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magratajostiernos's review against another edition
5.0
He amado muchísimo este libro.
Lo tiene todo para que me guste, es una historia sobre un niño destinado a convertirse en rey y una niña medio humana que puede cambiar el destino de su pueblo. Vamos a verlos crecer en un mundo de batallas y guerras en constante conflicto por el poder y rodeados de rituales y el misticismo de druidas y mujeres sabias.
Es una de las novelas más pausadas que he leído de Marillier, se recrea en la ambientación y en los elementos históricos de la trama, que no son pocos, está ambientado en la Escocia del siglo VI y entremezcla a personajes reales (empezando por el protagonista). A más de uno le puede resultar un libro aburrido o pesado pero a mi me ha hecho disfrutar una barbaridad su estilo.
Me he enamorado de varios personajes secundarios como Faolan, Telaraña, Madreselva, Fola o Ferada, y los protagonistas aunque forman parte de los típicos protagonistas de Marillier que tiran más por lo "sufriente" que carismático, me han tenido muy atrapada.
Son 600 páginas de rituales, leyendas, luchas de poder y magia ancestral que he degustado durante un mes completo. Sabrán disfrutarlo los que como yo, disfruten de los relatos pausados de ficción histórica fantástica.
Me muero por ponerme con el segundo de la trilogía ya.
Lo tiene todo para que me guste, es una historia sobre un niño destinado a convertirse en rey y una niña medio humana que puede cambiar el destino de su pueblo. Vamos a verlos crecer en un mundo de batallas y guerras en constante conflicto por el poder y rodeados de rituales y el misticismo de druidas y mujeres sabias.
Es una de las novelas más pausadas que he leído de Marillier, se recrea en la ambientación y en los elementos históricos de la trama, que no son pocos, está ambientado en la Escocia del siglo VI y entremezcla a personajes reales (empezando por el protagonista). A más de uno le puede resultar un libro aburrido o pesado pero a mi me ha hecho disfrutar una barbaridad su estilo.
Me he enamorado de varios personajes secundarios como Faolan, Telaraña, Madreselva, Fola o Ferada, y los protagonistas aunque forman parte de los típicos protagonistas de Marillier que tiran más por lo "sufriente" que carismático, me han tenido muy atrapada.
Son 600 páginas de rituales, leyendas, luchas de poder y magia ancestral que he degustado durante un mes completo. Sabrán disfrutarlo los que como yo, disfruten de los relatos pausados de ficción histórica fantástica.
Me muero por ponerme con el segundo de la trilogía ya.
lisanussd's review against another edition
Perfect fantasy. Dropped into another world with interesting characters...going to read the whole series.
withthebanned's review against another edition
4.0
The Dark Mirror was one of those books that broke my heart a little bit, the relationship between Bridei and Tuala is very sweet and I loved the strength shown from both of them. Each has to deal with their own struggles, but it was the struggle that Tuala faced that really felt heart wrenching to me. I liked how The Dark Mirror set the tone for the rest of the series, though the next two books branch off, they always come back to the backbone that is Bridei’s kingdom, and the relationship between he and Tuala. If I am being honest, though I did enjoy book one in this trilogy, I did not LOVE it and it was the promise of better things to come that had me continuing on with the series. The relationship between Bridei and Tuala was very sweet, but it was the secondary characters that really piqued my interest. Had I not known that the next two books would be focusing on Faolan (hubba, hubba) I am not sure that I would have been as excited to continue on.
chanizzle's review against another edition
2.0
Not one I will likely read again. This was a pretty slow moving story. Pretty predictable, and it had a lot of detail on ancient rituals and the ancient gods of this fantasy world... A bit too much for my taste. It was an okay story but I don't have any interest in continuing the series.
wyldkyss's review against another edition
4.0
I'm picking this book back up, hoping it will be a quick read before my two new books come in the mail this week.
I rushed through this book so I can get to the Wheel of Time, but I decided to take my time half way through and just enjoy it. The Pict culture that Marillier pulls from history and conjecture is interesting. From druidic practice to court intrique and political unrest, not to mention the Good Folk, all kept me reading. I will certainly be looking for the next book of this series soon.
I rushed through this book so I can get to the Wheel of Time, but I decided to take my time half way through and just enjoy it. The Pict culture that Marillier pulls from history and conjecture is interesting. From druidic practice to court intrique and political unrest, not to mention the Good Folk, all kept me reading. I will certainly be looking for the next book of this series soon.
lini002's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bookhaulin's review against another edition
3.0
3...3.5.
I feel almost cheated. The end of the novel felt anticlimatic and only the start of something bigger. I thought there would be a lot more to Tuala and Bridei's story, given that Gossamer and Woodbine kept mentioning tests upon tests upon tests.
Ah well. Still beautifully written if at times wordy, as per usual for a Marillier novel.
I feel almost cheated. The end of the novel felt anticlimatic and only the start of something bigger. I thought there would be a lot more to Tuala and Bridei's story, given that Gossamer and Woodbine kept mentioning tests upon tests upon tests.
Ah well. Still beautifully written if at times wordy, as per usual for a Marillier novel.
shomarq's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
elenajohansen's review against another edition
2.0
This is too long, too unfocused, and some of the characters are far too similar to those in Marillier's other works.
Physically, Tuala is basically a copy of Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest, except that she actually is of the Fair Folk, whereas Sorcha merely seemed to be with her wildness. All the descriptors are actually the same, small, slim, barely eats enough to stay alive, constant comparisons to birds, big-eyed, dark hair, otherworldly. I'd be more willing to forgive this if Tuala had any personality to speak of, but she doesn't. She's young and lonely (also like Sorcha, though for different reasons) and that's about it.
Bridei is slightly better off, being serious and studious and in the end, incredibly stubborn, but for good reason. He's not quite as clearly matched to another Marillier character as Tuala is, but in some ways he does remind me strongly of Johnny, the golden child of the original Sevenwaters trilogy. But even if he's more his own man, he's still not really interesting enough to carry the story on his shoulders, because the major failing of the story is that our nominal protagonists are explicitly pawns in someone else's grand scheme of kingship. Everything about Bridei's life is bent toward making him the perfect candidate for king in the next election, and none of it by his own design, but by that of his foster father. That still might have had the potential to be an interesting story, if Bridei did more to test the limits of the constraints placed on him, but for most of the book he does exactly as he's told, only breaking out of that narrow role at the very, very end. (And even that was unsatisfying, as romances go, which are always the backbone of this author's work--this has an incredibly weak conclusion, more of a "to be continued," because there are two more books about these idiots.)
The worst part, though, is the constant scene cuts to the schemers. Whether it's the five "wise" men and women who formed the secret pact to make Bridei king, or the two Fair Folk who are meddling with Tuala and trying to tempt her away from the human world, every time the story is gaining some momentum, we have to stop and check in with the people in charge, and most of the time they aren't even saying anything we don't already know. Yes, Bridei is still mostly doing great. Yes, Tuala isn't a part of the plan and we need to get her out of the way. Yes, time is running out because the old king is dying. STOP MAKING ME READ SCENES OF NOTHING BUT TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION I'VE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN FIVE TIMES.
This book could have been at least fifty pages shorter, just cutting repeated information, and probably more like a hundred pages shorter if all of the unnecessary scheming scenes were cut. I would have liked that book better, because it wouldn't have dragged, though I still would have wanted a more engaging story that wasn't two bland characters doing what they're told for eighty percent of the book.
Physically, Tuala is basically a copy of Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest, except that she actually is of the Fair Folk, whereas Sorcha merely seemed to be with her wildness. All the descriptors are actually the same, small, slim, barely eats enough to stay alive, constant comparisons to birds, big-eyed, dark hair, otherworldly. I'd be more willing to forgive this if Tuala had any personality to speak of, but she doesn't. She's young and lonely (also like Sorcha, though for different reasons) and that's about it.
Bridei is slightly better off, being serious and studious and in the end, incredibly stubborn, but for good reason. He's not quite as clearly matched to another Marillier character as Tuala is, but in some ways he does remind me strongly of Johnny, the golden child of the original Sevenwaters trilogy. But even if he's more his own man, he's still not really interesting enough to carry the story on his shoulders, because the major failing of the story is that our nominal protagonists are explicitly pawns in someone else's grand scheme of kingship. Everything about Bridei's life is bent toward making him the perfect candidate for king in the next election, and none of it by his own design, but by that of his foster father. That still might have had the potential to be an interesting story, if Bridei did more to test the limits of the constraints placed on him, but for most of the book he does exactly as he's told, only breaking out of that narrow role at the very, very end. (And even that was unsatisfying, as romances go, which are always the backbone of this author's work--this has an incredibly weak conclusion, more of a "to be continued," because there are two more books about these idiots.)
The worst part, though, is the constant scene cuts to the schemers. Whether it's the five "wise" men and women who formed the secret pact to make Bridei king, or the two Fair Folk who are meddling with Tuala and trying to tempt her away from the human world, every time the story is gaining some momentum, we have to stop and check in with the people in charge, and most of the time they aren't even saying anything we don't already know. Yes, Bridei is still mostly doing great. Yes, Tuala isn't a part of the plan and we need to get her out of the way. Yes, time is running out because the old king is dying. STOP MAKING ME READ SCENES OF NOTHING BUT TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION I'VE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN FIVE TIMES.
This book could have been at least fifty pages shorter, just cutting repeated information, and probably more like a hundred pages shorter if all of the unnecessary scheming scenes were cut. I would have liked that book better, because it wouldn't have dragged, though I still would have wanted a more engaging story that wasn't two bland characters doing what they're told for eighty percent of the book.