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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Quite good; really more like 3 and a half stars. I've never been a fan of Orson Scott Card but I enjoyed this book.
The start of Card's newest series is not quite a home run, it's a bit too predictable at times for that, but it's a solid hit nonetheless. I suppose one could consider this Card's entry into the wave of post-Potter 'kids with powers' books flooding the shelves, there's even a direct reference to the phenomena. But I wouldn't really consider this a kids book, it's pretty firmly in the teens and up category. As expected, the writing is solid, the characters interesting and there is a certain amount of moral dilemma for the characters. Excellent work and I'm looking forward to the next book.
Parts of the Wad storyline reminded me of Hart's Hope. Otherwise, ehhhhhhhh
I honestly didn’t want to read The Lost Gate, given the mediocre reviews, but I was desperate to find an available audiobook and eager to finally read my first Orson Scott Card novel, despite his anti-LGBTQ leanings. The afterword by the author about the writing of the book was the best part. It was interesting to me that the idea kernel for this book took 33 years to pop into a full-fledged work. But I think this one should’ve stayed in the expired ideas pile.
By the way, this book is not appropriate for young children, despite what the plot synopsis, character ages, and writing style may suggest.
The Highs
Gate Magery: The magic system was awesome. Period. Portals are an inherently fun concept. The premise of the story is also fairly attention-grabbing: The gate between Earth and the land of Gods (Westil) has been hidden for centuries, making it impossible for the mages left in the human world to return home. There is an intense rivalry between the different mage families, and to prevent war, the groups have promised to rid themselves of unfair advantages. Thus, any person who shows signs of gatemagery must be killed to ensure that no family can return to Westil and strengthen their powers.
Wad’s Story: I was confused by the alternating perspective at first because I thought that it was a flash-forward sequence for Danny. On the third POV shift, I finally realized the story was that of a completely different character, Wad. His story truly begins when the king and queen come into the picture, as that’s when things get really interesting. As other reviewers have noted, Wad’s story was by far more engaging and felt more believable than Danny’s, with its royal drama, betrayals, and secrets.
Unpredictability: I’m not sure if this should be labeled a pro or a con. Maybe I’m just trying to come up with positive qualities so that this review doesn't seem too scathing. The plot takes many unexpected turns, but more in a “well that’s fucking random” kind of way rather than a “wow, the plot is morphing into something bigger” direction.
The Lows
Inconsistent Protagonist: I don’t mind unlikable characters, but if someone’s personality is all over the place, I can’t get a sense of who they are. At first, Danny seems like the bookish underdog, but he quickly becomes an expert liar who feels no remorse for the consequences. He is at times portrayed as highly intelligent and noble, but we only see those traits when it’s convenient to the plot.
Key Characters Arrive Too Late: We never really get to know Danny’s new guardians or the Greek girl. Eric is the one we see the most, and yet his character is inconsequential to the larger plot (although he arguably contributes to Danny’s character arc).
Setting: This may have been the book’s biggest problem. The story mainly takes place in ordinary locales, and it didn’t work for me at all. With so many cool avenues to take with the gate magic concept, the story moves in ridiculous directions instead. Danny uses his powers to shoplift from Walmart, pass toilet paper through a stall, and…go to high school?
The fantastical storybook tone in the first chapter differs wildly from the rest of the book, which was disappointing, but I should’ve known to expect it based on what other reviewers have said. I wish that Danny had been less knowledgeable about the human world; I would’ve preferred a fish-out-of-water story, where human culture is completely alien to Danny. With that approach, there would be all sorts of opportunities for humorous misunderstandings and interesting conflicts.
Lack of Cool Factor: The action scenes felt forced and require great suspension of disbelief, most notablywhen Danny finds a family tied up in their basement as well as when he and Eric confront the black market dealers . The revelatory moment and climax occur in a high school gym class. Quite frankly, those parts of the story reek of amateur writing, and I’m surprised to see that from a Hugo Award winner.
Passive Plot: External factors drive much of the plot, mainly by someone finding Danny and confronting him about his powers. Not much happens as a result of Danny’s own volition. That type of structure made the plot feel random and disconnected. It seemed like Card was writing by the seat of his pants and went with the first ideas that came to him. As comedians know, the first idea is rarely the best one.
The Bottom Line: Unfortunately, Card does not deliver on his interesting premise of a lost gate and awesome magery; it’ll be a long time before I read another one of his novels.
By the way, this book is not appropriate for young children, despite what the plot synopsis, character ages, and writing style may suggest.
The Highs
Gate Magery: The magic system was awesome. Period. Portals are an inherently fun concept. The premise of the story is also fairly attention-grabbing: The gate between Earth and the land of Gods (Westil) has been hidden for centuries, making it impossible for the mages left in the human world to return home. There is an intense rivalry between the different mage families, and to prevent war, the groups have promised to rid themselves of unfair advantages. Thus, any person who shows signs of gatemagery must be killed to ensure that no family can return to Westil and strengthen their powers.
Wad’s Story: I was confused by the alternating perspective at first because I thought that it was a flash-forward sequence for Danny. On the third POV shift, I finally realized the story was that of a completely different character, Wad. His story truly begins when the king and queen come into the picture, as that’s when things get really interesting. As other reviewers have noted, Wad’s story was by far more engaging and felt more believable than Danny’s, with its royal drama, betrayals, and secrets.
Unpredictability: I’m not sure if this should be labeled a pro or a con. Maybe I’m just trying to come up with positive qualities so that this review doesn't seem too scathing. The plot takes many unexpected turns, but more in a “well that’s fucking random” kind of way rather than a “wow, the plot is morphing into something bigger” direction.
The Lows
Inconsistent Protagonist: I don’t mind unlikable characters, but if someone’s personality is all over the place, I can’t get a sense of who they are. At first, Danny seems like the bookish underdog, but he quickly becomes an expert liar who feels no remorse for the consequences. He is at times portrayed as highly intelligent and noble, but we only see those traits when it’s convenient to the plot.
Key Characters Arrive Too Late: We never really get to know Danny’s new guardians or the Greek girl. Eric is the one we see the most, and yet his character is inconsequential to the larger plot (although he arguably contributes to Danny’s character arc).
Setting: This may have been the book’s biggest problem. The story mainly takes place in ordinary locales, and it didn’t work for me at all. With so many cool avenues to take with the gate magic concept, the story moves in ridiculous directions instead. Danny uses his powers to shoplift from Walmart, pass toilet paper through a stall, and…go to high school?
The fantastical storybook tone in the first chapter differs wildly from the rest of the book, which was disappointing, but I should’ve known to expect it based on what other reviewers have said. I wish that Danny had been less knowledgeable about the human world; I would’ve preferred a fish-out-of-water story, where human culture is completely alien to Danny. With that approach, there would be all sorts of opportunities for humorous misunderstandings and interesting conflicts.
Lack of Cool Factor: The action scenes felt forced and require great suspension of disbelief, most notably
Passive Plot: External factors drive much of the plot, mainly by someone finding Danny and confronting him about his powers. Not much happens as a result of Danny’s own volition. That type of structure made the plot feel random and disconnected. It seemed like Card was writing by the seat of his pants and went with the first ideas that came to him. As comedians know, the first idea is rarely the best one.
The Bottom Line: Unfortunately, Card does not deliver on his interesting premise of a lost gate and awesome magery; it’ll be a long time before I read another one of his novels.
LOVE this book- the concept is brilliant, the world building is fantastic, the main character is likable and realistically flawed. I can’t wait to start reading the next one and find out what happens next in the life of Danny North
A richly-textured, current-day fantasy novel that jumps out from the page - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Pretty cool to find some fiction that ties in with my Norse namesake-heritage.
The first in a new series: The Mithermages. I always enjoy Card's writing skills. I wish I enjoyed his choice of genre more, however. That's all on me, though. Not him. I try to get into fantasy and science fiction, but it's rare that I find a title I enjoy. I did like Card's rich descriptions of his magical world and enjoyed the parallel ties to our own world. This will probably be a winner for those who enjoy Card AND his genre. But, I doubt I will continue with the next novel.
Danny North lives in a compound in Virginia with his family. His family is unique ... they are the gods of mythology that we've all heard growing up. Their powers are diminished though because they can't get back to the world of Westil. That's how gods got their powers ... passing through gates between the worlds. But on Westil, someone exists who steals all the gates made and hence no one can pass through.
Danny, however, hasn't shown signs of any powers and so he is outcast from his family and treated as less than.
Somewhere around 12, Danny North discovers his power: to make gates.
This is a problem because the gate thief will steal what he tries to make and each god family has promised to kill any gate keepers. This will keep all the families "equal."
So Danny is left with two choices: stay and be killed. Or run away.
Danny, as you can guess, decides to run away.
He comes across orphans - gods who don't belong to any family. And with them he gets training to develop his powers. What happens next - well, you'll have to read this. And the second book. And the third book ;-)
The book was pretty good. I had a lot of hand work to do with crafts and this was the perfect book to keep me company. I listened to the audio version - there are two readers and that threw me at first. The audio was also very slow. I listened to it at 1.5 speed and it seemed to be normal.
I enjoyed the story. I originally thought my 10 year old might be able to listen with me, but alas, there's a few weird sex scenes (that aren't explicit but odd) and in a scene that seemed out of step with the whole book, an adult woman tried to sort-of rape Danny? It was odd. And strange. And I'm glad my son wasn't listening with me.
The book did feel a bit over-explained. I suppose that's why at first I thought it might be for a younger audience than it really is for. I really could have used fewer explanations, but overall, it was a fun read for me.
Danny, however, hasn't shown signs of any powers and so he is outcast from his family and treated as less than.
Somewhere around 12, Danny North discovers his power: to make gates.
This is a problem because the gate thief will steal what he tries to make and each god family has promised to kill any gate keepers. This will keep all the families "equal."
So Danny is left with two choices: stay and be killed. Or run away.
Danny, as you can guess, decides to run away.
He comes across orphans - gods who don't belong to any family. And with them he gets training to develop his powers. What happens next - well, you'll have to read this. And the second book. And the third book ;-)
The book was pretty good. I had a lot of hand work to do with crafts and this was the perfect book to keep me company. I listened to the audio version - there are two readers and that threw me at first. The audio was also very slow. I listened to it at 1.5 speed and it seemed to be normal.
I enjoyed the story. I originally thought my 10 year old might be able to listen with me, but alas, there's a few weird sex scenes (that aren't explicit but odd) and in a scene that seemed out of step with the whole book, an adult woman tried to sort-of rape Danny? It was odd. And strange. And I'm glad my son wasn't listening with me.
The book did feel a bit over-explained. I suppose that's why at first I thought it might be for a younger audience than it really is for. I really could have used fewer explanations, but overall, it was a fun read for me.