The Silver Call

Rating:
Summary: Not all calls are silver
Review: "The Silver Call" duology is a chronological follow-up to the Iron Tower trilogy, although it was written first. And the intent of it is pretty clear, since the story could easily be called "Lord of the Rings: The Next Generation." It's not quite as openly derivative as the Iron Tower trilogy, but it comes pretty close.

A few centuries have elapsed since the Winter War. Perry Fairhill is a Warrow living in the Boskydells, a historian who manages a museum of Winter War artifacts. (He's also the direct descendant of Tuck Underbank, dubious hero of the Iron Tower Trilogy) One day a pair of Dwarfs and Prince Kian arrive, seeking help: They want to retake the mountain kingdom of Kraggen-cor, which is now overriden with beasties.

Perry is absolutely thrilled at the idea of going to glorious battle, but his faithful handman Cotton Buckleburr isn't so sure. They accompany the Dwarves to the doors of Kraggen-Cor, and team up with a local wood-elf. But the door is guarded by a hideous squidlike beast, and even if they get inside, there's an army of evil creatures waiting for them.

This might have been a fairly enjoyable brain-fluff read, if it weren't clearly meant as a sequel to "Lord of the Rings." Virtually every element in this book is copied from that gorgeous book. While the characterizations are improved, as are the romance, it's not enough to save this story.

The very idea of the story is copied from Tolkien, in that we're presented with a Dwarf kingdom identical to Moria; Warrows, who are basically big-eyed hobbits with shoes; the Boskydells/Shire and the Thornwall/Hedge; the Elves and most of their characteristics; the little silver horn; the squidlike beast; the Dwarves, or as McKiernan calls them, the Chakka; the "silveron" (think mithril) armor, and many others.

Perry and Cotton are much more likable than Tuck, Patrel, Danner and the insanely annoying Warrows from the Iron Tower trilogy. Sadly, they are also thinner copies of Sam and Frodo: Perry has many of the more superficial characteristics that Frodo has, while being much flakier and ditzier. Cotton is like a dumber, more self-deprecating version of Sam (with a mangled version of the same accent, no less). Kian is okay, and doesn't take himself as incredibly seriously as many of McKiernan's characters. The Dwarves aren't particularly likable; even worse, they're more or less interchangable. Vanidar Shannon Silverleaf, the Generic Elf, simply doesn't make an impression at all. He's there, he's on the good guys' side, and there isn't much more to him.

The songs in this would be much more enjoyable, if one of them weren't so similar to the "Road Goes Ever On" song. And repetition, one of McKiernan's biggest weaknesses, will drive many patient readers up the wall. At one point, Perry's blood leaps and heart pounds four times in two pages (active circulatory system he's got!). If you hate repetition then the constant casting of hoods over faces will drive you crazy. Not to mention all the surprised exclaiming whenever someone meets a Warrow.

"Silver Call" is a better story than "Iron Tower," but that really isn't saying much. Not recommended unless you're a [] Mithgar fan, or if you are just craving stories about tiny people.

Rating:
Summary: Its still fun
Review: After reading all of the other reviews, I had to chime in. I have read both the LOTR and these books. Clearly, these books use the now classic "Tolkien" recipe for fantasy. But when all was said and done, these books were still fun reading. Are these books as complex as LOTR? No! But they were fun reading. Certainly, any person that reads Fantasy must read Tolkien. And once you read Tolkien you will find that NO other books compare... but that does not mean all other books suck.

At the end, I say if you are a "Tolkien Snob" and have read LOTR dozens of times, then don't read this.. it will only make you angry. On the other hand, if you read for fun and enjoy fantasy, I would say give it a whirl... you will most likely enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Its still fun
Review: After reading all of the other reviews, I had to chime in. I have read both the LOTR and these books. Clearly, these books use the now classic "Tolkien" recipe for fantasy. But when all was said and done, these books were still fun reading. Are these books as complex as LOTR? No! But they were fun reading. Certainly, any person that reads Fantasy must read Tolkien. And once you read Tolkien you will find that NO other books compare... but that does not mean all other books suck.

At the end, I say if you are a "Tolkien Snob" and have read LOTR dozens of times, then don't read this.. it will only make you angry. On the other hand, if you read for fun and enjoy fantasy, I would say give it a whirl... you will most likely enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: What Prof.Tolkien never wrote about
Review: I initially read this story when it was two volumes. I had always wanted to read about the Dwarves of MiddleEarth re-taking the Mines of Moria. Since The Professor never wrote about that,I was glad to read about the Re-taking of Kraggen-cor by the dwarves of Mithgar. Still, while this story has no out-line from Middle Earth as its basis, the reader can still see the lack of originality in many areas. The example that comes to mind is the names of the two trolls in the battle scene: "Goth!Mog!" These names are taken directly from the name of one of Professor Tolkien's characters in the Silmarillion: Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs. Not that I fault Mr. McKiernan for the imitations, and it is obvious that he regarded The Professor's works highly, and I have seen other authors be even more blatant in their references to Middle Earth Lore (one of the Sauron supermen of Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's universe wondering if the history of his planet would have been different if the surveyors who had discovered it had not named it after the DarkLord.)This is, to my mind, a tribute to Professor Tolkien, and I might have done the same to get myself published. The Pyrrhic victory at the end of this story is where it starts going away from the Middle Earth aspect and where it starts to become its own story. Mr. McKiernan's stories that were published over two or three volumes tend to be simpler than the ones he wrote as a single volume. Still, they are adequate stories. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Open Minded
Review: If you are so obsessed with Tolkien that you find yourself unable to enjoy anything similar to his concepts then don't bother reading these books. They are well written and entertaining. I highly recommend them to anyone who is not so blind and foolish as to be unappreciative of a creative work simply because it is inspired by another creative work. These other reviews remind me of people who refuse to drive any car which is not made by their specific favorite company.

Rating:
Summary: Open Minded
Review: If you are so obsessed with Tolkien that you find yourself unable to enjoy anything similar to his concepts then don't bother reading these books. They are well written and entertaining. I highly recommend them to anyone who is not so blind and foolish as to be unappreciative of a creative work simply because it is inspired by another creative work. These other reviews remind me of people who refuse to drive any car which is not made by their specific favorite company.

Rating:
Summary: tolkein
Review: if you read the forward toone of the series, i cant remember which one though, he says straight out that these are deeply derivitave of middle earth, and he fully admits that. from what i recall he referred to it as an homage to the stories that affected him so.

Rating:
Summary: Pathetic
Review: These books are just plain pathetic. Like Harry Potter, these books are just poorly written. I cannot stand these books!!! The author gets way to many ideas from Tolkien...WAY TO MANY IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Tolkien clone
Review: This book would be very engaging and enjoyable to anyone who has not read the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, but in that case I would just encourage you to read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings! This book is an INCREDIBLY blatant mimic of Tolkien's classics, from place and character names to the plot (dwarves enlisting the help of halflings to reclaim an ancestral foretress); even phrasing and narrative techniques are strikingly similar. In places lines are very nearly verbatum, and I am utterly amazed that he was even able to get this printed. Tolkien himself would have been rejected if he tried to publish it, because it's not just similar in style and tone, it's so nearly identical in parts that printing it would be (and is) redundant. I can't believe this guy hasn't been sued!!!

Rating:
Summary: OVERALL SCORE: (A)
Review: This is a GREAT story, and THANK GOD that there's something out there like Tolkien! Yes, it is very similar to the "Lord of The Rings", perhaps a sequel in a way. No it's not Tolkien, but Tolkiens dead and not writing anything new, so if you want to experience a good story that is very similar.......
OVERALL SCORE: (A)
READABILITY: (A), PLOT: (B-), CHARATERS: (A), DIALOGUE: (B-), SETTING: (B+), ACTION/COMBAT: (B), MONSTERS/ANTAGONISTS: (B+), ROMANCE: (C), SEX: (n/a), AGE LEVEL: (PG 13)