The Door Into Shadow

The Tale of the Five #2

by Diane Duane

As the eternal malice of the Shadow rises once more to threaten Creation with destructions, Freelorn the exiled prince of Arlen stands with four others to confront this looming apocalypse. Reissue.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dragons, Science Fiction Fantasy, Queer, LGBT, M M Romance

298 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Diane Duane has been a writer of science fiction, fantasy, TV and film for more than forty years.

Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.

She lives in County Wicklow, in Ireland, with her husband of more than thirty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.

Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."

(From her official website)

Reviews

[Kaa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Segnbora (love love love Segnbora). I love dragons. I love like 95% of this book. But there are maybe 5 pages that just destroyed the story for me. You can look at other reviews for more details, as I am far from the only person to have this issue. (CW for discussion of rape in those other reviews and the rest of mine.) And look, I wouldn't have LIKED it, but I could have sort of gotten through Segnbora's motivating trauma being her childhood rape by a family member. Even if I do really hate it when rape is described in more detail than any of the consensual sex scenes. The part that was, for me, unforgivable, was making Segnbora's forgiveness of her rapist a pre-condition of her coming into her own power. Fuck no. Nope. And then we start to get into "this is why I have issues with omnipotent deities" territory.

Absolutely none of this was necessary for Segnbora's storyline, nor was it at all relevant to the rest of the plot except as it affected Segnbora. There are other types of betrayal and sources of trauma - yes, even for women. And there are other ways to deal with past trauma. You could have had almost the same story, except not terrible and ruined, if that one tiny part had been changed. Have not decided yet whether I will continue with the next book, which I already own.

CW for the book, with page numbers: fairly explicit childhood rape of the protagonist - p 226-230; the part where she has to forgive her rapist - p 278-280

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

While The Door into Shadow continues the overarching plot of getting Freelorn to his throne, the focus turns from Herewiss to Segnbora. Segnbora is a great character, her relationship with the dragons is fascinating, and the overall thrust of the story — of overcoming old trauma to really come into your power, even embracing the old trauma because it made you who you are — chimes with me quite well.

The only problem is, Segnbora’s character is built on that trauma, around her inability to open up — to magic, to people, to anything. The whole thing relies on her overcoming her trauma. Which, because she’s a female character, you can probably guess the origin of. There is something powerful here about acceptance and healing, but I could wish her story didn’t just reach for that convenient storyline. Particularly when it’s otherwise good about people living and loving outside the box, and at making that a totally natural part of the world.

I didn’t love any of the characters as much as Herewiss and Sunspark, and something about the structure of the plot didn’t work that well for me either. It felt like a series of pre-ordained episodes, taking Segnbora inexorably toward something she didn’t want to face, “for her own good”. I guess that fits with the way this world works, but it didn’t work for me.

Also, some of the language about the Goddess sometimes tips into being ‘too much’ for me, somehow. The Glasscastle section, however, is brilliant; atmospheric, urgent.

Originally posted here.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

incestual rape cw/////

this would have been easily as enjoyable as the first book, if not more so, if segnbora’s narrative arc hadn’t been wholly predicated upon the trauma she bears from a past rape by her uncle; had duane not made this the entirety of what was preventing segnbora from being “whole”; had duane not retold the rape in explicit, lengthy detail; had becoming “whole” and accessing her Fire (supramagic, essentially) not involved segnbora speaking to her rapist, forgiving him, being grateful to him for his part in “making her who she was”. utterly shameful.

this is the only time i’ve ever been disappointed by one of diane duane’s books, and my disappointment is acute and deep. this story essentially follows the same narrative arc as the first book, yet herewiss’s trauma in the first book is dependent on HIS actions, his deeds, his self-forgiveness, his action rather than nonaction. that is wholly more palatable than this story—tellingly, about a woman—whose trauma is entirely externally-imposed, and whose growth depends not on her self-development but upon her forgiveness of her rapist. really gross in pretty much every way imaginable.

idk how to rate it. does 2 stars suffice to show how much disdain i have for these authorial choices, or should it instead be 1? if you cut away this plotline, it is an enjoyable and compelling story. unfortunately, it is inextricable from the rest of it, the weight of the rape-as-plot-device that duane has told in needless, careless detail overshadowing everything else.

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, Segnbora, one of my first fictional crushes. She's a master swordswoman, a professionally trained bard, a skilled sorceress. She speaks with dragons. She has an affair with one of the male leads. She is Full of Angst.

She is, in short, the definition of the Mary Sue, and I could not care less because she. is. awesome.

. . .why yes, I do still have a crush on her, why do you ask?

I would say, "but there's more to this book than Segnbora," but really, there isn't. It's a series of set pieces of Segnbora being awesome and more awesome, and I eat it up like chocolate ice cream every time.

Okay, okay, so there is a little more to the book, and what there is is good. I love the story of the battle-standard of the Darthenes, I think Glasscastle (and the Maiden with Still Hands) is quite possibly the creepiest place I have ever visited in fiction, I want my very own Skadhwe, and I find draconic culture fascinating. It's still a pretty episodic read, but it flows more smoothly than the first book. The characterizations are clearer, too.

So why, with all this praise, am I giving this book only three stars? Because of a little section--just a few pages--near the end. If you've read the book, you know the one. It's when the protagonist deals with the trauma of being raped in childhood by, by. . .

Well. Let me quote.

"'Balen,' she said, speaking the name aloud for the first time in her life.

He blinked in confusion.

'I seem to be getting a lot of practice at being others, these days,' she said. 'First Dragons. Then . . . Myself. I see this is what the practice was for. To see You for what You are. Just Her, in another suit. A tool to make me what I am, no less than the beautiful face and the ever-filled cup were tools. You were a little rougher on me that you might have been, perhaps. You were the sword. But my hand was on the hilt.'"

And I just. I just. Rape as character development is such a common trope for women in fantasy novels that I mostly grit my teeth and move on; if I avoided all the books that used it, I wouldn't have a lot of books left. But this is so blatant, it takes my breath away. It's okay I was raped! It was a growth experience! The Goddess meant it to happen! And, really, it was all my fault.

. . .yeah, you know what? Fuck that.

This would be a four star book if I could rip those pages out.

[Zana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seriously considered not finishing this book because it was so good and I didn't want it to end.

Two things prevented me: my girlfriend was going to want it back eventually, and the book cover is literally falling apart. Bits and pieces of it are disintegrating. I was afraid there wasn't going to be a book TO read if I kept delaying the ending!

This is an awesome, awesome book. Why don't more people know about it? *pout*

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW for discussion of rape

Most of this book is really wonderful. Sengbora is a great, complex character and continuing the story started in Door into Fire from her perspective was a great move on the author's part. I enjoyed the relationship dynamic that played out between Sengbora and her dragon "lodgers." The plot line continues with some of the same meandering character of the first book, but takes on more action scenes dispersed intermittently throughout. The issue I have that caused me to downgrade to only 2 stars is that Sengbora's self-actualization near the end, which was necessary for the plot arc, was a direct result of her forgiving her childhood rapist. And apparently that was expected by the omnipotent deity for that universe. Um, nope. That felt like a huge victim blaming plot device. Not to mention that the rape scene itself contained way to much detail (much more than any consensual sex scene in this book or in Door into Fire). Although trauma is a strong force that does shape the lives of those who experience it, it doesn't comprise the whole of a person as is depicted here.

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book. Gentle but always, always honest, it will leave you gasping with heartache and laughing with joy.

I am not marking this review for spoilers but I am going to be talking about some (although not the actual plot resolution), as well as spoilers for the first book in this series, so read on at your own discretion.

CW: a child is raped by an adult relative (not her father) on page at 77%. He never appears in the story before or after that point. His image appears at one point later in the story.

This series, so far, seems to be about exploring really horrific, complex trauma. The protagonist in the first book accidentally killed his beloved older brother when he was a teenager. The protagonist in this one, Segnbora, was brutally raped as a child. Both characters carry this trauma with them, mostly unspoken but always present.

What I think is different about this series is that it acknowledges this trauma but it is just as sensitive to all the joy and the beauty and the love that the characters experience. It’s never grim, it’s never gritty, and when it’s dark there’s always a way through to the light again. There’s a sincerity to the worldview and the writing that makes reading these books a calming, purifying experience.

Like with the first book, I found myself taking days-long breaks in between reading this book. During those breaks, though, the story was never far from my mind - I was working through what events or dialogue choices might mean, or sometimes I was just keeping this series’ cathartic quality as a refuge to fall back on.

I guess I do need to acknowledge the most controversial part of this story. For me, it worked. My half-joking analogy is this - I once lived in this deeply terrible studio apartment in a building with a cockroach infestation. I had a *massive* phobia of bugs - and no money to afford the security deposit for another apartment. Every night I would lie in bed for hours quaking with fear until I fell asleep exhausted, which was bad because I was in a temporary job and I really needed to impress them so they would hire me permanently and pay me a permanent position-sized salary (that I would be able to spend on, say, the security deposit for a new apartment). Finally I had to admit to myself that my (non)strategy wasn’t working and I needed to do something different if I didn’t want my entire life dominated by fear… So I decided to try loving my enemy.

Does this mean I adopted those bugs as pets? Fuck no. I killed every single one I saw and I will continue to kill every single cockroach motherfucker I come across for the rest of my entire life. But looking those bugs in the face (or the back, literally speaking) and taking the time to have compassion for them and understand who they are? That made *me* feel so much better. That improved *my* life.

So Segnbora meeting the image of her rapist, forgiving him, and dismissing him from her sight worked for me in the same way that it worked for me when she looked at the Fyrd, acknowledged the Goddess in them, and killed them without hesitation because it was what was necessary. Although this series is about trauma, it’s not about handwaving that trauma away. It’s about looking it full in the face and acknowledging it with love because your life will be better for doing so.

…I’ve already written so much about this book and yet there are so many awesome things in it that I haven’t even mentioned. The creepy glass suicide castle! The antimatter sword! The dragons who can fly in outer space!! For a very classic swords-and-sorcery world - which this is, complete with unpronounceable names galore - part of the joy of this series is the joy of discovery, because it *doesn’t* always follow the traditional narrative arc so you never know what might happen next. All of this to say - this book is definitely definitely worth reading when you are in the right headspace for it. I can’t wait to read the next one.

[Sophie Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diane Duane is a long-time favorite author of mine. Which is why it’s always a shock to me when I come across her strange tendency to be excessively cruel to certain female characters.

The Door Into Shadow has a lot in common with The Door Into Fire. In fact, you can draw lots of parallels between Segnbora’s journey in this book and Herewiss’s journey in the previous. These parallels only serve to highlight just how much the entire story-world is designed to make Segnbora’s life hell. Here’s one example. In The Door Into Fire, we learn about Herewiss’s backstory and relationships through a magical montage, brought about because he needs to meditate on feelings of love to power up his sorcery. In The Door Into Shadow, we learn about Segnbora’s backstory and relationships through a magical montage, brought about because undead dragons have invaded her brain, trapping her in a coma while they rifle through her memories, while she screams at them to stop the whole time.

I like Segnbora a lot. That kept me reading. I kept wanting better for her and hoping that she’d eventually get it. She doesn’t, though she acts like she does. I mean, she finally gets control of her Fire at the last second, allowing her to save the day. And the dragons turn out to be pretty cool in the end. But one of Segnbora’s big lessons is to see all the terrible things that have happened to her as actually okay after all because they’ve made her who she is today. Including a climactic scene where she realizes that her childhood rapist was just another form of God, doing what needed to be done to turn her into the person she is today. And then she kisses him on the lips. I’m never too keen on “everything happened for a reason” messaging anyway, but this is outright disgusting. I also had hopes that given how proudly queer this series is, the book might follow through with the hints that Segnbora is aromantic but not asexual. She makes it very clear early on that while she enjoys sex, she has rarely ever felt love. But, no. Part of Segnbora’s character development is realizing that she should be open to love and not just sex. However, because this book cannot give Segnbora a break, on the very page that she has the epiphany that she is actually capable of love and wants loving relationships, her boyfriend falls off a cliff and dies. Oh well.

I’m left with mixed feelings. The world is still well-built, the magic system is still interesting, the creatures are still cool, and the characters are still easy to love. It kept me engaged, as angry as I was. There’s a lot here that I would take as inspiration for my own fantasy writing. But I spent more time thinking about what I would change about this book than I did enjoying it for what it is, and that’s a problem.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Door Into Shadow is a self-discovery for Segnbora, who is a deadly swordswoman without much ‘fire’, sorcery, to defend against the dark monsters and demons of the Shadow. Segnbora’s failure with fire is revisited often when she compares herself with prodigy Herewiss, the only male fire-wielder who can outperform most Rodmistress fire-wielders. Most of the story is about the adventures of her allies, and tales of past lovers and how they relate to Segnbora’s failure. Throughout, she is not seen by the reader as a failure but as a brave sacrificial swordswoman who is the first to jump into the conflict and save her friends.

There were many remarkable scenes throughout – infiltrating the Glass Castle that only appears at a certain time, and confronting evil variations of the Goddess or manifestations of the Shadow. The battle scenes were engrossing, and allowed the story to release its true energy.

There were aspects I really liked about this book. The atmosphere, landscape, and scope of the story were terrific and realistic. Diane Duane had gone to lengths to create varied cultures and an immense fantasy world. The dialogue was good, and she kept the quest going with new challenges. For example, a challenge of note was when Segnbora must join with a dragon and the memory of its ancestors to save the dragon from the terrible fate of death and its associated loss of its race’s ancestral memories. Thereafter the dragon is a part of her; talking to her, aiding her, and giving her a cool dragon shadow.

I did think there was too much lore, and the significance of much of it was lost on me, perhaps because this is the second book in the series and I hadn’t read the first. The story needed more present action and breathing room. The character focus was a bit off too. At the beginning Segnbora’s attention is fixed on exile prince Lorn, but then Lorn becomes almost a sub-character and all the action occurs around Herewiss. Some events, such as the treacherous Cillmod’s deeds, were only mentioned in passing, instead of being shown, which was disappointing because I thought he should have been the main tool of the Shadow. The Shadow’s tools ended up being hordes of developed monsters, and we didn’t learn much about them or understand their significance clearly. Cutting down a touch on the fantastic elements and on the lore of gods and goddess may have helped to see where parts weren’t developed.

The Door Into Shadow had its memorable moments. I may read the first book, if only to see if I can make more sense of the world, but it wasn’t one of my favourite fantasy reads, even if it was well written.

[Lyn Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read "Door Into Shadow" by Diane Duane, the second in a series after "Door Into Fire." This one was published in 1984. It follows Segnbora, the one prominent female character in the main ensemble of the series. We find out why Segnbora was less sympathetic as a character in the first book. There are dragons, and the dragons are done entirely differently from Anne McCaffrey, which I think was a challenge in the 80s. It was interesting to have the narrative observe Herewiss, the main character from the first book, without his inner thoughts or his experiences while apart from Segnbora.

There are some things that might be done differently now. Content warning for child sexual assault, fairly late in the book. I kept being curious about the Reavers who were on the other side of the war, and wondering if their people and culture will be humanized at some point. Even though there are ways in which this book is very much part of its time and place, there were parts when the narrative was gripping and I made time to read when I wouldn't normally have done that. I'll probably read the third one, and I'll be curious about how different the long-awaited fourth one will be when it comes out.

[Miriam]

Content/trigger warning: discussion about rape

I read this book as a young teenager the first time, and loved it. I love this series and this world and believe that they helped shape my queer perspective.

Even so, the rape and "resolution" have never sat well with me, but I never really tried to articulate why. I don't, as other reviewers do, see the resolution as victim-blaming or Christian morality. If I'm interpreting DD in goodwill, then I think a possible point the author could be trying to make is that you can't choose what happens to you, but you can make choices about how you handle it. As opposed to the narrative that a woman's life is destroyed by rape, that she will never get over it. A way of reclaiming power. Could it have been less ambiguous? Yes. And I don't at all like the use of quotation marks around "rapist". He is a rapist.

If I had read this book today, the whole thing may have been enough to boot me out of the series. But I believe that would have been my loss.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Segnbora was not my favorite character from the previous book, which made this one feel rather like a slog. Which, you know, fine. As is true in many novels, people improve upon the application of a dragon. And the pursuit of the plot continues to be interesting.
I forgot how 80s the 80s was. I have now been THOROUGHLY reminded.
There's a lot to unpack here and I almost don't want to because it's not exactly that Duane handles either sexual assault or the process of healing BADLY. It's more the very 80s ideology that—in a world where wars are fought and the devil walks the earth, the worst fucking thing that can ever happen to a person is rape and that's a woman's story arc. Men are driven by fridged women and women are driven by rape. And, like, UGH. It's not bad for it's time. It's just...out of character, maybe? And, of course, the narrative is about tzelem elokim and ALSO about Christian love and forgiveness and they are very strange bedfellows here.
It was, as they say, fine, but I can understand why getting through it felt like a slog.

[Catching Shadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recurring theme in The Tale of the Five involves characters overcoming or otherwise acknowledging the flaws in their personality that prevents them from becoming more powerful, and defeating The Shadow (a fallen power created by the Goddess accidentally letting entropy into the universe she created).

The primary character of The Door into Shadow is Segnbora, a young swordswoman who has the potential to be one of the most powerful Rodmistresses in the history of the Middle Kingdoms. Her natural ability to use the Blue Flame is so powerful that apparently, she has broken every rod she has tried to focus with. Because of this failure, she has tried to excel at many other professions, and while she keeps acquiring new skills and honors, she is eternally restless and unhappy because the only ability her parents seem to care about is her potential to wield the Blue Flame.

Her restlessness caused her to be in the right place and right time to help Freelorn. Segnbora joined his band of followers after rescuing him from an assassination attempt in Steldin. She also briefly had a relationship with Freelorn during the previous book, which will become important in the third book, The Door into Sunset.

The Door into Shadow opens up with a newly focused Herewiss, who need to learn how to do everything fast, before the Shadow tries to squish him. The best way to do this is to visit a mystical hotspot called the Morrowfane, where in very ancient times, a large number of Blue Flame wielders died sinking their power into a sacred lake so that the methods for using the power would not be lost during the cataclysm that nearly destroyed the world.

Lorn and his band, plus Herewiss and Sunspark (who is learning about things like “humor,” though it does not always appreciate when you try explaining something to it) head to the Morrowfane. On the way there, Fyrrd, mutated animals that had been created by the Shadow during the cataclysm attack them. They fight off the Fyrrd and are able to reach the Morrowfane intact. While Herewiss is communing with the sacred lake, Segnbora wanders off and runs into a dying Dragon named Hasai.

The Dragon seems to know her, which is a little disturbing, but Segnbora agrees to stay when Hasai asks her to, because he says he doesn’t want to die alone. Of course, it turns out there was some fine print Segnbora hadn’t read. When Dragons die, they get a second “half life”–go “mdaha”–existing in spirit inside the mind of their nearest descendant–referred to as a “sdaha.” Hasai doesn’t have any children, and is in danger of going “rdaha”–dying completely. When she agrees to stay with him, she very suddenly becomes landlord to Hasai and all of his ancestors. Segnbora spends the next few days stumbling around in the inside of her skull while her knew roommates make themselves at home and dig through her memories–which makes her very angry, since there are some things that she left buried on purpose. Eventually, she is able to come to some kind of agreement with Hasai and his relatives, and is able to wake up.

The next stage of this story is to put Freelorn on the throne before Very Bad Things Happen. The “royal magics” that keep the Shadow at bay and the land producing crops have been left unperformed for way too long. To make things even more interesting, the Reavers (no relation to the scary neo-barbarian/not!zombies from Firefly) are coming through the mountain passes to invade again. Eftgan the queen of Darthen makes contact with Freelorn and his merry band to let it be known that she is more than willing to help Freelorn get back on the throne. She hadn’t quite been willing to interfere with Arlen’s business, but the usurper Cillmod has been raiding Darthen’s granaries (due to not being able to buy it since someone Freelorn-shaped decided it would be a spiffy idea to steal money from the treasury.) Oops. Eftgan however is willing forgive Freelorn for his stupid, because Cillmod may be under the influence of the Shadow, or at least, might have connections to someone who is.

Herewiss decides to fix the entire Reaver problem by dumping part of a mountain into the major “avenue” the Reavers use to invade. Since Hasai is a dragon and by nature very aware of geology, he volunteers to help Herewiss find the best way to dump rocks into the pass without causing a catastrophic chain reaction that ends up creating an earthquake that destroys the town that guards the pass. Important task number two involves Glasscastle, a supernatural phenomenon that periodically appears and disappears at certain times of the year. Glasscastle is supposed to be where suicides go when they die, and there are things living inside the ghostly castle that if summoned, would be extremely unpleasant for anyone who had to deal with them. Herewiss takes both jobs, because he is in “breakthrough” a short period of time after focusing where a Blue Flame wielder has an unusually strong burst of power.

While Herewiss is going about the necessary tasks to stop the Reavers and eventually, Cillmod, Segnbora is repeatedly challenged on various fronts. She is challenged by Hasai and the his ancestors, because while she accepts that they’re a continuing presence, and will use their knowledge, she won’t share her experiences with them. She is also challenged by various aspects of the Shadow, which attacks her through the darker sides of her personality–the reason why she has experiences she can’t and won’t share is because some of them were so traumatic she is afraid of being rejected because of them. Hasai also has to deal with his own fears–he had always known that eventually he’d go mdaha to a human, and because of this, had always kept himself apart, refusing to associate with anyone because of his fear. When they are both able to confront their fears and inner darkness, Segnbora is able to focus her Flame, and save the day.

[J'aime Wells]

So many things about this book are awesome. Unfortunately I have to echo other reviewers in complaining about the regrettably detailed scene where Segnbora relives her childhood trauma. Yes, the same trauma as every Generic Female Fantasy Protagonist, because apparently it's the only bad thing that can happen to girls? and yes, in really horrifying detail. It's awful, and to me, it really breaks the tone of this series. Not that violence doesn't happen in this series, but there's fighting evil and adventuring, and then there's...this.

It's in chapter 13 if anyone wants to know.

I quite liked the character's spiritual awakening that allowed her to use her magic and also I thought Hasai and the dragons are unique and cool. I also enjoyed the magic earthquake management scene, what an interesting way to do magic combat on large scale.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book was not bad, and I couldn't resist when I had the opportunity to grab a signed copy of this one when Diane Duane was a guest at last year's Finncon. Here, the focus shifts onto Segnbora, swordswoman and sorceress, who forges a fascinating bond with a dragon. For the most part, I enjoyed this one more than the first... and then we got to the graphic incestuous rape scene that soured me on the book - and that was before the narrative required Segnbora to forgive her rapist in a scene that frankly made me throw up in my mouth a little. Really, really wish Duane hadn't felt the need to take the story there.

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of interest: dragons :D

Minorly disappointing: The trauma subplot's resolution didn't really sit well with me. I can't quite articulate why, and I'm not really sure it's my place to, either, not having any personal experience with that sort of thing.

[Mikah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first book so much, and this sequel was so disappointing. This seeming feminist utopia went full Narnia-esque christianity metaphor somehow, and became about the main character needing to...forgive her rapist in order to unlock her Inner Potential? Wtf?

[Sophie Gale · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was disappointing. I thought Book 1 was weak on character development, but when she was actually writing about magic, she soared into prose poetry. Book 2: still weak on characters, no prose poems, and she worked "terror" and "terrified" to death. Seriously. Verbal "Nutella".

[rixx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal, in a good way. Incredible character-building. Story arc is so Duane that you'd recognise it anywhere, but let's not pretend that this is a bad thing.

[SR · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE DRAGONS ARE WEIRD I love them

[grosbeak]

I can’t deal with writing about my feelings about Segnbora’s traumatic backstory right now so I’ll just note that Dracon and Rhihannsu seem awfully similar.

[Kiana Herr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kind of want to be Segnbora.

[Pippin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often, middle books of trilogies (or tetralogies, as Diane Duane intends this to be) are weaker; not so in this case. I felt this book had a degree of focus the first lacked.

[Amy Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, I was enjoying this much more than Book 1, as the writing was tense and tight, and it didn't have the lackadaisical meandering that annoyed me in the first book. But the further I got, the less I wanted to keep reading, and I'm rather relieved to be finished. The first book focused on Herewiss and his struggle to become the first male in a century to be able to use "Fire" (the strongest form of magic). This book focuses on Segnbora, who, despite being very strong in the Fire, has never managed to focus it. So, naturally, this book is largely about her journey to do just that, and ... um. Very overused trope (see spoiler for more), and I'm sad to see a female author using it. Then she compounds it symbolically with a horribly disgusting mental sequence. I can think of ways of accomplishing the same inner mental growth without THAT.

So, Segnbora was blocked because she'd been raped as a child by a male relative. While that's horrible, it's worse that it completely defines her character for most of the first two books. That's the reason she's blocked. That's the reason she has intimacy issues. Etc, etc, etc. Then at the end, she has to mentally forgive her rapist (by symbolically kissing and embracing his image in her mind) in order to move on. Really? Seriously? WTF.

Observations: I keep seeing parallels between this series and Wheel of Time. The gender-differentiated magic system. The strong character blocked from using her power. The Dark One. Pretty sure Jordan must have read this series and been inspired by it.

[Surreysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1990:]. The sequel to The Door into Fire, this one didn't hold my attention nearly as well, for some reason. I think probably one main reason is a fault of mine as a reader, not of Duane as a writer -- namely, that the focus was shifted entirely to the female heroine, Segnbora, away from the male pair who dominated the first book. And somehow I'm just not as interested in lady warriors and their relationships with dragons. In one respect, the shape of this book echoes the earlier one. The central figure goes into an "other" state and encounters an inhibiting ghost from the past. In Segnbora's case, she was raped in her youth, and her access of power arrives when she manages to get past her rage and forgive her rapist. There is a sort of hara-kiri motif at the end, but instead of dying Segnbora, linked to her dragon (who is the equivalent of Sunspark in the first novel), survives and all end happily. Despite her plans to write four novels in this series, Duane seems never to have proceeded past the second one. Perhaps she had simply exhausted the possibilities of her world, which is not a particularly rich one in detail; perhaps she ran out of compelling characters to put in the centre of her tales; or perhaps she just discovered that Star Trek novels sell better. [2010 note: Duane has since completed the series] I must admit that, a few wonderful moments in Fire notwithstanding, I prefer her as a ST novelist.

[Stephanie]

Things get progressively more epic in this second installment, which I like. The focus here is largely on Segnbora, who matures and acquires dragon spirit buddies (no, really), though the Big Bad Dark Secrets of her past are... predictable?

Rant about that last behind the spoiler tag... For those who know what I'm talking about, I really don't mean to trivialize the event. Perhaps this is a timing issue, as obviously Diane Duane wrote this long before the internet decided to have a really unbecoming hissy-fit about Lara Croft and sexual assault in the next Tomb Raider, among other things. But I am finding it increasingly predictable when the shadows of a female protag's past are rape or sexual assault. Yes, it does happen in the real world, and yes, that's despicable, and yes, we should be able to talk about these goings-on in books. But it feels like we're using that as a shortcut these days. Need an obstacle or a terrible event for your female protagonist to overcome? Oh, OBVIOUSLY, it would be rape. No. Stop it. This rant is entirely my opinion/subjective/not all that relevant to this book in particular, sorry, but I still feel it needs saying.

Overall, though, solid entry in an increasingly enjoyable series.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tale of the Five continues, Freelorn must obtain his throne!
The main plot is joined by Segnbora's, who is the main protagonist this time.
Due to a wound, she reexamines her life and soul through her thought-to-be-forgotten memories. As a result, the book has a huge emphasis on the spiritual, as it often becomes ethereal, even surreal.
The book contains songs, poems, even stories, which enrich and pleasure, should you like literature as it is meant to be, and the story-weaving is still breathtaking.
Unfortunately, this leaves the main plot of the series in a significantly neglected state, which has its impact on the whole book.
As a standalone novel, the book would have been an excellent addition to the series, but I think that as part of the trilogy, now possibly a quartet, it does more harm than good.
A perhaps much better approach could have been to switch the focus to Freelorn, and reveal Segnbora's mystery in a future instalment.
Readers who loved the first book will likely not have the same feelings about this second one, but perhaps The Door into Sunset will be able to forge "that Was Broken."

[Ariel]

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but I absolutely loved this one, for the sophisticated reason of DRAGONS. Segnbora is an amazing character, and I'm glad to see Diane Duane writing female leads again (not that her male leads are any less good, but she writes women so well in a genre that often slights them), and what's more, the supporting characters were fleshed out as well. Also, Herewiss! It's interesting getting an outsider's perspective on him. And did I mention DRAGONS?

As for the issue of her forgiving her rapist - I read it differently than a lot of reviewers, it seems. Instead of the Goddess having Segnbora raped to make her the way she was, I saw it as the Goddess showing Segnbora that it was a part of her past, something that influenced her life, and that she needed to make peace with it and with herself to progress as a person. I found that to ring very true, and it moved me.

[Juliana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, so the storyline generally continues in an interesting way, and I quite liked some of the other character development, and the dragons were interesting. However, [rest of review contains spoilers. Also, trigger warning!:] there is some major fail. It turns out that Segnbora's intimacy issues and inability to focus her Flame are because she was sexually abused as a child and had mostly repressed that. Now, yes, it's believable that she'd have these kinds of issues as a result of that, but rape as a plot point and significant motivator for a female character's actions is a cliche, and one I can live without. I also found her conclusion at the end that her rapist was just a tool of the Goddess to get her where she needed to be to save the world and stuff to be HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC. OH DIANE DUANE NO.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be extremely powerful and though-provoking. It is a tough-love book that doesn't dance around the subject of child abuse and it's consequences, but it also illustrates the power of the mind and the ability to overcome the wounds of such abuse. What is even more interesting is that Segnbora, the main character of this story is actually not the hero of the series...she is supporting and helping him. She is, in her own right, extremely important to the quest and detrimental at very key points for Freelorn. The way dragons are viewed and how they can connect with humans is very fascinating as well. This is probably one of my top favorite books. I should really read the first and third book..I never knew this was a series. ^_^