Customer Reviews

Spirit Gate (Crossroads, Book 1)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sometimes, if you're willing to invest the time and money in an author, hoping for something good, you're eventually satisfied. This was my experience with Kate Elliott. I thought her Jaran books were pretty decent - nothing spectacular, but good enough to get me to purchase King's Dragon, the first book in her Crown of Stars series.

...And that's where I started to lose faith. That was a Jordan-esque behemoth of a series that would've worked ten times better as a trilogy or even just a duology.

I never would've bought Spirit Gate, after having suffered through book one and part of book two of Crown of Stars. So it is fortunate that it (Spirit Gate) was given to me as a gift, or I never could have gotten to enjoy it. Even though it promises to be the start of another 7-book series (oh my god, AGAIN??), this one is so much more entertaining. The setting is a nice blend of the familiar and the strange, without being so far-out just for the sake of being far-out. The characters are nicely done, just sympathetic enough to have me rooting for them (especially poor Joss), and at the same time they are not portrayed as super-men and -women. There is also much left unsaid about the main characters, enough to keep me in suspense, but not so much that I felt cheated when I finished this first book.

The Eagles are a very nice touch; it's been a while since I've seen the trope of fantastic-animals-as-steeds handled this well. Especially imaginative is the hang-glider-like rig used to 'steer' them. Cool visuals.

So... even though I have to invest yet more time, money, and energy into ANOTHER multi-part publishing/marketing frenzy, at least this time I can do it with a clearer conscience. And thank god, Elliott writes much faster than George Martin. :D

Ms. Elliott has established a fair reputation with her Jaran series and the Crown of Stars set. This book looks like it might be the start of another incredibly long series. In and of itself, long stories are not a problem, as they allow the author to properly set the scene, build up all the little details of the world, and explore the characters in depth, and there's a lot of that set-up work done in this novel. Much of this is quite good, as she gives us a look at not one but multiple different societies, each with their own culture, habits, gods, and idiosyncrasies, along with a fairly nice reworking of the old trope of giant flying creatures capable of hauling people around with her eagles that are at least a little less unbelievable than the fire-breathing dragons that inhabit too many fantasies.

However, there becomes just too much of this background and scene setting. Every time someone walks down the street, every detail of that street needs to remarked upon, every peddler, beggar, fruit stand, scent, and building. The world mythology is detailed multiple times, frequently with the exact same words. After a while, this continuous descriptive work becomes overwhelming and smothers the story. In a planned series of books, I don't expect the first book to have a great amount of story/plot development, but here I found only enough to really occupy about a 200 hundred page book. As it actually runs to over 400 pages, that's a lot of filler.

Her character development is good, with enough depth given to several characters to make me care about what happens to them, and I found these people to be generally likable even with their obvious character flaws. The problems her characters face grow naturally from the environment and the starting premise of the book. Her world seems to somewhat standard for a fantasy novel, with no high-tech wonders and a generally feudal type structure, but she has added the province of the Hundred, which seems to be much closer to a people's democracy with guaranteed rights for individuals, aided by benevolent, and, at least the beginning of this work, respected judges. As such, it makes an interesting contrast to the rest of her world.

An interesting story line and world populated by real people, but in severe need of pruning some of the excess descriptive work.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

"Spirit Gate" is the beginning of a seven-volume fantasy starring circuit court judges called reeves, who fly from court house to court house aboard gigantic eagles. The setting is sort of Oriental-medieval and the action begins in a land called the Hundred, although it quickly moves to other countries and Empires. Nine super-human Guardians once protected the Hundred and dispensed justice, but they've disappeared and the reeves are on their own against some very poisonous enemies.

Then the reeves and their eagles start to disappear.

This fantasy novel is a multi-viewpoint affair, sometimes confusingly so. There are enough love stories to warrant reviews in the romance blogs as well as "Sci Fi Weekly" and "Publishers' Weekly." The life-styles of the reeves, merchant families, mercenary soldiers, priestesses, and bonded servants are minutely detailed. There is lots of sex and violence--enough to require parental guidance if "Spirit Gate" were a movie, but not enough lingering close-ups for an `X.'

Except for the monstrous eagles, there is very little magic in this first volume. The reader is treated to careful world-building, as multiple characters travel hither and yon, building relationships, and fighting shadow-armies. A once peaceful land is toppled from its golden age into war and chaos. The peasants are slaughtered like sheep. Farms and villages are set to the torch, almost with impunity, until the reeves and an outcast band of mercenary soldiers begin to organize and fight back.

I found "Spirit Gate" a little slow in places, especially when the viewpoint switched to yet another new character. I also would have preferred a few more touches of fantasy. But the eagles were magnificent, and most of the leading characters held their own against mischance and outright slaughter. I moved right into the second volume, "Shadow Gate" and read through until I ran out of pages. Hopefully, Kate Elliott is hard at work on volume III. It's usually a good sign when a fantasy series starts out in paperback and segues into hard-bound as this one did.

This is as finely written a fantasy as I've read in years. I can only think of a couple of other authors who have matched the richness and depth of this work. Characters are alive, complex and totally individual. The world building has such a depth and substance that this tapestry of lands becomes hauntingly real. The complex interweaving of subplots moves the story along with rare skill and pacing. If this isn't nominated for an award, I'd be shocked.

I found large parts of her last series, The Crown of Stars of almost this quality but I fear that the other reviewer was right, it became sprawling and out of control. I hope that this lovely start can maintain its momentum. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I stopped reading Sword and Fantasy books years ago because they all felt like retreads. This is completely different from the "same old, same old" trilogies that line the shelves. It's an excellent book, full of vivid characters who are human in many ways but from a really alien set of cultures. (One of the most interesting parts of the book is the way she introduces you through the different characters to the different cultures that share this world.) As in 24, people die unexpectedly, minor characters grow in prominence, and there's a new adventure around every corner. I'm a jaded grown-up and I can't wait for Book 2 to come out. You won't be disappointed!

This is Kate Elliott's best work to date, in my view. I was drawn in quickly by characters that are diverse, believable, and sympathetic. The story is unfolded slowly but deftly. That's the way I like epic fantasy! Chief characters are revealed by layers within the story. The pace is taut but unhurried. Great start to a new series. I look forward to future installments! It's all about the crafting of the story and the characters who live in it . . . and it's all here.

I really wanted to like this book, and I tired hard to enjoy it, but I just couldn't. The prologue was interesting, but ended too quickly. Then, we are thrown 19 years in the future and not introduced to the world properly. Names meant nothing and descriptions were too long. I had a hard time getting into Joss's section of the book, and I was wondering when we were ever going to get to the girl the jacket described. For a while I thought I was reading a book with a jacket from an entirely different book. Finally, we get to the girl that meets a captain and whose life is changed, and I finally start to enjoy the book. I liked all of the characters presented and I enjoyed Mai's plight, but I got bored of their journeying with no goal in sight. Then, it's back to Joss. Bad events are happening, we aren't sure why, and we don't find out for a long long time. I feel that this book had promise, and could have been enjoyable if told differently. Unimportant details were expounded while important things like guardians and blonde haired demons remained mysteries. Overall, Spirit Gate was too drawn out and lacked the substance to be enjoyable.

I'm surprised to be the first reviewer, but I'm happy to start things off on a high note. Five unequivocal stars. This is a great book, beautifully written. I loved its length, its richness, its world-building, its characters. I can't think of anything I needed more of, or wished there was less of, and that's pretty much the best thing I can say about an epic fantasy these days.

Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott was an interesting tale. The short synopsis is that trouble is brewing in the lands of the Hundred and no one's quite sure what to do about it. Captain Anji and company have been pushed into the Hundred by a rather unpleasant round of politics into a different set of unpleasant politics and so they arrive more or less when things start to speed up there.

It seems to take pains to keep overt magic and battle badassery out of the narrative and instead shifts its focus towards people and the migrations of people. Which I appreciate. It has a nice even pace of drama and action throughout the book and a lot of attention paid to character outlook. It wasn't particularly exciting overall, but it was interesting and pleasant to read.

The degree of character development was delicately quiet for the most part. Instead of over-long info dumping about certain characters, the reader follows one character for a bit and meets other characters through the one for a while. I felt that the transitions between perspectives were pretty smooth for the most part, although the pacing between the two sections did not seem to match up some of the time.

I suppose my primary complaints would be that for all of the careful detail and thought that seemed to go into most of the characters, it took a long while for the narrative to start picking up. Also, I found myself wanting an explanation of the differing philosophies of the Merciless and Merciful deities, since that seems to be integral in many ways to the story's universe. In addition, I wanted someone to tell me why the Guardians were important because they would be mentioned without a good context for their significance.

I'm not entirely sure if I actually like the story thus far, but will suffice to say that I am intrigued enough to want to pick up the next book to see what happens next. I also want to see where Marit goes in Joss's dreams.

The prolouge was great, but then there was a major dry spell from there until page 300. I'm sure the author could have dealt with character exposition and setup in a far more concise and precise manner.

Had the writer been one for whom I have less respect, I never would have gotten to the end, but it's well I did. The ending was fantastic, and I wouldn't be opposed to getting the next book in this series.