Tuesday Teaser ~ The Mirror of Her Dreams

I'm reorganizing my library and I keep seeing books I should reread. The Mirror of Her Dreams (Mordant's Need, Book 1) by Stephen R. Donaldson is one of them. I love his writing. He has flashes of being a wordsmith that utterly captivate me. I especially love the fairy tale quality of the first chapter.



Blurb:
The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.

Now, in a culture where women are little more than the playthings of powerful men, in a castle honeycombed with secret passages and clever traps, in a kingdom threatened from without and within by enemies able to appear and vanish out of thin air, Terisa must become more than the pale reflection of a person. For the way back to Earth is closed to her. And the enemies of Mordant will stop at nothing to see her dead.

Opening:
  The story of Terisa and Geraden began very much like a fable. She was a princess in a high tower. He was a hero come to rescue her. She was the only daughter of wealth and power. He was the seventh son of the lord of the seventh Care. She was beautiful from the auburn hair that crowned her head to the tips of her white toes. He was handsome and courageous. She was held prisoner by enchantment. He was a fearless breaker of enchantments.
  As in all the fables, they were made for each other.

Teaser:
  Mirrors had a seductive beauty which spoke to her--but that wasn't the point. The point was that there was virtually no angle from which she couldn't see herself.
  That was how she knew she existed.

I love high fantasy and urban fantasy. This is a wonderful blend of the two. Would you keep reading?

Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://adailyrhythm.com/






Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea

19 comments:

  1. This does sound fascinating....thanks for sharing! And thanks for visiting my blog.

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  2. I absolutely love the set- up of this book! The idea that she needs to always see herself in case she realizes she doesn't exist is both sad and beautiful! And if Geradon looks anything like that stud on the cover she's in for an adventure. I really hope you enjoy the rest of this one! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great weekend!
    My Tuesday post
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  3. Stylistically I really like the opener. Does the author end up turning those tropes on their heads? If yes, I would very much be interested in reading this. If no, maybe a skip.

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    1. I think he does turn them on their heads. Neither of the MCs starts out like typical fantasy heroes or heroines. Neither are the alpha characters typical of the genre. Or any genre for that matter.

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  4. I'm not sure why I could never get into these types of books - that goes for SF as well? I guess I've always needed fiction to seem believable in some way.

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  5. Love the opening and love the genre(s). Will have to add this to my list.

    My teaser (w/ a giveaway) is at Beth Fish Reads

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  6. Might be some good escapist reading... I'd continue. Enjoy!

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  7. Not carried away by this one. I did like the Tuesday Teaser about the mirrors.

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  8. I have a hard time getting into Fantasy books, so I'm not sure. I hope Terisa ends up kicking some booty. :-)

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    1. Urban fantasy might be a better choice for you then because it's based on our world but includes either one major twist or starts *here* and moves *there*

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  9. I don't read much Fantasy either, but when I do I mostly enjoy them. Sometimes the covers put me off. I should get over that!

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  10. I might have to give this one a try. I read another of his books (Lord Foul's Bane) long ago and had such a strong dislike for the main character after something he did in the book that I haven't read on in the series.

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    1. Ah, yes. LFB. I had the same reaction until someone told me, "You're not supposed to like him." Then I was okay and able to read my way through until the character turned himself around.

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    2. I knew that going in he was an anti-hero, and I was okay with that. I think by the end of the book he had somewhat redeemed himself, but I still couldn't let it go. Some things, like rape and sexual abuse, I just can't get past not matter how much of an actual hero a character becomes in the end.

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    3. I think you'd like this one much better. The characters are solidly in the "good" category.

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  11. This would be a good movie:) A new author to me too.

    My TT - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/07/07/teaser-tuesdays-121-morrigans-shadow/

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  12. That's a lot of a mirrors!!

    mine: https://storytreasury.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/teaser-tuesday-stories-of-the-raksura-volume-2/

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  13. Fantasy is a difficult genre for me so I would probably pass. Girl Who Reads

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