Read this as two separate books - The Mirror of Her Dreams, and A Man Rides Through

Mordant's Need by Stephen R. Donaldson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I understand why so many people love these books.  How can anyone think of this story without a feeling of amused warmth?  My status updates reveal my progress as I read it, I think.



The writing is impeccable, the structure perfect, the story inventive and original within the framework of boy meets girl, girl follows boy, both stumble around trying to find themselves, both are in danger, they discover their true talent, they fall in love, they fight together for the right, they live together in the peaceful kingdom happily ever after.



The 'couldn't say shit if she had a mouthful' heroine finds her voice and says 'oh, shit' when she needs to.  The clumsy puppy of a hero stops stumbling around and becomes a man.  The villain comes to a fitting end, amusing and ironic.



The concept of 'image translation' is inventive.  I'm not that widely read in the fantasy literature realm, but I've never read anything like it before.



My only complaint is the size and heft of the book.  If I had it to do over, I would have read the two books separately.  It was heavy and awkward, my arms got tired, I feared the pages would get torn as I turned them against my stomach.  Finally I laid the book on a pillow in my lap and that made it a little easier.



Great read!



View all my reviews

10/30	page 908		93.0%	""His courage, however came as a pleasant surprise." -- lol"
10/29	page 747		76.0%	"Holy crap!"
10/29	page 697		71.0%	"They've kidnapped the queen."
10/28	page 680		69.0%	"O my word. Things is a-poppin'"
10/27	page 611		62.0%	"Holy cow!" 2 comments
10/27	page 556		57.0%	"Moving on into "A Man Rides Through" and gasp! Terisa has finally found a pair! And even she knows she should've done it halfway through the last book. Veddy interesting indeed, my dear Watson."
10/25	page 483		49.0%	"Finished The Mirror of Her Dreams. Starting A Man Rides Through." 5 comments
10/25	page 463		47.0%	"I want to shake this stupid woman until her brains rattle!"
10/25	page 420		43.0%	"Damn! Wish I'd bought the two books separately. This thing makes Sanderson look like a piker."
10/24	page 274		28.0%	"Things are looking up in my regard for our hero and heroine. Terisa is starting to grow some balls."
10/23	page 223		23.0%	"The heroine is a wimp and an idiot and the hero is cute but a total klutz. Am sure things will change, but hope it's soon."
10/21	page 157		16.0%	"Terisa needs to decide she isn't invisible :-\"
10/20	page 113		12.0%	"Getting better. More action."
10/19	page 70		7.0%	"Going back to this one tonight."
10/11	page 70		7.0%	"Fascinating."
10/11	page 3		0.0%	"Starting with Mirror of Her Dreams."