I haven't read them for a while, but I think I recall it was kind of the point that the main character was passive and blank at first - she was kinda like a mirror herself and had to come to terms with her own power from the inside out, or something like that. I think I shall reread these, I enjoyed them and can't remember much about what happened, always a good sign for reread time.
Btw I do remember being creeped out a few times by the mild sexual violence, too. But when a writer has something to say, or wants the reader to think about something, which Donaldson generally does, then a bit of creeping out is not a bad thing. I don't recall it as being gratuitous as such, but rather part of the context and all very psychological as per usual with Mr Donaldson.
I give Mordant's Need the thumbs up. I remember it as being absorbing, imaginative and thoughtful, nowhere near as hard work as Thomas Covenant. (Donaldson Lite?) If on rereading I change my mind I will report back accordingly.
