Isolate

A Novel in the Grand Illusion

By: L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Narrated by: Michael Bower

Length: 25 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., best-selling author of The Mongrel Mage, has a brand-new gaslamp political fantasy: Isolate.

Industrialization. Social unrest. Underground movements. Government corruption and surveillance.

Something is about to give.

Steffan Dekkard is an isolate, one of the small percentage of people who are immune to the projections of empaths. As an isolate, he has been trained as a security specialist, and he and his security partner Avraal Ysella, a highly trained empath, are employed by Axel Obreduur, a senior Craft Minister and the de facto political strategist of his party.

When a respected Landor Councilor dies of “heart failure” at a social event, because of his political friendship with Obreduur, Dekkard and Ysella find that not only is their employer a target, but so are they, in a covert and deadly struggle for control of the government and economy.

Steffan is about to understand that everything he believed is an illusion.

©2021 L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

“Delicious with intrigue and artful revelations, Modesitt’s Isolate comes at you with top-drawer worldbuilding and compelling characters. Here we have a hot new gaslamp world fraught with political machinations that will keep you up reading into the night. Modesitt has always been great, so how does he keep getting better? Read Isolate and find out.” (Peter Orullian, author of The Unremembered)

Who the hell is speaking?

the readers voice is ok but his males and females run together soooooooo much I can’t not tell who’s is talking they all sounds the same it’s a good book but so so reader maybe need to think about getting a female reader to help with the voices

Going nowhere

I made it to chapter 5 and feel like I should be rewarded. This book just goes nowhere. I appreciate a little politics, but the entire body of the text is just dry line after dry line. Grabbing the audio version helps a little and got me to chapter 8. But I was hoping for something a little more like the Imager series with action and politics mixed. Not just dry political stuff.
I am giving 2 stars because it may be for others. It was not for me.

Slow story to begin with; but worth it!

Excellent character development and story. I look forward to the next in series. Great presentation.

Regret wasting a credit

If I never here the word sardonic again it will be too soon! The dialogue is stale and recycled throughout, the narrator is flat, and I didn’t think it possible but this book had too much world building.6

Sardonic

you are going to grow to hate that word with how much the author uses it.
plot moves at a snails pace. out of 20 hours.....only 10 feel like they moved the plot along.

Well worth the read if you’re a fan!

So, I’ll start with this.

I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who has read the first three Imager novels like I did. It feels very reminiscent of that trilogy in a lot of ways.

Some may not like the way that the mundane lifestyle of the characters are very forward facing. However, as in the first three Imager novels, that slow burn intrigue was done with great purpose. It expanded my own viewpoint as a writer of fantasy/science fiction to include things that aren’t the norm.

I especially enjoyed how female characters have agency, depth, and opinions. They make moves that force the world toward inevitable progress, even if kicking and screaming the whole way.

I wondered how Mr. Modesitt Jr. would handle the Mentor/Student dynamic, and I say I’m good with it.

The romance subplot was enjoyable even if a foregone conclusion from its inception.

I’ve already pre-ordered the second book. August can’t come fast enough.

Hooray

Truly delightful story so different from his other books but have read, re-read and re-read again to absorb so many new ideas presented by this author. Can hardly wait for volume 2 in august that I will pre-order as soon as available.

Bored narrator

A fantasy political intrigue book that has long descriptions of both ESPer powers and bureaucratic shenanigans. It'd be really fun if it weren't for the fact that the narrator gives absolutely no color to his narration to the point of sounding completely bored with what he is reading. As such the book is dragged completely down and I'm afraid I'll have to return it.

Steampunk political drama

Slow-burn political drama with world building aesthetics. Author certainly knows his audience--but it gets tiring to be constantly lectured with left-leaning ideology in what is supposed to be escapist literature.

Unfortunately, hard to follow the story as narration is flat, lacks key inflections to indicate character switching, lacks differentiation between characters and often drifts into monotone reading rather than voice performance. What is frustrating is that there are times when the narrator *does* differentiate voices and begins to life to the story before falling back into tedious monotone. So it makes me wonder if it is the narrator, or the director, that has given is this bland rendition.

Steampunk political thriller w/ a dash of romance

This was a very good book Crafters, landowners, and corporations maneuver for political dominance in a well-structured world. A sort of low stakes political thriller, with a dash of romance if you will. Likeable characters fighting against corruption. I thought the narration was solid and easy to listen to. The pacing of the book is slower than your typical thriller but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I would definitely read another book set in this world.

Boring

So many different characters who were difficult to tell apart. Have got to Chap 21 but probably will not bother with the rest, nothing ever seems to happen except discussions about politics.

Narrator spoiled a very engaging story

Narration very odd, sounded as if there was a fuld stop evert 5 or 6 words. And at the same time those words really had to carry a lot of drama. that godt old very quickly. Fortunately I had already real the book. If I could, I would return the title, will never ever be able to finish it