The Mirror of Her Dreams

I read this long ago when it was first published. I decided to reread this classic fantasy in the hopes my memories of it wouldn't be tarnished. Oh my goodness! In the 30+ years since I read it last (yes, I have the first edition, first printing), I have grown and changed. This book continues to speak to me and, in the mark of a truly great book, it has gained depth as I have.

When I read it long ago, I focused nearly exclusively on the story of Teresa. Now, I found myself watching the story of King Joyse as this seemingly feeble king let his kingdom go to hell in a hand basket. What was he doing? Why? How would this all end?

And yes, watching the psychologically damaged Teresa wander through the story was painful in some ways, but I show more could see her start to grow. That made me happy. And Geradon, what can I say? The oldest apprentice to the mages ever, his earnest caring for people won me over from the start.

The only problem with the book is that you will need the second book, A Man Rides Through, immediately. I remember reading the book the first time. I got to the last page and couldn't believe that the book ended there. I actually checked the card catalog to make sure my book wasn't missing pages. It was a WHOLE YEAR before I got to finish the story. At least now, that isn't an issue.

Who would like it? Readers of fantasy who don't mind taking their time in discovering the ins and outs of a world and its people. If you want a quick read, this series won't be your cup of tea. But if you want a fantasy with people who grow and change, a dose of political intrigue, and good people fighting the dark in the only ways they know how, then this book is for you. show less

Pulled into another dimension by the good-hearted oaf, a young woman tries to navigate court politics in a kingdom on the verge of dissolution.

Oh man, this book was my jam when I was thirteen or fourteen years old, and in retrospect, it's because I hadn't yet discovered romance novels (or Internet porn), so this represented the outer limits of literary Kink for me. The Mirror of Her Dreams was, to me, what Forever Amber or Clan of the Cave Bear or Flowers in the Attic were to other thirteen-year-old readers.

So, when I read this book now and note all the BDSM elements and eighties-romance-genre tropes, I'm willing to concede that my own youthful relationship with the novel may be coloring my interpretation. But, also, I'm inclined to show more think that Author Donaldson is engaging pretty deeply with his personal id. I've never read Lord Foul's Bane all the way through (I think I got to the Signature Rape Scene and then bailed) or his Gap books, but The Mirror of Her Dreams feels...well, on one hand, as if Donaldson is trying to do something somewhat light and commercial (in a mid-eighties publishing universe) but also as if he's way into the kind of genre books that get read by women (in a mid-eighties publishing universe). show less

Mordant's Need has been a favorite of mine since it was published.
The suck fairy has dusted the pages with dander, but that's easily brushed aside.

Donaldson flat out tells readers that this is a fairy tale—and delivers an adventure where a young woman who can't imagine she matters to anyone more than providing clerical services affordably finds herself both treated like a guest in a castle and subject to assassination attempts. A handsome young man strives to protect and engage her, while a seductive older man works to overwhelm her. She speaks of important matters with the King and his daughters. And she gets new clothing!

Since this is the top half of a duology, there is a real cliffhanger ending.

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, show more 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! show less

An interesting premise, though long and drawn out, with the characters exhibiting the same behavior over and over again to the frustration and annoyance of the reader. I felt like the characters weren't learning anything about their situation or themselves. To me, Terisa was extremely unlikable. I didn't feel sympathy for her plight at all. As I said, the premise of the book was interesting, using mirrors to translate between worlds instead of to look at one's image.

Although this can't be called an entirely joyous novel, it is certainly more positive than the Covenanter books (yes, I've read a couple). Teresa is a young woman from our world who has been badly mistreated by her parents - not physically to give them their due, 'just' emotionally - and she has difficulty thinking of herself as a real person so when a strange young man suddenly appears in her apartment through one of the multitude of mirrors glued to her walls, babbling of her being the last hope of a kingdom in peril, she's so entranced by the strangeness of the event that she says 'yes' before fully thinking things through. Taken through the mirror, she finds herself in Mordant where Imagers can do horrible things using specially show more shaped mirrors but neither they, or the country's king will treat Terisa as a real person and she finds herself at the centre of a power struggle she didn't understand. This book of the series sets up the problems facing Mordant so, as I indicated above, it isn't full of hope but the relationship between Terisa and Geraden is fun as is Geraden as a character and at the time it was written, the Imagers were pretty unique, and magic using mirrors isn't particularly common even now so it still read quite fresh which was quite a fun experience in its own right. show less

I read these years and years ago and generally liked them. I had a chance to pick up the first book on super discount and swiped my querido's copy of the second, so now I have the set in my library. The only other Donaldson I've read is Daughter of Regals. According to my querido, those three books are the only ones worth reading. Of course the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever books were all over the bookstores for decades, but they never looked interesting enough to actually read.

Anyway, this is the story of Terisa and Geraden. She's in a meaningless life in New York living in an apartment full of mirrors (to reassure her of her own existence) when Geraden arrives through the mirror to ask her to help save his world. He comes from show more Mordant where mirrors are magical portals, but unknown enemies threaten the kingdom and the old king is ineffective and his chief advisor is insane. It's a classic fantasy adventure with plots, counterplots, plot twists, swordfights, chases, secret passages and secret plans, seduction and romance, magical attacks, and more.

I think the story is quite imaginative and character driven. It explores the morality of magic and power to some degree, and the nature of human relationships. Most of the characters are quite likeable in their separate ways: the king, the princesses, several of the Imagers (who make and use the mirrors), Geraden's family, the prince from the neighboring kingdom, guardsmen. But sometimes I just wanted to kick Terisa for her stupid existential angst and her stupidity in trusting the wrong people in the face of accumulating evidence. I understand why the author developed her the way he did--it was essential to the story--but couldn't he have done it without so much internal monologue, which made the story drag in places? Most of that was in the first book where Terisa is trying to understand what is happening and what her role is. At the end of it she has figured things out and declared herself. The second book is just a straightforward quest to defeat the enemies now revealed as the myriad characters who have a role in the outcome come together. They even have the chance to revisit New York so that she can confront her past (a childhood of neglect and emotional abuse) and put it to bed before getting on with her new, fulfilled, adult life as a survivor. And of course the traits that display her apparent weakness and victimhood turn into her strengths by the end. Certainly it is a story with many positive messages and it all works out in the end. What more can you ask for in a fantasy? show less