CharlesDanielChristopher
Posted October 27, 2011
As a trilogy, and as a series, McKiernan's works are wonderful. This trilogy is an homage to the grand master of high fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkein. It follows the same basic structure as Tolkein's trilogy, but has a unique turn on the beings and events of the "small folk" who are at the center of the story. If you love Tolkein, you'll love McKiernan as well.
A little aside. McKiernan was born and raised in Moberly, MO. Some place names in his books can be found as the names of places and people associated with the City of his birth. One that my mother and I recognised, and that I can remember after nearly 20 years, is Dossey's Apple Orchard in the book is to be found in Moberly too.
Anonymous
Posted November 13, 2006
By 10 pages in, I thought I was re-reading Tolkien. I'm sure there was more to the books than just a ripped off re-write of LotR, but I just couldn't get past the obvious similarities. While I would never tell anyone to NOT read a book, I would have to agree with most of the commentary made on this thread.
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Posted August 7, 2006
It seems that Denis(who is a very good writer) wanted to tell his own stories in MiddleEarth. Tolkiens Middle earth. BUT he can't do that, so he basically rewrote the LORD OF THE RINGS, to re-create the world(well 90% of it) and then Continue on with his own stories. His other stories set in Mithgar are excellent. Dragon Doom, being a particular favorite.
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Posted July 19, 2006
These books are excellent! Yes, Warrows are similar to Hobbits, but it's not his problem that the name Hobbits is copyrighted. No one complains about Dwarves and Elves being in all fantasy. And he's not the only one to create a 'small race.' It does seem that _The Silver Call_ is basically what might happen if Dwarves tried to re-take Moria, but I think that's cool. It was written first, then McKiernan wrote out the backstory and published it first. The Iron Tower has a gripping story, memorable characters, strong plot, and not everything comes from LOTR--there's no ring, for one thing! In my opinion, Tolkien drags much more often than McKiernan does.
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Posted May 7, 2006
It was just a copy of Tolkien's best ideas in a different book. I actually got mad reading it. The best part......oh yeah there was none. I was bored, did not even finish the book. When he had to use his own imagination it was seriously lacking.
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Posted July 12, 2005
although well written and enjoyable to read the similarities between this and the lotr is to close. I agree that there will be similarities between fantacy novels but this is way to close to call it original work. a writer myself, I find it insulting to read two books with almost the same plot in a style of fantacy where the sky is the limit in terms of story line.
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Posted September 6, 2005
To some of the prior statements made, you might say this was a knock off, but that would be saying that Terry Brooks, Shannara series are plagiarism, and the list goes on and on. All tales are a form of plagiarism (The act of plagiarizing taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own). Built on some tale that caught the tellers imagination and inspired them to make their own tale. And we who haven't the talent, or ability to tell are own tale, should be more appreciative of the efforts of others. I however don't agree with some of the statements made. This was and is a great series. Mr McKiernan writes well, his stories have a good depth to them, and a few have been quite fascinating. I look forward to each of his books with great eagerness and enjoyment! Having read over 3700 science fiction and fantasy stories, and have kept every one, I can say this, Mr. McKiernan, keep them coming, you have an avid fan, and I have every one book you've published to date!
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Posted January 14, 2005
I read on the first page the about this book being do plaigeristic and ill admit there alot in the same but you have to understand tolkien was pretty much the first of his kind and a great first everystory line and major plot in any fantasy/sci fi has so much tolkien in its nuts but some show it more then others you cant beat the master but you can use some of his tricks so befor anyone decides it a knockoff! think about its a good story and his forst ones are even better
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Posted June 27, 2004
This book was good, but it wasn't as good as i thought it was going to be. I was kind of dissapointed really. I have yet to read part two and three, and i would like to get them over with, but part one kind of made me want to leave Mithgar for a while. Hopefully, not every Mithgar book does that to me.
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Posted May 5, 2004
Personally I thought this book was a 100 times better than LOTR despite some of it was the same. I don't care what anyone says.
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Posted January 22, 2004
I actually read this before LOTR. I was very impressed then, and still loved it after I read LOTR, and found out all of the 'similarities'. An awesome read if you can stay awake past the first 50 pages.
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Posted January 10, 2004
I loved the Iron Tower trilogy. It was full of growing beleivable characters,tons of suspenseful battle scenes, and a dazzling flow of writing that will capture you into the world of Mithgar. Yes, it was somewaht similar to LOTR, yet all fantisies have that similarity, so Mckiernan basically outdid himself with this one.
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Posted August 20, 2003
its a good thing i read some of his newer, ORIGINAL work before i read this plaigeristic monstrosity. the only reason i forced myself to finish it was morbid curiosity over how much Tolkien's masterpieces could be butchered! if i want LOTR, i'll read LOTR
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Posted December 9, 2002
I initially read these books when they were released in 1986 and recently re-read them. Although the borrowing from Tolkein is extreme in many cases (so extreme that it will may cause die hard LOTR fans to take up arms in some cases and in others will simply cause heartburn) there are enough differences to recommend this novel highly. If you don't want to re-read LOTR until all the movies are released, this book and The Silver Call can fill up those quiet days quite nicely. Caution LOTR fans: Sedate yourself before you start on the Drimmen Deeve sections or your will not finish the book. Most of us would have been called into a parent-teacher conference if we had borrowed to liberally during our High School days.
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Posted April 19, 2002
Excellent. It was the first I read and It is not the last
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Posted February 21, 2002
A wonderful adventure into a world that can only be compared to tolkein's middle earth. A must read for fantasy lovers.
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Posted December 6, 2001
Indeed, in a world that is over flown with fantasy-novels, epic stories and unexpected heroes in unknown lands, it is hard to find something that appeals, something that strikes you. I've read some, including J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and I must say, after reading that, it was hard and rear that I found anything that could even stand in the shadow of it. The Iron Tower trilogy however, was one that struck me in itself. The story that roles on and on, that grips you, that makes you participant. The similarity between Iron Tower events and LOTR events was great, however the differences are there. One great point in the Iron Tower is the absence of a wizard. There is no great all knowing, virtually all fixing wizard (as in the plastic TSR novels). Another thing is that the heroes (and not just the ones, that were introduced 40 pages earlier) die; it made the grievance in the end sincere. The best thing about the book is that the end is sound and that it's a logical conclusion of the events that took place throughout the entire story. McKiernan's Iron Tower, was a great read, highly satisfactory, especially for those who like a descriptive character (on the land & locations) of a book and not just some heroes, that make everything work out fine. I would strongly recommend this trilogy for every fantasy lover and with regard to the similarities to LOTR; true, but to enjoy a novel is what the reading was all about, not the nagging on whether it's copied from a masterpiece or not!
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Posted April 24, 2001
And in some ways even better. McKiernan has done a fantastic job putting these tales together. I've read them 3 times, start to finish, and I will certainly read them again. There a few stories that pass the re-readability test to grandly.
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Posted February 17, 2001
When I read this book, I had already read some works by McKiernan. I feel that The Iron Tower is by far my favorite. It shows how the balance between good and evil can shift and the smallest person can make the biggest difference to this balance. The Warrows are one of my favorite characters in the Mithgarian sagas. I can't wait to read all of McKiernan's books and to get any new books he comes out with.
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Posted March 15, 2001
This is simply one of the best novels I have evr read. It may take some time to get into it, but the results are well worth it! The characters come alive and entertain your thoughts even when you are not reading the book. I recommend this book for anyone who just wants to 'sit around and read' because you cannot put it down and may cause you to neglect your job. READ IT!
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Overview