Customer Reviews

The Land Beyond the Gate

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Malcolm MacDougall is born in the United States but of Irish heritage. On holiday in the 'old country' he comes across a patch of countryside which seems strangely familiar though he has never been there before. Following this familiar feeling he comes upon a stone tower where he encounters supernatural forces he could never have imagined possible. For years later Malcolm's brother Alan comes looking for him as he has become a missing person. On the same stretch of countryside Allan hears a gentle chimimg that leads him to the tower. There, after various supernatural events, Alan discovers a doorway to another world, a place he refers to as Tartarus, a place of the living dead. So begins a rollicking adventure in which Alan unwittingly becomes tired up with the fate of that world.

If you enjoy ripping yarns of alternate worlds, amazing cities, magic, Druids, Celtic dieties and repeated captures and escapes, this book is for you. The tale is not quite of the sword and sorcery genre, but something akin to that. Alan has a sword, but is not adept in using it. Also, he learns some sorcery, but only a little. He is more an unlikely hero. Eshbach is a Christian and there is some development of the theme of the nature of evil, but that is not a dominating part of text. This is much more escapist fantasy than a commentary on the nature of life. Eshbach writes in an easy to read, exciting style that is never boring. He continually introduces new material as Alan tours the alternate world, and of course sometimes includes the completely unexpected.

I have one criticism. In Chapter two we are told a long account of the earliy history of our own world, plus a description of the alternate world, its four cities, its various inhabitants and a description of various 'gods' resident in Tartarus. I found all of this a bit overwhelming and confusing, plus later in the story I had to glance back to this chapter as I had forgotten the whys and wherefores of various circumstance. Surely Eshbach could have found a better way of integrating this information into the story where and when it was needed. But this did not greatly depreciate my enjoyment of the story. It was just an annoyance.

This book is a complete novel, but it is also the first of a series of adventures surrounding Alan MacDougall and gateways to alternate worlds. The series is called THE GATES OF LUCIFER: Book (1) One: The Land Beyond the Gate; Book (2) Two: The. The other books in the series are The Armlet of the Gods, The Sorceress of Scath and The Scroll of Lucifer. If you like this tale, as I did, there is plenty more to read when you once again get the fancy to dip into another entertaining, light hearted, fantasy world.

Malcolm MacDougall is born in the United States but of Irish heritage. On holiday in the 'old country' he comes across a patch of countryside which seems strangely familiar though he has never been there before. Following this familiar feeling he comes upon a stone tower where he encounters supernatural forces he could never have imagined possible. For years later Malcolm's brother Alan comes looking for him as he has become a missing person. On the same stretch of countryside Allan hears a gentle chimimg that leads him to the tower. There, after various supernatural events, Alan discovers a doorway to another world, a place he refers to as Tartarus, a place of the living dead. So begins a rollicking adventure in which Alan unwittingly becomes tired up with the fate of that world.

If you enjoy ripping yarns of alternate worlds, amazing cities, magic, Druids, Celtic dieties and repeated captures and escapes, this book is for you. The tale is not quite of the sword and sorcery genre, but something akin to that. Alan has a sword, but is not adept in using it. Also, he learns some sorcery, but only a little. He is more an unlikely hero. Eshbach is a Christian and there is some development of the theme of the nature of evil, but that is not a dominating part of text. This is much more escapist fantasy than a commentary on the nature of life. Eshbach writes in an easy to read, exciting style that is never boring. He continually introduces new material as Alan tours the alternate world, and of course sometimes includes the completely unexpected.

I have one criticism. In Chapter two we are told a long account of the earliy history of our own world, plus a description of the alternate world, its four cities, its various inhabitants and a description of various 'gods' resident in Tartarus. I found all of this a bit overwhelming and confusing, plus later in the story I had to glance back to this chapter as I had forgotten the whys and wherefores of various circumstance. Surely Eshbach could have found a better way of integrating this information into the story where and when it was needed. But this did not greatly depreciate my enjoyment of the story. It was just an annoyance.

This book is a complete novel, but it is also the first of a series of adventures surrounding Alan MacDougall and gateways to alternate worlds. The series is called THE GATES OF LUCIFER: Book (1) One: The Land Beyond the Gate; Book (2) Two: The. The other books in the series are The Armlet of the Gods, The Sorceress of Scath and The Scroll of Lucifer. If you like this tale, as I did, there is plenty more to read when you once again get the fancy to dip into another entertaining, light hearted, fantasy world.

Twentieth century engineer Alan MacDougall goes to Scotland in search of his missing brother Malcolm. Far from the cities, in the wilds of the highlands, he comes across a broch, an ancient stone tower, in which he finds an armlet, which magically reveals to him four gates which seem to lead to alternate realities. Stepping through the gates MacDougall finds himself on amazingly beautiful, yet strangely sinister, islands. In this alternate reality magic is real. Some people are centers of so much magic power that they are considered gods. MacDougall meets Taliesin, the Bard of Bards, who becomes his friend and long-term companion. Taliesin tells MacDougall that all those who live in these lands once lived on earth, but died fourteen centuries ago. These lands are a realm created by Lucifer and all who live there are under his command. MacDougall is not a Christian, but he is also far from being a servant of Lucifer. What adventures will befall him?

For more detailed analyses of these books see my reviews under each individual title.

In this series Eshbach writes in a manner that is entertaining and able to hold the interest to the end. These books are a bit above pulp fiction but they are not high 'literature' as say Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition is. Eshbach's books will never be studied in universities, or have critical works written about them. They are, never-the-less, ideal for pleasure reading and will certainly while away the hours quickly.

Eshbach's imagination is interesting, but highly derivative. The idea of people becoming centers of magical power through mass adulation, was, for example, used earlier by Van Vogt in The Book of Ptath (1943). If we accept this derivativeness, and allow Eshbach to work his spell, the fantasy takes off with light but successful power.

When viewed over the full expanse of the sequence of novels MacDougall and Taliesin have some arch of development, as does the character Nuada, the King of the Tuatha de Danann to a lesser degree.

The third book, The Sorceress of Scath, is perhaps the best of the sequence, especially because in that novel Eshbach moves away from his regular plot devices making the story move in new and interesting directions.

Twentieth century engineer Alan MacDougall goes to Scotland in search of his missing brother Malcolm. Far from the cities, in the wilds of the highlands, he comes across a broch, an ancient stone tower, in which he finds an armlet, which magically reveals to him four gates which seem to lead to alternate realities. Stepping through the gates MacDougall finds himself on amazingly beautiful, yet strangely sinister, islands. In this alternate reality magic is real. Some people are centers of so much magic power that they are considered gods. MacDougall meets Taliesin, the Bard of Bards, who becomes his friend and long-term companion. Taliesin tells MacDougall that all those who live in these lands once lived on earth, but died fourteen centuries ago. These lands are a realm created by Lucifer and all who live there are under his command. MacDougall is not a Christian, but he is also far from being a servant of Lucifer. What adventures will befall him?

For more detailed analyses of these books see my reviews under each individual title.

In this series Eshbach writes in a manner that is entertaining and able to hold the interest to the end. These books are a bit above pulp fiction but they are not high 'literature' as say Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition is. Eshbach's books will never be studied in universities, or have critical works written about them. They are, never-the-less, ideal for pleasure reading and will certainly while away the hours quickly.

Eshbach's imagination is interesting, but highly derivative. The idea of people becoming centers of magical power through mass adulation, was, for example, used earlier by Van Vogt in The Book of Ptath (1943). If we accept this derivativeness, and allow Eshbach to work his spell, the fantasy takes off with light but successful power.

When viewed over the full expanse of the sequence of novels MacDougall and Taliesin have some arch of development, as does the character Nuada, the King of the Tuatha de Danann to a lesser degree.

The third book, The Sorceress of Scath, is perhaps the best of the sequence, especially because in that novel Eshbach moves away from his regular plot devices making the story move in new and interesting directions.

Malcolm MacDougall is born in the United States but of Irish heritage. On holiday in the 'old country' he comes across a patch of countryside which seems strangely familiar though he has never been there before. Following this familiar feeling he comes upon a stone tower where he encounters supernatural forces he could never have imagined possible. For years later Malcolm's brother Alan comes looking for him as he has become a missing person. On the same stretch of countryside Allan hears a gentle chimimg that leads him to the tower. There, after various supernatural events, Alan discovers a doorway to another world, a place he refers to as Tartarus, a place of the living dead. So begins a rollicking adventure in which Alan unwittingly becomes tired up with the fate of that world.

If you enjoy ripping yarns of alternate worlds, amazing cities, magic, Druids, Celtic dieties and repeated captures and escapes, this book is for you. The tale is not quite of the sword and sorcery genre, but something akin to that. Alan has a sword, but is not adept in using it. Also, he learns some sorcery, but only a little. He is more an unlikely hero. Eshbach is a Christian and there is some development of the theme of the nature of evil, but that is not a dominating part of text. This is much more escapist fantasy than a commentary on the nature of life. Eshbach writes in an easy to read, exciting style that is never boring. He continually introduces new material as Alan tours the alternate world, and of course sometimes includes the completely unexpected.

I have one criticism. In Chapter two we are told a long account of the earliy history of our own world, plus a description of the alternate world, its four cities, its various inhabitants and a description of various 'gods' resident in Tartarus. I found all of this a bit overwhelming and confusing, plus later in the story I had to glance back to this chapter as I had forgotten the whys and wherefores of various circumstance. Surely Eshbach could have found a better way of integrating this information into the story where and when it was needed. But this did not greatly depreciate my enjoyment of the story. It was just an annoyance.

This book is a complete novel, but it is also the first of a series of adventures surrounding Alan MacDougall and gateways to alternate worlds. The series title is THE GATES OF LUCIFER: Book (1) One: The Land Beyond the Gate; Book (2) Two: The The other books in the series are The Armlet of the Gods, The Sorceress of Scath and The Scroll of Lucifer. If you like this tale, as I did, there is plenty more to read when you once again get the fancy to dip into another entertaining, light hearted, fantasy world.

When Alan MacDougall's brother disappears during a visit to the Scottish Highlands, Alan goes off to investigate. Finding an unknown, ancient broch, Alan discovers that it contains four gates to another world. This is the world of Tartarus, built by Lucifer for the daughters of Lilith, but now populated by the people who served him on Earth, and by the gods of the Celtic pantheon. There is a prophesy that someone will come through a gate, and lead everyone back to Earth, so all eyes turn in Alan's direction. But Alan knows that anyone journeying from Tartarus to Earth will quickly wither to a ghost. And, only Alan can see Lucifer's lieutenant, Ahriman, who seems to be playing this world for a purpose beyond anyone's understanding

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach is something of an old hand in the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy, having published his first book in 1929. Therefore, it is not surprising that this book has the feel of older fiction. There are deus ex machinas that pull the hero through each crisis, and the villains are something less than terrifying. That said, though, this is a great book. The author spins a fascinating tale, impregnated with a mystery that I now wish to unravel. Also, I must admit that I did like the way that he incorporated the Celtic pantheon into the story.

So, let me say that this is a very interesting story, a very good one (though not a great one) that I highly recommend.

Being the fantasy and sci-fi junkie that I am, whenever I know I'll have some time to enjoy reading, I stop by the used bookstore and I buy a small pile of paperbacks. This book was one of the treasures from my last used book foray.

One of Lloyd Arthur Eshbach's greatest strengths is that he combines the mythos and ethos of multiple cultures into tangible fantasy worlds. While in the beginning of the novel, Eshbach leans heavily towards Celtic mythos including flavor language such as laddie, dinna, sidhe, etc., it doesn't take long before Eshbach begins weaving into the story elements of Norse, Persian, Ancient Chinese, and even early Christian mythos. It was this wondrous mixing of exotic cultures that I liked best about the novel.

The novel begins shortly after Alan McDougall's younger brother disappears while doing archeological research in the Scottish highlands. Alan, naturally, flies out to Scotland to search for his brother. While hiking in the hills far from cities and civilization, Alan feels a sudden inclination to dig under an ancient Oak, a natural hiding spot, where he finds an ancient Celtic blade and an armband of curious design. No long after, a furious storm strikes and Alan runs through the wood searching for shelter when he happens upon an ancient tower, a broch, in which he takes refuge from the storm. Despite being a musty and old tower, it turns out that a guardian of sorts, a giant druid, who announces that the armband and sword that Alan found are his, inhabits the tower. Alan slays the monstrous druid in a fight to keep the word and armband.

After the fight, Alan explores the tower and finds an old brass doorway leading outside. After passing through the gateway, Alan discovers that the outside is curiously different than the woods that led to the old tower. The trees are curved an ancient like those out of an old Chinese painting. Strangest of all, there is an aurora borealis affect in the sky, a regular panoply of vibrant color.

Alan discovers later in the story that he has entered an alternative universe created by Satan at the beginning of time, and people by a motley crew of Celtic gods, Fomori (monsters from Celtic mythology), ancient Chinese warriors guarding princesses with porcelain faces, Norse warriors intent upon reaching Valhalla through combat, ancient Persian evil, a mob of zombies with hollow soulless bodies and a variety of other surprises. In an effort to escape, Alan becomes embroiled in the politics of this ancient world and finds out that nothing is what it seems in Satan's world.

I really enjoyed this charming and well-crafted fantasy novel and highly recommend it to others.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan