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.
Customer Reviews:
Great reading.......2007-09-02
This story is great. I love the futuristic aspects as well as the old world feel. I would recomend this to anyone.
You'll never look at mirrors the same way again........2007-08-14
I read this book when it first came out and I absolutely loved it. I have read it several times in the 20 years since. This past week I read it again while packing for a move. Every time I read it I'm struck by the world Donaldson has created in Mordant--much more real and diverse than the world of Harry Potter, and more akin to Middle Earth. It is slow going in the beginning, no doubt about it, but that gives Donaldson a chance to introduce us to the myriad of characters--some flat, some richly detailed--and plots stewing about in Orison. As Terisa wonders, just how many sides are there, anyway? Our confusion mirrors Terisa's (no pun intended!) as she struggles to believe in herself, her own reality, and this new, alien world she's been thrust into.
I'd recommend having A Man Rides Through before you finish this story. The ending is a whopper of a cliffhanger, and it took what seemed like forever to get my hands on it finally, just to find out what happened!
I know a lot of people hated Terisa--and she's not the brightest bulb in the box. A lifetime of passivity teaches you not to think--that thinking is dangerous and causes nothing but trouble. I'd argue that Donaldson portrays her that way because she was, essentially, not truly in our world, didn't truly exist here. She has severe psychological self-esteem issues. We are caught up in her passivity as she tries to fight it, tries to project some sense of personality or reality to herself. As a protagonist she leaves a lot to be desired, but she is no worse than say, Sparhawk from Eddings' Elenium series.
Probably the best fantasy series I've ever read outside of Tolkien.
Would Make a Great Door Stop.......2007-06-29
Slow, slow, slow. This book is so slow you will wonder if time itself has stopped. I just cannot believe that anyone that has read more than a handful of books could give this a 5 star rating. Maybe the problem is with Amazon's rating system. I think we would get some more accurate reviews if instead of 5 stars the rating said something like "one of best book ever read". A 5 star rating should be reserved for that small collection of works that represent the very best you have read.........this book cannot be in anyone's collection of the best.
Even if the book is not slow it is bad for other reasons.
First of all Donaldson is consistent in his ability to create repulsive main characters. I can understand that he has made Terisa somewhat hollow, so that he can let her grow and discover herself in the story, but she is just too empty to be believed. It is easier to think of her as a doll rather than a person. She has absolutely no personality, and wanders through the story like a zombie at the whim of who ever she happens to be with at the time.
Secondly, I'm truly amazed that more female reviewers aren't outraged over the portrayal of the females encountered in this book. I can see why the men would like them.......they are all brainless bimbos ready to jump into bed with whatever guy happens to be available. Even the king's daughters have one track minds. One of them seeks nothing but power, and the other is a daydreamer looking for her "knight in shining armor". Terisa's lust for the letch Master Eremis throughout the story makes an already repulsive character even more disgusting.
Thirdly, the book is 99% meaningless conversations between characters and only 1% action which occurs every 100 pages or so. Even with all the talk, nothing gets resolved, no solutions are reached, and we are left as much in the dark at the end of the book as we were in the beginning.
The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it is without a doubt the largest book I have ever read. I borrowed the hardback version from the local library and was amazed at the size. Part of the size is because the pages appear to be made out of cardboard rather than paper. The only reason I can give you for reading this book is so that you can boast that you have read the largest volume on the shelves. If you don't make it through the book you can always use it as a doorstop.
Fine Literature!.......2007-04-23
As I expected, Stephen R. Donaldson began another engrossing fantasy adventure with a fantastic first installment. The Mirror Of Her Dreams, book one of the two volume Mordant's Need saga, begins as the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant did, in the familiar world which you and I inhabit. Also as in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, we meet a person, this time a female, with serious issues who is miraculously conveyed to another world that is very different from our own, and is expected to be its savior.
Here, Terisa Morgan, a young woman with debilitating self esteem issues, is transported to Mordant where she is expected to be the Champion of Orison and save the kingdom from destruction at the hands of invading armies. Donaldson's ability to peel away at the psyche of a person is unmatched in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He takes a deeply flawed person and, over the course of the epic, exposes their defects in all their ugliness, and illuminates the long process of becoming whole again.
Although Mordant's Need seems to follow the same formula Donaldson used in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the story is still fresh and engaging because Donaldson is such a superb writer. Donaldson is a wordsmith. His attention to detail, especially when describing his characters and their angst, really pulls the reader into making an emotional connection with the story.
The author creates a finely detailed world in which he sets about rich characters to plot and scheme. The book is a mystery of sorts. Violence and intrigue unfold around Terisa while she flails about the kingdom trying to figure out what her purpose there is. Donaldson is a meticulous story teller. If you were a fan of his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, than you will surely love Mordant's Need. I highly recommend it to all fantasy readers.
One of the best.......2006-09-05
I read "Mirror of Her Dreams" in the local library quite by chance many years ago, and immediately bought it. Since then it has set the standard by which I judge other fantasy novels. Just recently I found my old dog-eared copy and even after the umpteenth re-reading the story has lost none of its magic.
Terisa, who starts the book in such self-doubt she is uncertain of her very existence, is brought through a mirror by mistake into a castle in another world thick with deception and desperation. The King of Mordant has gone mad, and his land is falling into ruin, beset by enemies without, and hidden traitors within. No one knows where Terisa's unexpected arrival fits into Mordant's impending doom, but there are those determined to find out, or use her for their own ends - or eliminate her. Caught unavoidably in the proverbial web of intrique, the frightened and lost Terisa has no choice but to thread her way through the plots with her own wits and discover who is friend and who is foe.
I would not call the start of the book "slow," but rather "measured," as characters are carefully introduced and plots are intricately spun. Normally I have very little patience for books that drag, but this one doesn't - even the long passages of exposition by characters like Eremis, Elega and Quillon draw you in. Every character in this book is a joy to read, from the fumble-footed but heroically earnest Geraden, to the harsh and dominating Castellan Lebbick, to the mad King Joyse, to the scheming Master Eremis. Terisa herself ranks as one of my favourite fantasy heroines, and by the end of the book (in a cliff-hangar that ensures you must read the second part, "A Man Rides Through") has started to find her own courage and become the woman who will help save Mordant - in the next volume.
Donaldson shows the fantasy world how to do court intrique, and not until Martin's recent "A Song of Ice and Fire" series has anyone matched him.
Customer Reviews:
A Complete Biography.......2005-10-26
This book outlines every facet of the facinating life of E.E. Cummings. A must read for anyone researching or interested in his life.
Reason Without Rhyme.......2004-06-20
'Dreams in the Mirror: A Biography of E.E. Cummings' is a precise account of a unique, creative poet. Richard S. Kennedy has made sense of the seemingly incoherent mind that made the literary world spin in a profoundly deconstructed orbit during the period following Cummings' graduation from the Harvard School of Arts and Sciences in 1916. Perhaps the most significant element of Kennedy's book is the previously unpublished Cummings' poem discovered in the dusty closet of a Tunisian Bed&Beakfast he'd occupied in 1931. Titled 'Insanity is Just a Mind of State', it is one of Cummings' most autobiographical works, revealing the poet's life-long regret that he'd never wrestled an alligator. The lament, on page 79, reads:
'i'm mad; say they
but Almonds aren't NUTS!
(is) thE river SEINE in pariS;?'
The human mind is a beautiful thing.
Dreams In The Mirror.......2002-05-08
a wonderful book ... especially the love story and photos of cummings and marion moorehouse
"Dreams" a thought provoking bio.......1999-01-03
Recently having completed DREAMS IN THE MIRROR, I can say that I haven't read a better biography in a long time. If you are a true E.E. Cummings fan (or e.e. cummings as he spelled it), the insights that Kennedy has into the man's life, as well as the interpretations of his poems, seems to make sense. I own a copy of his "Complete Poems 1904-1962", and having read many of them, I thought that the logical next step was to see how someone else thought of them. Kennedy's biography of Cummings is the only one that I know of in existance. Adding to that is Nancy Andrews, Cummings' daughter, who gave a lot of insight into her father, as well as previously unpublished poems and even drawings(!!). The book doesn't read like a novel, so don't expect to pace though it quickly. It is a well-written account of Cummings' life, so remember to pay attention. Being it as it may, and considering that information, I say go on and read it. It's worth the time.
Book Description
Based on more than twenty years of dream research, Dreams: Your Magic Mirror provides compelling evidence of the importance of dreams and symbols in everyone's life. This book will help you learn to: preview future events from your dreams, interpret dream communications with departed loved ones, and receive messages that will be helpful in your life's most important decisions.
Customer Reviews:
Dream Machine.......2005-09-29
I am a psychologist who began reading Cayce 35 years ago. Just reading Dreams: Your Magic Mirror, stimulated my subconcsious to spontaneously create very meaningful dreams while I slept. I considered this book to have a very powerful and positive effect on the mind. Several years later I reread the book and again it resulted in profound dreams which symbolized my life challenges and previously hidden aspects of my personality. Few books can claim to effect levels of the mind like this volume does. I recommend the book to any sincere seeker of self-insight.
The essence of dreams??.......2005-09-28
I found this book to be disappointing.. hardly any Edgar Cayce's readings in it.
In addition, the book doesn't explain how dreams can be analyzed, what kind of dreams exist (1, 2, 3, of 4 dimensional (related to future, present, past?)).
Recommendation:
Dromen Paragnostisch verklaard (1984)
By G. van der Zeeuw
ISBN 9020205668
Publisher: Ankh-Hermes bv
Language: Dutch
most definitive book on dreams i have ever used........1998-08-06
I have used this book for many years to interpret some very strange dreams. This book is one of the most accurate and definitive books on dreams I have ever used. No matter what the subject I have always been able to find an answer to my question. I have reccommended this book to a lot of people over the years. In fact I eventually lost my original copy that had a lot of dreams that I had recorded . I have used it to analyze dreams for my friends and family many times with uncanny accuracy as a result. In my opinion, if you are curious or desperately in need of dream interpretation, use this book. It will help you to sort thru your confusion' as to what your dreams mean.i
Average customer rating:
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Wall of Mirrors
Jay Caselberg
Manufacturer: Roc
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ASIN: 0451461193 |
Book Description
Linked to an advanced alien culture through his dreams, Jack has fallen into the hands of Outreach Industries-whose agents will stop at nothing to tap into that link. But if Jack can't decipher what the aliens have been communicating to him, the entire human race may be in jeopardy.
Book Description
Katlyn Chander felt her life came to a terrifying halt the night a devastating accident crushed her legs and confined her to a hospital bed. The pretty sixteen-year-old regains consciousness to learn she might never walk again. Convinced her life is over, Katlyn and her father file charges against Zac Lambert, the drunk driver responsible for the accident. But even the sight of Zac behind bars might not be enough to still the storm in Katlyn's heart-
Zac Lambert thought he had everything going for him money, brains, and a smooth road into medical school until his sleek Corvette pinned Katlyn Chander to a storefront. Now the college sophomore has to face up to the fact his drinking and driving may cost Katlyn her legs-if not her life. With no choice but to accept the consequences, even if it means prison time, Zac struggles to put on a brave face. But can he survive Katlyn's father's desire for revenge?
One terrible moment has changes their lives forever-
Customer Reviews:
Great book, a little rushed.......1999-02-27
This series is FANTASTIC! I got the first book but I wasn'tquite sure I would like it. I was pleasantly surprised!! This is agreat series with some brand new character development and some unique plots. My only criticism of the series would be the conclusion of this book, The ending seemed to be suddenly thrust in to "get the book done." But don't let that deter you from buying this one--they're all GREAT! (Although "Swept Away" is best.)
Totally awesome series.......1998-04-17
I have the first 4 of the White Dove Romance series and I absolutely LOVE them! My mom got them for me for my 15th birthday last year and I totally got hooked on them. I love this one called Mirror of Dreams because it is sooo awesome. Christian girls? READ THIS SERIES!!!!!
Mirror of Dreams.......1998-02-09
This book was the best book I read out of the first three of teh books. It is a very good book that every Christian kid should read
This series is great. Even my mom reads them!.......1998-01-25
I have three of the five books that are out. The next two look really great. This is one of those series that teenage girls can relate too. I am only 14 and those books have really helped me even though the characters are older.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent! Required reading for Women of all ages.......1998-10-16
This is the most influential book I've read on getting control of my money. It is not a book about budgets, investing, etc. It should be read long before any of that! It should be required reading for women in high school.
The book talks about the beliefs, attitudes and fears women have about money. Some have been inherited from the culture in general, some from our families. All are important to identify for yourself (hopefully at an early age!) so that you can modify them before they get you into financial trouble. I found myself in several of the chapters, even some that outlined phobias I wasn't aware I had. The awareness alone has been worth the price of the book. (It takes a lot more to actually change all the beliefs, etc.)
I highly recommend this book to women, and I think men might also find it insightful as well.
Average customer rating:
- Broken Minds
- Amazing work on an interesting filmmaker
- Fascinating look at the Gialli Rancher
- Excellent Book With a WEALTH of Knowledge
- Excellent Argento introduction
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Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento
Maitland McDonagh
Manufacturer: Carol Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Customer Reviews:
Broken Minds.......2005-07-29
Broken Minds is a soon to be published book. It should 'hit the streets' October 2005. Its sub title is "Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It".
The book is about mood disorders, especially as one who has "been there", author Steve Bloem. It is co-authored by his wife Robyn Bloem. An aim of the authors is to help both the sufferer of mental illness and her/his caregivers, get out of the dark pit of depression. Stigma still surrounds depression and other forms of mental illness. The church of Jesus Christ is asked to deal with the taboo of suicide and also the pervasive pain that is inherent in maladies of the mind.
It is easy to read and chocked full of important truths for the reader. Kregel publications says it well, "A deeply personal, yet practical, book for Christians who are clinically depressed or have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Mental illness. Those words bring to mind frightening scenes of padded walls, white straightjackets, and screaming people. But mental illness is often much more subtle-and much more prevalent than we imagine. Unfortunately, people who are diagnosed as being mentally ill may not understand what is happening to them. And for Christians, some "helpful" leaders heap on guilt, saying that the problem is spiritual rather than physical in nature. This book takes Steve's personal story of major depression and weaves through it Robyn's insights and Steve's professional knowledge. The result is a tapestry of practical information- including definitions, treatment options, government services available, and interactions with the church and God-and a deep compassion for those who feel like their world is falling apart".
Amazing work on an interesting filmmaker.......2002-02-11
Maitland has written a very admirable study of one of the world's most interesting horror filmmakers. She even goes to the trouble of defending the more nonsensical moments of Arengto's films. For example, the scene in Suspiria where a murder victim stumbles across a room full of barbed wire makes no logical sense, but after you read Maitland explain how Argento works (kind of like surrealists, he uses a technique called "Automatic writing" which involves very little, if any, editing) you begin to understand that maybe Argento isn't neccesarily TRYING to make sense. At any rate she does a fine job of defending him, as well as delving into recurring themes. One of the better books on a director you will ever read.
Fascinating look at the Gialli Rancher.......2001-09-24
This is a great book. If you're a fan of Dario Argento, the Italian maestro of horror, or if you're just a fan of well-made, artistically-minded horror films, you should read this book (and should take a closer look at the films of Dario Argento).
"Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds" is out of print, but you can buy a used copy through Amazon.com (as I did) for a cheaper price. But then you must prepare yourself for a whirl-wind.
This book discusses in intimate detail the films of the great Dario Argento. The introduction gives us some context of who he is (ex-film critic, master of the beautiful and profane), where he came from (an Italian movie-making family and the tutelage of spaghetti-western-maker Sergio Leone), what he does (makes a particular style of thriller called a giallo and often draws on the broken imagery of dreams for his most effective material).
Then we're off on a film-by-film analysis of Argento's career. We study the films he's made, the choices he's made within those films, and gain an appreciation, if we don't already have one, of why this Argento is such a unique, talented film-maker.
"Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds" often reads like the film school thesis which it is. Words and phrases like "diegetic," "filmic," and the old favorite "mise-en-scene" abound. But you shouldn't let that deter you, even if you aren't of the overly critical, or analytical stock. There is a lot of fascinating stuff in this book, and you're sure to walk away from it with a bigger, more profound appreciation for the films and career of one of the greats in the horror field, Dario Argento. And if you haven't seen all of Argento's films, or if it's been a while, reading this book is a great excuse to catch up on them.
What surprised me most about this book was that it was written by a woman. I didn't realize until I turned the last page of the book and read the "about the author" section that Maitland McDonagh has two X chromosomes. I guess I assumed because of the subject matter--the deliriously violent, at times arguably woman-unfriendly world of Dario Argento's deep red "filmic" nightmares--that a man must have written the book. But what a great perspective is given from the eyes and mind of a woman writing intelligently about horror films. You must go get this book.
Excellent Book With a WEALTH of Knowledge.......2001-07-05
I have learned so much from reading this book.
I purchased it when it first came out (long ago kiddies) but since then have ordered an extra copy.
McDonagh is an excellent writer, very cerebral, very descriptive, and thorough.
She dissects each film bit by bit until you, the reader, have a COMPLETE understanding of Argento's films and the way he thinks.
This is SUCH a small price to pay for such excellent, in-depth research; it is like taking a film course for free, considering how inexpensive the book is.
Take my advice. If you love Argento (and not just because of the gore) read his films.
On the other hand, if you're the type who likes his films cause "the death scenes are cool" PULEAZE don't bother!
Excellent Argento introduction.......1999-03-03
McDonagh provides an excellent introduction to Argento's films. I found it very helpful in writing my book on the Poe cinema. Her critiques are insightul and on the mark.
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A Man Rides Through
The Runes of the Earth (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 1)
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The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict (Gap)
The Wounded Land (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 1)
