The View From The Mirror Quadrept

[Rulke]

These books are the only real involved fantasy i've read. I'm going to get reviews from elsewhere because my grammar let just say not the best.

"The View From the Mirror" series ("A Shadow on the Glass" et al) is one I classify as being among the best of its genre and a must for any fantasy lover looking for something new. Irvine is at once able to summon elements of epic fantasy that are timeless and resonate thoughout the genre yet at the same time tell a story with characters, races and worlds that are completely novel. Too much fantasy is simply a rehash of what has worked commercially in the past rather than striking out into a new world. Unfortunately, much of what is left over, many otherwise promising works, seem merely designed to continuously milk the reader as we are forced to buy book after endless book.

What I find particularly appealing about this series is that it seems to have been entirely written before the first volume was published. This makes for a continuity that many other contemporary authors lack. Particularly galling is when an author begins a promising thematical or plot line only to never follow up in subsequent books. Irvine has no such problems.

From the beginning his characters are richly human(regardless of actual race). He uses the common fantasy device of alluding to historical events that the reader is not familiar with to give his world a sense of depth and history while not sacrificing the narrative by going off on tangents that distract from the story he is telling. While his two main characters, Karan and Llian, are very painfully human, the towering figures they become entangled with possess fantastic power but are also burdened with fatal flaws and often gnawed by doubt. It is refreshing to find such complexity in so many different characters.

Finally, the brevity of the series (if one can call a four book series brief) is a welcome respite from from other current authors who lack either the money or the courage to provide a satisfactory conclusion to their "epics." Irvine's work is, at heart, a story and he is not afraid to tell it and let it stand for itself. The hope of coming across a good story - something novel that provokes new thoughts and wonder - is why I continue to read fantasy. Much like playing golf, where each good shot is surrounded by many bad or mediocre ones, so too is the fantasy genre. For each good or great novel there are at least several that are not up to par. "The View From the Mirror" series is like that one great golf shot - it keeps me coming back for more.

WAR RAGES ACROSS SANTHENAR as Aachim, Faellem and old humans pursue the Mirror of Aachan. A desperate Tensor, leader of the Aachim people, flees with it into the wilderness, taking the brilliant young chronicler Llian with him. Only Karan can save him, though she's not sure that she can help herself. Tensor wants her dead, the other powers are hunting her for her sensitive talents, and Rulke the Charon broods over them all from his Nightland prison. The Twisted Mirror holds knowledge that the world can only dream about. How will Tensor use it in the final confrontation? Will Llian be seduced by it too? Or will the Mirror betray them all, in the end?

Book Three: Dark is the moon

RULKE THE GREAT BETRAYER is free at last, to use the deadly construct he has spent a thousand years perfecting. To succeed he needs just one thing - Karan's sensitive talent. Karan and her lover Llian are lost in the Nightland, in an alien palace that is collapsing around them. Only Rulke can open the gate and send them home to Santhenar, but Karan is terrified that he will corrupt Llian first. Yggur and Mendark, sworn enemies, struggle to tame the power of the rift. They must seal the gate before Rulke brings forth his construct. If they fail he will ravage the world. And if they succeed, Karan and Llian will be trapped in the Nightland for eternity.

Book Four: The way between the worlds

THERE IS A DARK FULL MOON on midwinter's day. The foretelling has come to pass. Rulke the Charon is unstoppable now. Karan is held captive in desolate Carcharon tower. Rulke plans to use her to find the Way between the Worlds. On the mountainside below, the allies await their fate. Karan's lover, Llian, is in chains, falsely accused of betraying her to the enemy. As the dark moon rises, Rulke begins to open the Way. If he succeeds, the world will be overwhelmed by the dread armies of the void. There is only one solution. Karan must be the sacrifice …

These books is just too hard to put into words of how good they are.