Rating: 
Summary: Where are we going and how do we know when we get there?
Review: I started reading reviews of this book to give me some insight into Drake's world and where the story is heading, assuming *I* was missing something. Clearly, it wasn't just me.
I don't know, maybe Drake was thinking about old school fantastic stories like Gulliver's Travels and Arabian Tales where surprising things just happen to the main characters and they muddle through each adventure and stumble on to the next. I understand he's got a 4th book out now. Maybe he's managed to put a plot together by then? Sadly, I may never know because I can't seem to force myself through the second book!But this is a review of THIS book. I enjoyed it well enough. It's a good time killer and moves along fairly well. If you just keep reading and don't stop to think about it, it's quite enjoyable. If you like Drake's other books, you're heading to the beach for the weekend and have nothing else to read, you don't feel like getting emotionally involved with new characters in a new world, AND you can still order a used copy, then this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Barley enough to keep me reading
Review: I am an avid fantsy fan and have read hundreds of fantsy novels, short stories, screenplays and the likes, unfortunatly this book ranks among the worst I have read. I say unfortunatly because I have really liked David Drake's writting in previous books he has written. But in this book, nothing good can be said. There is no real plausable plot. No characters worth caring about and the pace is unbelieveably slow. I tried to give Mr. Drake the benifet of the doubt and finish the book thinking that somehow it had to get better, but I was sorely disappointed. I can say, with an absolute degree of certinty, that I will never finish this series. I would strongly discourage readers from even starting this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wheres the cheese? It's all here!
Review: Im an avid reader of fantasy literature but it took me some time to finally pick up a David Drake novel. In anticipation of Storm of Swords by Martin I thought i'd try an, as yet, unread author. So I picked up this book thinking it would be a nice way to pass the time. Let me first say I was unable to finish the book and have since bought something MUCH better (David L. McKiernan). It was about 3/4s of the way through the book that I realized what I had in my hands was a list of "cool" ideas and events with no tangible plot to tie them together. I can imagine Drake sitting down thinking, "ok, I've got some great ideas for a fantasy novel; a race of 'insect' people, a race of ocean dwelling nomads, a giant turtle, a fight with a big bad demon in an alternate plane....hmmm...but no real plot. Maybe if I just throw them together chapter after chapter they will *somehow*, *magically* create a novel length story??" WRONG! I'll give David Drake the benfit of the doubt and assume his other works are better but this particular book was bad. Like I said, so bad I couldnt finish it. It was when our party of totally undeveloped characters (who left home for no REAL reason) landed on the giant turtle that I had to force myself to continue. Not only was this part completely predictable but unoriginal to boot. Anyways, just my opinion. I'd have given a more detailed review if I could have finished the book <shrug>. I made it to where whats-her-face was weaving "magic" and whats-his-face had gone off (AGAIN!) with a crew of whatchamacallums. Yeah, you know, the guy that suddenly deemed himself the protector (for no reason) of the little sprite that came out of nowhere one day (for no reason)? Bad I tell ya. Bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantasy Fan
Review: Unfortunately this book has one important element missing, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Although the plot is interesting enough, Drake tells us nothing about his characters. They question nothing that they observe around them. Each character is like a brick wall with no emotions or feelings. Drake makes it near to impossible to relate to the characters. Besides for its one major flaw, Lord of the Isles has an interesting an magic packed plot. It is obvious that lots of work went into creating a complex magical system. All in all i recommend toughing out the first boring chaperts. Then by the end of the book if you aren't interested give up.
Rating:
Summary: When your brain says "That's it, I'm outta here.".....
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I REALLY don't like fantasy stories where thousands of years pass, and the land stays basically the same (i.e. the horrible Redemption of Althalus). So what do I find in the first few chapters of this book? We find the wizardress Tenoctris awakened after hundreds of years in some sort of magic-hibernation adrift at sea. Is she upset when she awakens? NO! Is she angered? NO! Does she feel anything at all? NO! Does it take her a long time to acclimate herself to her new time? NO! After shouting "FEEL SOMETHING....ANYTHING..." out loud, and throwing the book across the room, I decided I wasn't going to be reading the rest of the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of my reading time
Review: I read about 80-90 science fiction and fantasy novels a years and usually love multi-volume epic stories. When reading a book, I usually "stick it out until the end"; I regret having done so here. Plain and simple, this book is terrible. Here's a run-down of some of its most obvious flaws: 1. Non-existent plot. I can't understand how an editor allowed this book to go to print. The author didn't seem to understand that a series of unrelated episodes do not make a plot. Most of the episodes don't enhance your understanding of a character, nor do they advance the plot. 2. Absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, stupid (and I mean stupid) characters. The main characters are not in any way introspective. They never question what is happening around them. They are not interested in the people around them. They don't seem to really have any motivation for anything they do. A couple of examples:
Garric learns that his sister is really the scion of a royal house and that their parents had been deceiving them since their childhood. Is Garric surprised? Is he hurt? Does he care that his sister is leaving the sleepy village perhaps forever? Does he question his parents about this? Does he wonder about his own parentage? The answer is a resounding "no".
A second example: Another character is repeatedly told that he has "power". He is able to do magical things from time to time. He is the only one who can see certain magical creatures. But he never seems to put these things together that he is a wizard. I know that he is supposed to be slow thinker, but he's not supposed to be dim-witted. 3. Finally, if I have to read the words "Barca's Hamlet" one more time, I think I'll scream. I understand that the four main characters came from the aforementioned sleepy village and that life in the village is the only thing they can compare things to, but Drake takes it to the extreme. If I had to make a guess, something is compared to Barca's Hamlet at least once every two to three pages. (Now Drake has ME doing it... that's twice in this paragraph). Anyway, pick up another epic series instead such as Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series or even Jordan's "Wheel of Time" neverending saga. Believe me, the world of the "Wheel of Time" has a straightforward and interesting plot when compared to that of Barca's Hamlet (aaack, I've said it again!!!).
Rating:
Summary: How can anyone endorse this book?
Review: The only reason I bought this book was because of the quotes on the cover, which were by authors whose books I thoroughly enjoy. Why, oh why did I trust these?! The only reason I can think that they would have given such glowing reviews was that they were strapped down Clockwork Orange-style and injected with happy-drugs. My first clue should have been when I read the first several chapters and didn't realize they were each from different characters perspectives. Truly, each of the characters has the same ideas, thoughts, and views on their world. Each has the same wry humor in their thoughts. Not only that, but they each happen to conveniently be the "most powerful wizard in the universe" or "stronger than any fifty men" right from the start. They easily handle every situation, and even if they are breathing heavily with "great gasping breaths" or "badly wounded", they are simply healed and ready for the fight in the next chapter. Nobody learns anything, or changes, or grows from their experiences. Action sequences were usually muddled and ended confusingly. Nothing is ever explained, and no one questions why things happen. Very, very dull book that left me groaning inwardly, and glad that I had zero desire to read the sequel despite the author's weak attempt to make a "surprise" cliffhanger by introducing a new character on the last page that we should supposedly care about.
Rating:
Summary: Made my eyes water and my voice groan
Review: OVERALL FEELING: Slow moving; potential for an interesting setting but not fully realized; boring characters; nothing grabbed me after about 20 pages; very difficult reading to get that far. SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-), Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F) DIALOGUE: C STRUCTURE: n/a HISTORY SETTING: B CHARACTERS: C+ EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: n/a EMOTIONAL IMPACT: C- SURPRISES: C MONSTERS: B PACING: D OVERALL STYLE: C FLOW OF WORDS: C CHOICE OF FOCUS: C- TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: n/a COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: C OVERALL GRADE: C REVIEW: I got only to page 15 of this 600+ page novel. While there were some interesting ideas (an island world dominated by trireme ships and a thousand year prophecy of elemental magic out of control), the writing was slow and painful. I can't really be that fair since his writing style didn't work for me. Anyone who can write a fantasy series and get a series going through, has some worthwhile qualities. This just didn't work for me.
Rating:
Summary: Written with a hammer and saw?
Review: This is very poor writing. Some of Drake's military fiction is interesting, but this series started awkwardly and quickly got worse. From the outset, in the first book, the characters are astonishingly thick-headed about the events engulfing them. For example, the central character's sister is escorted away from their humble village, having been apparently identified as a long-lost heir to the crown. Does he wonder how this might reflect upon his own ancestry? No. Does he even ask his father about this development? Incredibly, no. The first two books are ragged with this sort of gaping hole. It gets worse: as the story progresses, the narrative turns into a series of arbitrary struggles for the characters to return to where the story's climax is set to happen. Each character is repeatedly zapped by wizardry onto this magical tangent and that one, with no intelligible connection to any overall plot. Finally, at the end of Book Two, the main antagonist dies for absolutely no discernible reason. It appears that she gets bad news, and this is enough to kill her. I usually have a pretty high tolerance for wooden writing when it comes to fantasy. But this just doesn't reward the effort on any level.
Rating:
Summary: Not So Good; Sluggish
Review: I found this one quite sluggish. The first quarter of the book moved along sort of so-so, but the middle is a stall and now that I am in the last 60 pages, I find myself forcably trying to stay focused. It seems to run on and I'm looking for the direction the author is going in. Not a very good read folks. Stick with the greats; Eddings, Brooks, Goodkind, Harrison, Jordon, Elliott, Martin...--these authors have outstanding worlds soooo worth the explore!!
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