Customer Reviews

The Mirror of Her Dreams

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have been reading fantasy fiction since age 10 (22 years). After just re-reading this series for the third time I can confidently state that this is still the best fantasy fiction I have ever read. It is the only book(s) I have ever written a review for in all that time. Donaldson is a master creator of perverse, intense, and deliciously complex stories with the most unbearably reluctant heros and unfathomably malignant antagonists. It will keep you enthralled and guessing until the end. If you call yourself a fantasy fan and do not read this series, you are depriving yourself of pure reading extasy.

Terisa lives in a glass tower in the middle of a large city. Her parents' wealth enables her to live a reclusive life, with little contact with reality. In fact, she has surrounded herself with mirrors, hoping to convince herself she is real.

When a young man crashes through one of her glasses, all that changes. She is drawn into a different world, where no one is sure if she is real or a creation of magic. If she is real, she possesses a powerful enchantment that could be key to saving a kingdom ruled by a king lost in dreams. Here she first finds love and lust both. Choosing between the two may be key to saving herself and this new world.

*** In this adult version of Alice in Wonderland, Stephen R Donaldson again proves himself a master of fantasy. He explores a new world through the eyes of a woman who is as lost as his former protagonist, Thomas Covenant. In doing so, he forces the reader to examine their own hearts. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Teresa Morgan, a lonely, ordinary woman in our world, steps through a mirror in her apartment and finds herself in the land of Mordant. Geraden, son of the Domme, thinks that she is a powerful Imager, one who can manipulate the magic of mirrors, and believes that she is the key to saving their world. The only problem is, Teresa feels they have made a terrible mistake. But even her attempts to deny this alleged importance cannot save her from being sucked into a web of mystery, intrigue, danger, and betrayal. And just when things couldn't get any worse, the Congery of Imagers take matters into their own hands, setting even more catastrophic events into motion.

I have to admit that this book tends to be a little slow in the beginning, and I even found myself skimming a few parts. But if you can manage to hang in there, things really start to pick up and very soon you'll be hooked. Nothing is as straightforward as the characters think, and treachery, deceit, and lies run deeper than they could ever imagine. Just when you think you've got it figured out, the story takes a different turn and you're left scratching your head again in puzzlement. The one thing that really connected me to this book is the fact that the main characters constantly struggle to understand what is really going on, and I found myself right there in Teresa's shoes, feeling completely frustrated and paranoid ... not knowing at all who to trust!

Just a little warning, this book ends with a nail-biting cliffhanger. And trust me, you'll want to have the sequel (A Man Rides Through) handy as soon as you finish the last page. If it weren't for the slow pace in the beginning, and a few spots of tiresome info-dumps, I would have rated this one five stars. But, it definitely gets four stars for eventually grabbing hold and not letting me go, and for making me want to rush out and buy the sequel!

It had been a long time since I had just picked up a book and curled up on my couch. When I started reading Mirror of Her Dreams, I was surprised to find myself so engrossed in the novel that hours had passed since I began reading. I still didn't want to put it down.

My opinion of fantasy novels had always been that they were pointless, and the only good writers wrote science fiction. This novel changed my outlook entirely...good storyline, plot twists, intrigue, treachery...it has it all.

Next time you want someting worthwile and enjoyable to read keep this novel in your thoughs.

Mirror Of Her Dreams is superb fantasy. None of the usual fare that makes fantasy so weak when not in the hands of Tolkien (monsters, wizards, fairies, etc.). This is an intricate, well thought out and executed piece of work. The characters are wonderful, the world fascinating and believable, and the story first rate in every regard. 'Page Turner' is a phrase thrown around WAY too often but hey, this one fits the bill. An excellent read to enjoy more than once.

I first read the mirror of her dream when i was 14. I hadn't liked the other works I had read by Donaldson, so I wasn't expecting that much.

What I got was an engrossing page turner of a story with finely developed characters and a solid plot,a book that almost intantly managed to top my list of favourite books and has managed to stay there through nine years and eight readings.

As you can see, I enjoyed reading this book. I haven't read the second part but I look forward to it when I have the time. I can only give it 4 stars however, because at times I find Donaldson Donaldson's novels frustrating.

I think one of the other reviewers has Donaldson's MO backwards. In "The Mirror of Her Dreams" and "The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenent" the author brings an extraordinary person from our world into an ordinary place. By extraordinary I mean that they operate under severe mental and emotional handicaps(and physical in the case of Thomas). A major part of the story is them overcoming these handicaps and learning to live a normal life. From an intellectual point of view this is very intriguing, but it is hard put theory into practice. This is where the frustration arises. In "...Covenent" and less so in this novel Stephen hasn't integrated the characters conflict with the other plots as well as could have been done.

When the characters do act the book becomes worth it. As everybody has said, it is the characters that make the story. Otherwise, it would be just another ordinary fantasy novel.