The Gods Return: The Third Volume of the Crown of the Isles [Hardcover]

David Drake (Author)

Book Description

Series: Crown of the Isles | Publication Date: November 11, 2008

The Gods Return is the end of the Crown of the Isles trilogy and the final chapter in the Lord of the Isles. The Fortress of Glass began the tale of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally created by the heroes and heroines who have been central to the tale: Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, and Cashel’s sister Ilna. The Mirror of Worlds followed them on an overland journey to the small kingdoms of the Isles to confirm Garric’s succession and subdue, if necessary, any who refused to pledge fealty.

In The Gods Return, the Isles have been more or less unified under Garric’s rule, but the Change that created the continent, has removed the old Gods of the Isles from reality and released other Gods from other planes of existence. Now the servants of the forbidden Gods of Palomir call forth The Worm, an ancient thing that threatens to devour all life in the newly formed kingdom and make way for the reign of dark Gods, now awakened to ambitions of worship and dominion. Some are bad…and some are worse.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Charming Prince Garric, determined Princess Sharina and rejuvenated wizardess Tenoctris were hoping for a bit of rest after their last adventure (2007's The Mirror of Worlds), but circumstances conspire against them in this shallow conclusion to the Crown of the Isles trilogy. The conquered Empire of Palomir, unable to admit defeat, uses human sacrifice to produce an army of menacing Rat Men. Pirates wield the power of Franca the Sky God to bring forth a gigantic worm that feeds on entire towns, and former priests of the Lady of the Grove are entranced by a mysterious entity known only as the Scorpion King. Facing this triple threat with courage, ingenuity and a bit of fancy wizardry, Drake's heroes often glide too easily through their challenges. Though his characterization of women has greatly improved since the series began, most of the people appear bland compared with the challenges they face. (Nov.)
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Review

“An epic with rousing action and characters to cheer for.”
—Terry Goodkind on Lord of the Isles

“Drake has a light touch with his characters, making them believable and serious without becoming overly ponderous or melodramatic. He employs the standard epic fantasy tropes of action, sorcery, and romance to great effect in this exciting, compelling read.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on The Fortress of Glass

“Great, gritty realism on both material and magical planes, and Hell quite literally breaks loose on occasion.The audience for this kind of fantasy saga should prove large and ongoing.”
—Booklist on Master of the Cauldron

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765312611
• ISBN-13: 978-0765312617
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Army took David Drake from Duke Law School and sent him on a motorized tour of Viet Nam and Cambodia with the 11th Cav, the Blackhorse. He learned new skills, saw interesting sights, and met exotic people who hadn't run fast enough to get away.

Dave returned to become Chapel Hill's Assistant Town Attorney and to try to put his life back together through fiction making sense of his Army experiences.

Dave describes war from where he saw it: the loader's hatch of a tank in Cambodia. His military experience, combined with his formal education in history and Latin, has made him one of the foremost writers of realistic action SF and fantasy. His bestselling Hammer's Slammers series is credited with creating the genre of modern Military SF. He often wishes he had a less interesting background.

Dave lives with his family in rural North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great ending to a series..., December 6, 2008

By 

N. Wishek (Orange County) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gods Return: The Third Volume of the Crown of the Isles (Hardcover)

If you haven't read the first books in this rather lengthy series the true brilliance of the ending will be lost to you. I think it is still a worthwhile read on its own, but if you've followed the development of the characters the wrap-up is one of the best I've ever read.
While I don't particularly care for the frequent switching of the point of view, Drake does it as well as anyone. Without giving away the plot, the characters are consistent both in the story and the longer series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars this book bored me., May 22, 2010

By 

L. Nelson "The Bookkeeper" (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gods Return: The Third Volume of the Crown of the Isles (Hardcover)

i hate to write that review title, especially since the first trilogy required tearing me away from the pages i was so hungry to devour them in one setting. and then reread them over and over again. the ending of queen of demons made me thirst for more more more about this land, about the meaning of the chess board, about the pixies, about its lost history, about tegma, about its lost peoples, about everything.

i'm sorry david drake was doing this series to make fun of robert jordan and make some money at the same time, instead of doing it out of love. if drake had truly had a far reaching vision for Lord of the Isles and Crown of the Isles beyond 'lets see how far I can milk this', this would have been one of the most epic storylines in fantasy-horror history. when it felt like the homages within the novels were being telephoned in, or shoehorned in, the love died a little for me.

tenoctris becoming young should have been a crowning moment of 'oooh this could be interesting'. instead it was meh through and through, and even annoying that tenoctris who was so strong mentally would enter into an agreement like that.

fortress of glass ... the mirror of worlds. there are some great elements in each of these novels but they're overshadowed, for me, by the energy and creativity of the original trilogy. it took months for me to read the mirror of worlds all the way though. i have never read it straight through. i've always picked it up, flipped through until something looks interesting, then started reading. i haven't touched it in about two years.

the gods return is the first time i have not finished an 'Isles' book. i guess it's irrelevant since it's also the very last book of the series. still, i wanted to enjoy this more. i look at the cover art (which is excellent) and feel no compulsion whatsoever to pick it up and start reading from anywhere.

it's not the first time a series of books has done that to me, and usually i could care less. but the fact it happened with THIS series, which I actually enjoyed, is what's painful to me as a reader. i WANT to read it. i WANT to find out what happens. i WANT to be able to pick it up from anywhere and just immerse myself a bit at a time, come back later, immerse myself in a different point, and feel as satisfied as if i had read it straight through. i WANT to not be bored by it. i want it to be a different book from what it is. i want to be a different reader to be able to enjoy the book it is. i'm saddened by the turns the books took. maybe i changed, and not drake's style. either way, i've ret-conned this book from my consciousness and tell myself it happened in an alternative universe, and that the real lord of the isles series was just misdelivered and one day will make it back to this universe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Ending, October 3, 2009

By 

Johnny R. Baker (Baumholder,Germany) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gods Return: The Third Volume of the Crown of the Isles (Hardcover)

Very good book didnt see the end comming,am very impressed with Mr Drake as always recomend it to any who love epic fantasy ith a historical feel.