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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Summary: The Fall of Rwn and the Land of Mithgar
Review: Simply one of the best books that Dennis McKiernan had ever written. The story starts off in the life of a Hidden One who's lover has been missing for a long time. Jinnarin sets off to find Alamar the mage to find her lost love. At first, Alamar refuses to help the small lady, but visions of a evil so great throws the world into turmoil, all because of one little Pysk. It may be frustrating for fans of McKiernan to understand the chronology of the Mithgar novels, so I'll tell you now--The Voyage of the Fox Rider takes place before both the War of the Ban and the Darkest Day. Although it has little to do with our friends the Warrows, you'll definately get some insight relating to the myths mentioned in earlier books the the Iron Tower. This book tells of the destruction of the City of the Bells, the closing of the path between Mithgar and the mage's plane, and the last voyage of the Silver Ship. All in all, an excellant book for anyone interested in fantasy (particularly McKiernan's novels). Peace out.
Rating:
Summary: The Fall of Rwn and the Land of Mithgar
Review: Simply one of the best books that Dennis McKiernan had ever written. The story starts off in the life of a Hidden One who's lover has been missing for a long time. Jinnarin sets off to find Alamar the mage to find her lost love. At first, Alamar refuses to help the small lady, but visions of a evil so great throws the world into turmoil, all because of one little Pysk. It may be frustrating for fans of McKiernan to understand the chronology of the Mithgar novels, so I'll tell you now--The Voyage of the Fox Rider takes place before both the War of the Ban and the Darkest Day. Although it has little to do with our friends the Warrows, you'll definately get some insight relating to the myths mentioned in earlier books the the Iron Tower. This book tells of the destruction of the City of the Bells, the closing of the path between Mithgar and the mage's plane, and the last voyage of the Silver Ship. All in all, an excellant book for anyone interested in fantasy (particularly McKiernan's novels). Peace out.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably amazing!
Review: The characters in this novel are original, well thought out and clever. This was the first McKiernan book I had ever read, but I have been an avid reader ever since. If you like fantasy novels at all, this book is a must read!
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Summary: Another great novel of him
Review: The Pysk Jinnarin and the grouchy Mage Alamar go on a worldwide travel to find Jinnarin's husband Farrix, whom Alamar owns a favour. And they realize, that Farrix has found out the secrets of a dark mage and is now his prisoner. Now they not only have to free Farrix, but also defeat the dark plans of the dark mage. Again McKiernan tied me to his book, and again I lived in another world while I read it. I just gotta say that every Fantasy fan would love it, and that I sometimes couldn't stop laughing because of the parts in which Alamar and Jinnarin can't stop making trouble with each other, even when their situation gets really dangerous. Not quite his best book, but definitely his funniest.
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Summary: Philosophy out to sea
Review: There's a pretty obvious problem with having a fantasy/adventure at sea -- there's only so much action you can have out there, sailing from one place to another. That's only one of the problems that runs wild in Dennis McKiernan's "Voyage of the Fox Rider," a brackish fantasy that takes forever to reach its destination.
Tiny Fox Rider Jinnarin shows up at the elderly mage Alamar's door, asking for a favor. Her mate Farrix has gone missing, and now Jinnarin is having a strange nightmare that she believes is from him. Because Farrix once saved Alamar's life, the old mage agrees to help her, and ends up enlisting the Elven captain Aravan to sail them to wherever they can find Farrix.
But then Alamar's daughter Aylis arrives, revealing that there is a bigger problem than Farrix's disappearance -- some evil mage may have kidnapped him. And as they draw closer to the evil mage and begin to unravel Jinnarin's strange dream, the heroes realize that there is more at stake than just a Fox Rider -- the whole of Mithgar may be in danger.
It's not much to base a giant fantasy novel on -- a dream, a boat, some tarot cards and a vague idea about some evil wizard who has a giant dark gem. It would work better if "Voyage of the Fox Rider" were only two hundred pages long. As it is, the action slows to a trickle after they board the boat, and picks up only about fifty pages from the finale. Why was the middle even included?
McKiernan badly needed an editor. His writing is merely okay at the best of times, but it's a disaster when he runs wild with it -- "Voyage" is riddled with repetitive conversations, endless arguing by everyone (except the nauseating lovers), tepid love scenes, political preaching. endless boat jargon, and lots of board games. His faux ye-olde language makes these boring scenes almost unbearable.
The problem with a story like this is that the characters don't really know what they're looking for, and they're never sure what's going on around them. What's more, they're on a boat, with long stretches where they're just sailing, sailing, sailing. As a result, they spend half the book chasing red herrings and talking about philosophy, religion, and the nature of evil. It's very boring, and it adds nothing to the characters to have them quibbling about what is and is not evil.
Not that McKiernan's characters are too endearing. Crabby mage Alamar is a likable old coot, but the others are either bland or annoying -- Jinnarin, despite being thousands of years old, has the shrill immaturity of a six-year-old brat. Cooing lovers Aylis and Aravan are either bland and sickeningly sweet. And the crew of the Eroean is made up of heavily-accented caricatures, ranging from a token black guy to a cartoonish Spaniard.
"Voyage of the Fox Rider" might have been a decent book if McKiernan had cut out at least half of the middle section, and left out the one-note philosophy. As it is, it's about as much fun as being keelhauled.
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Summary: This Book Was Cool!
Review: This book was really Cool! I liked it alot because it was really interesting and had a lot of adventure. I like Denis McKiernan's work. I think He's a good writer.
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Summary: Another McKiernan triumph
Review: This is one of my favorite McKiernan novels because of the blend of interesting characters, adventure, philosophy, and loose ends. The interaction between Jinnarin and Alamar is priceless, the philosophical discussions are skillfully kept from becoming tedious, and the references to people, things, and events that occur in other McKiernan books are tantalizing. His non-linear presentation of Mithgar's history and the interweaving of details to connect the various stories are two of the author's strengths as a storyteller. His writing style is rich and his characters vivid. Thank you, Mr. McKiernan!
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Summary: lots of adventure, cool plot, and interesting characters
Review: This is one of the "good guy trying to stop bad guy from distroying the world" books, but it's so cool. What makes it special is that the author puts some wierd characters in the book; also, the story never goes as you expect it to. A definate page-turner
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Summary: Slow and awkward!
Review: This is the first and last book by McKiernan I'm going to read. The story line itself wasn't bad, but the way he writes is truly awful. Everything is explained in pains-taking detail via long drawn out conversations between the characters, in completely unrealistic dialog. And the plot moves along s-o-o-o-o-o-o-o slowly! It took me almost a year to finish this book. I wanted to like it, but I'd read a few chapters and then see some other book I'd rather read...and I rarely put down a book once I start reading it! I don't usually submit negative reviews, but I don't know how anyone could give this 5 stars!!
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