Servant of the Dragon

I had a really hard time getting into this book. Like the earlier Lord of the Isles books, I find the characters difficult to relate to, and the constant comparisons to 'back home on the farm' grating. Garric or Cashel are constantly comparing people to sheep. Relying on your experience is fine, but if you compare people to sheep, you'll over simplify. Maybe simple is better, but these guys seem to rely on luck (ie the plot) more than they should.

The books in this series thus far are a great read. The pace is good, the endings come together nicely, the dialogue doesn't get boring, the plot is in the main interesting, and the worlds are reasonably well constructed. The characters are interesting and there aren't too many of them to keep track of. (Are you listening, Robert Jordan?)

I especially liked the ring-demon Krias, and his journey with Cashel. Ilna’s character is becoming increasingly complex and the developing relationship between Ilna and Chalcus is lovely. It was also a bit of a surprise to find the snake-like dragon of the title turns out to be a good guy, instead of the more usual slithery creep.

I’ve enjoyed the journey so far with this crew, and I am keen to show more know how the patterns weave next. So I have just now ordered the three books in the second series. show less

Servant of the Dragon is the third book in the Lord of the Isles series by David Drake and I am currently reading it. So far it is pretty good - with the same kind of elements found in the prior books. Huge problems are discovered and then solved with suprising ease. However, both Sharina and Cashel have both found themselves in interesting lands with difficult problems to solve so I hold out extra hope for this book.


One of Drakes best traits in these series is his inventive characters and cultures and this book so far has introduced me to at least two new ones. The Dragon's and a Bird guy, Dalar, whose name I can't remember at the moment. Finally, Drake also has a cool habit of allying suprising characters such as demons with the show more heros. It tends to set any preconceived notion you might have about the term demon on it's ear when one suddenly starts helping to save the world - even if it is for a selfish reason and not a noble one.


Well I finished the book and so far it was my favorite in the series. Each of the characters went on completely different patters in their quests and amazingly all ended up in the center of the same big problem. You don't really have to read the other books in the series to follow what is going on in this book; but I still recommend reading the whole series. However, if you don't have the time for all three books - just skip to this one. show less

One HUGE adventure after another. Nobody can lose and you know that, but you don't mind. You are along for the ride of magic, mayhem, blood and guts.

The only thing that bothered me is how much of a non-character Liane has become. She is simply an accessory to Garric.

Other than that, this was a kickass fantasy adventure story.

I just completed this book. I was surprised at how much was tied off and finished considering there are other books in the series.

David's alternative magic and fantasy still rings novel and exciting. But by the end of the story, the reader is left feeling it may be a bit contrived. No-one dies, or is even seriously hurt (well, none of the main characters) and everyone ends up comming back heroes. if only real life were like that ....

Pre09:
This sequel just lost me for it. Not impressed.

A very good series, and a reall page-turner.