Mystic Quest (Bronze Canticles, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Tracy Hickman (Author), Laura Hickman (Author) "The winds were unusually cold for late afternoon, even in the early spring..." (more)
Key Phrases: torusk beast, stone faery, wingless man, Dwarven Road, Master Kenth, Five Domains (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
New readers may find it difficult to get into the Hickmans' second installment in their Bronze Canticles series (after 2004's Mystic Warrior), with its three complex tales set in the parallel worlds of faerie, goblin and human. In the land of the Five Domains, Dragonkings and Dragonqueens destroyed the Rhamasian Empire more than 400 years before; now they're in conflict with rebel humans who possess the Deep Magic rediscovered by blacksmith Galen Arvad 23 years earlier. Mystics can connect to the other worlds in a dream state, but this ability doesn't really add much to the rambling quest Arvad's sons, half-brothers Caelith and Jorgan, embark on to find Calsandria, fabled Lost City of Gods. In the eerie yet lovely fairie world, Princess Aislynn becomes one of the Oraclyn-loi ("Vision Pilgrims in training") to serve Dwynwyn, queen of the dead, and joins a dangerous expedition to discover another lost city. And in the amusing goblin world, Thux, grand wizard to the goblin emperor, finds himself on another life-changing quest. Hopefully, future volumes will tie these disparate elements into a satisfying whole. Agent, Matt Bialer at Sanford Greenburger. (Apr. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A traditional epic fantasy rife with adventure and bloodshed...riddled with rich history and magic." -- Romantic Times on Mystic Warrior --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446612235
• ISBN-13: 978-0446612234
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Bronze Canticles Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fizzle Quest, August 15, 2005

By	GoodRead65 (Southern California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystic Quest (The Bronze Canticles, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The first book, Mystic Warrior, ended with a fledgling rebellion (human), a victory over a massive invasion (faerie), and radical regime change (goblin). Its sequel, Mystic Quest, takes place some two decades later where the original characters are placed in peripheral roles. The human protagonist in the first book, Galen Arvad, now the perfunctory leader of the rebellion against the Pir and their dragon masters, has two sons (from different women) who quest for a mythical safe haven for Arad's people. Dwynwyn, the faery, is now queen of the dead and gives her former charge, Aislynn, a quest to return a similarly lost land. Our intrepid goblin king, Mimic, being threatened by his conniving wife and likeminded daughter, sends his new boss mechanic Thux on a mission that will save both their lives.

As in the first book, the three protagonists face similar goals and challenges and encounter comparable metaphorical dreams as their predecessors did. However, the rift in time between the two books in addition to the new primary characters also insures that MQ suffers from the same thing that MW did - a dreadfully slow start.

Not surprisingly, given the intervening years that separate the two books and the new main characters, we're forced to play catch-up for the first hundred or so pages as we discover: what happened to Bikrita, how did Dwynwyn get to be Queen, what has Mimic been doing for the last 20 years? And so on and so forth.

Add to the slow start, you have some very poorly described events. At the end of one chapter, Arvad and his company are swept away in an avalanche. The chapter ends with him finding five of his cohorts and the melodramatic, "The Mists of Arvad (the name of the expedition) were no more..." However in the very next chapter new survivors seem to pop up with every new paragraph to the point where we are left wondering, how bad was this accident?

And finally, the finale - a convoluted jumble of events that was a complete let down. Instead of ending with a bang, it ended in a sigh, a wheeze, and a gasp.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hours wasted.., August 16, 2005

By	Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mystic Quest (The Bronze Canticles, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Well, I was hoping against hope that this the second book of The Bronze Canticles would be better than the first, after all the world was now established, the characters were set and ready to go... yet, what is in this bookis more drivel and a stalled storyline that leaves the reader ready to abandon the book all together. Don't get me wrong, that's not to say that there aren't a couple good points to this book, but in this novel they are few and far between. Which, is rather disappointing considering the great things Hickman was able to do in the Dragonlance world.

I really wish I could say something positive about this book, but in the end I just can't do it. While it's not the worst book I have ever read, it is surely not the best either... far from the best actually...

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantasy at its very best, April 20, 2005

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mystic Quest (The Bronze Canticles, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Three different dimensions, three different worlds all linked so that the fate of one is the fate of all. It is twenty-three years since the events of Mystic Warrior took place and the sons and daughters get out on their own adventures, hoping to find salvation and a place to call home.

The dragons on the human world are not just killing the mystics but are after the priests who worship them and the peasants who have no say in what the leaders do. Galen's son and his priest half brother are moving south to the lost city of Calgandria if they can find it. The mystics will have a homeland free of persecution but the two brothers have opposing goals on the quest and once it is completed a choice that will mean life or death for humanity will be made.

On the goblin world, King Mimic and the wizard Thux share a dream in which the wizard goes south to the ogre city to find out the relationships between the titans (robots) and the books that make them work. His wife is held hostage to control him, but when he finds a library full of books, he wants Mimic's plan to fail while the ogre king believe that his side will prevail.

In the world of faery, the Kree are going to see if there is a chance they can return to their homeland after the catastrophe destroyed their city. A representative of each of the domains in fairy accompanies the Kree on their expedition. However, a traitor is among them with plans that do not include the Kree or faery; it is up to a deposed princess to stop the villain from carrying out his diabolical plan.

Three different worlds, three heroes who all have dreams to go south and a magical artifact is the deciding factor on the success or failure of the missions that demonstrates that these worlds are definitely linked. Tracey and Laura Hickman have written an enthralling fantasy novel with plenty of action and fully developed characters. MYSTIC QUEST is fantasy at its very best.

Harriet Klausner