Mistress of the Catacombs
The fourth book in the epic saga of 'Lord of the Isles'
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4.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Return to the the epic tale of the Lord of the Isles, David Drake's saga of magic and might.
For the first time in a thousand years, the Kingdom of the Isles has a government and a real ruler: Prince Garric of Haft. The enemies joining against him intend to destroy not only the kingdom but humankind as well.
The rebels gathering in the West outnumber the royal army and the magic they wield can strike into the heart of the palace itself, but far greater dangers lie behind those. On the far fringes of the Isles, ancient powers ready themselves for a titanic struggle in which human beings are mere pawns--or fodder!
Reptilian and insect monsters from out of the ages march on the kingdom, commanded by wizards no longer human or never human at all. If unchecked, their ravening slaughter will sweep over the Isles as destructively as a flood of lava. Garric, ripped from his time and body, must make new allies if he and his kingdom are to survive.
Watching them all from the blackness of a tomb walled off in time and space, the Mistress waits...
And her fangs drip poison!
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the fourth volume of Drake's ambitious high-fantasy saga Lord of the Isles (after 1999's Servant of the Dragon), conflicts continue but few are resolved. Prince Garric of Haft, the first true ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles in a millennium, has mobilized enough swords and ships just when the battle has turned largely sorcerous. His sister, Sharina, tries to cope with rogue and even non-human wizards, while their not-entirely-corporeal friend from the past, Cashel, takes a sardonic longer view of human affairs. Ilna, having shored up her skills and resources in Hell, enters the battle of Magic, while retaining a very earthly regard for the pirate Chalcus, a complex character whom one suspects will die fighting for the side of right. Ilna's nine-year-old ward, Merota, is emerging as a classic brat, rather like one of Heinlein's feisty young ladies translated to a fantasy environment. And, of course, behind the advancing ranks of (largely non-human) menaces lurks the title character, who will presumably be brought further on stage in the fifth volume. Apart from the inherent structural problems of this sort of multivolume work, there is a constant tension between backstory and characterization on the one hand, and between action and the new, well-drawn threats on the other. The result is comparatively uneven pacing, which does not prevent this volume from being a worthwhile continuation of what is emerging as the author's most important work.
