YMMV / The Lord of the Isles

• Anvilicious: Possibly the frequent assertions of the superiority of the Barca's Hamlet folk.
  • One may reasonably argue that the viewpoint characters have a somewhat biased perspective. We only get a good look at Barca's Hamlet during the first novel, and it clearly has people willing to lie and cheat (Ilna and Cashel out of their inheritance) or exhibit prejudice (against Nonnus). After that, the four main characters leave the village effectively forever. Their belief that Barca's Hamlet has a morally superior way of life may well be a matter of nostalgia and a false contrast between the simple, calm, orderly life they had in the village and all the chaotic magical events and evil deeds they face in the wider world.
  • As to any belief that people from Barca's Hamlet are physically superior, well... Ilna and Cashel are Half-Human Hybrids with exceptional magical abilities, Garric is the reincarnation of a legendary ancient king and regularly advised by the old king's ghost, and Sharina grew up with Garric for a brother and now has Cashel for a boyfriend. Their standards of what normal people are capable of may be kind of distorted.
• Nightmare Fuel: Happens several times over the series, the most blatant being the tale of Cerix, a wizard who opened a window into another plane, but closed the portal with his legs still inside! Now his legs are in a place where demons tear at them every day...
• Trapped by Mountain Lions: At least two out of the four main characters are Trapped by Mountain Lions for a significant portion of each book, after the first novel. Of course, Fridge Brilliance suggests that because of this when three characters visit The Underworld in a book called The Gods Return it is not readily apparent that this is more than yet another trippy side trip.