Customer Reviews

The Eye of the Hunter

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Though I've read quite a bit in the fantasy genre, this is the first book of McKiernan's I've read. I
wasn't disappointed! The Eye of the Hunter is an absolutely enchanting story that kept me with
my nose in it from the first page to the last! In fact, I was very surprised when I found some bad
reviews of it here on Amazon!

When I pick up a fantasy book one of the first things I look for are well developed characters that
I can relate to: something this book has in abundance! The five questers: Elves Riatha and
Aravan, Warrows Gwylly and Faeril, and the shapeshifter Man Urus, are all expertly fleshed out,
with delightful personalities and interesting histories. The places on the world of Mithgar through
which they travel are described in vivid detail. Some people might find this boring and needless,
but I for one loved it! The desert cultures of the Karoo are especially intriguing.

In the story all of the five main characters have sworn to hunt down the Baron Stoke, though they
all have different reasons for doing so. Failed once before, they are determined to 'run him to the
earth' (as McKiernan often says in the story) and punish him for his awful deeds. They start by
hunting Stoke in the icy north on top the great glacier that Stoke was originally imprisoned in.
When he escapes their clutches there they are forced to travel across the vast desert of Karoo to
consult a elusive oracle of his whereabouts. After a dangerous escape from the City of Assassins,
they finally complete their mission and kill Stoke, though the price of their conquest is the life of
one of their dear companions.

McKiernan leaves the book open for the sequel to continue, (I can't wait to get my hands on it!)
but don't worry! It really isn't a cliff hanger or anything. The story of Faeril and Gwylly and the
hunt for Stoke (where the focus of the story has been) is completely wrapped up at the book's
conclusion.

I recommend this book, but not to anyone who dislikes long descriptions and extraneous stuff in
the story not directly related to the main plot of the book.

I read fantasy novels for my own entertainment. I do not concern myself with trifles. I simply want to read something fun. If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings, you probably will enjoy this. It was entertaining and that is my sole criteria in a fantasy novel.

McKiernan is an extraordinary storyteller. I will be thinking about the ending for months. The villain, Baron Stoke, is the absolute best, worst villain I've ever encountered in movie or novel. He makes that evil, child-murdering British captain in the Patriot movie look like Richard Simmons.

This is the first time I've felt strongly enough about a book to give it a review. It deserves the highest rating. Get in your most comfortable reading chair and enjoy Eye of the Hunter.

I read this book two years ago when a friend recommended it. It's got everything you could want in a fantasy novel: realistic characters, action, drama, comedy, religious allegory, love, vengeance, a "can't put this book down" plot, and a setting which rivals Tolkien's Middle Earth. It's a little longer than the average fantasy novel, but you'll want even more when you're done reading it! Also read "Tales of Mithgar" for more stories about the original search for Stoke, and "Voyage of the Fox Rider" to learn about Aravan's history (I'm still waiting for the sequel to this one!)

This is one of my favorite all-time books in any genre. I love the way it combines non-stop adventure with engrossing, in-depth analysis of all the major characters and their actions. I also enjoy the way the book switches from its present to various scenes and events in the characters' past and back to the present.

This was the first book of Dennis McKiernans' I ever read; it wasn't the last. I've told everyone I know to read this book and have even given it to several people.
I tried to read the Hobbit series several times and I just can't get into it. I can't put this book down. The characters are so well developed that they don't just talk to each other; they talk to you. You truly feel that you are there, observing the going-ons in person. The comments about humans and religion are right-on the spot. Some of the events described in the book can make you laugh, others will make you cry, still others will make you ponder. Well worth reading any and every chance you get.

I read fantasy novels for my own entertainment. I do not concern myself with trifles. I simply want to read something fun. If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings, you probably will enjoy this. It was entertaining and that is my sole criteria in a fantasy novel.

McKiernan is an extraordinary storyteller. I will be thinking about the ending for months. The villain, Baron Stoke, is the absolute best, worst villain I've ever encountered in movie or novel. He makes that evil, child-murdering British captain in the Patriot movie look like Richard Simmons.

If I simply like a book, I give it 3 stars. If I thought it was a great book, I give it 4, but if the power of the story continues to haunt me long after I've shelved the book, it gets 5. Get in your most comfortable reading chair and enjoy Eye of the Hunter.

"The Eye of the Hunter" is the last of the Mithgar novels that I have read, and it certainly wasn't the best. McKiernan at his best elicits three stars from me, and this wasn't a three-star book. Preachy, poorly-characterized, and sagging under self-importance, this is a big miss.
The comet "Eye of the Hunter" is a sign that the evil Baron Stoke will be hunted by a certain group. The Warrow Faeril, who is one of the "Lastborn Firstborns," seeks and finds the other Lastborn Firstborn, Gwylly Fenn, and the two head off to find the immortal Elf Riatha. Centuries before, Riatha and the ancestors of Gwylly and Faeril tried to hunt down Stoke, and trapped him in a glacier along with the bear-man Urus.

They go to the glacier with the Elven ex-mariner Aravan (who is searching for an evil creature that Stoke fits the description of), only to find that Stoke has escaped -- and despite a thousand years, Urus is still alive. The band of shapeshifters, Warrows and Elves sets off across the known world to find Stoke -- and set into motion events that will change everything.

One of the worst tendencies in these books is to preach. Lots of preaching. In this case, McKiernan bangs the reader over the head with pages and pages of Aravan whining about how the dumb shortsighted humans are always polluting the air and sea, (note to McKiernan: Sewage in the ocean would NOT be a huge pollution problem!) as well as a snotty commentary on certain Christian religious beliefs (in Aravan's obnoxious little anecdote, McKiernan shows a frightening lack of logical thought). During the "oath" ceremony (where Gwylly and Faeril sort of get married), we also get a very long and boring "relationship" lecture that sounds straight out of a marital counselling session with lots of talk about "common ground" and interests and so on. And enough with the love-at-first-sight! I believe that there is such a thing, but in many of McKiernan's books, he uses it instead of slowly developing a relationship between the characters, as he does here with Gwylly and Faeril. (And I am not particularly interested in hearing about who Aravan and Riatha sleep with)

As before, McKiernan bogs down his book with loads of travelling details and pointless pondering. He tells us way more than we want to know in some instances, such as the really gross details in fight scenes. (Enough with the intestines! I don't want to hear about people being eviscerated) And, once more, there is a lot of repetitive stuff -- if I had to hear once more about how an Elf's immortal life is "always just beginning," I would have torn the book in half.

And as before, his world is entirely unoriginal. Mithgar (whose root word is the same as "Middle-Earth") is a pale clone of J.R.R. Tolkien's works -- the Warrows are basically hobbits, the Elves have most (but not all of -- like ethereality) the characteristics of Tolkien's elves, Urus is quite similar to Beorn the Bear-Man, and dozens of other little things. Heck, there's even a story which is obviously lifted from LOTR's "Dead Marshes." And McKiernan even manages to copy himself -- the Warrows-living-in-Arden-Vale is similar to that in the Hel's Crucible duology, and Gwylly has never been around other Warrows, like the protagonist of that duology.

Another problem is that this is so closely linked with "Tales of Mithgar" that a lot of readers may have trouble reading it by itself. And the characters aren't quite as they were before. Aravan is still very dull; Riatha has lost the toughness that made her interesting before, and now she cries and moons endlessly over Urus, who has likewise become very soppy and lovestruck. Gwylly and Faeril are interesting separately, but together they are so sugary-sweet that they turned my stomach. (Especially since there is no rational reason for them to be in love -- they become sweeties after knowing each other for about a day, sleep together, and then get married -- they barely even know each other). No wonder Aravan was getting moody -- between Urus/Riatha and Gwylly/Faeril, the constant gooey romance in here is incredibly annoying.

I only recommend this book if you're on one of those incredibly long plane flights, and have nothing else to read. Irritating, poorly plotted, and with characters to set your teeth on edge, this is not a keeper.

I read this book a while ago, and while not my favorite McKiernan, it was my first and is still a great book. The thing I like most about McKiernan's work is that he infuses it with his own philosophy about things. And isn't that what great writers do? Try to teach us? I think they idea that the elves constantly wonder how long the humans can abuse the planet is quite topical being that we may actually be at a point in our history where we've done more damage than we can repair. Usually people who dislike being preached to simply don't wish to hear the truth. Either way, McKiernan makes his point in a way that fits with the story and doesn't disrupt the narrative.

The characters are also well done and beautifully crafted.

People will always complain about any story set in a fantasy setting that they've ripped off Tolkien, but that's simply not true. Tolkien did not invent elves or dwarves or knights or rogues or menacing evils and quests to stop them. Tolkien lifted his "dwarves" and all their names, including Gandalf's from Norse history, and if you read a little Joseph Campbell you'll realize that the archetypes described in Tolkien's works have been present for a very long time.

Tolkien did what he did well, but he wasn't the father of Fantasy and attempts to call everyone after him a ripoff is simply denying a good story for nothing. McKiernan crafts an excellent story here and I've pretty much enjoyed all his Mithgar books (By the way, to someone who said Mithgar is a blatant rip off of Tolkien's Middle Earth, Tolkien's Middle-Earth is simply the translation of Midgard, the Norse land).

This book by McKiernan is the first book in my life that I have ever found to be both interesting and insanely boring at the same time.

While the plot is sound and you care about the outcome of the main characters, you constantly find your interest fading in his constant verbose passages about absolutely nothing. The first three hundred pages seem to be him setting the scene for something that never happens, and appears to just be taking up unnecessary space.

Of most annoyance are plot hints that are dropped here and there as though no one would pick up on them, but easily give away the outcome of the book.

I give it a solid 2 simply for the fact that the outcome was important enough to me for me to finish it. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, however, as it is extremely heavy reading and difficult to push yourself through.

This was overall a BRILLIANT book with many great parts and a couple of sad ones too. However as it came to a close i found myself still waiting for it to finish. There is a lot of room left for a sequal and i'm not claiming to have read all his books so i dont know if there is one, but if there is i'de like to know it's name(you can email me at the above address anytime). if there is a sequal around (or even on the way) then i'de re-rate this book as a 5 star.. but for now it only makes 4...