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Mirror of Her Dreams (Mordant's Need, Vol 1) [Paperback]

Stephen Donaldson (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 16, 1987 Mordant's Need, Vol 1
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.


From the Trade Paperback edition.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a followup to his bestselling Thomas Covenant trilogies, Donaldson presents another lengthy, dense fantasy adventure in the first of the two-book sequence Mordant's Need. This first volume introduces the land of Mordant, beset from without by armies and monsters and from within by plots, dissension and madness. The search for a champion goes awry as the Congery of Imagers first lures poor little rich girl Terisa Morgan from our world, and then snatches a mysterious warrior whose futuristic weapons destroy part of the castle he is supposed to defend. Terisa rises to the challenge, quickly becoming a key figure, a wild card among the many cliques and powers vying to save or seize king and kingdom. Donaldson scores with the magic discipline of imagery, in which mirrors serve as windows on alternate worlds. His characterization, however, is either derivative or programmatic (in a world without ordinary mirrors, no one can be taken at face value). Readers are likely to be hooked by the interlocking intrigues and progressive revelations among a large cast in a vast old castle riddled with secret passageshooked, but probably disappointed, for this overlong volume is all buildup for the second. 200,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Once again Stephen R. Donaldson, has created a shining example that proves his gift as a master storyteller. It is the story of Terisa Morgan and Geraden, son of the Domme, set in the strange land called Mordant. It is a rich and finely textured novel of love and lust, power and court politics, in a place where nothing is ever what it seems.... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 658 pages
  • Publisher: Fontana; New Ed edition (July 16, 1987)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0006173993
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006173991
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.6 x 1.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,128,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

102 Reviews
5 star:
 (64)
4 star:
 (18)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (8)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (102 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid fantasy novel, June 13, 2000
I literally stumbled over this book on a flea market, not aware it was on the first part of an amazing two-volumes novel by Donaldson. And it took me quite some time to find the sequel...

Still, this book had a great impact of me. It was one of those novels you can read from the first to the last page, without any interruption, mostly because of the main character, a young frustrated woman brought into a new world, a parallel universe, middle-age style, where magic still exists...

Slowly, over the time she spends in this world, she gets rid of her own problems, getting more and more involved in the intrigues of this fantastic world she starts to like more and more, until she arrives at the point where she has the possibility to go back, but finally doesnt...

I particularly liked that the main character was a woman, who finally will be able to make her way in this world dominated by prejudiced men...

The plot of the book is just brilliant, the characters fascinating, even the bad guys, and this is a great pleasure to read...

But to find out about all the secrets in this book, you will need to read the equally well written sequel (A man rides through) to this volume and therefore I recommend you greatly to buy the two books together if you want to read this story.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My FAVOURITE 2-volume series of all time!!!, March 10, 1998
By A Customer
I have read Tolkien, Brooks, Eddings, etc. and enjoyed them. But this series had one unique element which I have never seen in any other fantasy novel. It had the development of a magic (mirrors) and its uses which the characters slowly discovered as the story progressed. This can usually only be found in a good Sci-Fi novel with the development of a technology. I simply could not believe (to my enjoyment) how far he took the concept of mirrors and their discovered abilities and uses for good and evil. It was not simply "find sword, discover how to use sword, kill evil with sword".

I think the most amazing thing these books did was combine elements of all genres! An almost impossible task, but it turned out amazingly well! Fantasy, action, adventure, intrigue, romance, humour, suspense, horror, sci-fi, and more! In fact, make sure you have the second volume sitting right in front of you when you finish the first. Trust me.

Also, if anyone reads this review who HAS read these books and enjoyed them as much as I have, I want you to email me the titles of any which could be similar in caliber and content. I simply cannot find any--and I have read many. Thanks!

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, February 26, 2003
Teresa Morgan, a lonely, ordinary woman in our world, steps through a mirror in her apartment and finds herself in the land of Mordant. Geraden, son of the Domme, thinks that she is a powerful Imager, one who can manipulate the magic of mirrors, and believes that she is the key to saving their world. The only problem is, Teresa feels they have made a terrible mistake. But even her attempts to deny this alleged importance cannot save her from being sucked into a web of mystery, intrigue, danger, and betrayal. And just when things couldn't get any worse, the Congery of Imagers take matters into their own hands, setting even more catastrophic events into motion.

I have to admit that this book tends to be a little slow in the beginning, and I even found myself skimming a few parts. But if you can manage to hang in there, things really start to pick up and very soon you'll be hooked. Nothing is as straightforward as the characters think, and treachery, deceit, and lies run deeper than they could ever imagine. Just when you think you've got it figured out, the story takes a different turn and you're left scratching your head again in puzzlement. The one thing that really connected me to this book is the fact that the main characters constantly struggle to understand what is really going on, and I found myself right there in Teresa's shoes, feeling completely frustrated and paranoid ... not knowing at all who to trust!

Just a little warning, this book ends with a nail-biting cliffhanger. And trust me, you'll want to have the sequel (A Man Rides Through) handy as soon as you finish the last page. If it weren't for the slow pace in the beginning, and a few spots of tiresome info-dumps, I would have rated this one five stars. But, it definitely gets four stars for eventually grabbing hold and not letting me go, and for making me want to rush out and buy the sequel!

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
The night before Geraden came for her, Terisa Morgan had a dream-one of the few she could ever remember. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
band knotted, peacock rooms, chosen champion, black vapor
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Master Eremis, Castellan Lebbick, Prince Kragen, Master Gilbur, Master Quillon, Adept Havelock, Master Barsonage, Alend Monarch, Apt Geraden, High King's Monomach, Terisa of Morgan, Reverend Thatcher, King of Mordant, Queen Madin, Care of Tor, Alend Lieges, Care of Domne, Care of Perdon, Closed Fist, Miss Morgan, Terisa Morgan, Care of Armigite, Mordant's King, Nevertheless Terisa
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