Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Mirror of Fate

Rating: 8 of 10

Fifteen-year-old Merlin’s life has been far more eventful than the average young adult’s. He has saved Fincayra from Rhita Gawr’s iron hand over his father Stangmar, reducing the Shrouded Castle to the original Estonahenj; he’s translated the riddle of the Seven Songs to gain a powerful understanding of magic and the deeper meanings of life; and he triumphed over his will in attempting to understand a dragon instead of trying to defeat him through force. Now he’s trying to coerce his willful shadow into obeying him; yet in the midst of what may seem trivial difficulties, a ballymag sends him and his friend Hallia to the Haunted Marsh—which has undergone enormous, and horrifying, changes over the last few months. His legendary sword is entrapped in the Marsh, and he must find it, even though it seems that it’s landed there merely to attract him to someone who wants him dead.

The plot of this book varies from its precedents in that it focuses very little on the evil surrounding Merlin and emphasizes instead his own journey toward himself. Merlin has always had trouble accepting himself for whom he is, and the most recent set of occurrences forces him to come to grips with all facets of himself, including his impudent shadow. Yet there didn’t really seem to be an incredibly cohesive plot, because of the lack of emphasis on the villainess Nimue and her wicked goals. Merlin’s romance with Hallia wasn’t very well-done—it was obvious that they’d get together from The Raging Fires, but Hallia is such an under-developed character that I just didn’t like that half of the equation a whole lot. Merlin isn’t the typical physically strong hero, either, but that’s actually a good thing because it isn’t cliché—and his heroism is of the heart, not of the body. As always, the book was gripping, and far funner than homework (well what isn’t?). While all the books in this series have been good so far, they’re more of an “average good” than an “extraordinary good.” But they are fully recommended Smile

2 comments:

  1. you're getting through these at a pretty good pace, dearie!! I always love your reviews; you are honest and give your opinion and always read into the story very well.

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    1. Aw, thank you! You are too sweet :) Yeah, these are pretty quick reads . . . and I'm almost to fifty for the year! Yahoo!

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