Customer Reviews

SERPENT MAGE (Death Gate Cycle)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Serpent Mage takes you to the fourth world of the Death Gate Series. It takes you to the world of Water, known as Chelstra. Here, in the beginning of the novel, Alfred finds himself in the crystal tombs of the Sartan.........AND they are still living. Once Alfred wakes up his fellow Sartan, he realizes that he is talking to the one and only Samah.

Samah is the lead Sartan in a council of Sartan that had Sundered the world. He and his fellow Sartan have been left asleep for thousands of years. They can not believe the corruption that has taken place on the other worlds. In due time, Alfred is ostricized by his own Sartan.

Haplo has entered the world to find that the saltwater on this world has a debilitating effect on his magic. He comes across some of the Mensch on this world to find that they are unique here on Chelstra......they are at peace. However, Haplo comes across some "creatures" that are more evil than the Sartan, and they are the serpents.

This novel is excellent due to the complex nature of the whole story. On one hand, you have the totally evil serpents who thrive off of chaos. And on the other you have Alfred and Haplo, who are the only ones who truly understand the dreadful power of the serpents.

Alfred has finally found his greatest desire, and that is living Sartan. However, he realizes that he is nothing like the original Sartan. Unfortunately, Alfred does not have similar opinions as the original council created by Samah. As a restult, Alfred faces the same punishment by Samah for those Sartan who opposed Samah. The punishment is stunning, and shocking.

Again, this novel is excellent, because you further understand both Alfred and Haplo, and what the whole purpose of the Death Gate is. It is fast paced, and chaotic in nature, but the enjoyment level is high. Overall, this novel is very informative as to what is occuring in the present and the past. With the addition of the serpents, this should leave to a stunning conclusion in this series.

The Serpent Mage is even better than the previous three! Many questions are answered in this one! The children are great characters. This book was one revalation after another. Which leaves a very interesting perspective on the whole series.

Book four of The Death Gate Cycle series introduces the final of the four worlds created by powerful Sartan in the Sundering. It is a world of water... water with magical properties that - unplanned by the Sartan - nullifies magic, acts as air and harbour and introduces powerful and ancient evil which materialize as dragon-snakes.
The powerful and ancient enemies, Sartan and Patryn, come face to face and mingle with humans, dwarves and elves, but a bigger and more ancient enemy is also present. Will aeons of distrust and condescension be overcome or will the feuding be the end of all? Notwithstanding that, the two protagonists also come closer than ever to each other as a shocking surprise is exposed.

Following Fire Sea: The Death Gate Cycle, Volume 3 (A Death Gate Novel) and preceding book five The Hand of Chaos (Death Gate Cycle, Book 5), Serpent Mage adds much to the history and mystery of the Sartan and Patryn and their interactions. Where Haplo, the travelling Patryn, sought to sow the seeds of dissent and disunity elsewhere, in Chelestra his objective is the reverse. It takes young members of the lesser species, however, to stand for sanity and logic in a world where everything is coming undone.

With all the action, reaction and revelation comes several shortcomings too. Notwithstanding a trifling of an explanation in the appendices, the reason behind the magic-quashing properties of the water remains unexplained. The aged and ancient Sartan - save two - prove extraordinarily ignorant and resilient to even the most elementary of evidence and logic. The ever faithful, and nameless, dog too remains much of a mystery despite one Sartan's (Alfred Montbank) hints.

Serpent Mage pushes the saga forth and brings much to light. The characterizations are vivid and the pace of action breathtaking. The book, however, also sets up the rest of the series for a conclusion that is yet to unfold.

In this sequel to Fire Sea, Haplo moves on to the fourth of the four worlds created by the Sartan, Chelestra, the world of water. But, Alfred the Sartan has arrived at the same time as Haplo, and together they trigger a chain of events that may just bring about the end of all the worlds. There is a powerful race of dragon-snakes on Chelestra that have their own agenda, and it might just bring about the deaths of both Haplo and Alfred.

This is another excellent book, part four of one of the greatest series of fantasy books every written. I first read this book when it came out in 1992, and every few years I read it again - it's that good! I love books that include elves, dwarves and wizards, but this series takes that genre and moves it in a direction you might have never expected. I love the fascinating worlds that the authors created, and also the interesting characters and institutions that fill them.

Overall, I think that this is one of the greatest series of fantasy books, if not the greatest. I highly recommend this book, and the other six that make up the series. Believe me, they are well worth your time!

The setting of the fourth book in the magnificent Death Gate series is when Haplo, one of the many main characters, arrives in the nexus after traveling through deaths gate from Abarrach is punished by the Lord of the Nexus before he is sent to Chelstrea, but when he arrives at Chelstrea, he receives quite a shock when he realizes that the water at chelstrea nullifies his magic. The story then switches to Grundle, Alake, and Devon who are three mensch living on the world of Chelstrea. A few days before, sea serpents attacked the dwarven seamoon and destroyed their Sunchaser fleet.

The story may get complicated and can be confusing, but if you keep reading you will like this book very much. The intertwined personalities of the characters are the most confusing, but this is the best book in this series that I have read so far. The summary above is of the first few chapters. The ending of the book will leave you hanging on an almost never ending cliff, but that is to be expected since it isn't the last book in the series.

Can't complain about the story. The Kindle edition was terrible, though, not worth $8. Full of typos and strange symbols. Please clean this up.

During the last book, Fire Sea, the authors gave us a first person perspective of what was going on through the journal of a necromancer named Balthazar. It wasn't what I was expecting but I must admit, it was very well done. It helped suck you into the plight of the Sartans living on Abarrach and really gave you a feel for what was going on and what was at stake. The authors tried a similar trick in this book. The book is littered with journal entries from a dwarf named Grundle. Unfornately, these journal entries are a bore to read. At least they were for me.

This book is another slow read. I recognize that it's world building, and if I hadn't read Fire Sea I would be 100% understanding. But in Fire Sea, Weis and Hickman proved that you can have world building and yet also a fast paced, suspense driven adventure from page 1. Things don't need to be slow to start.

Just like Elven Star though, when this book finally decides to wake up and take off, it doesn't let you go. This book really starts to unravel the mysteries of the Sartan. And many things will shock and surprise you. You get to experience more of Haplo's inner struggle. You get to experience Alfred continuing to bumble around but also hints of him developing a backbone and gaining some selfconfidence. Despite the start, this book finishes strongly and propells you head first into the next book.

4 Stars.

Serpent Mage was (in my opinion) the best book (so far) in The Death Gate Cycle. This is probably for a number of reasons. First and foremost is proabably the fact that the "world story" (ie: Gegs in Dragon Wing, the elves selling weapons in Elven Star, The necromancers in Fire Sea.) was entertaining and really held my attention. Second, the authors really dive in (or should I say sink? :p) to the minds of Haplo and Alfred. The insights into how and why they tick is truly amazing.

The book starts with Haplo hurrying to get his ship ready for his next trip to Chelestra, The Realm of Water, without alerting his lord that he's there. Xar comes and punishes Haplo for lying to him and punishes him severly, but not before he weasles the truth out of Haplo. Haplo soon gets to Chelestra and discovers that the water on Chelestra negates any magic. This causes many problems, as you can imagine, with both the Patryn and the Sartan.

Alfred, after jumping ship in the middle of Death's Gate, finds himself in a chamber full of sleeping Sartan, the same Sartan that made the decision to commence the Sundering. Alfred soon learns some ancient Sartan secrets that cause unrest through all the Sartan. Also, since Alfred is so different from the rest of the Sartan, he is accused of being more Patryn than Sartan, and is horrified when most people start thinking this.

These two stories, along with the "world story" with elven, human, and dwarven princesses is quite good, most likely the opal of the Death Gate Cycle, at least so far.

Also, please read the appendicies...They're important!

NOTE: There are some people who say that Xar has nothing to do with Czar of Tzar. Saying since they;re both rulers there's really no coincidence. I would like to quote from page 1, line 1 of Serpent Mage: "I visited my wrath upon Haplo this day." (1) Footnote: "...Xar was not his real name. It is not a Patryn name at all, one that is possibly a corruption of the ancient word tzar, derived from Caesar." IT SAYS IT RIGHT HERE THAT XAR IS A CORRUPTION OF TZAR! Just thought I should bring this to some people's attention. (Had to get that out of my system :p)

Serpent Mage shows the wonderful talents of Weis and Hickman. They wonderfully describe the world of Chelestra and their inhabitants. Also, thank God we finally get information on who exactly Alfred is. All in all, this book is a winner

This is very good book. I have read the first four books of the serie. This is best of those four. The plot is good and there are great characters. Dragonsnakes are very interesting. The end was fascinating. If you have read the earlier books of the serie, you must read this too!