Customer Reviews

The Dragonstone (Mithgar)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am an avid McKiernan fan, and in fact he is my favorite author. All his books are great, but I think this one falls a bit short of his usual standard. The character development was good, but the climax left me feeling unsatisfied. I didn't learn to love all these characters as I am accustomed to doing. I didn't cry at the end. It was--almost--stereotypical. I'll probably read it again to see if my opinion changes, but my first idea is that this is a bit below the line. But still an enjoyable read without being a sci-fi/fantasy classic. McKiernan can do and has done better.

I don't think words can convey how much I disliked this book, but I will try nevertheless. Basically, there is no reason why you should read this book. The story isn't interesting. The characters aren't interesting. The quest is not original. With all the good fantasy out there, and the fact that this one weighs in at nearly 600 pages, there is no compelling reason to pick this book up.

One of my biggest complaints is the characters. The elf is utterly humorless about everything, the pseudo Japanese warrior girl is a worn out warrior stereotype, and the drunk is an irritating whiner. Okay, he likes his booze. We understand this, but the author feels the need to remind us every other page. The quest revolves around a prophecy in which the elf is supposed to gather a group of heroes, each of whom is classified with a description such as "The mad queen's rutting peacock." Inexplicably, contrary to all logic, the characters take these lines literally, actually looking for a peacock and a ferret, as if those would somehow help them defeat an evil wizard. Everyone acts so stupid, and no one catches on to anything remotely subtle for the entire book.

With so many pages, you would think that at least there would be character development, but you'd be wrong. Most of the novel is just blather about travel. "They rode through the hills of Dardoth Ungol, past the River Argol, through the Plains of Tallack.." It's a list of empty Tolkienesque place names, and you never get caught up in the world itself. The plot develops through a series of lucky guesses - they are looking for a mad queen, and one of the characters says "Hey, I know a mad queen", and wouldn't you know it, that's the one they needed. Every plot point is the result of a random guess that turns out to be correct. Some of the characters are likable, but they never say or do enough for the reader to get attached to them. The author also throws in philosophical discussions at one point, but it is all really basic stuff (Do you believe in fate?) and doesn't contribute anything new.

When all is said and done, the only reason I finished the book was out of habit, and it was tough. If you consider yourself to be an intelligent reader, you won't be able to stand this. There are a million better fantasy novels out there - pass on this one.

After reading books like the Iron Tower and the Voyage of the Fox Rider, I was a bit disappointed with the Dragonstone. It seemed to borrow a lot from McKiernan's other stories in the whole plot--you know, the black mage is going to destroy the world type deal. I'm not complaining all that much, though, because it is a really good book. A must for McKiernan fans.

This was the first book of McKiernan's I have read, and I must say that it was without a doubt the best book I have ever read. He masterfully intertwined love and adventure, without having too much of either aspect. There were also many philosophical questions raised in this book concerning religion, the afterlife, and freedom of choice. The story moves slowly at first when the Elven heroin, Arin, is retelling the tale of her vision, but in the last 150 pages it is nearly impossible to set the book down due to the excitement that McKiernan has built up. I have since bought McKiernan's "Voyage of the FoxRider", it too is a great book, though it falls short of this one.

I've been reading fantasy novels for 15 years and this story lacked excitement and creativity. Not only did it start slow it ended slow. I forced myself to finish the book because I spent 6 bucks for it. Stories like these can usually end in 200 or less pages. This one had close to 600. If you need any help falling asleep, then this is the book for you. (Oh yeah, a Nympho/Nutso queen?...please)

This was the first McKiernan book I had ever read and I must say it wont be my last. I was pleased with the story (although "simple"-group of characters on quest [tm]) and thoroughly enjoyed McKiernan's style of writing. About the only thing that got to me while reading it was the "land of the Yoda sounding peoples". If you've read it you know what I mean and if you haven't...you will soon. Other then that I found the book, as a whole, very entertaining. If you are new to McKiernan and his wonderful world of Mithgar then start with the Dragonstone. As is said in the forward of another of his novels the Dragonstone is, historically, the "beginning" of the series (though not written in that order).
Sorry for the "simple" review.

If you have yet to enter Mithgar, Dennis McKiernan's mythic ancient earth, the very best way is to start at the beginning - which is The Dragonstone! I tried to read this when it first came out but the first few chapters defeated me. It's a rather awkward start - but by chapter 3 everything is rolling along beautifully, and you're off on a grand adventure! Now that I have read the entire Mithgar Saga as it now stands, I can really appreciate this volume, which is the "oldest" Mithgarian tale, Chronologically. It tells of the evil mage Ordrune, the visionary Elfess Arin & the heroic warrior Egil One-Eye. Like the Silmarillion, the first 4 Mithgar Sagas [Dragonstone; Voyage of the Fox Rider; Hel's Crucible Duology] create a backdrop which evokes emotion when you read references to their stories later on. Like when Sam & Frodo talk about Beren & Luthien in the Two Towers, you get a little chill when Egil-One Eye is mentioned in "The Silver Call" Duology. It's great fun. McKiernan isn't a brilliant prose stylist - and he isn't an Brit-style writer. He's very American. Mithgar is a strange cross between Oz & Middle Earth, with every manner of culture & mythology thrown in for good measure. There are anachronisms galore - but it gives the series a distinct flavor.Having said that I must confess that some of these juxtopositions are downright Surreal - almost Dali-like in effect! Unlike Terry Brooks, McKiernan never lets the pace falter - it's one acton scene after the other! While McKiernan writes in a juvinile-novel style, his stories do have some graphic elements and low humor that border on the tasteless - but he never crosses the line. Overall, Mithgar is a fun world & the series is worth reading - from the top.

I've read most of McKiernan's works, starting all the way back to the Iron Tower Trilogy. I have to admit they are getting progressively worse with each new release.

a) As many posters have said, he pads the books with repetitive meaningless description.

b) His characters are stale.

c) Someone must have told him that he needed to increase his readership with women, because he insists on pushing poorly written romances on ALL of his characters. Put a man and a women together in a chapter -- guarantee they will hook up. No matter if they are completely different races and have only just met.

d) Finally, the stories are becoming less interesting. I could put up with a and c above if the story and the characters made up for it. Not the case in this book.

May be the last McKiernan book I read. Time to move on to a new author.

I picked this up since I wanted to try an author that I have never read. I now wish that I didn't pick up this book.

I will say that I did not finish it, after reading up to page 74 I gave up. I could see where the plot was going already and like many others have said the character are just cookie cutter characters.

The worst part, in just the short bit that I read, was the author's description of an area. 71 words to in one sentence to describe an area. That was just the latest one. There were others.

If you like boring fantasy novels that go into the minutest detail of describing an area this book is for you.

A lot of people have really negative things to say about this book, and quite frankly, i don't think it is the book at all. If you're somebody who can't stand more philosophy and want more action, don't read this series. It's a great series to make you THINK. (*much sarcasm* Goddess forbid)