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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. Parts of this were good, but the technical magic explanations often got very heavy and a little to info-dump-y to be believable. I also found Danny very annoying at times (although he got better by the end), and there was a weird amount of sex stuff that didn't seem to fit the book or be necessary (like Lena).
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
I am so completely torn about this book. On the one hand, I love the concept, the world, and the magical system. I am a sucker for anything that deals with mythological creatures and gods living and working in the modern day. But...and it is a huge but... I wasn't compelled by the writing or the actual story. The flipping back and forth between worlds felt disjointed and I felt there were far too many segways into plot points that didn't really move the story forward.
For the portions that were actually compelling, the book got a solid 4/4.5 stars, but the other portions were a 2 star read a best, so I guess that leaves me somewhere in the 2.5-3 stars for the book.
For the portions that were actually compelling, the book got a solid 4/4.5 stars, but the other portions were a 2 star read a best, so I guess that leaves me somewhere in the 2.5-3 stars for the book.
the reader for the audiobook through overdrive threw me off. it was a hard listen. i think if i were to re-read this in physical form later i would like it more.
I confess it is sometimes hard for me to divorce an author from their personal politics when it comes time to subjectively evaluate their work, but I don't really have this problem with Card. Ender's Game is one of my favorite books of all time, and the Mithermages Trilogy looks like it might be right up there as well.
That's right. Trilogy. The Lost Gate is only the first of three books telling a continuing story, so that is how I'm judging it.
Like all part 1's, this book has to walk the fine line between throwing out enough exposition for the rest of the plot to make sense, enough trailing threads of story to last through two more volumes, and enough conclusions to make the reader feel like something actually happened and we're not just waiting on the next book to come out. If this book fell short, it was only on this last requisite.
The Lost Gate operates on a premise somewhat similar to Neil Gaiman's in American Gods -- that the old gods of myth are not just ideas, but physical beings. Card's take is that these physical gods are actually an alien race from the planet Westil, who came to Earth (which they call Mittlegard) through Great Gates created by a certain type of mage. The named gods that we remember from myth are not in fact all one, but those names are instead like titles passed down through the different "families" (like the Nordic gods, and the Greeks) to denote a particular type of mage. Card plays on the similarities between the members of different pantheons to assign them a magery, and it makes for an interesting read.
There is definitely enough material here to make for a compelling trilogy, but as I said, The Lost Gate is fully a part one. It was a good and worthy book, but I'm ready for part two.
That's right. Trilogy. The Lost Gate is only the first of three books telling a continuing story, so that is how I'm judging it.
Like all part 1's, this book has to walk the fine line between throwing out enough exposition for the rest of the plot to make sense, enough trailing threads of story to last through two more volumes, and enough conclusions to make the reader feel like something actually happened and we're not just waiting on the next book to come out. If this book fell short, it was only on this last requisite.
The Lost Gate operates on a premise somewhat similar to Neil Gaiman's in American Gods -- that the old gods of myth are not just ideas, but physical beings. Card's take is that these physical gods are actually an alien race from the planet Westil, who came to Earth (which they call Mittlegard) through Great Gates created by a certain type of mage. The named gods that we remember from myth are not in fact all one, but those names are instead like titles passed down through the different "families" (like the Nordic gods, and the Greeks) to denote a particular type of mage. Card plays on the similarities between the members of different pantheons to assign them a magery, and it makes for an interesting read.
There is definitely enough material here to make for a compelling trilogy, but as I said, The Lost Gate is fully a part one. It was a good and worthy book, but I'm ready for part two.
Card has an interesting way of writing dialog that is funny but at the same time slightly unrealistic.
The Lost Gate started great, with a boy who thought he had been born magicless in a family of mages. The middle started to lose me, with the search for the boy's power dragging out for most of the book. By the last hundred pages I thought there was no way the story would wrap up, and although it did, it left enough dangly edges that a sequel is inevitable. I probably won't read it.
I mostly picked this up because the release of the Ender's Game movie reminded me how much I loved that book. The Lost Gate wasn't on the same level for me.
The Lost Gate started great, with a boy who thought he had been born magicless in a family of mages. The middle started to lose me, with the search for the boy's power dragging out for most of the book. By the last hundred pages I thought there was no way the story would wrap up, and although it did, it left enough dangly edges that a sequel is inevitable. I probably won't read it.
I mostly picked this up because the release of the Ender's Game movie reminded me how much I loved that book. The Lost Gate wasn't on the same level for me.
It has been many years since I read Card, and I'm glad I returned with this one. It had a nice combination of modernity and fantasy. I look forward to more in the series.
I loved it. Great world, Card's dedication to the story and the world shows.
Good entertaining fantasy. Reminded me of American Gods by Gaiman.