The Eye of the Hunter

Rating:
Summary: Headache-inducer
Review: "The Eye of the Hunter" is the last of the Mithgar novels that I have read, and it certainly wasn't the best. McKiernan at his best elicits three stars from me, and this wasn't a three-star book. Preachy, poorly-characterized, and sagging under self-importance, this is a big miss.

The comet "Eye of the Hunter" is a sign that the evil Baron Stoke will be hunted by a certain group. The Warrow Faeril, who is one of the "Lastborn Firstborns," seeks and finds the other Lastborn Firstborn, Gwylly Fenn, and the two head off to find the immortal Elf Riatha. Centuries before, Riatha and the ancestors of Gwylly and Faeril tried to hunt down Stoke, and trapped him in a glacier along with the bear-man Urus.

They go to the glacier with the Elven ex-mariner Aravan (who is searching for an evil creature that Stoke fits the description of), only to find that Stoke has escaped -- and despite a thousand years, Urus is still alive. The band of shapeshifters, Warrows and Elves sets off across the known world to find Stoke -- and set into motion events that will change everything.

One of the worst tendencies in these books is to preach. Lots of preaching. In this case, McKiernan bangs the reader over the head with pages and pages of Aravan whining about how the dumb shortsighted humans are always polluting the air and sea, (note to McKiernan: Sewage in the ocean would NOT be a huge pollution problem!) as well as a snotty commentary on certain Christian religious beliefs (in Aravan's obnoxious little anecdote, McKiernan shows a frightening lack of logical thought). During the "oath" ceremony (where Gwylly and Faeril sort of get married), we also get a very long and boring "relationship" lecture that sounds straight out of a marital counselling session with lots of talk about "common ground" and interests and so on. And enough with the love-at-first-sight! I believe that there is such a thing, but in many of McKiernan's books, he uses it instead of slowly developing a relationship between the characters, as he does here with Gwylly and Faeril. (And I am not particularly interested in hearing about who Aravan and Riatha sleep with)

As before, McKiernan bogs down his book with loads of travelling details and pointless pondering. He tells us way more than we want to know in some instances, such as the really gross details in fight scenes. (Enough with the intestines! I don't want to hear about people being eviscerated) And, once more, there is a lot of repetitive stuff -- if I had to hear once more about how an Elf's immortal life is "always just beginning," I would have torn the book in half.

And as before, his world is entirely unoriginal. Mithgar (whose root word is the same as "Middle-Earth") is a pale clone of J.R.R. Tolkien's works -- the Warrows are basically hobbits, the Elves have most (but not all of -- like ethereality) the characteristics of Tolkien's elves, Urus is quite similar to Beorn the Bear-Man, and dozens of other little things. Heck, there's even a story which is obviously lifted from LOTR's "Dead Marshes." And McKiernan even manages to copy himself -- the Warrows-living-in-Arden-Vale is similar to that in the Hel's Crucible duology, and Gwylly has never been around other Warrows, like the protagonist of that duology.

Another problem is that this is so closely linked with "Tales of Mithgar" that a lot of readers may have trouble reading it by itself. And the characters aren't quite as they were before. Aravan is still very dull; Riatha has lost the toughness that made her interesting before, and now she cries and moons endlessly over Urus, who has likewise become very soppy and lovestruck. Gwylly and Faeril are interesting separately, but together they are so sugary-sweet that they turned my stomach. (Especially since there is no rational reason for them to be in love -- they become sweeties after knowing each other for about a day, sleep together, and then get married -- they barely even know each other). No wonder Aravan was getting moody -- between Urus/Riatha and Gwylly/Faeril, the constant gooey romance in here is incredibly annoying.

I only recommend this book if you're on one of those incredibly long plane flights, and have nothing else to read. Irritating, poorly plotted, and with characters to set your teeth on edge, this is not a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful! I read it over and over again!
Review: A fantastic book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It had so many twists and turns that I got dizzy (but that might have been the Mexican food I had the other night) :-) The book led me across half of Mithgar and I loved every second of it. Read it after Voyage Of The Fox Rider if you havent already

Rating:
Summary: Boring beyond belief
Review: A friend told me to read this author...and said this was his best book, so I settled in for a good read and was thouroughly disappointed. I quit after 200 pages because I was bored out of my mind. I will never read another of his books.

Rating:
Summary: Boring beyond belief
Review: A friend told me to read this author...and said this was his best book, so I settled in for a good read and was thouroughly disappointed. I quit after 200 pages because I was bored out of my mind. I will never read another of his books.

Rating:
Summary: A page-turner from start to finish! Fantasy Lovers Delight
Review: As I began to read this book, I was caught by the characters and held! This is truly a wonderful fantasy novel with a great story line and full descriptions! I fell in love with the Warrows and of course, the Elves are truly mystical!

Rating:
Summary: A BOOK THAT MADE MY HEART RACE AND GRIEVE!
Review: Eye of The Hunter is a truly well thought out book which was the most undescribable book I have read out of all his books. I would do anything in my powers to talk and learn from McKiernan.

Rating:
Summary: one of dennis best so far.
Review: I love all of his books but it seems this one has become one of my favorites.I first read about the Iron tower triology and I liked his style.

Rating:
Summary: It started to honor a freind it ended giving me a new respec
Review: I orignally started to read this book to honor the death of my best freind. i wasnt the type to read a 600 page book. he was. in reading this book i found out that this wasnt just another fantasy adventure book. You know the type. A cuople of swords, some magic, some monsters, and they call it fantasy adventure. When in reality its mostly mindless violence. The Eye of The Hunter deals deeplywith the inner deomons of each character(if any).Itgoes into all of their pasts making them so much more three dimensional than other books i'v read. So 3/D I hated put it down

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing, Unforgettable Story
Review: I read fantasy novels for my own entertainment. I do not concern myself with trifles. I simply want to read something fun. If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings, you probably will enjoy this. It was entertaining and that is my sole criteria in a fantasy novel.

McKiernan is an extraordinary storyteller. I will be thinking about the ending for months. The villain, Baron Stoke, is the absolute best, worst villain I've ever encountered in movie or novel. He makes that evil, child-murdering British captain in the Patriot movie look like Richard Simmons.

This is the first time I've felt strongly enough about a book to give it a review. It deserves the highest rating. Get in your most comfortable reading chair and enjoy Eye of the Hunter.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!! One of my all-time favorites!
Review: I read this book two years ago when a friend recommended it. It's got everything you could want in a fantasy novel: realistic characters, action, drama, comedy, religious allegory, love, vengeance, a "can't put this book down" plot, and a setting which rivals Tolkien's Middle Earth. It's a little longer than the average fantasy novel, but you'll want even more when you're done reading it! Also read "Tales of Mithgar" for more stories about the original search for Stoke, and "Voyage of the Fox Rider" to learn about Aravan's history (I'm still waiting for the sequel to this one!)