Customer Reviews

Into the Labyrinth (Death Gate Cycle)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In all probability, people who read the first of the Death Gate Cycle books and like it, are going to want to read all of the books in the series (regardless of any flucutation in the individual books' ratings). Ditto for the reverse: if people don't like the first book, then they're probably not going to want to read any of the other books in the series. Thus, instead of individual book ratings, I've rated the whole series and given a short blurb on any specifics for each book.

Overall, this is a very good series. The authors were amazingly creative in coming up with this concept and the books are well-written, extremely interesting, and internally consistent (mostly -- see below for some exceptions). I highly recommend this series of books for everyone. My comments for the indidual books follow:

Vol. 1 -- Dragon Wing: This book covers the exploration of Arianus: the realm of Air. It introduces us to the two main characters (Haplo and Alfred) and many of the recurring characters throughout the series. It's a well-paced, well-written book that's an excellent reresentation of what to expect in most of the rest of the series. Essentially, if you like this book, you'll like the other six books. If you don't like this book, then there's no sense in reading any of the others.

Vol. 2 -- Elven Star: This book covers the exploration of Pryan: the realm of Fire. Alfred is entirely missing from this book, and Haplo isn't really the centerpiece. Instead, the book is mostly written from the perspective of the mensch and of the newly introduced (and recurring) Zifnab. The one possible weakness in the book is that Weis/Hickman wrote it such that the structure of Pryan itself is more of a mystery than Arianus was in the first book.

Vol. 3 -- Fire Sea: This book covers the exploration of Abarrach: the realm of Stone. Once again, both Haplo and Alfred are present. The characters and areas presented in this book are key elements for the entire series. An interesting book, but not a very happy one at all.

Vol. 4 -- Serpent Mage: This book covers the exploration of Chelestra: the realm of Water. Both Alfred and Haplo are on this world. But, for the most part, they follow separate plot lines. There's a lot of action taking place throughout the book and Weis/Hickman introduce some actual Sartan (besides Alfred). They also bring in an ancient evil to balance the ancient good introduced in the previous book. The most irritating thing about this book is that it ends in a cliff-hanger. The previous books tied up their worlds' activities fairly nicely. Not so in this book. It ends at a very inconvenient spot.

Vol. 5 -- Hand of Chaos: This book returns Haplo to Arianus and the people he met there earlier. Whereas the first four books of the series cover the exploration of the four realms, this book starts the synthesis of the various threads from those books into a movement towards closure. It's a good book, but, unfortunately, it doesn't do anything with Alfred. The previous book left Alfred heading towards a bad end. This book doesn't do anything with that. So, while reading the book, you constantly have this little voice in the back of your mind going "what's happening with Alfred?" Irritating.

Vol. 6 -- Into the Labyrinth: This book ranges across just about all of the worlds of the Death Gate. It brings all of the various threads from the other books to a head. Most importantly, it finally does something with Alfred. The unfortunate thing about this book is that it contains a lot of technical errors (or, more specifically, contradictions). For instance, in Dragon Wing, we're told that a person needs to be familiar with an area to use a transportation spell to get to that area. Yet, very close to the beginning of the book, one of the characters uses such a spell without ever having been to her target location. There are also several instances where the characters COULD have used such a spell, but don't. Likewise, there are problems with replication spells. In Fire Sea, Haplo and Alfred use such a spell to replicate enough food for a large group of people. Yet, in this book, no one seems to consider using a replication spell to produce more of some food. But, later on, those same people are using that same spell to replicate weapons. Plus, at one point, Xar uses a spell to just materialize both food and drink for a party. But, if such a thing is possible, why do the Patryns hunt and, apparently, farm in the Labyrinth? Also, the size of the Labyrinth seems wrong. From the previous books, it's taken hundreds (if not thousands) of years for various Patryns to traverse the hundreds of Gates in the Labryrinth. Yet, in this book, from the very beginning of the Labyrinth they can see the results of things happening at the Final Gate. There's also the problem of how people at the center of the Labyrinth would know anything about the Final Gate.

Vol. 7 -- Seventh Gate: This is the conclusion of the Death Gate series. Unforunately, I didn't much care for it. Basically, it comes across as being pretty sappy. All of a sudden, Haplo and Alfred are best buds and want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Most of the various threads are tied up adequately (if not very satifyingly). But, the sudden push towards liberal "peace, love, and harmony" is trite. Of the seven books in this series, this one is the least good. Once again, I didn't much care for the tone of this book. But, since it adequatly ties up most everything that needed tying up, I'm not going to downgrade the whole series because of that.

Ignore all of the bad comments and listen to the good ones. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to find love in the darkest of times, here is the book for you. This book reveals that the series isn't about Haplo trying to help Lord Xar take over the world or about Alfred being sad about his past or the effects that being dead has on a person. It is about Haplo growing into a person and how all of the people he has met along the way have effected his life as well as how he has effected theirs. By the time one reads the series up to this book it can be concluded that it belongs in the same status as LOTR. They too have spent much time on developing their own world.
So if you consider reading this series or are even just considering to carry on with it, I strongly suggest that you do.

Into The Labyrinth is the sixth book of the Death Gate series. It follows book five The Hand of Chaos (Death Gate Cycle, Book 5), and precedes the conclusion to the epic series The Seventh Gate (The Death Gate Cycle). The book whose main story line is revealed in its obvious title is a fun read, has many of the elements that fans love about the series and the genre, produces fascinating characters and has a few twists to boot. Having said that, it does lose a couple of notches for reasons of logic and consistency. Where to begin?
Patryns are demigods and have powers and magic to match, but have trouble crossing a plank or guiding/assisting others to even in the direst of times.
The same powerful beings that have had to evade the worst menaces of the labyrinth and have partly found their way out are blinded by the most obvious of trickery. Even Lord Xar, the self-styled Patryn leader, cannot see the obvious dangers lurking beneath the scale of the dragon snakes. This, even after one dragon snake commandeer's the Patryns' ship and people. None of the Patryn left onboard notice the fake runes or detects the impostor.
Patryns cannot break through Sartan runes even in the absence of an active defense by the Sartan. Xar needs humans or an amulet carried by an unaware dwarf to gain access to a rune-inscribed ship. The Patryn cannot even duplicate weapons or food.
Vasu, the semi-demigod, sees the red glow of the final gate while residing at the mouth of the labyrinth.
And so on.

Thankfully, Zifnab and his dragon provide much entertainment (and benevolence) as they battle for the lesser races and the fate of the worlds. In the same context, each of the lesser races demonstrates higher logic and reasoning than the higher races. Admittedly, this is a deliberate design of Weis and Hickman. As well, the tytans' mystery is partly resolved.
Adding to the lost opportunity, however, is the battle between Samah and Xar that never was. The book could have, and should have, taken up the opportunity to cast the meeting of the two most powerful representatives of their races as a grand battle of sorcery and might. Alas, the still unexplained magic-nullifying water pours cold water on that notion.

Into The Labyrinth is still a fine book. It is good in its own right and indispensable as part of the series. Haplo's (a Patryn) dog is beautiful and fascinating. Alfred (a Sartan) is revealed as Coren and much more, Marit (another Patryn) regains her love and her senses and a furious battle takes place, albeit in an unlikely setting. It is just that the book could have done so much more and made so much more sense.

If you don't read all seven books in order, you'll never get it. "Into the Labyrinth" is totally dependant on the other books. (So are the rest) Everything flows into each other so that I can't quite remember where each book began and ended. They'll blow you away. Really well-developed characters, intricately carved plot, and a frustratingly real writing style make these books the best I've ever read.

What the fifth book 'The Hand of Chaos' lacked, this book brings to the table - content and real progression of the storyline. The best characters in the series (Haplo, Alfred and Hugh) are central in the storyline. There are new characters who are interesting (Marit and Vasu) and Xar's character is developed. Getting a glimpse inside the Labyrinth is also entertaining. There are plenty of surprises to keep the story lively. I would say this book is the second best in the series so far, behind 'Serpent Mage', book four.

Having read all of Weis and Hickmans books I was expectig a lot out of The Death Gate Cycle. And boy did I get it! Into the Labyrinth was probably my favorite of the series, that and Serpent Mage. It was well written, action filled. All in all it was quite a book I would recomend it to ANYONE. If you have not read the series yet, READ IT. And if you have, read it again. Books as good as these deserve to be read again and again. My favorite part was the battle of abri and the "Coren" part. For what it is worth I think it was one of Weis and Hickmans best, and one of the best ever writen!!!!

The Death Gate Cycle was the first series of books I had ever read. Since these, I haven't been able to find a book or series that had such an impact on me. I love the whole "idea" of the Death Gate. The way they presented Haplo and Alfred was fantastic. Even the detail they went into on the other characters like Bane, Iridal, Limbeck, Ciang-The Arm, and definately Hugh-The Hand. I heard there was another book comming out after the Seventh Gate. If it's true, someone please write me back and let me know if I should continue searching for the book. Thanks for the reading pleasure Tracy and Margaret.

This book answers alot of questions which had been left open from previous books. Many chapters are told from the perspective of Xar, Lord of the Nexus, allowing the reader to see into the mind of this previously mysterious character. In addition, by the end if this book, Haplo comes to terms with who he is, what he stands for, and what he wants to accomplish. I would give this series the highest possible recommendation. The Death Gate Cycle is thoroughly readable and a ton of fun.

I have yet to read this book, but I noticed that you say it is out of print. However, just yesterday, I purchased a brand new copy from B. Dalton bookstores at the same price as each of the other novels, 5.99. I just thopught I would let you know so you can remove your out of print status. Thanks.

I love these authors and was glad to have found some of their books on the Kindle, but this book was so full of typos I was tempted to stop reading it several times. I think it would have been better to read the paper copy then this flawed electronic copy.