Customer Reviews

City of Jade: A Novel of Mithgar

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

 

 

I've been a big fan of Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar stories, and own the entire series. Perhaps my expectations were too high for this book, but I found it lacking nonetheless.

The first thing I noticed when I opened my pre-ordered package, was how much smaller this novel was compared to the rest of the series. But the smallness of the book pales in comparison to the the actual content. Unfortunately for fans, this book is but a short story (or a "novella" at best), that's been fleshed out with "reminiscences" of McKiernan's prior works. Not only are pages full of characters speaking of prior events, but entire passages from his other works are included.

Sadly, this book seems more of an advertisement for the rest of the Mithgar series, rather than the novel fans have been awaiting.

Technically, Dennis L. McKiernan's Mithgar series is over and done with.

But in any series that spans millennia, you've got plenty of room for prequels, midquels, and any other kind of quel. "City of Jade" expands on events only hinted at in his prior works -- including a visit to the titular city -- and does provide some nice moments. Unfortunately, it's hampered by a sputtering climax and a tendency to revisit every single piece of relevant backstory.

In the aftermath of Gyphon's destruction, Bair pleads with the gods to reopen the ways between planes and get rid of the Ban. No, we don't see this.

Then Aravan and his lover Aylis join up with an army of mages and elves, to storm a Neddra citadel and secure the only way in or out of Vadaria. And with Aylis at his side, Aravan sets out to relaunch the Eroean with a new crew after three thousand years -- unaware that the sole surviving Black Mage from Neddra is plotting to destroy him.

And during a mission to the east, Aylis encounters a riddle and a statuette of a jade tower, leading the Eroean to hunt down the deserted city. Unfortunately, as readers know, this is all part of the Black Mage's evil plan -- and the Eroean is sailing straight into an evil trap. But a pair of new arrivals might help tip the scales...

"City of Jade" is not really a novel in itself -- it's more like two novellas sandwiched together. The first half deals some of the stuff that was left hanging, and the second half is when the whole "City of Jade" scenario is addressed. McKiernan's work is still somewhat riddled with run-on sentences and hysterical laughter, but he succeeds in making some solid battle sequences and gruesome moments of necromancy.

Most of the plot's focus is on Aravan getting his life shipshape again -- and McKiernan takes the opportunity to revisit many of his older characters, from some very familiar Pysks to some long-absent elves (ranging from minor to major characters). Additionally, there's a running subplot about a pair of conjurer Warrows who rub the local mobsters the wrong way, with surprising results.

Unfortunately, the plot is hampered by McKiernan revisiting everything -- the book is full of backstories, infodumps and names that have nothing to do with the plot. I somehow doubt that everyone in Mithgar has memorized everything/person/event of importance there -- it would have been much better if we'd seen Bair's debate with Adon about free will, rather than revisiting Jinnarin's pint-sized cabin.

And after revving up the plot in a haunted city with a Super Evil Bad Thing and an evil Mage... the climax falls flat. Very flat -- it takes about five minutes. Oh yes, and more hints are dropped about the Dwarves' mates, the Chakia. But frustratingly, we STILL don't know what they are.

Aravan and Aylis get most of the spotlight in this book, and they have a surprisingly romantic milestone after returning to Mithgar. The Warrows are cute if not very bright, and most of the rest of the cast is made up of yo-ho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-rum sailors on the Eroean, as well as some grumpy mages and run-of-the-mill elves.

"City of Jade" is an interesting exploration of post-bad-guy cleanup and seafaring adventure, but is bogged down by a tendency to explore the backstory of everyone and everything.

I have been a fan of McKiernan's Mithgar stories ever since I first read The Iron Tower trilogy. But, when he began his Once Upon A Time series, he adopted a stilted and highly annoying writing style that put me more in mind of Romance novels - heaving bosoms and all - than high fantasy. I had hoped that a return to Mithgar would herald a return to a less forced style, but it didn't.

It is sad when a good writer loses his voice, but I believe the decline in the sales of his books, and the number of reviewers that began with "Once Upon a Winter's Night" tells the story.

Legend talks of a City of Jade hidden in the jungle. Probably more likely myth than a real lost city, as no one has ever returned from the quest of finding this fabled locale though many have tried across Mithgar.

In the Final Year of the Fifth Era, with the Dragonstone War ended when the Black Mage God Gyphon was slain by the elf, passages have opened between realms while wards have been used to close those leading to and from the the creations of the late Dark God. In that seemingly peaceful environment, Elven Captain Aravan learns of the City of Jade and wants to find this precious legend. He brings together a crew of elves, dwarfs, men, and other species to sail into the sunset on the fabled Eroean. Accompanying him on his quest is his beloved mage, Aylis the seer. Even without Aylis' predictions all of the crew of the Eroean knows the journey will be dangerous and many if any will not return; they volunteer because the lure of adventure is greater than their safety; most are used to a world at war. Few perhaps would have signed on if they knew the dark necromantic sorcerer Nunde seeking vengeance is lurking everywhere they are sailing.

As explained in the "afterword" to this engaging fantasy, the events in the CITY OF JADE occur at the end of SILVER WOLF, BLACK FALCON and the beginning of the RED SLIPPERS: MORE TALES OF MITHGAR anthology. The thriller starts off as more of an interrelated anthology catching up with what has happened to the good, the bad, and the nasty since the demise of the Dark God. Once the crew is set and prepares to sail, the story line converges into an entertaining adventure tale with a fuming vengeful Nunde stalking the Eroean over each horizon. Fans will relish this terrific tweener while new readers should first peruse SILVER WOLF, BLACK FALCON to better comprehend the citations to the war.

Harriet Klausner

Dennis McKiernan Continues in his world of Mithgar. City of Jade: A Novel of Mithgar This book is a enjoyable addition for any Mithgar fan.

What can I say McKiernan hits it out of the ballpark once again. I have loved all his books and this one is on my love list as well. Mithgar is the world I would love to live in, if I were a dwarf, of course.

I was a little disappointed with this book. I really love Dennis McKiernan's work, and especially love the Mithgar series. I liked how he jumped all over the timeline, and I really loved how he wrote the various distinct races in each story.

That being said, I had to get 2/3rds of the way through this book to actually get to the story. It is well written, true to his style, but his setup is fraught with flashbacks and takes up literally the first 2/3rds of the book. If you are a big fan of McKiernan it is worth getting, since it is more of the wonderful Mithgar story, but I wouldn't suggest starting on this one if you are new to the series.

Dennis Mckiernan has once again crafted a well written story that manages to waft the reader to the land of Mithgar and enthrall and entertain the reader for the length of time it takes to read the novel.

I read the Iron Tower Trilogy in the 6th grade and fell in love with the stories of Mithgar and the writing style of Dennis L. McKiernan. This book, The City of Jade, was a train wreck. Not real story, unsatisfying ending.He took his highly developed and most interesting charaters and bored me with them. I kept waiting for the story to get going, and by the time it did, I was twenty pages from the end and climax was not nearly worth the torture of a clearly lacking plot line. The one good bit, it does leave and ambigous ending that could lead to a great follow up book. Disappoiment is not a strong enough word for this book. And one last note, he obvious distaste for the human race has always been a tolarated flaw in his later books. It was just another grave disappoiment with this novel. I will obviously continue read any futher Mithgar books.. but this one clearly is not upto the par.

I quickly receive the book before the projected date of arrival. This always makes us customers happy. The only problem I have is that this isn't one of Dennis L. McKiernan's better books. It's plot is slow, sometimes boring, and with no significant depth. I don't know why he titled the book "City of Jade" because this doesn't come up until your about 2/3 of the way through the book.