Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: "Queen of Demons" is a very good sequel to the original. The plot has many twists and the characters are interesting and colorful. This book does bear a slight resemblence to the original in that the heros are trying to take down a powerful wizard, but there are very few similarities beyond that. Garric develops to become much more than an inkeepers sun and begins to restruchture the government. Cashel is sent on a series of adventures in different dimensions (Drake seems to like to send Cashel to different dimensions, as he does in the next two books). A whole host of different characters are intoduced, each very well developed. An all around great book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: "Queen of Demons" is a very good sequel to the original. The plot has many twists and the characters are interesting and colorful. This book does bear a slight resemblence to the original in that the heros are trying to take down a powerful wizard, but there are very few similarities beyond that. Garric develops to become much more than an inkeepers sun and begins to restruchture the government. Cashel is sent on a series of adventures in different dimensions (Drake seems to like to send Cashel to different dimensions, as he does in the next two books). A whole host of different characters are intoduced, each very well developed. An all around great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: After a promising start in Lord of the Isles, David Drake has given us a confusing, hackneyed sequel that makes me wish I had never started the series. It is another "quest" story, where an ill-assorted group of characters get together to save their world from the forces of evil. The approach is common, but doesn't have to be as bad as this one has become. The members of the group find themselves in a series of difficulties that fail to either advance the plot or increase our knowledge of the characters. Why must all these authors write their stories in ever-increasing serials? David Eddings did it with humour, which made it worth while slogging through six books, and Robert Jordan is up to number eight, but at least his stories are interesting. Mr. Drake only succeeded in confusing the plot with his forays into other planes and apparent alternate realities. Dead characters reappear without explanation, or are replaced with thinly disguised doubles.
Rating: 
Summary: Cut ~150 pages and this book becomes a more exciting read.
Review: After an excellent beginning in Lord of the Isles, the second book of this series just rambled for a good 150 pages. Most of the main characters are simply transported from plane to plane to do nothing. Even more annoying are when they finally land in an interesting place to be zapped out several pages later. We get no information other than the characters arrived, were pursued, and escaped. Drake should either spend more time explaining the history and conflicts of these various planes or not write them altogether. As it stands this book could be trimmed by a third and not affect the story one bit. I'll be sure to read the online reviews before buying the third book of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Good to borrow
Review: At first this story appears to have all the elements required for a good, satisfying read. As you progress you realize it's like a stew without the spice. Key elements that catalyze the whole are missing - notably a lack of emotional development in the male/female relationships, and a certain unidimensional feel to the main characters' thoughts as they decide on how to act in each successive situation (the third party viewpoint is too obvious?). The more I read, the more underwhelmed I became. This is still worth reading for fans of the genre, and it has enough detail & depth to be considered "read if you have the opportunity", but certainly it is not a "must read". Borrow it from the library or a friend, or at least wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Queen of Demons
Review: Compared to the first book it had several shortcomings. First the characters seem to go on an endless variety of adventures that does not contribute mightly to the development. Also Drake should stop telling us what the characters are like and instead show it. Does he really have to keep saying that so and so is like this because she or he is from a village and so and so thinks this. After a couple of times it got irritating. Does he think that the readers are forgetful and needs to be reminded every single time. Also how many times do we have to hear that all the other wizards are fools and only tenocitic knows what she is doing. Isn't there any competent wizard out there. Drake seems to be holding back in his writting. He should just let loose and let the story flow. Adding more development of plot and character that isn't always soo simple and greater awarness off the world. But other that it is a good series that needs to be like the first rather than the second book to be more compelling.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare Read
Review: David Drake's 'Queen of Demons,' like its predecessor, is a sterling example of what the fantasy genre can do. While many authors have conceived of interesting ideas for imaginary cultures, designed systems of magic, and placed characters within their realms, few have been able to do so with Drake's writing skill, circumspection, and insight into human nature. I have heard, with regard to this book, that there was too little focus on the romantic and sexual development of the characters. While it is true that this book is a definite void of explicit sex, this can be a welcome change from many novels. It seems today that the fantasy genre in general is not only overly concerned with the sexual/romantic details of stories but which also allow this single aspect of reality to interfere with the rest of the book. For those of us who have other interests, the fantasy genre can be very dry indeed, because on the whole it lacks almost any other facets of reality. Besides, it is not at all the case that this story lacks any romance, or even any sex. As for romance, the characters develop into romantic relationships in ways which are, above all, natural. Drake shows a particular insight into human nature, not a lack of it: when the world is about to end, the characters are able to focus primarily on solving the problem. Besides, several in this recent book puts a hero's feelings at odds with his duty. I'd go into details, but that would spoil the book itself. As for sex, the world which Drake creates is fully aware of this human urge and the impacts it has both on society and on individuals. For example, we see the women, even the heroines, struggling with the dangers of rape, and that in a starkly, even disconcertingly realistic fashion. The fact that the heroes are not overtly sexually involved is not because Drake forgot about this aspect of reality, but because he wants to portray a set of heroes who have their priorities straight. This heightens the novel's merit, instead of detracting from it as some have claimed. If I could describe that approach to the romantic and sexual sides of Drake's characters in a word, I would probably choose the word 'human,' for not ever human has the innocent affection of Garric. Others have a submerged love like Ilna, a simple but powerful dedication like Cashel, or one of the scores of other attitudes displayed throughout this book and the last. The diversity reflects Drake's awareness of the variety found among humans. The way he writes his heroes portrays not an ignorance of nature, but reveals a picture of what truly heroic humans- and for all their virtues they are still very human- should be like. It is to he credit that he does not let a skewed view of reality uproot his idea of human virtue, and more so that he does not let his ideals interfere with his portrayal of reality. I call this approach to fiction an optimistic realism: optimistic because virtue and decency has its place, and realistic because it is not assumed to be everywhere. As the book itself states, nothing is wholly good, just as nothing is wholly evil. The governments portrayed are filled with corruption, self-interest, and in fighting. The heroes, as already pointed out, struggle with duty versus passion. Entire races of creatures might be used for decidedly evil purposes, but their own evil is very much an open question. In fact, even the heroes have drastically different religious views, highlighting yet another human struggle. This optimistic realism sets Drake's works far above the average novel. Allow me also to point out that besides the virtue of being realistic and in touch with human nature, these books, and particularly Queen of Demons, operates on many different levels at once. They deal with the lives of the humans in detail, but they also have exciting political and even astrological scopes as well. Rarely will such a politically interesting fantasy series be found, and the supernatural course of events adds yet another dynamic to the already interesting storyline. The combination of the individual with the general scopes encompassed within the main narrative make this story an epic in truth and not, as with so many other books, in mere empty praise. In conclusion, let me say this: I am writing this review not under any sort of compulsion or ulterior motive but in true praise of a good book. The English language is in want of good fiction not in fantasy alone; nevertheless, it is refreshing to find a gem of actual literature in those piles of words we call novels. As with some of the other reviews of Drake's latest fantasy series, I have some criticisms of them. But what Drake manages to accomplish in them far outweighs the minor flaws. I was left somewhat unsatisfied at the end of this book, but not in a bad way. I will be pre-ordering my copy of 'Servant of the Dragon,' because my lack of complete satisfaction lay in not knowing the characters as well as I wished, and this is the sort of thing that the next books in the series can remedy. I can only hope that many more books in the 'Lord of the Isles' series will be coming our way. I am confident that Drake has the skill to give them to us.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, Drake has certainly done it again
Review: David Drake, one of the best SF/fantasy Military writers that I've ever read (especially the General series), has now shown to me that he can equally write good hard core fantasy. There are of course the few glitches in it, like the fact that he constantly flip-flopping around, but it's still very good. Another good thing about this story is that, unlike Robert Jordan, this story is actually understandable. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story line and adventure
Review: Drake spins a multi-level/multi-character tale balancing honor&goodness against pure evil. His characters are well thoughout and unfold superbly. The story line intertwines and I found the book difficult to put down. An excellent fantasy with wizard, kings, princess's, demons, undead,... etc. Can't wait until book 3 of the "Lord of the Isles" is released.
Rating:
Summary: Well Crafted Fantasy
Review: Drake understands the richness and the specificity that is necessary to create a fantasy world. I found the book largely entertaining, and even though there's been a gap since the first book, it immediately brought the first book back. The characters eventually grow tiresome with all their endless strength and fortitude (one starts to long for a little bit of weakness and groveling that isn't caused by demons) and it does start to seem contrived how the plot forces them into separate places constantly-- it gives this book the unfortunate feeling of churning sideways as the result of shallowness of plot. Even with these problems, I recommend the series.
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