From Publishers Weekly
Like his previous 11 fantasy novels (Caverns of Socrates, etc.), McKiernan's 12th takes readers to the world of Mithgar with a tale of a grand quest. A vision of bloody world war forces the novel's heroines, Arin, an elf of the mysterious deep woods of Dylvana, and Aiko, a female warrior, to take up an arduous mission to find the missing Dragonstone, a magical gem of immense power, before it can fall into evil hands. Their first stop is a disreputable tavern, where they seek a one-eyed man to fulfill the requirements of a riddle given to Arin in a vision. Since they find two one-eyed candidates, the local drunk and a recently wounded warrior, Arin and Aiko take both along on a roundabout journey full of danger, dragons and other morsels from the standard fantasy menu. Although there is enough detail here to satisfy readers who revel in baroquely textured fantasy worlds, McKiernan seems more interested in pairing off his characters romantically than in the quest itself. This tale of early Mithgar does not stand up to the author's other popular books, but it will keep most hardcore fans of large-scale fantasy entertained nonetheless. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
McKiernan returns to his world of Mithgar about three centuries before The Voyage of the Fox Rider (1993). The story is a fairly standard quest for a talisman, the Dragonstone, which the Lady Arin seeks in order to forestall a nightmarish invasion of Mithgar by hordes of dragons she has seen in visions. McKiernan is either learning more history and folklore as he goes or drawing more skillfully on his existing knowledge, because the level of world building rises in each Mithgar novel. The land and its history now have a very lived-in quality. Furthermore, the pacing is brisk and the prose serviceable, although the cast of characters is large enough to give McKiernan problems in developing some of them and the reader problems in keeping track of them. Still, this will hardly repel any of the readers who have become absorbed in Mithgar. Roland Green

ANNOTATION

When a blizzard howls out of the North, the citizens of Mithgar are trapped at the mercy of the winds and snow. But for those at the town's modest inn, it's an excuse to throw another log on the fire and begin a wondrous evening of spinning tales and retelling myths. From the author of Voyage of the Fox Rider.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Arin's visions come to her unbidden, summoned by the campfires into which she stares long into the night. They are flashes of things long past - or yet to come. But never before has she had a vision of such horror, suffering, bloodshed...of riving hordes and raging Dragons. It is a terrifying window onto the most terrible of wars, a conflagration that promises to swallow all of Mithgar - unless it can be stopped. Now this valiant Elven lady embarks upon a desperate mission to understand that which fate has thrust upon her - and to block the fulfillment of her nightmarish prophecy. Through the aid of potent wizardry, the depths of her fell vision are plumbed, and a mysterious riddle of a cat, a one eye, a peacock, a ferret, and a keeper are revealed.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Like his previous 11 fantasy novels (Caverns of Socrates, etc.), McKiernan's 12th takes readers to the world of Mithgar with a tale of a grand quest. A vision of bloody world war forces the novel's heroines, Arin, an elf of the mysterious deep woods of Dylvana, and Aiko, a female warrior, to take up an arduous mission to find the missing Dragonstone, a magical gem of immense power, before it can fall into evil hands. Their first stop is a disreputable tavern, where they seek a one-eyed man to fulfill the requirements of a riddle given to Arin in a vision. Since they find two one-eyed candidates, the local drunk and a recently wounded warrior, Arin and Aiko take both along on a roundabout journey full of danger, dragons and other morsels from the standard fantasy menu. Although there is enough detail here to satisfy readers who revel in baroquely textured fantasy worlds, McKiernan seems more interested in pairing off his characters romantically than in the quest itself. This tale of early Mithgar does not stand up to the author's other popular books, but it will keep most hardcore fans of large-scale fantasy entertained nonetheless. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Popular fantasy writer McKeirnan brings his Mithgar series to a triumphant conclusion with this sprawling story. Right after noting that the great story arc of the series is "the struggle of those who believe in liberty and freedom... against those who would take those things away," McKeirnan introduces two babies, both born under miraculous circumstances and expected to bring about great changes in Mithgar, as predicted by Oracles and ancient prophecy. First is Kutsen Yong, born of a dead woman. Marked with the Yong, the sign of the Dragon, he grows into an arrogant and pitiless lord, the prophesied Mage Warrior King who will command Dragons and rule the world. Meanwhile, good-hearted Bair, the first child born to an Elven mother in Mithgar in millennia, is the long-awaited Impossible Child, "the Rider of the Planes who will bear the Silver Sword to Mithgar when evil comes to the world." At 16, Bair joins the Elf Aravan in his search for the evil Necromancer Ydral--High Priest of a cult determined to free the god Gyphon from his prison deep in the earth and help him defeat Adon, Mithgar's defender of free will. The novel moves slowly toward the final confrontation, building tension with bloody combat and magical battles as Aravan and Bair search for the knowledge and weapons needed to stand against Kutsen Yong and Ydral. McKeirnan's fans--as well as those of Terry Brooks and Terry Goodkind--will enjoy his usual array of thin-skinned power-mad evil-doers, hearty, honorable good guys and grand magical fireworks. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

KLIATT

This is high fantasy at its best. McKiernan proves his mastery of the storytelling art in this new and concluding novel of the 12-volume Mithgar series. Young Bair, a shape shifter and the "impossible child" born of Elf and Human on the world of Mithgar, has a destiny to fulfill as the "Rider of the Planes." He is the only man to be able to cross between all five planes (which contain parallel worlds with different species) since the god Adon Sundered the Ways. While the world braces once again for war and the fiend Ydral guides the young, arrogant Dragon King to conquering the world, Bair and his friend Aravan continue Aravan's thousand year-plus quest to take revenge on the "yellow-eyed man." The Dragon King, possessing the Dragon Stone that controls all the Dragons on Mithgar, continues in his evil march to destroy the High King residing in Peltar. Ydral plots against all to bring the dreaded god Gyphon back to power, bringing a reign of terror with Ydral as Regent. The complex plot twists into a brilliant climax, rich in the history of McKiernan's series. It is a fitting ending to a favorite epic fantasy. (Violence.) (Mithgar series) KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Penguin Putnam, Roc, 534p., $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Lynn Rosser; Freelance Writer, Asheville, NC , September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)

Library Journal

Born to an elven woman, the child known as Bair contains the blood of four races in his veins and bears a destiny that marks him as the Impossible Child fated to travel between the worlds and wield the Silver Sword. McKiernan's eighth, and possibly last, novel of Mithgar weaves together the past and present of a world where elves, humans, shapeshifters, and other creatures struggle to prevent the forces of darkness from overwhelming the land. In the tradition of Tolkien, the author blends lore and prophecy with vivid battle scenes and emotional drama to create a tale of high fantasy that should appeal to most fans of epic fiction. Recommended for fantasy collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal