Truth, the Wheel of Time, or the Lord of the Rings and don't know where to go next. I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series. I love the way that the main characters who come from humble beginnings maintain a strong sense of morality in an otherwise corrupt world.
The narrator does a wonderful job of making each character come alive with their own unique personality.

Epic.

As excellent as I remember it being. One of the best epic fantasies, and the first time I encountered it I didn't believe there would be any more good epic fantasy! (Obviously I was wrong.)

The narration is adequate. It doesn't subtract from the book but it doesn't add anything either.

Good listen.

I enjoy books of this type. I can not wait to listen to more from this author.

Worth listening to!!!

Starts really slow, and comments on how greek mythology is its inspiration. Really, Once it got the wheels turning, it spanned out and felt like a Tolkien story. The narrator got better, half way through the story.

Epic Fantasy Delivered

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.