I purchased both The Quickening and The Shining Isle after becoming enamoured of the author's non fictional works. After reading the former, I almost didn't bother to read the latter but I am pleased that I did because The Shining Isle turned out to be a reasonably entertaining read. The plot was quite enjoyable and nicely pulled together, though the ending gave the impression that the author had run out of interest and ideas. Ly de Angeles weak point is her character development. I would like to see more fully developed characters with more believable relationships & interactions with others. The characters of The Shining Isle, as her previous book are one dimensional, with almost cartoon like over stated heroes and villains. Perhaps less characters with more depth would have resulted in greater reader involvement. Finally, after two books that are beating the same drum, a departure from the rag-tag underdogs versus the evil academic or corporate world would probably be refreshing for her next novel.

Again I say it - Ly de Angeles, an author I respect, is capable of so much more. Her fictional works seem almost to be written by a different author.