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Lord of the Isles #8
The Mirror of Worlds: The Second Volume of 'The Crown of the Isles'
The Mirror of the Worlds is the second in David Drake's Crown of the Isles trilogy, which will conclude the epic Lord of the Isles series.
The Fortress of Glass began the tale of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally brought into being by the group of heroes and heroines who have been central to all the books in the series: Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, and his sister Ilna.
The powers of magic in the Isles have flooded to a thousand-year peak, and even local magicians can perform powerful spells normally beyond their control. Fantastic forces from all angles threaten, trying to keep Garric and his companions apart to thwart the reunification of the Isles.
Now the world itself has suffered a magical upheaval. The ocean has receded and the Isles have become the higher ground of a newly formed continent. But the new continent is a patchwork of geography from the distant past and future, peopled by creatures from all times and places. Garric and his companions must now struggle for the survival of humanity.
The Fortress of Glass began the tale of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally brought into being by the group of heroes and heroines who have been central to all the books in the series: Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, and his sister Ilna.
The powers of magic in the Isles have flooded to a thousand-year peak, and even local magicians can perform powerful spells normally beyond their control. Fantastic forces from all angles threaten, trying to keep Garric and his companions apart to thwart the reunification of the Isles.
Now the world itself has suffered a magical upheaval. The ocean has receded and the Isles have become the higher ground of a newly formed continent. But the new continent is a patchwork of geography from the distant past and future, peopled by creatures from all times and places. Garric and his companions must now struggle for the survival of humanity.
433 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
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346 people want to read
About the author
David Drake
307 books886 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 15, 2009
Gosh, what a bunch of drivel. it just goes on and on, there's no development, no sense of progress. The characters get snatched willy-nilly into alternate dimensions all the time. I'd would have expected at least a little bit of dealing with the jet lag/displacement issues that should have affected them, but no, they just go off to other end-of-the-world-saving quests.
Where was the editor, was my main thought as I read these first two books in the series. I slogged on thinking it would get better but no.
Where was the editor, was my main thought as I read these first two books in the series. I slogged on thinking it would get better but no.
January 12, 2022
The Mirror of Worlds By David Drake
This is the second volume of the Crown of the Isles series. The characters are the same but different. Circumstances have led too personality and behavioral changes that are drastic in some of the characters. Ilna in particular goes through some serious mood swings. Each member of the cast is shown a trial and they must survive it.
The level of world changing magic is daunting. Some of the situations are a bit too contrived. Keeping track of the characters incurred a bit of confusion.
I enjoyed the book.
This is the second volume of the Crown of the Isles series. The characters are the same but different. Circumstances have led too personality and behavioral changes that are drastic in some of the characters. Ilna in particular goes through some serious mood swings. Each member of the cast is shown a trial and they must survive it.
The level of world changing magic is daunting. Some of the situations are a bit too contrived. Keeping track of the characters incurred a bit of confusion.
I enjoyed the book.
February 25, 2019
Exciting adventure. But it kept jumping around to the main characters a lot.
February 21, 2020
I can't believe I finally finished trudging through this book. Part of the reason this book took me so long is because after almost every page I had to look up at the ceiling and groan. I wanted more than anything to close this book for good but I have never stopped reading a book midway and my stubborn nature didn't let me do it this time, so I stuck it out through this boring, pointless story until the boring, pointless ending.
I love fantasy more than anything, and I am typically generous with stars. I try to find the good in books to support writers and fantasy and give at least a pity star, but this is just bad, I can't think of a single redeeming quality of this book.
So basically, you just follow around 4 characters as they each have their own little adventure. At no point do the adventures have anything to do with one another until the end, and even then it's only 3 of them and it happens with absolutely no explanation. Every event in this book happens for no reason, and most of them are resolved by some hand wave ex-machina. For example, Cashel is walking along and suddenly gets attacked by an army of crabs with literally no warning. Then a random dog monster comes out of nowhere, helps him kill the crabs, then disappears. Neither crabs nor dog are ever explained or mentioned again, it's just something that happens for the sake of making things happen. And that's pretty much the whole book in a nut shell, random things happening for no reason and never mentioned again.
Ilna maybe was the only character I liked. or at least wanted to like, but her entire arc at no point influences anyone or anything else. At the pinnacle of her story she makes a choice that completely breaks character with absolutely no insight or exposition whatsoever. I'm not really surprised by this though, considering the only character insight in this whole book is the constant (and I mean constant) reminders that Cashel was a sheep herder. Cashel can almost do nothing without the author reminding us in a whole paragraph about how it reminds him of his sheep herding days. I get it! He used to herd sheep!
I have the next book sitting on my table but I seriously don't know if I'm gonna read it. If I have nothing else to read, and that includes the backs of my shampoo bottles in the bathroom, I might pick it up just to punish myself.
I love fantasy more than anything, and I am typically generous with stars. I try to find the good in books to support writers and fantasy and give at least a pity star, but this is just bad, I can't think of a single redeeming quality of this book.
So basically, you just follow around 4 characters as they each have their own little adventure. At no point do the adventures have anything to do with one another until the end, and even then it's only 3 of them and it happens with absolutely no explanation. Every event in this book happens for no reason, and most of them are resolved by some hand wave ex-machina. For example, Cashel is walking along and suddenly gets attacked by an army of crabs with literally no warning. Then a random dog monster comes out of nowhere, helps him kill the crabs, then disappears. Neither crabs nor dog are ever explained or mentioned again, it's just something that happens for the sake of making things happen. And that's pretty much the whole book in a nut shell, random things happening for no reason and never mentioned again.
Ilna maybe was the only character I liked. or at least wanted to like, but her entire arc at no point influences anyone or anything else. At the pinnacle of her story she makes a choice that completely breaks character with absolutely no insight or exposition whatsoever. I'm not really surprised by this though, considering the only character insight in this whole book is the constant (and I mean constant) reminders that Cashel was a sheep herder. Cashel can almost do nothing without the author reminding us in a whole paragraph about how it reminds him of his sheep herding days. I get it! He used to herd sheep!
I have the next book sitting on my table but I seriously don't know if I'm gonna read it. If I have nothing else to read, and that includes the backs of my shampoo bottles in the bathroom, I might pick it up just to punish myself.
April 19, 2013
The penultimate book in the series. After the events in the last book, the Kingdom of Isles no longer exists - instead there is one large continent, a mixture of races and cities from all times. But one of these races, The Last, is intent on destroying everything. Garric and his friends must try to hold the kingdom together, integrate all the new peoples and find new allies to fight The Last. Tenoctris and Cashel travel together, using her new found youth to find a way to destroy the creatures. Sharina and Coerli wizard, Rasila, overcome prejudice within the army and travel to the stronghold of The Last to stop the invasion, while Garric journies to ask for aid from the Yellow King - with two very strange companions. Meanwhile, Ilna, in her grief, wages an all consuming war against the Cat people, only content when every last one is dead.
I was a bit disappointed with this book. Garric's journey is perhaps the strangest and seemed to have little bearing on the outcome - or rather, there was an important part for him to play, but the journey he took was out of place. To me, this novel didn't hold up quite as well as the others and, although still enjoyed the read, I was glad when it came to an end - I hope the last one is much better.
I was a bit disappointed with this book. Garric's journey is perhaps the strangest and seemed to have little bearing on the outcome - or rather, there was an important part for him to play, but the journey he took was out of place. To me, this novel didn't hold up quite as well as the others and, although still enjoyed the read, I was glad when it came to an end - I hope the last one is much better.
July 28, 2017
This second series- sequel to the Lord of the Isles- isn't as good as the first series was.
The first book suddenly wrenches away from the main goal of the Lord of the Isles books of the unification of the long independent and culturally stagnant island-states to the world changing, heart breaking catastrophe that they were racing against. Very depressing.
This second book of the trilogy jumps in at the end of the first one's heartbreaking ending. The chaos of The Change needs to be taken in hand to bring peace and unity to the newly created Land. The Change has changed people as well as geography, and the most changed are Ilna (in her grief and rage) and Tenoctris, who changes in mind, body, and the strength of her art.
There is also the largest threat to the world- from creatures called the Last. Again all four main characters have separate quests that take them on adventures that end up in the big event at the book's end. Again, the book's end is not the end of the story.
Will the next book be any happier?
The first book suddenly wrenches away from the main goal of the Lord of the Isles books of the unification of the long independent and culturally stagnant island-states to the world changing, heart breaking catastrophe that they were racing against. Very depressing.
This second book of the trilogy jumps in at the end of the first one's heartbreaking ending. The chaos of The Change needs to be taken in hand to bring peace and unity to the newly created Land. The Change has changed people as well as geography, and the most changed are Ilna (in her grief and rage) and Tenoctris, who changes in mind, body, and the strength of her art.
There is also the largest threat to the world- from creatures called the Last. Again all four main characters have separate quests that take them on adventures that end up in the big event at the book's end. Again, the book's end is not the end of the story.
Will the next book be any happier?
July 25, 2011
Eighth in the Lord of the Isles series, and second in the series-ending Crown of the Isles trilogy. Although bearing resemblances to the plot structure of the earlier books in the series (main characters get divided, undertake tasks/quests, and reunite at the climax), there's more than enough freshness here to revitalize the storyline. Ilna regains a bit of her harder edge (that, admittedly, was never really absent, just not as out-in-front), Sharina gets into more of the action than she's managed recently, Garric has a rare opportunity to be a lone hero instead of a leader, Tenoctris acquires power and a definitely more dangerous air about her, and Cashel-- well, he's still Cashel (this is not a negative comment. Cashel is something of a force of nature). Humor, adventure, and some disturbing moments... Great read.
June 22, 2017
As a series, this thing gets a little tired. It's formulaic and there's surprisingly little character development. However, each individual volume in itself is a pretty good read, which is why I keep coming back to them. I think my advice, if you want to read them, is to put some space between each one. If you read them all at once they're going to get boring. Still, I love Drake's unique method of description. The action can happen any time, without warning, and it gives every page a sense of immediacy.
December 11, 2011
The world of heroes faces total destruction from a force invading from another world. The cast of heroes go various ways on various quests to defeat the invaders and avert almost certain destruction. Reconciliation plays a big part in the book. Humans get reconcilled to "cat" humanoids, and, most humorously, the main prince/king befriends an ogre.
July 16, 2013
3.5 of 5
August 14, 2012
The saga continues. The story's good but the writing of the characters is getting annoying (I get that he/she acts/thinks like that, stop mentioning it!). Worth a read.
April 1, 2016
This story just keeps on going, and getting better with each book. Only one book left in the series, and I'm anxious to see where it goes.
June 3, 2016
interesting tale, but I think I need to read the next book in the series to see how it goes.
February 27, 2010
Great vocabulary words here. A pretty straightforward heroes-and-wizards fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews