Customer Reviews

Voyage of the Fox Rider (Mithgar)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

_Voyage of the Fox Rider_ takes the reader on a journey around the world of Mithgar in Aravan's specially-crafted Elven ship. He is accompanied by Jinnarin, a Pysk, and Alamar, a Mage, who are searching for Farrix, Jinnarin's mate. Although the story does involve quite a bit of action and adventure, it is primarily designed as a mystery: what has happened to Farrix, and what is the meaning of Jinnarin's strange dreams?

This book is a must-read for any fan of McKiernan's Mithgar novels, as it fills in the early history of Mithgar and Aravan's sea-faring days (Aravan pops up again later in _The Eye of the Hunter_ and _Silver Wolf, Black Falcon_). However, like all of McKiernan's longer works, _Voyage of the Fox Rider_ also poses some heavy philosophical questions. Alamar and Jinnarin have an extended discussion concerning the definitions of good and evil.

If what you're looking for is a quick read, heavy on the battle scenes and light on character development, this book is not for you. If you're like me, though, you want something that will stay with you long after you've put it down--and _Voyage of the Fox Rider_ does just that.

I believe this is Mr. McKiernan's finest work. Well thought out, plot travels along nicely without giving anything away before it's due time, and extremely well built characters. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Even better than Iron Tower Trilogy. Recommend to all fantasy readers.

Voyage of the Fox Rider is a good work, for those who enjoy a book focused on more than action. A basic fantasy work, it includes Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Fox Riders, Mages, and about anything else you can ask for. It starts out well, with the Pysk Jinnarin asking the Mage Alamar for help in finding her mate.

The book does have its lulls, in which characters discuss moral issues, sail, and travel. This only adds to the book in my opinion, rather than going wildly unrealistic in a fantasy, it includes enough elements to make the characters and conflicts much more believable. The archiac speech of Aravan can be a little hard to get into or believe, but after a while you become used to it. For the hardcore Mithgar fans, a lot of the beginning of the book is repetitive, telling you things you already know about the world of Mithgar. However, it quickly moves from explaining everything to getting on with the plot.

If you are a person who likes books that are high-paced the entire time, you probably own't enjot it. I think the book does a good job of balancing fights and dialouge, and a reader who doesn't mind the occasional lull or moral debate will probably find this a good read.

This is the first book i have read my McKiernan and I loved it. It was a very weird book for me to read. I usually love the fast moving high action books yet Voyage of the Fox Rider kept me coming back for more. The reason I didn't rate it 5 stars was the fact that it went pretty slow. But amazingly i kept turning pages. It is really a great fantasy book.

The Pysk Jinnarin and the grouchy Mage Alamar go on a worldwide travel to find Jinnarin's husband Farrix, whom Alamar owns a favour. And they realize, that Farrix has found out the secrets of a dark mage and is now his prisoner. Now they not only have to free Farrix, but also defeat the dark plans of the dark mage. Again McKiernan tied me to his book, and again I lived in another world while I read it. I just gotta say that every Fantasy fan would love it, and that I sometimes couldn't stop laughing because of the parts in which Alamar and Jinnarin can't stop making trouble with each other, even when their situation gets really dangerous. Not quite his best book, but definitely his funniest.

This is one of my favorite McKiernan novels because of the blend of interesting characters, adventure, philosophy, and loose ends. The interaction between Jinnarin and Alamar is priceless, the philosophical discussions are skillfully kept from becoming tedious, and the references to people, things, and events that occur in other McKiernan books are tantalizing. His non-linear presentation of Mithgar's history and the interweaving of details to connect the various stories are two of the author's strengths as a storyteller. His writing style is rich and his characters vivid. Thank you, Mr. McKiernan!

Like all of McKiernan's novels, this book needed trimming. There were far too many philosophical/religious debates between the main characters. Also, there was good action but you had to read through so much junk to get to it. Aravan and his crew are hard-core, but the rest of the characters fall flat. McKiernan seems to love psychotic villains, and this book is no exception. I just wish that it hadn't required so long to find him and kill him. Please, if you're his editor, encourage him to curb his impulse to jump on a soapbox and preach at us!

I loved this book. I never knew where it was going to go next and it was constantly supprising me. The philisophical discussions were fascinating and really made me think. I almost cried at the end after what happend to Rwn

I enjoyed this book. It has a plot that never seems to stop turning in unexpected directions. And although it is the basic Good against Evil story it has so many unexpected moves that you hardly know what is going to happen next. It also leaves four unanswered questions at the end which keep us waiting for the reaperance of the Dawn Sword and the comming of the Child of Impossibility

Even tough, the book is too detailed about every moment of certain actions that I didn't care about, it still a good book. I had to put this book down several times because it got too slow. The first seven chapters were quite interesting, then it started too slow down. So, I just kept turning pages and when I finally got to the end I was satisfied. This is the first book I read about this author. I got interested about his references to Mithgar and other characters in his other books. I really like the philosophical and theological ideals of this book. I think Dennis McKiernan is a good story teller. I would recommend this book to those who has the time to read a good story.