The Shadow Gate (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Margaret Ball (Author), Tom Kidd (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This sprightly fantasy alternates between a world similar to 12th-century France but populated by elves and the New Age Psychic Research Center in Austin, Tex., poking gentle fun at both. The story revolves around the attempt of the elves to restore their long-lost queen Sybille and revive their fading magical powers. Two American women are respectively summoned into their universe in the belief that each is Sybille, but the elves are not the brightest, and they yank the wrong people. The strange encounters between the two worlds are irresistible: a hard-nosed Texas lawyer meets an angel; a real estate developer controlled by forces of darkness is opposed by blue-haired bridge ladies allied with a mad mix of street people, New Age crystal healers and a host of others. While the plot is weak, there are some wonderful scenes, such as a haughty elf-lord getting his consciousness raised by an angry American feminist and peasants convinced that two crumpled tissues are samples of faery weaving. Ball has written historical fiction under the name Catherine Lyndell ( A Bridge to the Sky ). This is her first fantasy novel.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- A slight but enjoyable tale that tangles the unsuspecting staff of the New Age Psychic Research Center in Austin, Texas with militant monks and elves of an alternate reality. A concealed identity, romantic involvements, and the typical confusions of 20th-century Americans confronted by functional magic complicate the plot. Similar territory was explored more interestingly by Barbara Hambly in The Silent Tower (1986) and The Silicon Mage (1988, both Ballantine), but Ball's lighthearted approach will appeal to readers who are not hard-core fantasy addicts.

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1st Printing edition (December 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671720325
• ISBN-13: 978-0671720322
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,954,149 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Fantasy -- The Shadow Gate by Margaret Ball, April 20, 2004

By	J. Simpson "sfraziera" (Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book under "Books for Chicks". But it is a great story which just happens to have women as the key characters. Men, you will enjoy it also, it is a good fantasy story. If you enjoy Andre Norton or Jody Lynn Nye you will enjoy Margaret Ball's "The Shadow Gate".

4 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is my favorite Margaret Ball book, June 9, 1998

By A Customer

I've read all of Margaret Ball's books that I've been able to get my hands on (well, all her fantasy novels, anyway ... but I may start reading her romances because I've become such a fan). I love the blend of history and fantasy that is present in Ball's books, and the answer to the mystery of what happened to the missing elven queen had me guessing right up until the end!