Queen of Demons

 

Lord of the Isles – which Publishers Weekly called "substantial fantasy, in which moral and physical threats are serious and the actions of the characters have real consequences" and Booklist praised with "the cast is large and well drawn, the pacing brisk, the world building outstanding" – marked the beginning of one of the finest epic fantasy series of our time. When the young shepherd Garric pulled Tenoctris, the sorceress cast a thousand years ahead of her time of cataclysmic magic, from the storm-swept ocean, David Drake launched one of the great multi-volume fantasy epics of the decade.

Now the saga continues in Queen of Demons, which follows the travels and adventures of the same memorable characters: Garric, his sister Sharina, their friend Cashel and Cashel's sister Ilna, and Tenoctris. Their journey takes them across the world of the Isles toward a confrontation with contending forces of evil, as the confluence of magic is reaching a millennial peak. The thousand-year-old sorcerer, The Hooded One, has been defeated after a great supernatural battle, but there remain a living king and queen in power – both bent on seizing control of the known world.

Queen of Demons reveals some of the dark powers of the evil queen of the Isles, and includes enough powerful magic conflict to satifsy even the most jaded fantasy reader. Our characters are often separated on their journey, attacked by forces natural and supernatural, called upon to perform acts of heroism, made to confront their weaknesses and develop their strengths. The world of Isles is a rich and variedone, filled with marvels and dangers, a great circle of islands steeped in ancient history.