A Man Rides Through

Volume II of Mordant's Need

By: Stephen R. Donaldson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the dazzling first volume of Mordant’s Need, New York Times best-selling author Stephen R. Donaldson introduced us to the richly imagined world of Mordant, where mirrors are magical portals into places of beauty and terror. Now, with A Man Rides Through, Donaldson brings the story of Terisa Morgan to an unforgettable conclusion.

Aided by the powerful magic of Vagel, the evil Arch-Imager, the merciless armies are marching against the kingdom of Mordant. In its hour of greatest need, two unlikely champions emerge. One is Geraden, whose inability to master the simplest skills of Imagery has made him a laughingstock. The other is Terisa Morgan, transferred to Mordant from a Manhattan apartment by Geraden’s faulty magic. Together, Geraden and Terisa discover undreamed-of talents within themselves—talents that make them more than a match for any Imager... including Vagel himself.

Unfortunately, those talents also mark them for death. Branded as traitors, they are forced to flee the castle for their lives. Now all but defenseless in a war-torn countryside ravaged by the vilest horrors Imagery can spawn, Geraden and Terisa must put aside past failures and find the courage to embrace their powers—and their love—before Vagel can spring his final trap.

PLEASE NOTE: A Man Rides Through: Volume II of Mordant's Need opens with Book Three, as it continues the story begun in The Mirror of Her Dreams: Volume I of Mordant's Need.

©1987 Stephen R. Donaldson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Thinking person's fantasy

If you're not familiar with the genre of Fantasy, images of hobbits, dwarves, elves, dragons, wizards etc probably come to mind. So if all of that stuff makes you roll your eyes at the thought of such childishness, Stephen Donaldson's "The Mirror of her Dreams" books might be the perfect place to see that there are writers out there who can write original and compelling Fantasy miles away from the cliched and juvenile "classics" of the genre.
My first experience with Fantasy was being forced to read The Hobbit in high school English, and that would have put me off the genre for life had a friend not handed me a copy of the first book in Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" series a few years after that. That book both gave me an appreciation for the genre but also by its sheer brilliance and originality left me finding most other Fantasy boring, cliched and juvenile.
Possibly it is because the Thomas Covenant books, and the book I am reviewing now, "A Man Rides Through" begin in the "real world" before heading off into the realms of the fantastic, that more conventional fantasy doesn't do it for me (well, rarely anyway). But more importantly, it is the characters Donaldson creates that make his writing so original and compelling. His characters are SO flawed, messed up and often sociopathically crazy and morally ambiguous that the cardboard cutouts in other fantasy books read like cartoon characters.
A Man Rides Through is the second and final part of a story called Mordant's Need. Terisa Morgan, daughter of rich American socialites is a shrinking violet so low in self esteem she surrounds herself with mirrors to prove to herself she exists. One night, a klutz of a young magician simply slides out of one of her mirrors and she finds herself translated to his world, a medieval kingdom where the king seems to have gone mad and the kingdom crumbles around him as he locks himself away to play "hop board" , which is a game identical to Chess, with his even madder closest confidante. The plot is too complex to summarise quickly but if you think of a strange brew of House of Cards crossed with The Madness of King George and throw in some magic (which operates by translating images from flat and curved mirrors) that will suffice, for it is the characters and not the plot that makes Donaldson's books so great.
Donaldson loves to cast characters at both ends of the spectrum - from stoically strong to pathetically weak, resolutely strong of mind and will to antisocially crazy and evil.
Mad King Joyce. Even madder Adept Havelock - who is driven mad when he is translated through a mirror he should not have entered, and is also the chief strategist behind the "defence" of the crumbling kingdom. Castellan Lebbick - whose decent into violence and insanity is the result of his unflinching loyalty to the king and the memory of the brutal mass rape of his wife and is the last person in authority to continue trusting The King. Master Eremis - a cunning sociopath bent on manipulating events to overthrow the King. The Tor - a fat, drunken lord who comes to the King seeking justice for his dead son who was killed in the Kings name but is left abandoned and questioning his continued loyalty. Prince Kragen, who is a lifelong enemy of the King but decides that this mad King may actually be worth forming an alliance with as events move forward.
And then there are the "heroes" Terisa & Geraden, who as in many Donaldson tales are often the least likeable characters as they battle their confusion, fear, self doubt and self hate. No one does anti-hero better than Donaldson. The only caveat I would mention is that I am not a fan of any of Donaldson's major female characters throughout his books - he seems to have a predilection for creating weak and demure females - and while often they find their way to some inner strength later in the story, I can see why some people object to his portrayal of females, especially female leads.
Highly recommended if you are interested in seeing what a master of the genre can do without needing to trot out the cliches and stereotypes that most fantasy finds itself mired in.

Narration - previously I've never understood the hype around Scott Brick - but his performance is nigh on perfect and nails Donaldson's tone and style. I read the traditional print format for the first book of this series, but the audiobook of the second, this book, kept me in its spell for the entire week or so it took me to get through it.

ugh

The first book in this series is enjoyable even though it has some extremely questionable parts but this second book is the author giving into all his worst instincts with multiple almost rape scenes, the characters acting completely dumb in the latter half of the book, pov chapters from characters that have little to no personality, and ending it all with an insanely long and boring battle scene that takes hours to listen to.

I read this book series years ago when I was in high school and really loved it so I'm not saying its without value but the 1st book and the 1st half of this book are much more interesting then the last half of this book which is a slog to finish.

Very good book

I had bought the Mirror in Her Dreams so many years ago I can't remember, and it sat in my book case and I never read it. Once the books came out in audible I listen to them and kicked myself for not reading it way back when. I am a big fan of Stephen R. Donaldson and am very glad that I listened to this story. Very imaginative, like my review in the first book I would have like to see the two main characters have more fight in them. But in the end they kicked butt.

I really wish they would hurry up and put Thomas Covenant first two adventures in Audible, I don't want to listen to the last three books until I can listen to them.

Great Story...great ending to a two part story..

Would you listen to A Man Rides Through again? Why?

Yes...to catch all the little things ....it is so interesting and entertaining. Several points in this second part....I cried. It was so moving...and not always in a good way...sorrow...pain...betrayal...self doubt...

What other book might you compare A Man Rides Through to and why?

Wow...hard one. I would have to say....Terry Goodkind series The sword of Truth...just not so many in a series and sweeter...not so depressing. Good VS Evil....Self discovery and the awkardness of a sexual pull to someone who is not good for you....and pulling away before you do something to hate yourself over!!

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have read the books...I actually own the books...I actually own all books that I buy with Audio...because If I really love a book...I want to also listen to it. The Auditor Scott Brick brings a deeper character to the book. He makes the People in the book come alive and has me review the way I was picturing them because of the nuance in the voices of the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

It was well worth the credit....but you have to get the first one Mirror of Her dreams or this one will not make sense....It make the story line flow with out a great repeat of what happened in the first book.

A Man Rides Through

What made the experience of listening to A Man Rides Through the most enjoyable?

I read the book years ago. I still have copies in storage. It was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read and listened to.

What other book might you compare A Man Rides Through to and why?

There is no comparison. Stephen Donaldson is beyond compare. One of my favorite writers

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His tonality and inflection bring the story to life for me.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

In a world where mirrors lead to horrors or pleasures, Terisa and Geraden must save the king, the kingdom and themselves.

The author's best story

[This is a copy of my review of the first book, The Mirror of Her Dreams.]

This pair of books are the most captivating that the author ever wrote. I absolutely recommend this book and it's sequel for anyone who enjoys fantasy novels. I think very highly of the first Covenant series, but for purely enjoyable story telling this is his best.

First things first- this book has a lot going on. The main character is involved in lots of plots and sub-plots and had many very interesting interactions with many vivid characters. The book is a fantasy/mystery. The climax is absolutely great.

My only real complaint about Donaldson is that his characters are so damned frustrating. In other books, after restating every problem a hundred times they often do little or do something weird or simply wait for someone else to do something. This book has some of that, but I believe that he handles it much better than in the Covenant novels. As I said, there is a lot going on and many times the character has good reason not to act.

Unfortunately the reader is the patron saint of frustrated narration and I think he was a terrible choice for any Donaldson novel. Technically he's is very good reader, but for my money he was a bad choice here.

A story you can listen to over and over.

I first read the books years ago and this is my third listen. The characters are like old friends and the story keeps you interested throughout. And when it’s done, you get that feeling that you are parting ways with friends you aren’t sure you’ll see again. Highly recommend!

Compelling narration.

The narrator does an amazing job of voicing multiple characters. The difference between characters is distinct but not distracting. The main female character is a little annoying in her weakness and foolish choices (definitely a few decades old).

A Fantastic Fantasy Story!!

I loved this story. It had a little too much description but still really good!!

An Extraordinary story!

I read this duology years ago, and was excited to experience it again. It was even more magical this time as an audio performance. This is the kind of story you can get lost in, full of Magic and myth, battles and friendship. I hope you treat yourself to this experience-you won't regret it!