The Dragonstone (Mithgar) (Paperback)

by Dennis L. McKiernan (Author), Donato Giancola (Illustrator) "Lighting stroked the night, the glare flaring through the narrow windows, thunder rolling after..." (more)
Key Phrases: rutting peacock, cursed keeper, tiger whispers, Dara Arin, High King, Lady Arin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Like his previous 11 fantasy novels (Caverns of Socrates, etc.), McKiernan's 12th takes readers to the world of Mithgar with a tale of a grand quest. A vision of bloody world war forces the novel's heroines, Arin, an elf of the mysterious deep woods of Dylvana, and Aiko, a female warrior, to take up an arduous mission to find the missing Dragonstone, a magical gem of immense power, before it can fall into evil hands. Their first stop is a disreputable tavern, where they seek a one-eyed man to fulfill the requirements of a riddle given to Arin in a vision. Since they find two one-eyed candidates, the local drunk and a recently wounded warrior, Arin and Aiko take both along on a roundabout journey full of danger, dragons and other morsels from the standard fantasy menu. Although there is enough detail here to satisfy readers who revel in baroquely textured fantasy worlds, McKiernan seems more interested in pairing off his characters romantically than in the quest itself. This tale of early Mithgar does not stand up to the author's other popular books, but it will keep most hardcore fans of large-scale fantasy entertained nonetheless.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
McKiernan returns to his world of Mithgar about three centuries before The Voyage of the Fox Rider (1993). The story is a fairly standard quest for a talisman, the Dragonstone, which the Lady Arin seeks in order to forestall a nightmarish invasion of Mithgar by hordes of dragons she has seen in visions. McKiernan is either learning more history and folklore as he goes or drawing more skillfully on his existing knowledge, because the level of world building rises in each Mithgar novel. The land and its history now have a very lived-in quality. Furthermore, the pacing is brisk and the prose serviceable, although the cast of characters is large enough to give McKiernan problems in developing some of them and the reader problems in keeping track of them. Still, this will hardly repel any of the readers who have become absorbed in Mithgar. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Roc (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451454561
• ISBN-13: 978-0451454560
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #437,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good book, but it falls short of his others, November 10, 1998

By A Customer

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, December 9, 2004

By	Christopher R. Magee "fenryswulf" (Naperville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best, but worth reading, March 27, 2001

By	Katrina (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

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.