The Mirror of Her Dreams (1986)

It's been years since I have re-read this unusual fantasy duology from Donaldson. I found that I still really enjoy it, and as an adult (as opposed to the teenager I was when I last read it), I understood more of the layers of what was happening in the plot than in previous readings of the story. I still think the idea of mirrors not reflecting what is in front of them, but showing images of other places or times that the creator of the mirror can travel to by stepping THROUGH the mirror, fascinating. I find Terisa's journey fascinating for this reason--for if a place like this (so similar to our own, yet so fundamentally different) really existed, and I was translated there, could I cope even as well as Terisa does?

That being said, sometimes Terisa is a very difficult character to read about--it just takes her SO LONG to grow a backbone and start taking charge of her life. One would think that someone in such extraordinary circumstances would DO more with herself--and yet, upon this reading, I keep thinking that she does do something...its just that she does a lot more inner work, building up her sense of self (and gradually done, as I suppose in "real life" it would be) rather than outward action.

If you find this book slow reading, stay with it. I remember the second book being fantastic, and I hope my re-reading of that novel is as good as I remember it! ( )

Another re read of an old favourite. While I could never get in to the Chronicles as I found Thomas to whiny (though I will confess it has been a good 20 years since I tried) I do like Mordant's Need. Terisa passivity and self doubt can be annoying at times but Gereden must be one of the most endearing characters in Fantasy.

I do find The Mirror drags a little at times (lots of meeting and talking), but there is lots of establishing of the situation and plot and probably very realistically lots of confusion as to who is 'good' or 'bad'. ( )

MORDANTS NEED

The first part of Donaldson's great fantasy-with-a-little-sci-fi-thrown-in duology is my favorite of all his books. ( )

I actually have had this book since it was first released. It was a gift from a co-worker when she made her first 250K month in sales - in the 80's. At the time I had never read anything by Donaldson, and went on to read most of his work, grabbing most of them from college libraries.
Here Donaldson creates a world in a medival setting/time, filled with power thru the use of Imagery, the ability to translate/send/pull objects/people/creatures thru mirrors. Mordrant, the kingdom where this tale takes place, was created to house people with the Imagery talents, and put them to productive, rather than destructive uses. Terisa is from our world. she is taken to Modrant thru a mirror by Gerarden, a young imager who s fiercely loyal to his King. Together they become embroiled in the struggle for Mordrant against multiple forces, all with their own agendas.
As with all of Donaldson's writings, the characters are incredibly robust, very well developed, and the reader gets an excelllent sense of what it is to be each of those players in the grand scheme. The world he has created is wonderful, powerful, and trasnports the reader right into the heart of where Terisa and Gerarden spend their time and adventures. ( )