Kevin's Watch

The two-volume Mordant's Need is a masterwork of high fantasy and political intrigue. Beginning with the deliberately simplistic language of a fairy tale, Donaldson quickly sheds all pretense of simplicity and envelops the reader in a wonderfully complex world of treachery and manipulation, garnished with a brilliantly inventive brand of magic known as imagery, wherein real magic is literally done "with mirrors".

He takes his time with the story, drawing out the events and characters with a practiced eye for detail, and the result is nearly perfect. The story, though strongly plot driven, simply would not work without the complex and thorough characterizations he gives the reader. Oftentimes when reading a book that throws so many diverse characters into the mix, I find myself losing track of who is who, and what name fits which figure, which rarely fails to seriously detract from a novel. Here, however, the author gives the reader time to get to know each character as he is introduced, resulting in a tight read despite the story's rambling length. The only place in which this backfires on him is when it once or twice seems to take the characters an inordinantly long time to figure things out that the reader sees almost immediately. This is not as bad as it might be, however, because the writing style and plotting are able to generate enough interest to carry through these weak points.

In scope the story rivals such works as Tolkein's infamous Lord of the Rings, but without the pretensions that have sadly become common in works of high fantasy. Even as he incorporates the impossible through means of the mirrors, his characters are firmly grounded in realism, and seem as though they might have been plucked from the real world -- a sense that he reinforces with the fact that Terisa, the main character, is in fact plucked from the real world at the beginning of the book.

The political intrigue throughout the story is built on a foundation of a convincing backstory for the kingdom and its inhabitants. The history of Mordant is strongly influenced by Arthurian legend, with a powerful king who single-handedly united various warring dukedoms and brought peace to the land, winning the fierce loyalty of his subjects and building the castle of Orison as a shining testament of his success. Only in Mordant, the king was never betrayed, and did not subsequently die in battle; instead he lives long enough to go senile and thus make his achievements vulnerable to old rivals, while his subjects are torn between their loyalty to the king they love and the defense of the realm.

The story is not so simple, though. On a regular basis, Donaldson reveals that all is not as it seems, and just as we become accustomed to the new order of things, he throws another wrench into the works.

There are a few points where the author slips, and allows, albeit briefly, his editorial seams to show. Most prominent of these is when Terisa, seemingly at random, returns to her own world, and by enormous coincidence is allowed to immediately tie off all those unresolved loose ends she left dangling when she disappeared, and then through plot convenience is able to easily return to the thick of the action in Mordant. For a matter of a few short pages, Donaldson loses the story's realism, because he allows himself to take a cheap shortcut rather than finding a better way to accomplish the same end. This is the weakest part of the book, but as stated it lasts only a few pages (out of roughly 1300 pages of overall story), and is easily forgiven in light of the events following.

Mordant's Need is an impressive feat of storytelling. The story is massive but tightly focused, the characters diverse yet individually memorable, and the setting complex while cohesive. The result is engaging and persistently entertaining.

Mordant's Need


Stephen R. Donaldson is the best-selling author of many books including the series: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and Mordant's Need. He has received various awards, including the first prize of the British Science Fiction Society and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.




A review by Steve Lazarowitz


Stephen R. Donaldson has a penchant for creating unlikeable protagonists. In his first series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, he gives us a leper, brought to a strange fantasy land, who adamantly insists he doesn't have the power to save the world... throughout the entire trilogy.

In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the first book of the Mordant's Need series, he gives us Terisa, a young woman brought to a strange fantasy land, who adamantly insists she doesn't have the power to save the world. I suppose she hadn't read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.

Actually the word series truly can't be applied to Mordant's Need, since the sequence contains only two books, The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through. However, the two books, each contain two books, so depending on how you see things, you either have a two book set or a four book set. I prefer to compromise and think of it as a trilogy contained in two volumes. I suppose you could call it a duology, if you like.

Terisa, the protagonist of Mordant's Need, is unworldly, unimaginative, and not terribly aware of what's going on around her. Yet in spite of this, I care what happens to her, and to Mordant, the fantasy land she adamantly insists she can't save. In fact, I really enjoyed this book. I'm beginning to suspect if Stephen R. Donaldson wrote "blah, blah, blah" on a napkin, in crayon, I'd adore it.

It has to do with his style of writing. Mr. Donaldson puts words together in ways that make me happy I've learned to read. From the very first words, Donaldson picks me up and carries me along. Take a look for yourself...

The story of Terisa and Geraden began very much like a fable. She was a princess in a high tower. He was a hero come to rescue her. She was the only daughter of wealth and power. He was the seventh son of the lord of the seventh Care. She was beautiful from the auburn hair that crowned her head to the tips of her white toes. He was handsome and courageous. She was held prisoner by enchantment. He was a fearless breaker of enchantments.
As in all fables, they were made for each other.

Unfortunately, their lives weren't that simple.

For example, her high tower was a luxury condominium building over on Madison, just a few blocks from the park.

This is just the sort of opening that reels me in. And the quality of writing never falters. Fortunately the story line is as good as the writing.
Terisa surrounds herself with mirrors, in an attempt to prove to herself she exists. Geraden is clumsy and always getting himself into trouble. One day, he accidentally crashes into her apartment through one of the mirrors, and asks her to return with him to Mordant, and, Terisa, being the non-entity she is, can't say no. She travels through the mirror into Mordant, where mirrors don't cast reflections, but are used by wizards called imagers, who use the power of mirrors to do all sorts of interesting and improbable things.

In Mordant, mirrors are gateways to other realities. They can be used for good, such as producing water to combat a drought, or evil, by sending a stream of fire into an opposing army, or summoning some grotesque, hideous nightmare creature and setting it lose to terrorize... which is the sort of thing that's been happening more and more.

Mordant's Need is filled with political struggles. The Congery, a collection of imagers initially brought into being by King Joyse, is at the center of the plots, since it is obviously an imager that is behind the dangerous creatures that seem to be taking the Kingdom by storm. Cadwell and Alend, two neighboring countries, are ready to go to war to attack King Joyse's realm in its weakness, and still the King does nothing, nothing but play hopboard (which we know as checkers) with Adept Havelock. Without King Joyse's leadership, the Congery, and the various noble houses normally under his rule, are left to fend for themselves, often at cross purposes.

Terisa tends to grate on my nerves, particularly in her denial of her own existence. It was fine for a chapter or two, but by the halfway mark, it began to feel like suspiciously like whining. However, the rest of the plot is so intricately woven and wonderfully conceived, my lack of sympathy for the protagonist barely registered.

Mordant is alive with intrigue, plots, counter-plots, even subplots and there are plenty of interesting characters to go around. Master Eremis, a handsome and powerful imager, plays a game of his own. Master Quillon, a nervous and loyal servant of King Joyse, is horrified at what the King has become, Adept Havelock, called the King's Dastard, once a powerful imager in his own right, is now hopelessly reduced to insanity -- yes this book is filled with very real characters who populate a world steeped in detail.

Add to this some great fantasy elements, Donaldson makes the most of his "mirror magic", and you have a formula for a rousing story, awesome in construction, vivid in description and fascinating in concept.

The trade paperback re-release of Mordant's Need is not completely unexpected, nor is it unwarranted. If you didn't catch the duology the first time around, I highly suggest you add it to your book list.

Mordant's Need, in spite of its unlikeable heroine, is a winner in my book.


Copyright © 2003 Steve Lazarowitz
Steve Lazarowitz is a speculative fiction writer, an editor, a father, a husband, an animal lover and a heck of a nice guy (not necessarily in that order). Steve lives in Moonah, Tasmania with his family and four giant spiny leaf insects. You can check out his work at www.dream-sequence.net.

Steve L wrote:I'm beginning to suspect if Stephen R. Donaldson wrote "blah, blah, blah" on a napkin, in crayon, I'd adore it.

First Reviewer wrote:There are a few points where the author slips, and allows, albeit briefly, his editorial seams to show. Most prominent of these is when Terisa, seemingly at random, returns to her own world, and by enormous coincidence is allowed to immediately tie off all those unresolved loose ends she left dangling when she disappeared, and then through plot convenience is able to easily return to the thick of the action in Mordant. For a matter of a few short pages, Donaldson loses the story's realism, because he allows himself to take a cheap shortcut rather than finding a better way to accomplish the same end. This is the weakest part of the book, but as stated it lasts only a few pages (out of roughly 1300 pages of overall story), and is easily forgiven in light of the events following.

Steve Lazarowitz wrote:Terisa tends to grate on my nerves, particularly in her denial of her own existence. It was fine for a chapter or two, but by the halfway mark, it began to feel like suspiciously like whining. However, the rest of the plot is so intricately woven and wonderfully conceived, my lack of sympathy for the protagonist barely registered.

The Mordant's Need Double Novel
Greetings all! Since this is the first review for the February Issue of Sabledrake, I thought it would be best to review a novel that had a romance theme to it. As such, I picked a pair of books that fit the bill, and should please even the most devout fantasy fan.

I found these books quite by accident - browsing the paperback rack at a local grocery store one day - and, since then these two books have been a steadfast fixture in my collection. Written by Stephen R. Donaldson, a man who wrote the entertaining trilogy "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever", these two novels cover the events of an epic struggle to save a kingdom in peril, while dealing with the central theme of an unlikely romance.

The primary character is Terisa, a daughter of a wealthy man in our modern world. She's the product of a neglectful parentage; sheltered and protected, while at the same time never acknowledged nor encouraged by her father or his 'trophy wife' of a mother. Forced to rely on herself, Terisa finds herself wishing for a better life than the one she now lives; working in a volunteer shelter, with no hope of ever being truly alive.

Then enters a most unlikely savior; Geraden, a young man from a providence in the kingdom of Mordant. He's an acolyte Imager - one that can summon up things from specially made curved mirrors - whom is used by his elders to try to bring a champion to save Mordant from the encroachment of an enemy monarch. Accidentally, he brings Terisa into his world and almost from the get-go she finds herself caught in between the struggles of the various factions trying to wrest the kingdom away from the benevolent-yet-neglectful ruler, King Joyce. While some are obviously in the struggle to better the kingdom, others are just pawns for the true villain, like the Castellan, Lebbick, who quickly becomes one of the tragic figures of the story.

In the middle of this, Geraden and Terisa end up chasing (figuratively) one another in a dance of a relationship. At one point, Terisa isn't sure she wants to be involved with the slightly-clumsy, eager young man, choosing instead to get near the dashing, confident and amorous Master Eremis; one of the leaders of the Congury. Towards the end of the tale though, Terisa soon realizes it's Geraden that she loves, though it takes a while for them both to realize it.

Aside from Geraden, I'd be amiss not to mention his other brothers, all of whom Terisa meets during the course of the tale; Artagel, a skilled swordsman; Tholden, Geraden's older brother & heir to their father's title; Stead, the 'family scapegrace', a man that can't seem to keep his hands off of women, even Terisa! These are just some of the ensemble of characters that come and go in the course of this tale. All of whom are figurative and literal pieces in this 'game' where the ultimate prize is the kingdom of Mordant, and life itself.

So, with that in mind, here's what I think of this book. For starters, Donaldson is a fantastic world-weaver. The vistas and settings in this double novel are rich and very visual. From Terisa's apartment to King Joyce's castle, and to the lands of Mordant themselves reach far into the reader's mind to view them. Visualization is also key to the results of the magic of Imagery. When anything is conjured up from the curved mirrors, you can't help but feel the menace of just how powerful this unique twist on mirror magic is; whether its ravenous beasts to swarms of insects to the virtual creation of an earthquake in the final battle.

His use of characterization and characters themselves is one of the keys in this book. For a cast this large, the author makes good use of each individual; even the lesser ones that only appear for one chapter. Everyone has a part to play, from Terisa and Geraden to the Congery's 'champion', who later proves to add a little sci-fi twist to this overall fantasy tale.

Some people may not care for the length of this tale - spanning four books and a whopping fifty-two chapters - and some of the content of the book; which does have some scenes of violent death, the aftermath of a woman nearly beaten to death and some language that is not intended for children. However, aside from these weak points, this is still a gripping tale. Not once does it slow to an agonizing pace, nor does it inundate the reader with meaningless exposition or "techno/fantasy blab".

Overall, Donaldson has a good pair of books here. Aside from the gore and the language, it's a nice read, equal to some of the longer works of fiction out in the fantasy ranks. Most however recommend you read the "Chronicles of Thomas Convenant" first, but in truth you can't be too wrong with either those or these books, as they showcase Donaldson's true talent of an epic fantasy writer. If you're not into intrigue or a long march to a climax, this is not a story for you, but if you like a romance that transcends the usual "Harlequin"-style stories as of late, definitely check these out!

Stonehand reviews Mordant's Need by Steven R. Donaldson
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Yes, there's a motive behind these reviews! There are lots of books, an overabundance of writers, and more serials out there than any of us can count! But I don't acknowledge works of lesser literary value (i.e. some of the serials based on the popular "Dungeons and Dragons" game, for example) and fairly abhor the hurried scribblings of formula novelists.
That narrows the field of notable authors considerably and leaves far less for us to read than some of us would care to think about.
Donaldson is a versatile writer who is equally comfortable with fantasy or science fiction. Mordant's Need is Donaldson's second great fantasy work and consists of two thick volumes entitled "The Mirror of Her Dreams" and "A Man Rides Through".
The first time I read this story I had a difficult time getting through the first volume, and other people have told me that it is slow to develop. But upon second scrutiny of the tale, I have no idea what held me back in that first reading! It is a genuinely original tale (something rare these days) that moves right along from the first page to the last.
Now, part of my reason for reviewing this series is due to the response of readers who have attempted (and failed) to read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because of the overwhelming atmosphere of depression in that former story. I would hesitate to classify Donaldson as a "depressing writer", though I've definately heard that said of him. And an honest reading of "Mordant's Need" will support me in the conclusion that he is not a depressed writer.
Mordant's Need breaks ground in a number of ways that establishes this tale as one of my all-time favorites. Donaldson is endlessly creative in his conception of a whole new and original magic system unlike any other. The awesome depth of that magic is a part of the mystique of the story and lends an original aspect to the characters who utilize such magic. Furthermore, the twisted and interwoven plots and subplots of this story are highly remeniscent of Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, even though Mordant's Need was released years before the appearance of the first volume of Jordan's mega-hit.
As always with Donaldson's characterizations, the heroes of the tale are believably ordinary people faced with a dilemma that is as massive and original as the story it becomes. And in the course of their struggles they manage to become the problem and the solution at the same time.
"Mordant's Need" reveals itself in more human terms that some of Donaldson's previous works. It is as much a love story as it is an epic fantasy of high adventure and high intrigue. The primary characters endear themselves to the reader, and the world this story encompasses is well developed and memorable. It is a remarkably interwoven story of kindness and innocense, treachery and deceit; trust and honor versus doubt and treason, and strength in arms versus forbidden magic.
And there is an extra treat. In this finely crafted tale of men and magic, court intrigue and high adventure, the main character is a woman! And yes, she is the unwitting heroin of the story, trapped in a land where women have few (if any) rights and virtually no voice. I have always admired Donaldson's handling of the female character and his ability to treat his female characters without the usual underlying (male) resentment to their equality or to their roles as heroins.
This is a story for everyone who likes truly great fantasy fiction and its value as a true literary work in undeniable.

Stonehand wrote:I have always admired Donaldson's handling of the female character and his ability to treat his female characters without the usual underlying (male) resentment to their equality or to their roles as heroins.

Submitted by Sean M (Nov 15, 2004)
I've read lots of books over the years, by Donaldson and others, and Mordant's Need is still by far the most profound and thoroughly enjoyable experience I've had with a book.

It deals primarily with the theme of inneffectuality, and passivity. The heroine, Terisa, is haunted nightly by overwhelming feelings of nonexistence. Affecting nothing, loved and needed by no one, she sits in her apartment staring into mirrors in order to still her fear that she will fade from existence, and she knows nobody will miss her is she does. Her job is so passive that a copy machine could replace her. Her father only gave her her own apartment to keep her out of his sight.

As she looks into the mirror, trying to keep herself from fading away, a man suddenly bursts out of it, and tells her that she's champion his kingdom desperately needs. Be begs her to come with him to save his world. Since she's not needed at all in her own world, she agrees to go with him.

What follows is one of the most enthralling adventures ever committed to prose. The kingdom is coming to shambles because the King, once the most assertive, effectual leader an innovater in history, has gone passive and senile in his old age. He does nothing but play checkers while his kingdom is attacked by vile monsters translated from other worlds.

The pleas of his oldest friends and family to do something, anything, about it are met with nothing but weary cynicism and inaction.

Yet for what he has done in the past, he is still loved by all of them to the point that every one of them becomes torn, impaled on their own loyalty and need.

Every character struggles with their loyalty to the great ruler he once was, and their apparent need to save the world from the pathetic doddard he has become. Or has he?

It is Terisa's job to find out the truth, and learn who she really is and what she must do to meet Mordent's Need. She believes herself to be unimportant, there by accident. But if she's not the champion this realm needs, then why does someone keep trying to kill her?

Donaldson has a knack for taking old cliche themes and using them as a setting for telling deeply personal and human stories. The kings, castles, dungeons, etc., are so alive in this book you will be blown away, even if you thought you didn't 'like that sort of thing.'

His story is so polished that you can be sure if a character so much as breathes the wrong way, it will eventually be crucial to the plot. The smallest loose ends and subplots are so tightly grafted with the plot that you will (repeatedly) find yourself shocked, surprised, and gratified with every new turn.

Ultimately, the story drives home the message that one can dominate their own inneffectuality by disregarding their own self-image, and simply doing what needs to be done. As he puts it (repeatedly, Donaldson has a thing for repetition) "problems should be solved by those who see them."

But that's not the best part. The real fun with the book are the multitude of characters. So many that you would think you could lose track. But magically, you never do. Every character, from the lowest maid, to the highest kings, has their own personal demons to overcome, or to be overcome by. You will not believe the depth the Author gives to every single player in this tale. Every one of them will affect the choices of Terisa in some important way, and thusly, the fate of the world.

If you only have one more thing to read before you die, read this. I wouldn't steer you wrong!