The Binder's Road [Mass Market Paperback]

Terry Mcgarry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

Six years after a conflict that extinguished all mage-light, Eiden Myr is in chaos. Wild weather destroys crops; drought bakes some regions while others are flooded; mountains quake, poisoned rivers rise; disease and pestilence spread.

In a dying trader town, three little girls fight to protect a secret that could cost them their lives, while a young lad-of-all-crafts finds that local murders are the first clue to a chilling conspiracy. In the far north, the remnants of the realm's warders struggle to compensate for mage-light's loss. In the south, a military race is remembering its origins. Along the shoreline, a band of guerrilla fighters, posted to repel invasion, prepares to battle for mastery of the realm-while one woman, a disgraced soldier, summons the courage to defy them all.

On a remote island, a new breed of scholars strives to plumb the mysteries of ancient texts before they crumble apart. Who among them is the binder destined to reshape the shattered world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In McGarry's imaginative and complex high fantasy novel, the sequel to her well-received debut, Illumination (2001), a handful of surviving mages are trying to rediscover their powers. It's six years after the Lightbreaker destroyed magic in Eiden Myr, a world quickly going to rack and ruin. The key to saving Eiden Myr lies with three orphaned girls-Pelufer, Elora and Caille-and Louarn, the young man they meet after being forced to flee their home. Their road takes them up hill and down dale, through desolate landscapes, multiple conspiracies and much bloodshed. As the story approaches its climax, the warrior Khinish threatens to invade Eiden Myr. Can Kazhe, a vividly portrayed drunken swordswoman ("Kazhe's cheekbone cracked against the table "), stop Khinish in time? A huge cast of characters and rapidly shifting viewpoints make this a challenging read, but the author's talent for world-building and sure use of language will leave fans, especially those fond of big, intricate fantasies like Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, feeling more satisfied than confused.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The complex successor to Illuminations (2001) may strike newcomers to its world, Eiden Myr, as worse than complex, but those in the know will be greatly gratified. Six years after Illuminations, things are falling apart because of the loss of magic in Eiden Myr. Searches are on for a binder to help bring magic back, for means to control a binder for sinister or selfish purposes, and even for a way to prevent the return of magic by killing the binder. Key to saving the world are an itinerant jack-of-all-trades, three young girls with residual magical talents, and a drunken mercenary who saves everybody from being destroyed in savage warfare. They are members of an extremely large cast that, fortunately, McGarry lists in an appendix and selectively sketches in a glossary that also defines several terms. List, glossary, and even map don't entirely ease the strain of shifting among the story's multitude of viewpoints. If McGarry might be faulted for that strain, there is no denying the power and fertility of her imagination. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765343282
• ISBN-13: 978-0765343284
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,000,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another triumph for McGarry, April 13, 2003

By 

David B. Coe "author" (Sewanee, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Binder's Road (Hardcover)

Terry McGarry's elegantly written follow-up to ILLUMINATION, her marvelous first novel, is an extraordinary tale of heart-rending loss, the desperate quest for truth and understanding, and, ultimately, the renewal of hope and light. Like McGarry's first book, this one is elegantly written. The author has a unique and compelling voice, and her instincts as a storyteller are impeccable. Yet, there is more to this book than just fine prose. This is a thrill ride, complete with a chilling murder mystery, magic that is both wondrous and eerie, and fight scenes that will leave you breathless. McGarry's characters are hauntingly real -- Pelufer in particular is one of the most compelling, fascinating people I've ever encountered in literature -- and the world she has created manages to be both fantastic and brutally real. In short this book is a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy that is at once eloquent and exhilarating, intelligent and passionate. Though a sequel, THE BINDER'S ROAD stands alone as a complete, satisfying tale that will leave you thinking long after you have turned the last page.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spell-Binding Reading!, August 25, 2003

By 

Pinlighter "Pinlighter" (Brunswick, ME, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Binder's Road (Hardcover)

Preface: Usually, I don't like "middle" books... the second in a trilogy, etc., I find them "pasty", as in school paste, used to bind the good parts of the story together. That said, "The Binder's Road" is a happy departure from such gluey fare. In "Illumination", Ms. McGarry Created the world of Eiden Myr, a world where magic is the norm, and to be without it, an embarrassment. She created within this world a cast of characters as diverse and as integrated as a snowstorm, with all the swirls of intrigue, pathos, and love as the analogy can allow. She left me wanting more... and in The Binder's Road, she delivers. She has created a new cast, separate yet tied by just enough threads to Illumination to make readers of the first book to think "Aha..." without leaving new readers thinking "Wha...?" If Rich characterizations and fantastic worlds made real are the elements you look for in your reading, read both of these and salivate with me while we wait for the third book!

3.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book, February 8, 2008

By 

T. Dotterrer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Binder's Road (Mass Market Paperback)

Although this book is a sequel to Illuminator it stands alone. I like this author and the book grips you with the story and characters. I was a little lost through the frist couple chapters but was able to get into it fairly soon. I'm hoping that any others in the series are as well written as most of this one is.