The Darkest Day

Mithgar (Publication) #3

by Dennis L. McKiernan

FICTION

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Adventure, Novels

302 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

McKiernan was born in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until he served the U.S. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War. After military service, he attended the University of Missouri and received a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1958 and an M.S. in the same field from Duke University in 1964. He worked as an engineer at AT&T, initially at Western Electric but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.

In 1977, while riding his motorcycle, McKiernan was hit by a car which had crossed the center-line, and was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast, for many months. During his recuperation, he boldly began a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings; the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance; and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien.

McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales draw from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.

McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

(Biography taken from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that I have finished this series, I think I have realized its main flaw.

This is an unabashed copy of Tolkien's style and, in many places, specific scenes and characters from his work. The problem is, however, that McKiernan aped many of these things without understanding why and how Tolkien used them.

For example, we get all of the people bowing to the Warrows after the war. This works in Tolkien because the Hobbits were a generally harmless people that overcame all odds. Here, however, the Warrows are some of the deadliest people in the land, racking up insanely high kill counts. They didn't overcome anything, they just did what they do.

Also after the war, Mckiernan keeps the novel going for quite some time with tying up loose ends. This works with Tolkien because we have come to really love his characters. McKiernan's characters, however, weren't nearly as memorable. Once the war is over, the reader is likely ready for it to just be the end of the book (I know I was).

There are too many instances to go into them all, but I generally found this series as a more hollow echo of Tolkien's work. I still maintain that McKiernan is a good writer, and had he come up with his own ideas he may have written his very own classic rather than just a forgotten pastiche.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this trilogy so much, I can't even put it into words.

Beautiful, quaint, epic and surprisingly emotional. I cared so much about these characters, and the world of Mithgar is both whimsical and brutal at once.

Dennis L Mckiernan has captured my imagination in a way I wasn't expecting. I'm definitely returning to his work and this world, and I will be doing so very, very soon.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

McKiernan wraps up his Tolkien homage with TDD, bringing a fitting end to the saga. The Iron Tower as a series could be called Fantasy 1.0; a classic good versus evil tale, with the good 'guys' struggling against all odds to thwart the evil that has descended upon Mithgar. We have a range of good races much akin to Tolkien (elves, dwarves, humans, and Warrows (somewhat akin to hobbits)) versus all manner of evil races, again, akin to orcs, goblins, trolls, etc.

The best part of this series was the pacing and various cliff hangers where the main characters get out of impossible tight squeezes at the last minute (or second!). I called this fantasy 1.0, however, in that the good and evil are not very nuanced to say the least. What motivates the Evil-- simply death and destruction. The good? preserve the world from the evil encroachment. Like Tolkien's work, this could be categorized as YA, for it really is an all ages fare; I think I would have loved this when I was about 10. Compared to Gemmell's work of the same era, the Iron Tower falls kinda flat. Gemmell's work is full of nuance, where good and evil are complicated as are the motivations of the characters. Besides Tolkien, The Iron Tower series reminds me of Terry Brooks, although I would have to say I like McKiernan a little better. 2.5 stars rounding up.

[East Bay J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear Dennis,

Did you hear? Drew Barrymore’s single! Finally! I know how excited you must be for me, my old friend. We’ll toast the occasion when next we meet.

How’s the missus? The kids? You guys still have that old, flea bitten mutt? How’s Ohio treatin’ ya’? If the band ever gets out to Westerville, we’ll have to get you guys all down the club for some good, old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll!

Just finished The Darkest Day, book three of your Iron Tower trilogy. I’m sure you’ll recall I’d read this series as a teen. Boy, you sure repeated yourself a lot! You sure used a lot of words! You sure didn’t know too much about editing, huh, Dennis! Boy! I guess you still don’t know too much about editing, judging by that very long speech you gave at the Iron Maiden Fan Club seminar last year. Good grief. I nodded off right into my soup! How embarrassing! I hope your later books were something of an improvement and I hope you won’t be offended if I don’t find out for myself.

Well, wish me luck with Miss Barrymore. I’m so excited I could burst!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,

Justin

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing finale to the Iron Tower trilogy including the huge chapter entitled The Darkest Day, which to me has to rate highly as one of McKiernan's all-time best chapters in any book in terms of action, suspense, mood, and importance.
And one of the things I liked best is that McKiernan doesn't just end the book with the pivotal chapter, but he goes on to describe what happens next and down the line. Nothing is left hanging.
McKiernan has a gift in writing characters I care about and he pulls no punches in challenging them in this whole series. I am glad I am revisiting his works after too long of a time away.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned you can re-do what another has done, and in style, and make it wholly your own without diminishing or insulting the original in the slightest. I don't enjoy McKiernan's Iron Tower trilogy in the same way as The Lord of the Rings, but it is, in its own way and on its own terms, every bit as satisfying. If you're a fan of the one, I strongly suggest you read the other.

(Yes, the same for all three. They're a whole, as much as TLOTR is.)

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satisfying end to the trilogy and the best book of the three. Some cranks complain about the writer copying Tolkien, but I prefer to see it as an honorable homage, competently plotted and written, and a fine addition to the genre. Nobody can beat Tolkien at the game and I don't feel that McKiernan considered himself an equal but as an extremely talented fan.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the tradition of Tolkien's LOTR. McKiernan creates a incredible fantasy world. Fantastic characters and a superb storyline make this one of my top fantasy picks. My highest recommendation

[Fenya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die gesamte Reihe ist sehr schön geschrieben. Man merkt allerdings, dass hier doch schon Herr der Ringe als Vorbild gedient hat. Nichtsdestotrotz lesenswerte

[Bryant Matheis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great finish to the battles of Mithgar, and a rather satisfying finality was presented for our heroes. I enjoyed this Tolkien parallel.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, he did borrow heavily from Tolkein. So what. SO many authors borrow bits and themes. It shows he did love Tolkein. He did manage to make his own tale though. I really liked the trilogy. The last book is nothing like anything I have read before. I found it better than the battle of Helm's Deep. Tolkein glosses over what happens in battle but this author embraced it. You felt it. It is well worth finding the trilogy but go in knowing that you will find some chunks that are homages or rip offs of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings series. But try to get past that and enjoy the rest of it. It is worth it. You are on a journey with the characters and that is what counts in an adventure tale.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stunningly awful. McKiernan writes battle scenes with all the flair of Kent Brockman describing a futbol game. He pads the novel by having characters recount to each other scenes we just read. And he still couldn't finish it, so he added some totally unnecessary appendices. It is hard to believe this was put out by a major publisher.

Maybe I was supposed to read it more like The Silmarillion than Lord of the Rings, but I don't think that would have helped.

[DavidO · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more from the climax of this series. It was alright, but not great. It's not the kind of thing I'll remember in a few months time. Oh well, still better than Eldest.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

i cant even say i read this entire book... it started slow... never really built momentum... it got to the point i was sort of skimming through... read the whole series and it never really got better... not sure why i kept going...

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like I said for the earlier books, a virtual pastiche of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. By the time I got to this book I was just scanning.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the re-read concludes, and in many ways this is the strongest of the three. It remains highly derivative, but has more original plot elements than in the earlier volumes, including an emotional climax that's a pretty good expression of this style of fantasy and hits home.

It's nice to not have chapters that seem like a direct lift from LotR, and one thing that McKiernan has done is have actual stakes and loss, and the final desperate raid is tense and interesting. I'm not entirely a fan of the structuring of the chapters, where you follow one character or set of characters through to a major decision point, then track back in time to catch up with everyone else the way it's done here, but it's not the worst thing.

There's really only two major, direct swipes from LotR this time around (the elves leaving Mithgar, and the diary/history from the warrows) and the book is the better for it. When McKiernan tells original plots set in his Tolkien-derived world, it's fun and interesting. When he rips off JRRT for plot chapters (and tries to follow in his footsteps with language creation), it's highly disappointing and a waste.

If you like LotR, you might enjoy this one: up to you how much the swipes will bother you, or whether you'll take it as homage and just enjoy the ride. For me the nostalgia on it helps get over the thievery/overly faithful homages.

These are also short and fast, which is a nice change of pace from some of the overwrought and overwritten fantasy epics of today. There's something to be said for less deconstruction.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es gibt viele Herr der Ringe Klone in der Fantasy Literatur.
Dennis l. Mckiernan's Mithgar Bücher, vor allem "die dunkle Turm" Trilogie gehört dazu.
Die Handlung mitsamt Orten und Völker ist teilweise 1zu1 con Tolkien übernommen.
Es gibt nur andere Bezeichnung.
Eigentlich ein no Go.

Wenn man die Hintergründe kennt, erscheint es aber anders. Mckiernan hat seine Trilogie ursprünglich als Sequel zu Herr der Ringe angelegt. Sein Entwurf wurde aber abgelehnt, also hat er eine eigenständige Reihe gestartet.

Ja, die Anleihen sind teilweise dreist und sorgen für Kopfschütteln. Es gibt eine Art Hobbits, Orks, einen dunklen Herrscher und vieles mehr. Interessanterweise funktioniert die Trilogie aber trotzdem.
Mckiernan schreibt einfach, aber sehr mitreißend. Auf insgesamt unter 1000 Seiten wird eine epische Geschichte erzählt.
Es gibt wohl kaum eine Reihe, welche schriftstellerisch Tolkien so nahe kommt.
Der Stil ist ähnlich, nicht so stark wie bei Tolkien, aber ähnlich.
Mckiernan ist kurzweiliger und flotter.
Was besser ist, mag der Leser entscheiden.

Mittlerweile gilt Mckiernan als Klassiker.
Durch die fehlende Kreativität fehlt natürlich einiges zur Bestnote. Aber insgesamt ist "der eiserne Turm" eine unterhaltsame Tolkien Kopie.
Nicht mehr und nicht weniger

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Darkest Day brings The Iron Tower Trilogy to a powerful close, delivering an epic and emotionally charged finale. The plot moves with steady momentum, pulling together the threads of the earlier books into a satisfying and cohesive whole. It’s a true continuation rather than a repetition—each battle feels earned, each loss deeply felt. The sense of sacrifice runs through the story, and the deaths of key characters add real weight to the war’s cost.

McKiernan balances large-scale conflict with intimate moments, giving readers a close look at the personal toll of victory. The final chapters are especially moving, showing what becomes of the survivors once the fighting ends. Rather than stopping at triumph, the book lingers on rebuilding, grief, and renewal. That choice makes the ending both unexpected and profoundly human.

This volume delivers what fantasy readers hope for—heroism, heartbreak, and hope all bound together. It honors the world and characters built across the trilogy, while closing their stories with grace and emotion. The Darkest Day stands as a strong and fitting conclusion to a classic fantasy journey.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Darkest Day began with some more original material (more original than the content of the previous volume), but quickly become increasingly derivative again of the Lord of the Rings, right down to the mostly unnecessary appendices. I went into this book anticipating that against all odds, good would triumph over evil in the end, and the Warrow (read Hobbit) Tuck (read Frodo) would ultimately play some major role in said triumph. This might be considered a spoiler, though for this type of very traditional high fantasy it should not, but my expectations were met. The one surprising element though was that it was not quite the fairytale ending that I expected for the unlikely hero.

All in all, I would recommend this trilogy only to those who have read the Lord of the Rings, and really crave more of the same sort of story. Or for those curious to see how close an imitation can get to an original work yet still be published.

[Chris Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of all the problems with this book (same goes for the first two, also), parts of this story really manage to soar. I was brought to tears several times (as were ALL of the characters). The moments of sheer awesomeness here really outweigh the bad parts.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few bad parts. Again, every major action here is straight out of Tolkien. Sorry me almost exactly. Modru—the big bad—is just a generic run-of-the-mill evil wizard. The characters have a tendency to not only overstate the obvious, but also to do it often. And everyone else is always shocked at whatever obvious statement is made.

It’s a good story, and honestly the biggest problem is that it could have been great. Of course, this is McKeirnan’s first, and a lot of the problems are likely due to that fact.

[Rex Libris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rip off of Lord of the Ri . . . er . . . I mean the Iron Tower trilogy concludes in this volume. The Hobbit, I mean Warrow character defeats the big bad and save the princess.

Interestingly, the author wrote this trilogy only to set up what was his original project, The Silver Call duology. That series is an interesting concept: During the big war the nasties take over a Dwarf cave city, and out heroes making a daring trek through it, defeat the balrog-like creature. Now, several generations later, the Dwarves want to take it back, and the story is about that war.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the trilogy, the formation of the world and it's current crisis. I felt the character development was slightly awkward, and dialogue and hero exploits were contrived. The main issue I had with this book was with the description of the final battle. The description of the battle did not fit with the troop numbers given.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the best volume in the trilogy by far. It had the highest action and the culmination of all the bread crumbs strewn throughout the first two books. It was epic, tragic, and satisfying in so many ways. I loved it and will miss Tuck, Merrilee, Patrel, Galen King, Gildor, and Brega. Although there were some passages that dragged, I look forward to more stories in this world.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final book of the Iron tower trilogy.
Fast paced! I felt Tuck would play a part but did not see that ending. Though some people feel this is like Tolkien’s stories, I feel it isn’t, I see a lot of Viking influences here, especially with the naming of the 3 earths, the bridge for travel to the Eleven higher world, and the names of some of the monster and characters.

[Carson Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
A satisfying conclusion to a fun popcorn read of a trilogy.
Yes this series is a lot like LOTR, so much as to be shocking in some areas, but the author has his own story to tell and his own flair as a writer.
I would recommend if you wanted to read a more action packed and grittier telling of LOTR.

[Wayfaring_Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was mildly enjoying this series through books 1 & 2 but by the 3rd it was really good. I was quite invested in the story and characters and curious to see how it would end. A fun series for lovers of Tolkein and epic fantasy.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. Does what you expect, when you expect it, and how you expected it. It (the series as a whole) would be a nice introduction for a new reader of high fantasy.

[P.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed another epic tale.

[Wickedpen]

Don't know where the image came from, but it is actually the same silver cast as the first two books.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serviceable rendition of Tolkien