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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Really a 3.5…rounded up. I did not enjoy this one as much as last one, but it was a very interesting journey. The ending was great, but the journey getting to the end was at times boring, trivial, and obvious. There was no twist for me, because I knew what was going on before the protagonist. Again, I really don’t care much for the main character Danny. I am more interested in the other world. Thankfully, I had more of Wad’s story and more time spent with him than with Danny. Looking forward to the conclusion.
Why does Linkin Park start blasting in my mental ears whenever I read a book that disappoints?
[spoilers for The Lost Gate follow]
We left off last time with young Danny North officially becoming the new Gatefather (Think portal gun in human form). He has bested Loki, created a Great Gate which leads to the other world of Westil... but horrors! The families (groups of mages scattered acrss the globe) have learned about its existence, and everyone wants to use it to become as powerful as their ancestors were in the days when they were hailed as gods. War is sure to come, how can this pipsqueak of a hero save the day??
That's a great setup for a sequel, huh?
Too bad then that in the whole course of the book, nothing happens.
Well, except for awkward sexual advances every other page by every single teenaged girl towards our hero. (I'm not joking. Every. Single. One.) Apparently, because Danny has essential "god" powers now, that makes all young women buuurn with passion for him. I can understand maybe having one of his female friends falling sway to the desire to attach herself to power, but all of them? Within hours of each other? That's not only ridiculous, but it also makes for horribly redundant reading.
Oh yes, and Danny joins the track team! That happens! Priorities, you know. You have to maintain some semblance of a normal life when the entire world's population is in danger and you're the only thing holding back the potential storm.
It's not like there wasn't any magic in the book though. The rest of the book was devoted to infodumps about the BIG BAD, and how gates and clants and other gatemaker's trapped gates and manmage's powers work and... and... um... well, that was about it.
So basically, this book can be summed up by telling you that THE DEVIL wants the gates so he can have all of the power, the families are gonna start WW III, and every female wants to have Danny's babies. Because of reasons. And now Loki has all the power and the Devil is trapped inside Danny. Oh, also the king of Westil's ex-mistress is trapped inside the queen's body and Loki has no idea.
There. I just saved you 380 pages worth of reading, and you're ready to read what I very much hope will be a better conclusion. Card, you're a capable writer. I expect more from you.
I TRIED SO HAAARD AND GOT SO FAAAR... BUT IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MAAAAAATTER!
[spoilers for The Lost Gate follow]
We left off last time with young Danny North officially becoming the new Gatefather (Think portal gun in human form). He has bested Loki, created a Great Gate which leads to the other world of Westil... but horrors! The families (groups of mages scattered acrss the globe) have learned about its existence, and everyone wants to use it to become as powerful as their ancestors were in the days when they were hailed as gods. War is sure to come, how can this pipsqueak of a hero save the day??
That's a great setup for a sequel, huh?
Too bad then that in the whole course of the book, nothing happens.
Well, except for awkward sexual advances every other page by every single teenaged girl towards our hero. (I'm not joking. Every. Single. One.) Apparently, because Danny has essential "god" powers now, that makes all young women buuurn with passion for him. I can understand maybe having one of his female friends falling sway to the desire to attach herself to power, but all of them? Within hours of each other? That's not only ridiculous, but it also makes for horribly redundant reading.
Oh yes, and Danny joins the track team! That happens! Priorities, you know. You have to maintain some semblance of a normal life when the entire world's population is in danger and you're the only thing holding back the potential storm.
It's not like there wasn't any magic in the book though. The rest of the book was devoted to infodumps about the BIG BAD, and how gates and clants and other gatemaker's trapped gates and manmage's powers work and... and... um... well, that was about it.
So basically, this book can be summed up by telling you that
There. I just saved you 380 pages worth of reading, and you're ready to read what I very much hope will be a better conclusion. Card, you're a capable writer. I expect more from you.
I TRIED SO HAAARD AND GOT SO FAAAR... BUT IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MAAAAAATTER!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Let me start off by saying that I really respect Orson Scott Card an author. I have enjoyed many of his books. For some reason, I did not enjoy this beginning of a series as much. Danny North is part of a family of mages. There are different families and they all fight for power. When Danny shows himself to be a powerful gatekeeper, the first in 14 centuries, the power struggle is on. He gets help from his high school friends as well. There is a lot of background to the story and that is where it got bogged down for me. There are some interesting religious parallels in the story. By the end, I enjoyed it more but it was still not one I am going to continue. Fans of fantasy would enjoy this series.
The ending really frustrated me, I just want Danny to win. Don't be dumb Card. DON'T. BE. DUMB.
Rant over.
Rant over.
Ehh...sums up how I feel about this next book in the Mithermages series. After a two year wait I guess I just don't care that much about the series, unlike the Discovery of Witches series where I am not going to lose interest no matter how long the wait. This book was alright, but I needed to ground myself from the internet in order to stick with it long enough to finish. There was just something about the dialog in parts that bothered me, the attitude or immaturity of some background characters that turned me off. I remember liking the first book more than this, perhaps the story has just changed focus enough from what initially drew me in that I just don't care anymore if I stay with this series to the end. It is another one of those books where I can't really put my finger on what I dislike but there is definitely something there that turns me off of the story. Perhaps it is another case of following up a book that I really loved with one that didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of measuring up. To tell you the truth even though I read the thing I can only remember bits and pieces of the story, not even enough to mention anything in this review...and I just finished it like five minutes ago. It just didn't stick with me and I can feel it leaving even as I finish writing this. This happen with the Twelve Series by Cronin, but in that case he hooked me back in at the very end and I will read the last installment of that series. This one didn't end with a hook, or a big enough one, that I'm fine not knowing what happen next.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Couldn't tell whether this was YA or not-so much teenage angst mixed in with overly complicated explanations of the world building. I finally quit about 1/3 in.