Synopsis
The colorful and rich journeys of Cashel and Sharina, Garric and Ilna continue as Sharina is snatched back through time by the spirit of a wizard, in the third volume of the Lord of the Isles epic. 75,000 first printing.
Reviews
The Lord of the Isles saga (Lord of the Isles; Queen of Demons) progresses little in this volume. Garric still settles into his reign, advised by the spirit of his ancestor Carus and by his friends, especially low-key love interest Liane. A new threat, a magical bridge, dangerously joins different dimensions and times, and must be undone. Sharina, Ilna and Cashel disperse, each finally helping the realm, and Garric fights boldly and leads cleverly, aided by his soldiers, his guards the Blood Eagles and the wizard Tenoctris, against foes that include living-dead cavalry. The connections between realities allow Drake to explore not only magical realms and their threats but the past of the Isles, before the catastrophe that Tenoctris survived. Ilna's capture by pirates develops interestingly, introducing Merota, the aristocratic child Ilna befriends, and Chalcus, the pirate whom cranky Ilna can't help warming to. As usual with Drake, the nonhuman characters are outstanding. Here, a sentient warrior bird, Dalar, steals the show as Sharina's aide and protector. Drake is taking his time resolving the deeper conflicts of the series, but the trip is inventive and satisfying, so few readers will complain. Major ad/promo. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Third entry in Drake's fantasy series (Lord of the Isles, 1997; Queen of Demons, 1998). Prince Garric, now effectively King of the Isles, is counseled by King Carus, a version of himself who lived a millennium ago. Garric intends to reunite the kingdom and encourage egalitarianism. On Ornifal, however, a gigantic bird pops out of a hole in reality, whisking away Garric's sister Sharina to who knows whereor for what purposes. Meanwhile, a thousand years in the past, the wizard Purlio has been absorbed by an evil-ammonite Great One; together, they've captured and confined the batty wizard Ansalem and stolen his powers. Soon, having built a time-bridge to reach Garric in the future, they'll invade with armies raised from the dead. Problem: to defeat the dead, Garric must be dead himself. Well up to previous standards; should please the faithful. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
While Prince Garric attempts to learn the demands of rulership of the Isles, the appearance of a magical bridge results in the kidnapping of his sister Sharina and her transportation into the past. The third volume (after Lord of the Isles and Queen of Demons) in the author's epic fantasy pits Garric and his companions against an ancient evil that can transcend time itself. Drake's talent for creating personable characters driven by their loyalty to one another to achieve great deeds makes this title a good addition to most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In the third book in Drake's Lord of the Isles series, young King Garric seeks to raise a new army and fleet to make his title more than an empty honorific. Armies and fleets must be paid for, which means raising taxes. Meanwhile, Cashel goes questing for a magic talisman, and Sarina, while sending him off, accidentally goes traveling herself; both encounter strange nonhuman and stranger human entities before journeys' ends. Sharp-tongued Ilna sails to marry off a princess, survives a mutiny, defeats magical menaces, and meets Dalar the pirate, one of the saga's more engaging and original characters. With the aid of revived sorceress Tenoctris, the ghost of King Carus, and exiled-in-time King Ansalem (whose misguided ambitions brought down the Kingdom of the Isles in the first place), all four characters' quests are woven into a suspenseful and plausible victory over some well-imagined and nasty sorcery. Lord of the Isles could end here, creditably, but it could also continue and still satisfy readers. Roland Green
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