- Hardcover: 642 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey; First Edition edition (Sep 12 1986)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345332989
- ISBN-13: 978-0345332981
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 15.7 x 6.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,460,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
As a followup to his bestselling Thomas Covenant trilogies, Donaldson presents another lengthy, dense fantasy adventure in the first of the two-book sequence Mordant's Need. This first volume introduces the land of Mordant, beset from without by armies and monsters and from within by plots, dissension and madness. The search for a champion goes awry as the Congery of Imagers first lures poor little rich girl Terisa Morgan from our world, and then snatches a mysterious warrior whose futuristic weapons destroy part of the castle he is supposed to defend. Terisa rises to the challenge, quickly becoming a key figure, a wild card among the many cliques and powers vying to save or seize king and kingdom. Donaldson scores with the magic discipline of imagery, in which mirrors serve as windows on alternate worlds. His characterization, however, is either derivative or programmatic (in a world without ordinary mirrors, no one can be taken at face value). Readers are likely to be hooked by the interlocking intrigues and progressive revelations among a large cast in a vast old castle riddled with secret passageshooked, but probably disappointed, for this overlong volume is all buildup for the second. 200,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
With The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson changed the face of fantasy fiction forever. In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the astonishing first novel in the two-volume Mordant’s Need series, Donaldson shows us a world of wondrous beauty and seductive illusion, where mirrors hold the deadliest of magics and nothing is what it seems. . . .
The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.
Now, in a culture where women are little more than the playthings of powerful men, in a castle honeycombed with secret passages and clever traps, in a kingdom threatened from without and within by enemies able to appear and vanish out of thin air, Terisa must become more than the pale reflection of a person. For the way back to Earth is closed to her. And the enemies of Mordant will stop at nothing to see her dead.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.
Now, in a culture where women are little more than the playthings of powerful men, in a castle honeycombed with secret passages and clever traps, in a kingdom threatened from without and within by enemies able to appear and vanish out of thin air, Terisa must become more than the pale reflection of a person. For the way back to Earth is closed to her. And the enemies of Mordant will stop at nothing to see her dead.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
very cool,
By annie (san jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mirror of Her Dreams (Paperback)
i recently went on a camping trip and my friend lent me the two mordant's needs books and they were so great! i love the book.. it has adventure, suspense, romance, and everything! i couldn't put the books down and finished them both in 5 days. this one and the second book are so cool.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tale on morality,
By Angeline Koh (Singapore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mirror of Her Dreams (Paperback)
Donaldson uses the love story between Terisa and Geraden as a framework to explore complex themes. The tale is set in a medieval fantasy realm where Terisa and Geraden are part of a larger community that strive to serve their king (King Joyse) and save Geraden's home, Mordant.The novel explores various Christian themes of servanthood and leadership. King Joyse uses a bewildering technique in defeating his enemies. He chooses to appear mad and alienates his friends and family on purpose, so as to determine his real enemies. A large portion of "A mirror rides through" is devoted to this confusing issue on whether or not the King Geraden serves is working for or against Mordant. The novel has a very clear cut idea on what "evil" and "good" is, but Donaldson is very skilful to create confusion on what is "good" or "true" for both the reader and Terisa in the first book by bringing in the arrogant Master Eremis (who doesn't seem quite so bad until the end of the series). The good characters are always humble and placing a greater good over their individual selves while the "bad" characters are proud and self-absorbed. The skill he displays in characterisation of the evil characters is applause worthy. Master Eremis could be any man you meet in your life. Master Eremis is not unlikeable. It is his actions (not his personality) that are unlikeable and destructive to others. But as I said before, Donaldson is very subtle with the "good" and "evil" binary. I am not usually a fantasy reader, but this book is so well written that I finished the series within a week! His writing is fluid and unified so that by the end of the series every loose end is tied up. There are also some moments (usually character's thoughts or dialogue) when Donaldson's writing shines through in beautiful clarity (a bit like CS Lewis). The issues that Donaldson raises in the series, of love, loyalties, weakness, strength, power and responsibility make it worthy of a slower and more pleasurable re-reading.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good premise, horribly flat characters,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mirror of Her Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)
The main plot device was kind of "cute"- the mirrors and the translations. The mystery regarding which characters were good, which were evil, and whether goodness or badness mattered as long as they were trying to save Mordant (and should Mordant really be saved) was well written. Almost all the characters were terribly flat, however. Teresa is completely one-dimensional and her stupidity is sickening. I'm not saying that there aren't people like her in the world, just that no one wants to read about them. Instead of developing her as a character, the author repeats over and over how she had always felt non-existant and how she wasn't used to power and how she absolutely couldn't resist whenever anyone smiled at her or touched her. One gets the feeling that if the cook had been the first person in the book to smile at her, she would have spent the rest of her time in the kitchen and the story would never have been finished. If you've ever read the (excellent and highly recommended!) Song of Ice and Fire books by GRR Martin, reading this book was like reading nothing but Sansa's viewpoints, only less refined, less observant, and less eloquent and articulate.
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