Island of the Mighty

The tetralogy is great and a thing of beauty. I believe, however, that this the fourth book is perhaps my least favorite. Perhaps it was the way Walton's 20th century voice broke through, a bit more insistently than in the previous three books. Maybe my tolerance for reading about stupid people who don't learn is making me into one of those insufferable prigs– O God, please no.

I really can't say why I like Island of the Mighty less, but whatever the reason, it is nevertheless a great conclusion to a great series. Walton did an amazing job of telling the ancient stories in a way that is simultaneously faithful to the old while catering to our modern psycholgical concerns to make a richly satisfying mythic story for people today. It is difficult to imagine anybody else doing that job as well as she did.