Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson

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Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson

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This review was originally written in December 2005 and is being posted here as part of a project to gather all of my reviews into a single location. This was probably the third or fourth time I had read the Mordant’s Need duology which remains to date my favorite of Donaldson’s books.

Mirror of Her Dreams is book one of the two book Mordant’s Need sequence written by Stephen R. Donaldson. Unlike his Thomas Covenant books, this is a more traditional fantasy sequence in what is (at least on the surface) a traditional medieval type of fantasy world. As such it is probably much more accessible than Donaldson’s other work. It’s also much less harsh that much of his other writing.

Mirror of Her Dreams is a very slow paced book as the central character, Terisa Morgan, is initially very passive and slow to take any actions. As a result the convoluted plotting unfolds in a small number of locations and largely progresses through conversations between key characters.

Some people may find this style of storytelling frustrating, but since I found the characters, particularly Geraden easy to relate to, this style was quite compelling. I’m not sure that all of the internal logic and plot twists entirely stand up to repeated re-readings though. Once you know what is going on Terisa starts to look at little slow.

While the world of Mordant doesn’t seem nearly as original as that of the Land, the magic presented in Mirror of Her Dreams is distinctive. Imagery, involves the translation of people, creatures or other objects from something viewed in a specially created mirror. The cleverness is in the details of this magic system. These mirrors don’t show Mordant but other worlds that may or may not really exist. Over the course of the book Donaldson explores the theories of Imagery in some detail and that only adds to the believability of the whole setting.

I’d say that Mirror of Her Dreams and its sequel, A Man Rides Through are the most approachable of any of his novels. The traditional fantasy setting and comparatively (by Donaldson’s standards anyway) simple language make it easier for most people to get into the book. This also may be the most upbeat of any of Donaldson’s novels which makes it a little easier to read for some.