  Is there a half star category?, 2005-07-28
The first book in this series was so so over all with a pretty fair set of opening sequences.The context however includes improbable concepts and battle action no-shows.
There must be an audience for this author but for the life of me,I have no idea how he finds a publisher. I have not read any of his other works nor do I intend to.These volumes referred to were given to me,therefore no regrets at spent money on them.
This reminds me of a summer replacement television series, the ones that get clicked off very quickly.
Sorry, I hate to write a bad review but this one deserves all of it.
A So-So Conclusion, 2004-11-28
This book is somewhat better than its predecessor, mostly because things finally happen. That silly coin actually does get to Agron, Beau finally acquires a love interest other than Tip, and we learn, only in the final 120 pages out of 950, why this mini-series of two volumes is called Hel's Crucible. There are loads of battles, but the battles are wildly unrealistic; it just isn't as easy to kill people with a sling or bow and arrow, even with a direct hit, as McKiernan pretends.
The big finale isn't very successful; a series of armies appears pretty much out of thin air to push the plot forward, and the final twist, because it is heavily foreshadowed but absurdly carried out, manages to be at once predictable and unbelievable.
The book has two themes, both heavily and frequently underlined, that every action has consequences, ultimately unpredictable, and that freedom isn't free. True enough, but the author has nothing particularly original or insightful to say on either topic.
The bottom line is that this is just not very good Tolkien cribbing. There are quite a few other Mithgar stories by McKiernan, but I have no plans to read any of them.
COOL, 2002-05-23
I think that Into the Fire is a book that brings together action, fiction, and a bit of romance. Tip and Beau return in the sequal to Into the Forge. As Tip and Beau become seperated form their friends they incounter many dangers, and in them also many havens and friendly people.
I recomend this book to anyone who likes Lord of the Rings, or something of the sort.
Anyone reading this will notice simularities to Lord of the Rings and some may not like it because it relates to much.
This book, I reccomend, to anyone above the age of thirteen and up, and to both male and female audiences, although males may like it more.
Barn rats!, 2002-04-29
Who knew war could be so boring? The second book of the Hel's Crucible duology almost rivals the first for boredom and irritating tendencies. During the course of the book, Beau comments, "Four years? No wonder I'm sick of war" or words to that effect. I felt like chiming in, "You and me both."This book picks up where the first left off, where Tip, Beau, Loric, Phais and Bekki are all setting out to finally get that stupid little coin to Agron. When they finally get it to him, they find out that there is a specific (and very dumb) purpose behind it, and become even more enmeshed in the war with Modru's sinister forces. At the same time, Tip finds that his girlfriend Rynna and her band of Warrows (warrior-hobbits) are still alive. But Modru's horde is not the only thing that threatens Our Heroes -- a deadly plague is sweeping Dendor. And to destroy Modru's forces, they will have to rely on a force that no one can control... The first book was kind of like watching the heroes running on a hamster wheel; they were running, but they weren't actually going anywhere or accomplishing anything. This time, they actually accomplish things. But it's the same thing; they run to someplace, they get new allies for the Good Guys, something bad happens, they overcome it. Repeat for 550 pages. We are told in almost day by day detail about what they were doing, where they were going, and what direction they were going in. Loric, Phais and Bekki all sort of drift in and out. And major plot developments like the plague, the destruction of Atala, and that thing with Galarun and the sword feel tacked on. The plague, for example, begins and ends within the course of this book, and it adds nothing to the plot. We're told that the Silver Sword can kill Gyphon, about halfway through the book; that's over three quarters through the story, and it feels like it was tacked in solely to add more pages to the meager storyline. The last thirty pages are exceptionally poorly written; it feels like McKiernan got sick of the whole story, and simply added some vague descriptions to an initial outline. The extremely important threat from Gyphon is added as an afterthought. The cast is too large for anyone to have much character development, and there is very little personal difference between Elves, Mages, Men, Warrows, and so on. Traumatic events such as the destruction of Atala last a lot less time then they should. After Loric and Phais find out exactly what happened, everyone gets upset for about ten minutes, then ambles off on their way. And supposedly important events are... well, underwhelming is too vague a word to use. When they finally get the idiotic coin to Agron (and by this time I was thoroughly sick of it) we are told its purpose. I ended up shouting, "That's IT? That's ALL?" At one point, Agron's army is wiped out by an avalanche. There is no real feel of crisis during all of this. Even so, the climax managed to snag me and force me to take it seriously. But then the Utruni showed up, and everything came apart. I'm sorry, but when they started speaking in a mangled Yorkshire accent, I laughed so hard I dropped the book. The Warrows are utterly annoying warrior hobbits (imagine Frodo joining the Marines), without the simple charm of Tolkien's creations. The Elves are still weird; the Dwarves sort of peter out somewhere during the story. Characterizations are even flatter than in the first book, and unfortunately we also have more annoying female Warrows; Rynna, and her irritating cousin Linnet. We still have Tolkien ripoffs: the Warrows are essentially hobbits in combat; the Gargons/Balrogs; Agron/Elendil; trolls, uruk-hai, orcs/ogrus, hloks, and rukhs; Boskydells/Shire; Modru/Sauron; Atala/Numenor; Gyphon/Morgoth; ents/Woodwer, and so on... Dialogue is still a problem, as is repetition. If I hear "oh my" or "barn rats!" one more time, I think I'll shriek. We are forced to endure the exact same descriptions in the season-changing ritual as before; and a paragraph on one of the final pages is, word for word, identical to one in the Iron Tower trilogy. (Mr. McKiernan, if you can't write a new description of the Thornwall, please don't write any description of it at ALL!) As in the last book, we are treated to excruciating romance. Thankfully, Elf lovers Phais and Loric are pretty much celibate in this book. But we have Tip and Rynna, and Beau taking up with the picky Linnet. (Yes, again, he falls instantly in love with minimal exposure to Warrow girls, and I fail to see the attraction to either Rynna or Linnet) Unfortunately, we also have to deal with Elissan, the pervert Elf from Book 1 -- she's still focusing on seeing Tip in the nude. (I was once jokingly called a "pervy hobbit fancier," but the description fits her better!) Outstandingly poor, failing even to succeed as a ripoff. I don't know why McKiernan sent this story to his editor without a few years of rewriting.
Into the Repetition (Part 2), 2002-04-16
This book was hard for me to read. I've reviewed the first one of this duology, and the same problems exist for this book. It is too repetitive, chiefly in the areas of travel and philosophy. There is no reason for these novels to be this long. Such a waste., and I was able to finish it.
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