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City of Jade: A Novel of Mithgar |
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Author:
Dennis L. McKiernan
By Roc Hardcover
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $23.95
Our Price: $12.85
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Product Description
The national bestselling author presents the long-awaited new fantasy novel set in the world of Mithgar—his most renowned and acclaimed creation.
The myth of a lost city carved of precious jade has proven irresistible to many in Mithgar. Now Aravan, captain of the Elven ship Eroean, has undertaken a quest to find it. With his true love Aylis, the Magekind Seeress, beside him and a crew of men and dwarves, he sets sail to follow the lure of legend.
The journey will be long and perilous—and the voyagers will find more than treasure awaiting them in the City of Jade. They will find dark sorcery and great danger, and some among them will find death.
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Another Enticing Tale of Mithgar, 2008-12-24
City of Jade (2008) is the sixteenth fantasy work of the Mithgar series, following Red Slippers. In the previous volume, various aspects of Mithgar culture were revealed in these stories about the famous inn and bordello at Port Arbalin.
In this novel, Bair -- a shapeshifting Baeron and the Dawn Rider -- has a face-to-face conversation with Adon. Most people are slightly afraid -- or terrified -- at talking to a god, but not Bair. He convinces Adon to lift some divine Bans, including the blockages on the paths between the planes.
Aravan accompanies Bair in his travels to meet the god and then returns with him to Mithgar. They first call upon Riatha -- Bair's mother -- to tell her that she can now visit her family on the Adonar plane. Then they head toward the crossing leading to Vadaria, the plane of mages.
Alamar -- the chief mage -- is awaiting their arrival. He has been busy organizing a warparty of mages. He is also looking forward to the reunion of his daughter Aylis with her beloved Aravan.
Pipper Willowbank and Binkton Windrow are young Warrows. Pip is fourteen summers old and Bink is three moons older. They are orphans and live with their Uncle -- actually their great uncle -- Arley Willowbank. He trains them in tricks of entertainment and larceny.
Nunde is smoldering in his tower hidden deep in the Grimwalls. He blames his misfortunes on Aravan, that misbegotten dolf. He wants vengeance, but he cannot find a suitable way to punish the dolf. Then he comes up with a fiendish plan.
In this story, Bair shifts to Hunter -- his Draega form -- and Aravan becomes Valke -- a falcon -- as they cross over to Neddra. Then they slip quietly across the countryside to the Vadaria crossing. They carefully avoid alerting the Spawn within the black castle at the junction of the four interplanal paths.
Bair and Aravan have hostile intentions against the dark folk within the castle. When they return, it will be with small armies. But now they need to visit Alamar's cabin in the mountains of Vadaria to complete their plans.
At the cabin, Aravan is reunited with his beloved Aylis. He had thought her dead for millennia. The assembled mages enjoy teasing the lovers upon their reunion.
This tale involves the assault on the dark castle and its black mages. Then it continues with a journey to the hiding place of the elvenship Eroean and the launching of the ship. The rest of the book is mostly about the voyages of the Eroean and its crew.
Aravan and his crew eventually cross the path of the buccans. Pip and Bink are in dire straits at the time. But they soon become scouts within the Eroean warband.
The author is probably the truest inheritor of the Tolkien tradition. Others write in a similar style, but McKiernan captures the excitement and magic of the Tolkien's works. It probably helps that this author was also strongly influenced by the old fairy tales.
This story contains few innovative plot elements. Indeed, some portions revisit other happenings within the saga. Yet, it provides new backstory and is a quick and absorbing read. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for McKiernan fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of sea adventures, cursed cities and true romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Haunted cities, 2008-12-01
Technically, Dennis L. McKiernan's Mithgar series is over and done with.
But in any series that spans millennia, you've got plenty of room for prequels, midquels, and any other kind of quel. "City of Jade" expands on events only hinted at in his prior works -- including a visit to the titular city -- and does provide some nice moments. Unfortunately, it's hampered by a sputtering climax and a tendency to revisit every single piece of relevant backstory.
In the aftermath of Gyphon's destruction, Bair pleads with the gods to reopen the ways between planes and get rid of the Ban. No, we don't see this.
Then Aravan and his lover Aylis join up with an army of mages and elves, to storm a Neddra citadel and secure the only way in or out of Vadaria. And with Aylis at his side, Aravan sets out to relaunch the Eroean with a new crew after three thousand years -- unaware that the sole surviving Black Mage from Neddra is plotting to destroy him.
And during a mission to the east, Aylis encounters a riddle and a statuette of a jade tower, leading the Eroean to hunt down the deserted city. Unfortunately, as readers know, this is all part of the Black Mage's evil plan -- and the Eroean is sailing straight into an evil trap. But a pair of new arrivals might help tip the scales...
"City of Jade" is not really a novel in itself -- it's more like two novellas sandwiched together. The first half deals some of the stuff that was left hanging, and the second half is when the whole "City of Jade" scenario is addressed. McKiernan's work is still somewhat riddled with run-on sentences and hysterical laughter, but he succeeds in making some solid battle sequences and gruesome moments of necromancy.
Most of the plot's focus is on Aravan getting his life shipshape again -- and McKiernan takes the opportunity to revisit many of his older characters, from some very familiar Pysks to some long-absent elves (ranging from minor to major characters). Additionally, there's a running subplot about a pair of conjurer Warrows who rub the local mobsters the wrong way, with surprising results.
Unfortunately, the plot is hampered by McKiernan revisiting everything -- the book is full of backstories, infodumps and names that have nothing to do with the plot. I somehow doubt that everyone in Mithgar has memorized everything/person/event of importance there -- it would have been much better if we'd seen Bair's debate with Adon about free will, rather than revisiting Jinnarin's pint-sized cabin.
And after revving up the plot in a haunted city with a Super Evil Bad Thing and an evil Mage... the climax falls flat. Very flat -- it takes about five minutes. Oh yes, and more hints are dropped about the Dwarves' mates, the Chakia. But frustratingly, we STILL don't know what they are.
Aravan and Aylis get most of the spotlight in this book, and they have a surprisingly romantic milestone after returning to Mithgar. The Warrows are cute if not very bright, and most of the rest of the cast is made up of yo-ho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-rum sailors on the Eroean, as well as some grumpy mages and run-of-the-mill elves.
"City of Jade" is an interesting exploration of post-bad-guy cleanup and seafaring adventure, but is bogged down by a tendency to explore the backstory of everyone and everything.
Probably My Last McKiernan, 2008-10-26
I have been a fan of McKiernan's Mithgar stories ever since I first read The Iron Tower trilogy. But, when he began his Once Upon A Time series, he adopted a stilted and highly annoying writing style that put me more in mind of Romance novels - heaving bosoms and all - than high fantasy. I had hoped that a return to Mithgar would herald a return to a less forced style, but it didn't.
It is sad when a good writer loses his voice, but I believe the decline in the sales of his books, and the number of reviewers that began with "Once Upon a Winter's Night" tells the story.
Disappointing tale from Mithgar, 2008-10-21
I've been a big fan of Dennis McKiernan's Mithgar stories, and own the entire series. Perhaps my expectations were too high for this book, but I found it lacking nonetheless.
The first thing I noticed when I opened my pre-ordered package, was how much smaller this novel was compared to the rest of the series. But the smallness of the book pales in comparison to the the actual content. Unfortunately for fans, this book is but a short story (or a "novella" at best), that's been fleshed out with "reminiscences" of McKiernan's prior works. Not only are pages full of characters speaking of prior events, but entire passages from his other works are included.
Sadly, this book seems more of an advertisement for the rest of the Mithgar series, rather than the novel fans have been awaiting.
engaging fantasy, 2008-10-09
Legend talks of a City of Jade hidden in the jungle. Probably more likely myth than a real lost city, as no one has ever returned from the quest of finding this fabled locale though many have tried across Mithgar.
In the Final Year of the Fifth Era, with the Dragonstone War ended when the Black Mage God Gyphon was slain by the elf, passages have opened between realms while wards have been used to close those leading to and from the the creations of the late Dark God. In that seemingly peaceful environment, Elven Captain Aravan learns of the City of Jade and wants to find this precious legend. He brings together a crew of elves, dwarfs, men, and other species to sail into the sunset on the fabled Eroean. Accompanying him on his quest is his beloved mage, Aylis the seer. Even without Aylis' predictions all of the crew of the Eroean knows the journey will be dangerous and many if any will not return; they volunteer because the lure of adventure is greater than their safety; most are used to a world at war. Few perhaps would have signed on if they knew the dark necromantic sorcerer Nunde seeking vengeance is lurking everywhere they are sailing.
As explained in the "afterword" to this engaging fantasy, the events in the CITY OF JADE occur at the end of SILVER WOLF, BLACK FALCON and the beginning of the RED SLIPPERS: MORE TALES OF MITHGAR anthology. The thriller starts off as more of an interrelated anthology catching up with what has happened to the good, the bad, and the nasty since the demise of the Dark God. Once the crew is set and prepares to sail, the story line converges into an entertaining adventure tale with a fuming vengeful Nunde stalking the Eroean over each horizon. Fans will relish this terrific tweener while new readers should first peruse SILVER WOLF, BLACK FALCON to better comprehend the citations to the war.
Harriet Klausner
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780451462312
ISBN: 0451462319
Label: Roc Hardcover
Manufacturer: Roc Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 2008-10-07
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Studio: Roc Hardcover |
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