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scarahliz 's review for:
The Gate Thief
by Orson Scott Card
So, I felt like this was a fairly good sequel to the first book, though honestly, I enjoyed the first one better. Maybe because I have more sympathy for an outcast preteen than for a hugely powerful -- though still kind of outcast -- late teenager. The normal kids in the book are just a little too horny (really? I do not remember being that obsessed with sex as a teenager, nor anywhere near as bold as these kids, and we CERTAINLY did not talk about it that openly. And like, EVERYONE is like that? Seriously? there’s no shy kid who isn’t going to try to sleep with a god? I don’t believe that).
As to the plot, it was much quicker than the first book, covering a much shorter span of time (only a few weeks, when the other book covered a number of years). But it didn’t have that lovely, “so much can happen in so short a time” feeling that Ernest Hemingway pioneered in For Whom the Bell Tolls. It just felt like things were speeding up, and it felt like it was over too quickly, because he’d reached his page count. I mean…it ended on a nice cliffhanger and all, but it felt like there was a lot of unnecessary filler that didn’t add to the story or the characters, and the few weeks that occur in the book could have happened over half the number of pages, and been a lot better. Either that, or the time span of the book could have been longer, and that also would have made me feel a little more satisfied. It just felt rushed and full of fluff. Like…the technical aspects of his power had too much focus on them, and it didn’t leave room for more interesting character and plot development.
However, the story itself was interesting (when he actually, you know… wrote it…), and I like the interplay of the large cast of characters.
So I’m not too pleased with it as a book, but I am pleased with it as a part of the series. It was a good step in the action, and it was a good way to pass a few days. I am looking forward to the next one!
As to the plot, it was much quicker than the first book, covering a much shorter span of time (only a few weeks, when the other book covered a number of years). But it didn’t have that lovely, “so much can happen in so short a time” feeling that Ernest Hemingway pioneered in For Whom the Bell Tolls. It just felt like things were speeding up, and it felt like it was over too quickly, because he’d reached his page count. I mean…it ended on a nice cliffhanger and all, but it felt like there was a lot of unnecessary filler that didn’t add to the story or the characters, and the few weeks that occur in the book could have happened over half the number of pages, and been a lot better. Either that, or the time span of the book could have been longer, and that also would have made me feel a little more satisfied. It just felt rushed and full of fluff. Like…the technical aspects of his power had too much focus on them, and it didn’t leave room for more interesting character and plot development.
However, the story itself was interesting (when he actually, you know… wrote it…), and I like the interplay of the large cast of characters.
So I’m not too pleased with it as a book, but I am pleased with it as a part of the series. It was a good step in the action, and it was a good way to pass a few days. I am looking forward to the next one!