Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books every written
Review: The book was one the best I have ever read. The only thing that I did not like was losing the old wizard. Although he might be back in the tale of the impossible child its hard to wait that long.
Rating: 
Summary: Need to trim details to pack a punch!
Review: Even tough, the book is too detailed about every moment of certain actions that I didn't care about, it still a good book. I had to put this book down several times because it got too slow. The first seven chapters were quite interesting, then it started too slow down. So, I just kept turning pages and when I finally got to the end I was satisfied. This is the first book I read about this author. I got interested about his references to Mithgar and other characters in his other books. I really like the philosophical and theological ideals of this book. I think Dennis McKiernan is a good story teller. I would recommend this book to those who has the time to read a good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: I believe this is Mr. McKiernan's finest work. Well thought out, plot travels along nicely without giving anything away before it's due time, and extremely well built characters. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Even better than Iron Tower Trilogy. Recommend to all fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: Best Mithgarian Tale so far
Review: I believe this is Mr. McKiernan's finest work. Well thought out, plot travels along nicely without giving anything away before it's due time, and extremely well built characters. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Even better than Iron Tower Trilogy. Recommend to all fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent
Review: I enjoyed this book. It has a plot that never seems to stop turning in unexpected directions. And although it is the basic Good against Evil story it has so many unexpected moves that you hardly know what is going to happen next. It also leaves four unanswered questions at the end which keep us waiting for the reaperance of the Dawn Sword and the comming of the Child of Impossibility
Rating: 
Summary: Good but boring in some parts.
Review: I liked this book and the whole overall plot but it just took to long to get to the point. The plot is one of the Wee Folk is haveing nightmares about a crystal tower and a green sea. Influenced by the dreams she goes on a quest to find her missing lover who is somehow sending these dreams to her. The story has some good action sequences and the story moved along enough to keep my interest to the end. I have to complain about the political influences I don't want to read how evil man is and how he is detroying the environment when I read a fantasy novel.
Rating:
Summary: Kept me on the edge of my seat
Review: I loved this book. I never knew where it was going to go next and it was constantly supprising me. The philisophical discussions were fascinating and really made me think. I almost cried at the end after what happend to Rwn
Rating:
Summary: Get on with the plot!
Review: I tend to yell one phrase or another repeatedly when I read something by Dennis McKiernan. With this book, as with the Hel's Crucible duology, it was "Get on with the plot! Get on with the plot!" The book starts with great promise, but is bogged down by insufficient action, thin characterizations, and some really cringeworthy usage of more current culture. The Pysk Fox Rider Jinnarin arrives at the home of the Mage Alamar, seeking his help: her mate, Farrix, has gone missing and she's having a recurring nightmare that seems to be linked to his disappearance. Alamar decides that the three (him, her, and her fox) should seek out the legendary elf captain Aravan and his motley crew on his magical ship. Aravan agrees to bring them on a search for a green sea, a dark ship, and a crystal castle (the three main images in Jinnarin's dream). They end up picking up Alamar's Mage seer daughter Aylis, and finding out that the cause of Farrix's disappearance is a very old and very bitter foe... I was very relieved that this book does not involve the more *ahem* Tolkienesque elements of his other books, like the Warrows and the Elves at large. Gave it more of an original feeling than the Iron tower trilogy or the Silver Call duology. What's the problem? Well, I'm honestly wondering if this book was edited. At all. It could have been pared down two or three hundred pages without any negative impact on the plot. It takes FOREVER for anything to happen; it's over eighty pages before Alamar finds Aravan. One of Mr. McKiernan's old weaknesses crops up here: The need to tell us all parts of travel, no matter how boring they are. The characters meander all over the ocean on various dead-end leads, and we are told (occasionally in boat jargon) continually just where and how they are going; in the meantime, the various characters will talk a lot, amble around the boat, and worry if Jinnarin doesn't have her nightmare regularly. And enough with the theology and philosophy! At the slightest hint of depth, the characters plop down on their bottoms and begin long, rambling conversations about gods, the nature of good and evil, immortality, dreams, and so on. No matter what crisis is looming, this is what they'll do. The conversations tend to ramble -- while it may be realistic, it's also dull. The more regular dialogue is uneven, but sometimes very funny. The painful conversation between Aylis and Ontah managed to kill the dreamwalking scene, what might have been a spellbinding and very important turning point. Repetitive action hits yet again -- if a character does one thing (grits their teeth, gets amorous, tries to read the future, dreamwalks, has a crying fit) they'll do it over and over. And (you may groan now) we get more of the enviromental message in this one, where Jinnarin rants for several pages about the horrors of fox-hunting and the presence of human beings, who are SOOOOOOO destructive.... (I get the message, you don't need to beat it into my head with a bat) This has relatively limited potential for romance, since there are only two female characters on the boat, and one of them is both married and only twelve inches tall. Aylis, then, is the logical choice; we have more luv-at-first-sight (oh groan) with Aravan. In keeping with the Hel's Crucible romances and their less-than-squeaky-clean presence, they both hop into bed (did we REALLY need to hear about that?) over and over, though no details are given. I found the entire relationship contrived and dull, especially when the author has a "spark" between their hands when they first touch. Characterizations range from excellent to groanworthy. Most of the sailors never gain a personality, with the exception of Jatu. Jinnarin, despite supposedly being MILLENNIA old, shows the maturity of a six-year-old, continuing the tradition of if-they're-little-then-they-can't-be-bright. Alamar is brilliance, earning the book an extra star -- he's crabby, funny, grumpy, and utterly lovable. Yet he also has a darker and sadder past that endears the reader to him. Aravan and Aylis have no real reasons to be attracted to one another, and don't have any real individual characteristics except Aylis's weak concern for her father. The bad guy is bad because... well, because he IS. Even some of these things wouldn't have been so bad, except that in the continuing not-so-subtle hint that the Mithgarian books are supposed to be a "lost history," we have somewhat recognizable elements. This sort of thing should, ideally, be relatively vague and culturally be unfixed in time. How long ago is this supposed to be? Untold thousands of years ago. Yet in this book, we encounter one of Aravan's sailors who speaks snatches of modern Spanish ("Que?"), the Mages speak Latin and a smattering of Greek, and it's obvious to anybody with a quarter of a brain that Ontah and his people are Native Americans. This is one of those books that had plenty of potential, but which lost it in the characterizations, the worldbuilding, and the ridiculously slow pace. Better, but no cigar.
Rating:
Summary: Slow Pace
Review: I'm usually a reader that doesn't see much negative things in this book but this was the worst Dennis has written. The action is very slow and it takes forever to get a point across. One of the main characters always probes what the other main character says and wastes 3-5 pages on thought and mindless discussion that wastes your time. No action, slow pace, bad plot not a good read.
Rating:
Summary: McKiernan is a master of the fantasy genre
Review: I've read all of Mckiernan's novels, and I would have to say that this is probably one of his most exciting. The novel takes place 1000 years before the Ban War, which fans of his other novels will appreciate. We finally get to know more about Aravan, the Hidden Ones, and the conflict between the good and dark mages. While some readers may find Mage Alamar to be a little annoying, I think he provides needed comic relief and he interacts well with the other main characters. Overall, this is an excellent novel with many plot twists and should be read by anyone who considers themseves fans of fantasy fiction. For anyone who reads McKiernan's work for the first time, I would also recommend "The Iron Tower Trilogy," and "Dragondoom." Dragondoom is probably the best novel on the world of Mithgar.
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