But the things I remember most are: A lip scar would be really handy to have. And I really HATED the main female character (Teresa?). I hated her like I hated the main female character from Stephen Donaldson's A Man Rides Through series.

It's been a long time since I read this one too. It kinda pushed the enevelope of being a little romance-y for me, but I still really enjoyed it. I remember I really liked that the hero (his name slips me at the moment), was mercenary who had worked for the enemy. I also liked the monsters and as always, JVJ has a lot of great action.

Too many fantasies are all-talk and conspiracies but no combat. I hate any book like that. What can I say? I'm a guy and like most men we need some good ol' violent fightin’ in our stories.

You are probably confusing the two. The protagonist of "The Mirror of her Dreams" and "A Man Rides Through" was called Terisa Morgan (spelling may be a little off). If my quick search is correct the protagonist of The Barbed Coil was called Tessa McCamfrey.

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"The Alliance ain't the good guys. They're the opposing faction." ---Sam Shepherd or Stephen Howie

I liked Tessa. She reminded me a lot of myself, except that I don't have tinnitus and I was born in Ohio, not England...lol.

I'm seriously and literally in love with Ravis of Burano...the main male character. I liked Camron and delicate little Angeline and her precious No Good Dog, Snowy. Don't forget Emith and his dear old mother! Izgard and I have a love-hate relationship... It's about 60%-40% hate.

I liked how a woman went from a life with problems in San Diego to being a heroine in a fantasy world. Rather like the Chronicles of Narnia; also a little like the author (English woman who lives in San Diego).

I liked the characters. I havn't read the book in a long time but I enjoyed it and how the story began and ended quickly. I also liked the world with it's cultures and I loved the map. I always like looking at fantasy maps.

Its just so rare to even find a stand-alone book in fantasy anyway, so when you find a good one. It's a keeper.

I also like the theme or plot where you have an everyday person or even a person that has problems or may be considered a loser in our world, but is a hero in another world or time.

I know they were cheesy b-flicks but that's what I liked about the Mad Max movies. Most the characters were nobodys before the apocolypse but we're, in-a-way, successful afterwards.

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Reviewer on www.FanLit.net

I love this book and read it at least once a year...

I enjoyed this book so thoroughly that for a few years after reading it I kept combing the bookstore shelves looking for a second volume; stubbornly not ever wanting to believe that it was a solo work.

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Remember to always use fresh macaroni, if the box rattles throw it away.