Rating: 
Summary: The Mistress Rocks
Review: David Drake has done it again with his swashbuckling hero once again weaving through the mystical and political intrigue of the Isles. Magic and mayhem vie with moonlight and romance as Garric
tries against impossible odds to save the people and places he cares for.
A great read and one for your permanent collection
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Isles No. 4
Review: David Drake is on my list of authors "to buy on publication, hard or soft cover," so in general I think highly of him. Some of his books I have not cared for, but his military SF is classic. In recent years Drake has started two series that I find very impressive: Lord of the Isles and Lt Leary (also the Belisarius series with Eric Flint). The two Lt Leary books are "space fantasy" (one of the things that bothers me about Drake is that his science is pretty dreadful for SF); the Lord of the Isles series is heroic fantasy. With this installment, however, I found myself asking whether Drake really knows where he's going. These are fairly massive books, yet in terms of plot it's starting to feel like he's falling into "Robert Jordan syndrome." We're not yet to the point where I'd say this is another series that wouldn't die, yet the feel of this book was very similar to the previous books: the four main characters split off at the beginning when dragged into attacking a particular problem, address some aspect of it, and join together at the end. At this point in the series you might expect some problems to be ones that combinations of the main characters would attack. I still like these books a great deal (if you haven't read any of them yet, start with Lord of the Isles!), but I'm getting concerned about the direction of the series. Drake is usually meticulous in his plots, so it's quite possible this will all come together in the next book or so. Still recommended, but with a caution for future books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Isles No. 4
Review: David Drake is on my list of authors "to buy on publication, hard or soft cover," so in general I think highly of him. Some of his books I have not cared for, but his military SF is classic. In recent years Drake has started two series that I find very impressive: Lord of the Isles and Lt Leary (also the Belisarius series with Eric Flint). The two Lt Leary books are "space fantasy" (one of the things that bothers me about Drake is that his science is pretty dreadful for SF); the Lord of the Isles series is heroic fantasy. With this installment, however, I found myself asking whether Drake really knows where he's going. These are fairly massive books, yet in terms of plot it's starting to feel like he's falling into "Robert Jordan syndrome." We're not yet to the point where I'd say this is another series that wouldn't die, yet the feel of this book was very similar to the previous books: the four main characters split off at the beginning when dragged into attacking a particular problem, address some aspect of it, and join together at the end. At this point in the series you might expect some problems to be ones that combinations of the main characters would attack. I still like these books a great deal (if you haven't read any of them yet, start with Lord of the Isles!), but I'm getting concerned about the direction of the series. Drake is usually meticulous in his plots, so it's quite possible this will all come together in the next book or so. Still recommended, but with a caution for future books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Isles No. 4
Review: David Drake is on my list of authors "to buy on publication, hard or soft cover," so in general I think highly of him. Some of his books I have not cared for, but his military SF is classic. In recent years Drake has started two series that I find very impressive: Lord of the Isles and Lt Leary (also the Belisarius series with Eric Flint). The two Lt Leary books are "space fantasy" (one of the things that bothers me about Drake is that his science is pretty dreadful for SF); the Lord of the Isles series is heroic fantasy. With this installment, however, I found myself asking whether Drake really knows where he's going. These are fairly massive books, yet in terms of plot it's starting to feel like he's falling into "Robert Jordan syndrome." We're not yet to the point where I'd say this is another series that wouldn't die, yet the feel of this book was very similar to the previous books: the four main characters split off at the beginning when dragged into attacking a particular problem, address some aspect of it, and join together at the end. At this point in the series you might expect some problems to be ones that combinations of the main characters would attack. I still like these books a great deal (if you haven't read any of them yet, start with Lord of the Isles!), but I'm getting concerned about the direction of the series. Drake is usually meticulous in his plots, so it's quite possible this will all come together in the next book or so. Still recommended, but with a caution for future books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: The spiders are taking over the world--oh my
Review: David Drake spins a good story and MISTRESS OF THE CATACOMBS is an enjoyable and action-filled read. Garric is trying to rebuild an empire shattered a thousand years earlier, but things keep getting in the way--like rebel leaders who think that no central government would be just fine and some alien spider creatures who want to be loosed on a world just full of delicious humans.As is common in large fantasy novels, Drake uses the episodic technique of having multiple characters working on different but related adventures. Garic, torn out of his body and cast a thousand years ahead of his own present labors under the knowledge that in history, his reign was a failure (although he never seemed bothered by this bit of information). I know it is hard to have a lot of character development in a series like this, but I would have liked to see a little more. Although he didn't change much, I found Cashel an especially enjoyable and human participant. This isn't the book that will change your life but it is an enjoyable read. BooksForABuck.
Rating: 
Summary: Why no audio??
Review: I am so disappointed. I bought the 1st 3 books in this series as unabridged audiobooks, and they were just GREAT. Now, the 4th isn't offerred. I called Brilliance audio, but they said none is forthcoming. In defiance, I got this book from the library, instead of buying it. But I just can't get interested. The audio books were very well read, and the accents and the pace kept the story interesting. These books don't have a huge amount of variety, so that helped considerably. Please, Mr. Drake. You won't be getting any more of my money unless you publish in audio form.
Rating:
Summary: Why no audio??
Review: I am so disappointed. I bought the 1st 3 books in this series as unabridged audiobooks, and they were just GREAT. Now, the 4th isn't offerred. I called Brilliance audio, but they said none is forthcoming. In defiance, I got this book from the library, instead of buying it. But I just can't get interested. The audio books were very well read, and the accents and the pace kept the story interesting. These books don't have a huge amount of variety, so that helped considerably. Please, Mr. Drake. You won't be getting any more of my money unless you publish in audio form.
Rating:
Summary: More of the same....but when the same is excellence...
Review: I must say that when I started to read some of the other reviews of this book, I was confused. People say that the books are falling into the Jordon trap, or they say he is getting too repetitive. I find this odd because I don't get that feeling at all. Firstly, the first 2 books tie up almost all loose ends and explain everything you need to know to enjoy further stories. If you read book 4 before you read book 3, you should not have any problem following along. This is most definitely not the way Jordon works...if you skip a book in the series, you are just lost. Also the one thing I really like about Drake, is his ability to have a small amount of characters and make you care about all of them. Books 3 and 4 are capsulated so they are almost independent stories. All loose ends are tied up in 3. All loose ends are tied up in 4. It's very satisfying to have endings. That again is unlike Jordon, who bases his fan base and sales on the fact that he ends his books in huge plot altering cliff hangers. I'm not saying that's bad, but it makes me want to pick up a new drake book knowing it's going to end with everything wrapped up, then a Jordon book that I know some stuff will be solved, and then open up twice as many threads. As for the repetitive aspect, it's really not. It's formulaic which is different. Basically Garric has to do some stuff for the kingdom, and Iina and Cashel go on their related adventures...it's just a fun yarn. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting, but . . .
Review: I've read the entire Lord of the Isles series, and although each book is interesting, as a whole, the series is just repetitive. Although the characters get into many interesting adventures, and this book especially had some unusual twists, in general the plot stays the same for book after book after book . . . I agree with many of the other reviewers; the series would be a lot more likely to go somewhere if he just kept the characters together for a while. It would also help to explore the relationships between them a little more. It's slightly difficult to really see how Cashel feels about his sister Ilna, for example, when they only spend a day in every year together, and the rest of the time they're in different parallel universes. Also, some of the characters are just too perfect - Garric, Liane and Sharina don't seem to have any flaws between them. Even Cashel, although he is slightly slow-witted, seems too good to be true. Ilna is the character who most catches my attention, because, even though her powers are inhuman, she seems the most like a real person of any of them . . . anyway, I know that was a lot of criticism, but despite that, these books are worth reading; they're just not the best things you'll ever come across. They're a great diversion, though, and hopefully the plot will pick up pace in future volumes. Anyway, I'll keep reading, just to see what happens to Ilna; her chapters are always gripping, even if the rest of the story lags, and her romance with Chalcus is the best-developed inter-character relationship in the series.
Rating:
Summary: interesting, but . . .
Review: I've read the entire Lord of the Isles series, and although each book is interesting, as a whole, the series is just repetitive. Although the characters get into many interesting adventures, and this book especially had some unusual twists, in general the plot stays the same for book after book after book . . . I agree with many of the other reviewers; the series would be a lot more likely to go somewhere if he just kept the characters together for a while. It would also help to explore the relationships between them a little more. It's slightly difficult to really see how Cashel feels about his sister Ilna, for example, when they only spend a day in every year together, and the rest of the time they're in different parallel universes. Also, some of the characters are just too perfect - Garric, Liane and Sharina don't seem to have any flaws between them. Even Cashel, although he is slightly slow-witted, seems too good to be true. Ilna is the character who most catches my attention, because, even though her powers are inhuman, she seems the most like a real person of any of them . . . anyway, I know that was a lot of criticism, but despite that, these books are worth reading; they're just not the best things you'll ever come across. They're a great diversion, though, and hopefully the plot will pick up pace in future volumes. Anyway, I'll keep reading, just to see what happens to Ilna; her chapters are always gripping, even if the rest of the story lags, and her romance with Chalcus is the best-developed inter-character relationship in the series.
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