Man Rides Through

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Donaldson depicts the despair and confusion that result from lives turned awry: in Teresa's case by childhood abuse/neglect and in Geraden's case by an inability to understand and use his gifts, in the realm's case by a hero-king who has stopped defending the kingdom. These confusions lead the characters in mistakes and dilemmas so true to life that I have read every one of Donaldson's long-winded words to discover what these two books say about despair and hope, confusion and clarity, seduction and care, and the redemptive possibility of hope. This book (Part Two) and _The Mirror of Her Dreams_ (Part One) are not (in my opinion) as dismal, dark and despairing as others Donaldson has written.

I have to rate both book 1 & 2 at once because they are one story and you can't seperate them.Without rehashing the storyline like other reviewers, here are my two cents worth:1) Con - Donaldson again has some looser characters that you find hard to like because they wallow (sp?) in their issues more than trying to work with thier "good" qualities2) Pro - Donaldson does a superb job of realistically having every character play their part and appear to make their own decisions all the while being used as pawns in a grand game of chess. The decisions they make seem believable. 3) Pro - First book sets up the players and you can almost figure out who is conspiring with who by simply seeing the clues for yourself. 4) Pro - Book 2 is a VERY satisfying end to a grand story.5) Con - This story I would not recommend for childeren. There is some explicit sexual material several times between the books.6) Pro - the looser characters aren't such loosers in the end7) Pro - Nice balance between the political intrigue and action fight scenes and magic8) Pro - I found it to be a page turner of a story9) Con - I found it to be a page turner of a story...didn't get my chores and responsibilities taken care of. hehe. I would highly recommend this. I liked the story better than I remember liking the Thomas Covenant series...

When I first started reading the Mordants Need series I went crazy, I was so excited because I found a book that was romantic, exciting, and makes you believe that anyting is possible. Donalson is very good at adding detail to his books. This book is about the struggle to realize who you are and how important you really are. Terisa and Geraden finally realize that they are ment to be together.(finally! It drove me crazy!) If you are looking for a book that is exciting, romantic, and proves that anyting is posseible this book, and the series are the books for you.

Needless to say, if you read "A Mirror of Her Dreams", you need to read "A Man Rides Through" as well, because this will be the conclusion to the fantastic Mordant series. Its as well written as the first one, with the plots mentioned in the first book developping further till the final and well-developed resolution of all mysteries of Mordant!

As he proved in "The Mirror of Her Dreams," Donaldson has a definite knack for intriguing plot twists and deep, believable, quirky characters. "A Man Ride Through" begins exactly where the first book left off, when Geraden disappeared into a magical mirror and Terisa was arrested by the brutal Castellan Lebbick. People who read Book One when it was first published must have been in hell waiting to find out what happened. Fortunately (and here's the best part), Book Two actually lives up to its predecessor! Donaldson keeps you on the harrowing, intrigueing path he set you on in book one, and doesn't let you go until it's over. THIS IS THAT RARITY, A BOOK WHOSE ENDING IS COMPLETELY WORTHY OF ITS BUILD-UP! Oh, read this book. You are WITH the heroes all the way; you cringe when they mess up, cheer when they succeed and the ending is so wonderful it definitely makes you...hear horns.