What do you think?
Rate this book
Mither Mages #1
The Lost Gate
Growing up in a family compound in Virginia, Dan North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that the differences were secrets that could never be told. He believed that he alone of his family had no magical power. But he was wrong. Kidnapped from his high school by a rival family, he learns that he has the power to reopen the gates between Earth and the world of Westil. This contemporary urban fantasy introduces the North family, a clan of mages in exile in our world, and their enemies who will do anything to keep them locked here.
12 pages, Audiobook
First published January 4, 2011
656 people are currently reading
12119 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
887 books20.6k followersOrson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,798 reviews
September 14, 2012
Oh Orson Scott Card, your issues with sex are visible from SPACE.
June 17, 2011
Tedium, thy name is The Lost Gate.
This book promises a lot with its spectacular opening chapter (I even remember telling my mom after page 25 or so that "This is going to be a good one"; thanks to Orson Scott Card, I lied to my mother), but quickly fizzles like a cheap firework. The premise is one that is becoming hackneyed: the gods of the ancient world did and do exist. However, Card's novel provides a unique take: the gods of the ancients were actually beings from a world called Westil. In Westil, mages with powers connected to the elements are the norm, but on Earth they are worshiped as gods. The Westilians travel from their planet to Earth through the magic of the Gatemages, those whose skill is to open portals to other places. In traveling through a gate, a Westilian's power is enhanced; therefore, traveling back and forth between worlds is necessary to maintain one's power. So far, so good for the Westilians--they can bounce back and forth between two worlds, earning devout human worshipers with every reappearance on earth, while increasing and refining their own particular brand of magery.
It's good to be a Westilian, until the Norse Gatemage, Loki, suddenly destroys all of the gates and those Westilians on Earth are left behind. As the centuries pass and one generation passes into another, the Westilian families go into hiding, removing themselves from the human world and intermarrying as they desperately try to keep the bloodlines pure as their powers begin to fade. They also splinter along ethnic lines, with the Norths (Norse gods) ultimately living in North America. Because Loki was their Gatemage, the other families blame them for their exile status. The families wage war on one another and all agree that, because Gatemages are tricksters and liars (and a living Gatemage could give one family a tactical advantage and eventual dominion over the others), a Gatemage born to any family must immediately be put to death.
Cool, huh? I thought so, too. And then the whole thing went to hell.
The novel takes place in the present day and is the story of Danny North, the son of the two most powerful mages of the North family. To everyone's disappointment, Danny appears to be a drekka--a Westilian who shows no affinity for any form of magery. Poor Danny. He just doesn't fit in. The only things he excels in are languages and the ability to get into places others can't--all signs of a Gatemage. When Danny discovers that is his latent power, he runs away for fear that he'll be killed.
There was so much potential here and yet so much went wrong:
1) Danny is an inconsistent and obnoxious character. He inexplicably undergoes a transformation from endearing and likable in the opening chapters to an irritating smart ass. You know that kid in class who was loud and convinced he was funny even though he was not the least bit clever? That's Danny. He'll say or do something that is apparently meant to be funny (and it's not) and think to himself, "Oh, well. I guess it's just the trickster in me." Just in case we missed it. He also employs a peculiar tactic when confronted by policemen: remove all of his clothing in a public place and somehow insinuate that he's being sexually assaulted. How weird ass is that? Especially since there are always plenty of witnesses who should be able to testify that no inappropriate advance was made toward the freak kid standing there in his tighty-whities. And this ridiculous scenario happens more than once.
2) There are several incongruent plot leaps. When something major happens to Danny, there's no reasonable explanation for it. I'm trying not to say too much here because I don't want to give away spoilers, but it's like reading the work of an elementary child ("So there was this horse and this horse loved to eat grass and play in the sunshine. And the horse had another horse friend and they went to this big mountain and then . . . there were ZOMBIES! Yeah, zombies, but they were dolphin zombies and since they were zombies, they didn't need to breathe water and so they pulled themselves up on land because they thought they wanted to see if chickens tasted like fish, but they didn't find out because ALIENS showed up! Aliens who were looking for purple glitter . . ." You get the idea. The dots do not connect.)
3) The novel's climax happens abruptly and the resolution seems forced. It has a very "gotta wrap this up" feel to it.
4) Danny obtains Nikes at Wal-Mart. If you can buy Nikes at Wal-Mart, I hate you because somehow you're getting the good stuff while our Wal-Mart sells us crap.
5) In one scene, Danny is practically raped by an emotionally unstable woman. Now, I'm no prude and I'm not going to make the same accusation another reviewer did, calling it "pornographic" (to which I can only say, m'am, you don't know porn if this met your criteria). My problem with it is the question of why? It added nothing to the story, it served no purpose, this character quickly faded into the background, Danny wasn't traumatized nor did it seem to flip his freak switch. It was superfluous and it's only intent seemed to be shock value. I'm all for shock value, but it has to come in a combo pack with purpose.
6) When Danny decides to attend a regular high school, he researches how to be the kid with secret powers who only wants to blend in by reading young adult literature. He even name drops some real titles, which made me wonder if this was literature's version of product placement. But, yeah, young adult fantasy lit, that's what I'd research because those glittering Cullens playing baseball in the rain sure knew how to blend in.
7) The best story and the one that probably should have been developed into the narrative of the novel was the alternating storyline of Wad on Westil. Those were the only chapters in which I was interested and they were filled with intrigue and plot twists and romance and suspense, yet they weren't given nearly the same page-time as Danny's boring little tale.
The Lost Gate ends with a cliffhanger that is clearly meant to hook the reader for the next book in the Mither Mages series. Needless to say, I won't be back for seconds.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
This book promises a lot with its spectacular opening chapter (I even remember telling my mom after page 25 or so that "This is going to be a good one"; thanks to Orson Scott Card, I lied to my mother), but quickly fizzles like a cheap firework. The premise is one that is becoming hackneyed: the gods of the ancient world did and do exist. However, Card's novel provides a unique take: the gods of the ancients were actually beings from a world called Westil. In Westil, mages with powers connected to the elements are the norm, but on Earth they are worshiped as gods. The Westilians travel from their planet to Earth through the magic of the Gatemages, those whose skill is to open portals to other places. In traveling through a gate, a Westilian's power is enhanced; therefore, traveling back and forth between worlds is necessary to maintain one's power. So far, so good for the Westilians--they can bounce back and forth between two worlds, earning devout human worshipers with every reappearance on earth, while increasing and refining their own particular brand of magery.
It's good to be a Westilian, until the Norse Gatemage, Loki, suddenly destroys all of the gates and those Westilians on Earth are left behind. As the centuries pass and one generation passes into another, the Westilian families go into hiding, removing themselves from the human world and intermarrying as they desperately try to keep the bloodlines pure as their powers begin to fade. They also splinter along ethnic lines, with the Norths (Norse gods) ultimately living in North America. Because Loki was their Gatemage, the other families blame them for their exile status. The families wage war on one another and all agree that, because Gatemages are tricksters and liars (and a living Gatemage could give one family a tactical advantage and eventual dominion over the others), a Gatemage born to any family must immediately be put to death.
Cool, huh? I thought so, too. And then the whole thing went to hell.
The novel takes place in the present day and is the story of Danny North, the son of the two most powerful mages of the North family. To everyone's disappointment, Danny appears to be a drekka--a Westilian who shows no affinity for any form of magery. Poor Danny. He just doesn't fit in. The only things he excels in are languages and the ability to get into places others can't--all signs of a Gatemage. When Danny discovers that is his latent power, he runs away for fear that he'll be killed.
There was so much potential here and yet so much went wrong:
1) Danny is an inconsistent and obnoxious character. He inexplicably undergoes a transformation from endearing and likable in the opening chapters to an irritating smart ass. You know that kid in class who was loud and convinced he was funny even though he was not the least bit clever? That's Danny. He'll say or do something that is apparently meant to be funny (and it's not) and think to himself, "Oh, well. I guess it's just the trickster in me." Just in case we missed it. He also employs a peculiar tactic when confronted by policemen: remove all of his clothing in a public place and somehow insinuate that he's being sexually assaulted. How weird ass is that? Especially since there are always plenty of witnesses who should be able to testify that no inappropriate advance was made toward the freak kid standing there in his tighty-whities. And this ridiculous scenario happens more than once.
2) There are several incongruent plot leaps. When something major happens to Danny, there's no reasonable explanation for it. I'm trying not to say too much here because I don't want to give away spoilers, but it's like reading the work of an elementary child ("So there was this horse and this horse loved to eat grass and play in the sunshine. And the horse had another horse friend and they went to this big mountain and then . . . there were ZOMBIES! Yeah, zombies, but they were dolphin zombies and since they were zombies, they didn't need to breathe water and so they pulled themselves up on land because they thought they wanted to see if chickens tasted like fish, but they didn't find out because ALIENS showed up! Aliens who were looking for purple glitter . . ." You get the idea. The dots do not connect.)
3) The novel's climax happens abruptly and the resolution seems forced. It has a very "gotta wrap this up" feel to it.
4) Danny obtains Nikes at Wal-Mart. If you can buy Nikes at Wal-Mart, I hate you because somehow you're getting the good stuff while our Wal-Mart sells us crap.
5) In one scene, Danny is practically raped by an emotionally unstable woman. Now, I'm no prude and I'm not going to make the same accusation another reviewer did, calling it "pornographic" (to which I can only say, m'am, you don't know porn if this met your criteria). My problem with it is the question of why? It added nothing to the story, it served no purpose, this character quickly faded into the background, Danny wasn't traumatized nor did it seem to flip his freak switch. It was superfluous and it's only intent seemed to be shock value. I'm all for shock value, but it has to come in a combo pack with purpose.
6) When Danny decides to attend a regular high school, he researches how to be the kid with secret powers who only wants to blend in by reading young adult literature. He even name drops some real titles, which made me wonder if this was literature's version of product placement. But, yeah, young adult fantasy lit, that's what I'd research because those glittering Cullens playing baseball in the rain sure knew how to blend in.
7) The best story and the one that probably should have been developed into the narrative of the novel was the alternating storyline of Wad on Westil. Those were the only chapters in which I was interested and they were filled with intrigue and plot twists and romance and suspense, yet they weren't given nearly the same page-time as Danny's boring little tale.
The Lost Gate ends with a cliffhanger that is clearly meant to hook the reader for the next book in the Mither Mages series. Needless to say, I won't be back for seconds.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2011
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
Ever since the first time I read ENDER’S GAME, Orson Scott Card had a way of grabbing my attention and pulling me out of my normal genre preferences. In recent years, while I would still pick up his titles as they caught my eye, nothing had been able to recapture that initial attraction. Reading THE LOST GATE was like rediscovering a high school crush and falling in love all over again. I laughed, I read quotes out loud, and stayed up to all hours of the night until I finished it.
The world building of THE LOST GATE is definitely what boosted my rating right up to five bats. Card, once again, has created a fascinating premise. He draws on familiar mythologies and archetypes before adding his own critical and plausible twists. If the gods and goddesses of yesteryear began to wane in power, yes, I could see some of them ending up in a family compound in Virginia. Don’t read “compound” and think Kennedy’s, though. Most of the North family is petty, cruel, and outright murderous. I think Danny is lucky to be considered a “drekka” (a magic-less person), despite the pain and suffering that came with the title. Being a drekka offers him the chance to develop outside his family’s expectations.
The juxtaposition of real world and fantasy was another one of my favorite things in this book. Danny would overcome fantastic, magical, life-threatening situations only to face being a thirteen year old kid alone in Wal-Mart. With no shoes. (The store greeter explaining the “No shirt, no shoes, no service” sign was both sad and funny). While there were times when Danny seemed bratty and reckless, Card always manages to gather these loose threads back into the narrative, and threw in a twist at the end that has me rethinking my impression of many of Danny’s earlier actions.
This is one of those books that is hard to pigeonhole into genre boundaries. Adult? Probably, despite the fact that the main character starts out as a thirteen-year-old boy, both his mindset and his experiences are pretty grown up. Fantasy? Sure, THE LOST GATE mentions gods and goddesses speaking to animals and making plants grow, fantastic abilities that any kid would want. However, Card also includes detailed mechanics that make this “magic” feel more like a tantalizing science, something to discover and understand alongside Danny. A lot of knowledge had been lost to the North family (or not shared with Danny), forcing him to piece things together from a variety of sources. As a reader I felt challenged and engaged, eager to figure out and discuss which of the theories and clues were going to fit together to form a workable magic structure.
There are so many other aspects of this book that I adored, not the least the parallel story woven in with Danny’s own. It kept me guessing until the end, unsure if I was reading distant history or current events in some far away land. THE LOST GATE is certainly the most engaging and thought provoking fantasy novel I’ve read in a long time, and one I’m going to enjoy passing on to friends and family to discuss.
Sexual Content: Danny is assaulted by a sexually aggressive woman.
Ever since the first time I read ENDER’S GAME, Orson Scott Card had a way of grabbing my attention and pulling me out of my normal genre preferences. In recent years, while I would still pick up his titles as they caught my eye, nothing had been able to recapture that initial attraction. Reading THE LOST GATE was like rediscovering a high school crush and falling in love all over again. I laughed, I read quotes out loud, and stayed up to all hours of the night until I finished it.
The world building of THE LOST GATE is definitely what boosted my rating right up to five bats. Card, once again, has created a fascinating premise. He draws on familiar mythologies and archetypes before adding his own critical and plausible twists. If the gods and goddesses of yesteryear began to wane in power, yes, I could see some of them ending up in a family compound in Virginia. Don’t read “compound” and think Kennedy’s, though. Most of the North family is petty, cruel, and outright murderous. I think Danny is lucky to be considered a “drekka” (a magic-less person), despite the pain and suffering that came with the title. Being a drekka offers him the chance to develop outside his family’s expectations.
The juxtaposition of real world and fantasy was another one of my favorite things in this book. Danny would overcome fantastic, magical, life-threatening situations only to face being a thirteen year old kid alone in Wal-Mart. With no shoes. (The store greeter explaining the “No shirt, no shoes, no service” sign was both sad and funny). While there were times when Danny seemed bratty and reckless, Card always manages to gather these loose threads back into the narrative, and threw in a twist at the end that has me rethinking my impression of many of Danny’s earlier actions.
This is one of those books that is hard to pigeonhole into genre boundaries. Adult? Probably, despite the fact that the main character starts out as a thirteen-year-old boy, both his mindset and his experiences are pretty grown up. Fantasy? Sure, THE LOST GATE mentions gods and goddesses speaking to animals and making plants grow, fantastic abilities that any kid would want. However, Card also includes detailed mechanics that make this “magic” feel more like a tantalizing science, something to discover and understand alongside Danny. A lot of knowledge had been lost to the North family (or not shared with Danny), forcing him to piece things together from a variety of sources. As a reader I felt challenged and engaged, eager to figure out and discuss which of the theories and clues were going to fit together to form a workable magic structure.
There are so many other aspects of this book that I adored, not the least the parallel story woven in with Danny’s own. It kept me guessing until the end, unsure if I was reading distant history or current events in some far away land. THE LOST GATE is certainly the most engaging and thought provoking fantasy novel I’ve read in a long time, and one I’m going to enjoy passing on to friends and family to discuss.
Sexual Content: Danny is assaulted by a sexually aggressive woman.
August 30, 2017
I honestly didn't know what to expect with this one, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find a magic system that incorporates every myth of gods and creates families out of them, weak with time but always hoping for the potential to get much, much more powerful.
That only happens with Gate magic.
Enter Danny, learning that he can bend space and time and learning much about himself as he leaves his scary folks and their community to become a thief. It's a perfect field for someone who can jump anywhere. :)
There's a lot more, too, of course, and the end was fascinating and open to so much goodness... but the one thing that really stands out the most is the post word.
Anyone who's been a big fan of Card's early short fiction will be very pleasantly surprised that this whole novel has the feel of some of his most imaginative works. That's saying quite a bit. I still have a grand memory of them that led me into a life-long love of reading Card in general and not just because he wrote a few of my absolute favorites, like Ender's Game or A Planet Called Treason. :)
I'm still quite amazed that he can write such cool things and do it so engagingly. He deserves respect. His personal opinions on some topics aside, his regular writing is quite fine and always entertaining. I personally don't think he's lost his touch at all. I love the ideas going on here. If he does have issues in RL, it's not showing up in his novels. In fact, I'm very interested in plowing right through all three of these to see where it'll head!
That only happens with Gate magic.
Enter Danny, learning that he can bend space and time and learning much about himself as he leaves his scary folks and their community to become a thief. It's a perfect field for someone who can jump anywhere. :)
There's a lot more, too, of course, and the end was fascinating and open to so much goodness... but the one thing that really stands out the most is the post word.
Anyone who's been a big fan of Card's early short fiction will be very pleasantly surprised that this whole novel has the feel of some of his most imaginative works. That's saying quite a bit. I still have a grand memory of them that led me into a life-long love of reading Card in general and not just because he wrote a few of my absolute favorites, like Ender's Game or A Planet Called Treason. :)
I'm still quite amazed that he can write such cool things and do it so engagingly. He deserves respect. His personal opinions on some topics aside, his regular writing is quite fine and always entertaining. I personally don't think he's lost his touch at all. I love the ideas going on here. If he does have issues in RL, it's not showing up in his novels. In fact, I'm very interested in plowing right through all three of these to see where it'll head!
February 2, 2011
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I don't enjoy reading Orson Scott Card. He can think up a good story, sure. The problem is with the way he conveys the story. He is the classic example of telling rather than SHOWING. He doesn't let the reader figure anything out. There is too much dialogue and not enough descriptive writing. Reading this book was like being handcuffed to the main character's brain and having to listen to every inane thing he ever thought or said. There were also some parts of the story that could have been left out altogether and had no bearing whatsoever on the story. I'm thinking of the scene where an adult woman jumps on top of our young (barely teenage) hero and starts pulling down his pants... apparently with the intention of molesting him in front of two other men. I mention this scene, not because it offends me, but because it was totally unnecessary to the telling of the story and the woman I mentioned above disappears completely from the story soon after this incident. Because of the things I have mentioned, I found the book extremely hard to read even though the writing itself it quite simplistic. I just didn't care enough to want to keep turning pages. I will be skipping any future books by Orson Scott Card.
December 13, 2014
One of the most interesting magic-mythical systems I've ever read. It explains all our myths in a really cool way. Super world(s) set up & some truly great characters. The main character was far from the best - not bad, but nothing special. Some of the supporting cast were just awesome, actually overshadowed the rest. Card's women in this book were better than the men. They had more range & were far more interesting. I LOVED the queen. What a tough, twisty woman!
Unfortunately, he over-explains almost every step of the way. It's not by a lot most times, certainly not terrible, but I kept wanting to kick the story in the butt to get it moving. Most people will probably be OK with the pacing, but I'm very sensitive to padding & prefer lean writing. Yet, there were a few things that I felt should have been fleshed out a bit more (Danny's parents, especially) that seemed almost edited out.
As usual, this was very well read. The story takes place on 2 worlds; Stefan Rudnicki read for ours and Emily Janice Card read for Westhill. I wish they had reversed, though. Rudnicki has a deep, mellow voice that I associate with age & maturity. Emily's is quite high, too high for either male, but would have been better placed with Danny, IMO. Don't get me wrong, both are great readers & I realize that this is an imaginative prejudice on my part, but I'm the customer. Cater to me, dammit!
Great afterword read by OSC, although there was something weird with the sound at first. Kind of a hollow quality, but either it went away or I got used to it. Maybe it was just my download?
While there is more to this series, I don't have the next book on hand or I might just read it. Still, this one ended pretty well, certainly at a logical point.
Why didn't I give this 4 stars? Maybe I expect a bit too much from Card, but I felt he was off his game a bit. If the following books are as good or better, I might bump this up - something I typically do for the first novel in a really good series. As it is, it's pretty darn good, but disappointed just a bit too much for now.
Unfortunately, he over-explains almost every step of the way. It's not by a lot most times, certainly not terrible, but I kept wanting to kick the story in the butt to get it moving. Most people will probably be OK with the pacing, but I'm very sensitive to padding & prefer lean writing. Yet, there were a few things that I felt should have been fleshed out a bit more (Danny's parents, especially) that seemed almost edited out.
As usual, this was very well read. The story takes place on 2 worlds; Stefan Rudnicki read for ours and Emily Janice Card read for Westhill. I wish they had reversed, though. Rudnicki has a deep, mellow voice that I associate with age & maturity. Emily's is quite high, too high for either male, but would have been better placed with Danny, IMO. Don't get me wrong, both are great readers & I realize that this is an imaginative prejudice on my part, but I'm the customer. Cater to me, dammit!
Great afterword read by OSC, although there was something weird with the sound at first. Kind of a hollow quality, but either it went away or I got used to it. Maybe it was just my download?
While there is more to this series, I don't have the next book on hand or I might just read it. Still, this one ended pretty well, certainly at a logical point.
Why didn't I give this 4 stars? Maybe I expect a bit too much from Card, but I felt he was off his game a bit. If the following books are as good or better, I might bump this up - something I typically do for the first novel in a really good series. As it is, it's pretty darn good, but disappointed just a bit too much for now.
November 25, 2014
3.5 Stars
Good in parts, a bit boring in others, but overall a pretty dang cool magic system and I really think the books to come will be even better. This was mostly a set-up for the rest of the series, especially after listening to the afterword.
Good in parts, a bit boring in others, but overall a pretty dang cool magic system and I really think the books to come will be even better. This was mostly a set-up for the rest of the series, especially after listening to the afterword.
January 10, 2011
I quite liked the *other* Orson Scott Card books I've read, and this one sounded wonderful in the front cover. Unfortunately, I didn't like it much at all. The main character, Danny, was annoying (as were almost all the other characters), the magic system was vastly over-explained (good gad, there were *endless* conversations about it), and I was bored. Bored, bored, bored. By the last half, I was skimming every section with Danny's viewpoint.
Why I finished the whole book, and why I gave it two stars instead of one: the character of Wad was AWESOME (which, of course, made the book's ending that much worse). In the afterword, Card explains that Wad (and everything that made him so awesome) was actually not his own invention, but the invention of a friend of his. That explains so much. This could have been an easy five star book, if the friend had written it to be all about Wad, instead of Card's annoying, stupid Danny.
Apparently, there will be sequels. Obviously, I won't be reading them.
Why I finished the whole book, and why I gave it two stars instead of one: the character of Wad was AWESOME (which, of course, made the book's ending that much worse). In the afterword, Card explains that Wad (and everything that made him so awesome) was actually not his own invention, but the invention of a friend of his. That explains so much. This could have been an easy five star book, if the friend had written it to be all about Wad, instead of Card's annoying, stupid Danny.
Apparently, there will be sequels. Obviously, I won't be reading them.
March 4, 2011
Well...maybe I should make my guide line into a rule. You see I broke my "guide line" not to pick up "first books" anymore until later volumes of "series" or "trilogies" or "quad-ilogies", or "deca-ilogies" ("decaologies"?) or whatever "they" were going to be got published. This book came out in January this year and I got it from the library last week. Big mistake, especially if Mr. Card does a Martin or worse a Jordan.
I have read a lot of mediocre books of late, volumes I didn't hate but couldn't really say I care for or sometimes "a lot about". I've given a lot of 2 and 3 star ratings.I try not to give a lot of 5 star ratings...but...after consideration I'm giving this one a 5. This is a great read. I believe it can make a great trilogy (as we are told it will be, the Mither Mages Trilogy).
This book begins with Danny, a 12 year old boy who lives in a compound with his family the Norths. They are (you see) descended from the Norse Deities. These people came from Westland (another world or planet)as did all the mythical deities, Greek, Roman, Hittite...Carthaginian, all of them. You see they traveled here through Great Gates. Traveling through a Great Gate sets up reverberations of power making these "mages" even more powerful with each pass, that's how they became "gods".
Only no one has passed through a Great Gate for nearly 1300 years, you see the last Loki (names get passed down) closed them all shutting the two worlds off from each other and also cutting of all the "mythical folks" power enhancement. By now even the most powerful men and women born usually aren't any great shakes.
Aside form all this all the "families" held the Norths to blame (it was a Loki who shut the gates after all) so there have been huge wars with lots of death, blood and so on. If any one family got a Gate Mage they could get the upper hand and become more powerful than all the other "deity families" (and throughout history they seemed to have made war on each other almost continually anyway Greece crushes Persia, Rome crushes Carthage and so on) so, just to be fair a law was agreed on by all the deity families. If a gate mage shows up he or she is killed....murdered...snuffed...done away with. You get the idea.
That's where the book begins and it flows very, very well with exceptional story telling and good characters.
(Yes I can see some influence of Mormon cosmology, but it's very little and not overt...you won't be "sucked in against you will" really.)
The story is actually told from alternating points of view as there is also a "boy" (though this is a misnomer) on Westland who wakes from an odd imprisonment with no memory of his past...
While the book is told from the point of view of two boys it isn't a YA book. I believe that most young adults could follow it with no problem but it doesn't seem "geared" to appeal primarily to younger readers. The story, as I said flows along smoothly (it scared me for a very short time as Danny's internal dialogue in one place threatened to start to drag, but it picked back up quickly and the story never flagged).
So, my only complaint? It's "a first volume" and I have to wait for the next 2 (at least). (I read Mr. Card's Ender's game and really liked it. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the other volumes in that series. I just didn't feel they were told as well. I live in hope that will be nothing like the case here.) In his "afterward" Mr. Card says that this idea has been peculating since the '70s...I hope that's not a bad sign (LOL). I will be looking forward to the next volume, probably (if at all possible) snap it up as it comes out or even pre-order it...and oh yes. This book (the one I read) is a library book, that means there's another "volume" I'll have to buy.
5 stars, highly recommended.
I have read a lot of mediocre books of late, volumes I didn't hate but couldn't really say I care for or sometimes "a lot about". I've given a lot of 2 and 3 star ratings.I try not to give a lot of 5 star ratings...but...after consideration I'm giving this one a 5. This is a great read. I believe it can make a great trilogy (as we are told it will be, the Mither Mages Trilogy).
This book begins with Danny, a 12 year old boy who lives in a compound with his family the Norths. They are (you see) descended from the Norse Deities. These people came from Westland (another world or planet)as did all the mythical deities, Greek, Roman, Hittite...Carthaginian, all of them. You see they traveled here through Great Gates. Traveling through a Great Gate sets up reverberations of power making these "mages" even more powerful with each pass, that's how they became "gods".
Only no one has passed through a Great Gate for nearly 1300 years, you see the last Loki (names get passed down) closed them all shutting the two worlds off from each other and also cutting of all the "mythical folks" power enhancement. By now even the most powerful men and women born usually aren't any great shakes.
Aside form all this all the "families" held the Norths to blame (it was a Loki who shut the gates after all) so there have been huge wars with lots of death, blood and so on. If any one family got a Gate Mage they could get the upper hand and become more powerful than all the other "deity families" (and throughout history they seemed to have made war on each other almost continually anyway Greece crushes Persia, Rome crushes Carthage and so on) so, just to be fair a law was agreed on by all the deity families. If a gate mage shows up he or she is killed....murdered...snuffed...done away with. You get the idea.
That's where the book begins and it flows very, very well with exceptional story telling and good characters.
(Yes I can see some influence of Mormon cosmology, but it's very little and not overt...you won't be "sucked in against you will" really.)
The story is actually told from alternating points of view as there is also a "boy" (though this is a misnomer) on Westland who wakes from an odd imprisonment with no memory of his past...
While the book is told from the point of view of two boys it isn't a YA book. I believe that most young adults could follow it with no problem but it doesn't seem "geared" to appeal primarily to younger readers. The story, as I said flows along smoothly (it scared me for a very short time as Danny's internal dialogue in one place threatened to start to drag, but it picked back up quickly and the story never flagged).
So, my only complaint? It's "a first volume" and I have to wait for the next 2 (at least). (I read Mr. Card's Ender's game and really liked it. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the other volumes in that series. I just didn't feel they were told as well. I live in hope that will be nothing like the case here.) In his "afterward" Mr. Card says that this idea has been peculating since the '70s...I hope that's not a bad sign (LOL). I will be looking forward to the next volume, probably (if at all possible) snap it up as it comes out or even pre-order it...and oh yes. This book (the one I read) is a library book, that means there's another "volume" I'll have to buy.
5 stars, highly recommended.
May 16, 2021
This was a rather interesting book. The story was decent and had an interesting magic system. In the book, various mages exist that have names reflecting their special abilities: gatemages (who control portals and teleportation gates), seamages (who control the currents of the seas), and lots of others like beastmages, treemages, etc. The social climate of the story was based off various cultures and subcultures like the Norsemen, Greeks, Hittites, Persians, Hindus, and others. Interesting also is how they interact with each other. Oddly enough, I was able to pick up Orson Scott Card's LDS background and saw the LDS Law of Exaltation as some people were exalted to godhood status.
This was a decent opener to a trilogy I look forward to reading. Thanks!
This was a decent opener to a trilogy I look forward to reading. Thanks!
February 2, 2011
Interesting world, but I didn't find the story-telling to be very compelling. Card gets way too bogged down in explaining, over-explaining, and explaining yet again the details of how things work. Also, as in most of his latest fiction, all of his characters sound the same.
There's also a scene that was entirely uncalled for, involving a sex-crazed 20-something girl jumping the 12 year old protagonist. It seemed like one of those scenes Hollywood throws in to get more viewers--you know, the scenes Orson is always complaining about in his reviews of movies/tv shows.
There's also a scene that was entirely uncalled for, involving a sex-crazed 20-something girl jumping the 12 year old protagonist. It seemed like one of those scenes Hollywood throws in to get more viewers--you know, the scenes Orson is always complaining about in his reviews of movies/tv shows.
April 26, 2011
The ratings for this book seem high, so I know that I am in the minority on this one. I've read 2 other books by Orson Scott Card and enjoyed both of them. They've had good imaginative plots and make a fun story, which is why I picked this book to listen with my 12-year old son.
The Good: The story is based on ancient gods who still exist on earth with diminished powers and live mostly hidden from the rest of humanity. They are waiting for a gate mage to be born and create a Great Gate which will help to enhance their powers. The mythology and descriptions of the old gods was interesting and made for a great starting plot. Granted, ancient mythology has spun off so many series, it has almost grown in popularity to compete with the vampire books, but they are fun and even educational.
The Bad: The main character for this book is Danny North, a boy who at first seems to have no talents, but develops into a mage with immense magical power. As his power grows, I thought his personality in this book diminished. He is a 14-year old boy and other than his magical skills, showed no personality or greatness. The characters in this book seem stilted and spend too much time explaining the science behind gates and mythology. As many people mentioned, OSC commits the sin of 'telling vs. showing', and after awhile it was boring. I listened to the audiobook narration. Although I have liked both narrators - Stefan Rudnicki and Emily Scott Card - their narration was flat. Not sure if this was the writing or the audio performance, but the story was not that engaging.
The Ugly: There is a scene in the book where a married woman, physically attempts to molest Danny. The descriptions are graphic and definitely made this no longer a children's or middle grade book. Danny breaks away, but this scene is mentioned again and again throughout the book. I didn't think the scene advanced the plot or developed the character, but was a lame attempt at writing for an adolescent audience.
Overall, I have a hard time recommending this book to anyone but teenage boys -- inappropriate for younger kids and uninteresting for anyone else.
The Good: The story is based on ancient gods who still exist on earth with diminished powers and live mostly hidden from the rest of humanity. They are waiting for a gate mage to be born and create a Great Gate which will help to enhance their powers. The mythology and descriptions of the old gods was interesting and made for a great starting plot. Granted, ancient mythology has spun off so many series, it has almost grown in popularity to compete with the vampire books, but they are fun and even educational.
The Bad: The main character for this book is Danny North, a boy who at first seems to have no talents, but develops into a mage with immense magical power. As his power grows, I thought his personality in this book diminished. He is a 14-year old boy and other than his magical skills, showed no personality or greatness. The characters in this book seem stilted and spend too much time explaining the science behind gates and mythology. As many people mentioned, OSC commits the sin of 'telling vs. showing', and after awhile it was boring. I listened to the audiobook narration. Although I have liked both narrators - Stefan Rudnicki and Emily Scott Card - their narration was flat. Not sure if this was the writing or the audio performance, but the story was not that engaging.
The Ugly: There is a scene in the book where a married woman, physically attempts to molest Danny. The descriptions are graphic and definitely made this no longer a children's or middle grade book. Danny breaks away, but this scene is mentioned again and again throughout the book. I didn't think the scene advanced the plot or developed the character, but was a lame attempt at writing for an adolescent audience.
Overall, I have a hard time recommending this book to anyone but teenage boys -- inappropriate for younger kids and uninteresting for anyone else.
July 25, 2016
I dare anyone to find an Orson Scott Card book that doesn't talk about sexual molestation or naked boys or slutty girls or pedophilia or plain ol' weird ass situations; and I'm not just talking figuratively.
Of course I know what it means to 'moon' someone, but Mr. Card took it to the next level by describing, in cringe worthy detail, what it means to 'star' someone. Yuck. I don't find toilet humour funny, and I'm still not sure what the point was in including not only this description, but other sexual happenings as well. Don't get me wrong: I don't have anything against anything sexual as long as it's relevant to the story. I just think the author is a sexual weirdo.
Read the one and two star reviews for this book. They're right.
Of course I know what it means to 'moon' someone, but Mr. Card took it to the next level by describing, in cringe worthy detail, what it means to 'star' someone. Yuck. I don't find toilet humour funny, and I'm still not sure what the point was in including not only this description, but other sexual happenings as well. Don't get me wrong: I don't have anything against anything sexual as long as it's relevant to the story. I just think the author is a sexual weirdo.
Read the one and two star reviews for this book. They're right.
August 30, 2012
I wanted to like this book. I really did. It started out so good that I couldn't put it down at bedtime. It had interesting mysteries and characters, and the main protagonist was actually intelligent and figuring things out on his own.
And then, about halfway through the book, it's like the author just gave up. There was no story anymore, just pages upon pages upon pages of characters sitting around and talking. It wasn't even interesting talking. They were trying to figure out how Danny's magic worked, but instead figuring it out they just spent several pages at a time expounding on theories that had no bearing. Theories which couldn't be proven one way or another and which, even if true, wouldn't have affected Danny's ability to do magic. It was just hundreds of pages of an author showing off that he was oh-so-smart and could come up with cool ideas, even though he couldn't make those cool ideas relevant to the story.
And there is so much snark in this book. Everyone person in here is a snarky character, and they all snark in exactly the same way. And they spend pages and pages doing just that, and for no reason. Again, just to show off that the author could write it. I'm really not impressed by an author who can write stuff but can't find a good narrative to put his stuff in.
The ending was rushed and weak and obviously a set-up for a sequel. The whole book could have been edited down to several hundred pages less and used as the first act of a much better book, rather than stuffed full of padding in order to make a series. Such a shame for a book that started off so well.
And then, about halfway through the book, it's like the author just gave up. There was no story anymore, just pages upon pages upon pages of characters sitting around and talking. It wasn't even interesting talking. They were trying to figure out how Danny's magic worked, but instead figuring it out they just spent several pages at a time expounding on theories that had no bearing. Theories which couldn't be proven one way or another and which, even if true, wouldn't have affected Danny's ability to do magic. It was just hundreds of pages of an author showing off that he was oh-so-smart and could come up with cool ideas, even though he couldn't make those cool ideas relevant to the story.
And there is so much snark in this book. Everyone person in here is a snarky character, and they all snark in exactly the same way. And they spend pages and pages doing just that, and for no reason. Again, just to show off that the author could write it. I'm really not impressed by an author who can write stuff but can't find a good narrative to put his stuff in.
The ending was rushed and weak and obviously a set-up for a sequel. The whole book could have been edited down to several hundred pages less and used as the first act of a much better book, rather than stuffed full of padding in order to make a series. Such a shame for a book that started off so well.
November 12, 2016
Starts great, but doesn't hold up
What went wrong? Two things I think:
First, I didn't buy the tree-man's behavior.
Second, and this I just couldn't get past, our main character here is the antithesis of Ender (Ender's Game). Ender was highly intelligent, but had no physical power. I loved Ender for his logic and intelligence, his thoughtfully-planned and conscientious actions. Danny, on the other hand, has great power in the physical world, but has neither intelligence nor applicable learning. I'm sure Orson Scott Card tackled this particular "inverse" challenge on purpose, but I don't think it will appeal to the same fan-base; it sure irritated me! I found myself angry that Danny would rush into that final act without deep contemplation and discussion on the possible ramifications on all sides. Maybe a little experimentation? Struck me as inexcusably, ridiculously selfish.. heinous even.
What went wrong? Two things I think:
First, I didn't buy the tree-man's behavior.
Second, and this I just couldn't get past, our main character here is the antithesis of Ender (Ender's Game). Ender was highly intelligent, but had no physical power. I loved Ender for his logic and intelligence, his thoughtfully-planned and conscientious actions. Danny, on the other hand, has great power in the physical world, but has neither intelligence nor applicable learning. I'm sure Orson Scott Card tackled this particular "inverse" challenge on purpose, but I don't think it will appeal to the same fan-base; it sure irritated me! I found myself angry that Danny would rush into that final act without deep contemplation and discussion on the possible ramifications on all sides. Maybe a little experimentation? Struck me as inexcusably, ridiculously selfish.. heinous even.
October 5, 2017
¿Por qué dejé yo de leer a Card hace 4 años, vamos a ver?
Si tenemos en cuenta que leí el primero suyo (El juego de Ender) en el 92, eso nos da más de 20 años disfrutando con Card, disfrutando mucho. Un total de 39 libros plagados de notas de “10”, “9” o notables altos.
El problema que tuve fue que Hijos de la Mente (Ender IV) no me gustó. Ciudad de Basilica (el final de la saga de Alvin Maker), menos. Y para colmo releí Esperanza del Venado (craso error en mi caso las re-lecturas) y ahí llegó el divorcio…
Tras este largo prólogo vamos con “La puerta oculta”. 8/10. He disfrutado leyendo las peripecias de este mago adolescente. Vale,” mago+adolescente” suena hoy por hoy a Harry Potter pero no es así.
Tiene su punto de originalidad por la mezcla de dos mundos y porque el joven mago se desenvuelve entre los mortales. Y sobre todo tiene el tratamiento de los personajes (Card es experto con adolescentes en ss novelas, ya lo sabemos) y el punto de humor del Sr. Card. A mí, antes de mi divorcio con él, me encantaba. Y con este libro ha resurgido la llama de las brasas ya casi frías (frase ridícula que no he podido evitar). Es lo que tienen los “ex-“…
Resumen : si os ha gustado alguno de los libros de Card yo a este le daría una oportunidad. Le he tenido mucho tiempo cargado en el Kindle a la espera y ahora me pregunto por qué he tardado tanto en leerlo.
Por cierto, es una primera parte que te deja colgado. Ya estoy con la segunda parte, "El ladrón de puertas".
Si tenemos en cuenta que leí el primero suyo (El juego de Ender) en el 92, eso nos da más de 20 años disfrutando con Card, disfrutando mucho. Un total de 39 libros plagados de notas de “10”, “9” o notables altos.
El problema que tuve fue que Hijos de la Mente (Ender IV) no me gustó. Ciudad de Basilica (el final de la saga de Alvin Maker), menos. Y para colmo releí Esperanza del Venado (craso error en mi caso las re-lecturas) y ahí llegó el divorcio…
Tras este largo prólogo vamos con “La puerta oculta”. 8/10. He disfrutado leyendo las peripecias de este mago adolescente. Vale,” mago+adolescente” suena hoy por hoy a Harry Potter pero no es así.
Tiene su punto de originalidad por la mezcla de dos mundos y porque el joven mago se desenvuelve entre los mortales. Y sobre todo tiene el tratamiento de los personajes (Card es experto con adolescentes en ss novelas, ya lo sabemos) y el punto de humor del Sr. Card. A mí, antes de mi divorcio con él, me encantaba. Y con este libro ha resurgido la llama de las brasas ya casi frías (frase ridícula que no he podido evitar). Es lo que tienen los “ex-“…
Resumen : si os ha gustado alguno de los libros de Card yo a este le daría una oportunidad. Le he tenido mucho tiempo cargado en el Kindle a la espera y ahora me pregunto por qué he tardado tanto en leerlo.
Por cierto, es una primera parte que te deja colgado. Ya estoy con la segunda parte, "El ladrón de puertas".
March 7, 2016
This isn't what I expected at all. There were things I liked and disliked about this book.
The story was great, the world building was unique and the magic system was super cool.
My problem was with the characters and the dialogue. Most of the characters were pretty unlikeable and the few I liked weren't relatable at all. Many of the characters were very crude and crass and I found the dialogue and character interactions uncomfortable.
I'm not sure if I'll carry on with this series. I want to see what happens next in the story but I'm not sure if I can deal with the writing. I wasn't a fan of the audiobook narrator so maybe I'll read the rest of the series instead of listening.
The story was great, the world building was unique and the magic system was super cool.
My problem was with the characters and the dialogue. Most of the characters were pretty unlikeable and the few I liked weren't relatable at all. Many of the characters were very crude and crass and I found the dialogue and character interactions uncomfortable.
I'm not sure if I'll carry on with this series. I want to see what happens next in the story but I'm not sure if I can deal with the writing. I wasn't a fan of the audiobook narrator so maybe I'll read the rest of the series instead of listening.
January 23, 2023
Interesting blend of Norse mythology, clannish feuds among demigod descendants of the old gods, and a brash teenaged boy’s will to find his place in the world. Fun and engaging storytelling.
October 4, 2016
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 notably . 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 . 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.
July 31, 2014
When I finished this, I realized I felt almost identically about this book as I did about the last OSC book I had read, Seventh Son, which was also a first in a series. Here are the bits of that review that apply:
The first part, where Danny was in his family's compound, was the most interesting part of the book, and did a great job of pulling me into the story and the world. I was convinced the book was going to be Percy Jackson meets American Gods. It was only after he left the compound that the story spun its wheels until the end. Most of what happened in DC and Florida was completely extraneous to the central plot.
I didn't connect to many characters. Most seemed one-dimensional and wooden -- especially the Greek girl whose name I can't recall.
The book got bogged down with much more detail on gates and gate-making then it needed to, to the point where certain chapters were clunky and difficult to read. These chapters reminded me of The Grand Design, which I enjoyed reading, but only because that was real, actual science.
As for the Man-in-the-Tree segments of the book, they didn't add much to the story of Danny North and his becoming a gatemage, and the start of chapters featuring Wad marked points where I was always tempted to put the book down.
Lastly, I wish I didn't read the Afterword, because Card admits to rushing to write the novel amid distractions -- "I wrote a chapter nearly every day" -- to make a publishing deadline. It makes me think that if he didn't have to rush it to press, it would have been tighter and a better book, which is what I hope the next book in the series manages, even though it is doubtful I'd ever read it.
Orson Scott Card is a very good storyteller, so even at his worst, his books are still worth reading. That being said, this entire novel felt like a ... prologue. It set up a lot of characters, a lot of history, and a good deal of how this alternative universe works, but not much happens in the story. There is very little action and a ton of discourse. The title character ... is still an adolescent at the end of the novel. He has not yet begun any sort of journey or quest...Here are a few specific thoughts I had about this book:
The first part, where Danny was in his family's compound, was the most interesting part of the book, and did a great job of pulling me into the story and the world. I was convinced the book was going to be Percy Jackson meets American Gods. It was only after he left the compound that the story spun its wheels until the end. Most of what happened in DC and Florida was completely extraneous to the central plot.
I didn't connect to many characters. Most seemed one-dimensional and wooden -- especially the Greek girl whose name I can't recall.
The book got bogged down with much more detail on gates and gate-making then it needed to, to the point where certain chapters were clunky and difficult to read. These chapters reminded me of The Grand Design, which I enjoyed reading, but only because that was real, actual science.
As for the Man-in-the-Tree segments of the book, they didn't add much to the story of Danny North and his becoming a gatemage, and the start of chapters featuring Wad marked points where I was always tempted to put the book down.
Lastly, I wish I didn't read the Afterword, because Card admits to rushing to write the novel amid distractions -- "I wrote a chapter nearly every day" -- to make a publishing deadline. It makes me think that if he didn't have to rush it to press, it would have been tighter and a better book, which is what I hope the next book in the series manages, even though it is doubtful I'd ever read it.
December 29, 2011
I am of mixed minds about this book. It was a very fast and overall enjoyable read in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I've read other Orson Scott Card books (loved Ender's Game and some of the sequels) and this had many of the same characteristics - precocious boy (perhaps too precocious) coming into his own to save the world with his unique skills. While the plots move along quickly (there are two alternating plots in different worlds that naturally collide at the end),the big climax feels rushed and disappointing and the two plots don't come together in a very satisfying way. But perhaps that is because this is the first book of a new series, which I didn't realize when I started the novel. It would have been nice to have had a more satisfying ending rather than just a lead in to the next book. There were many parts of the story I did not care for, but overall the magical worlds created are interesting and the story drew me in. I will read more in this series, but I won't be waiting impatiently to do so.
January 16, 2011
4 star novel with an unbelievably awesome magic system and world building. This is a first in a new series by Orson Scott Card and the first time that I have read him in years. I adore the Alvin Maker series and consider it one of the best Urban Fantasy series ever written. This novel is about a teenage boy named Danny. He is a little difficult to like and empathize with, as he is an incredibly smart ass and self centered youth, that may be a little too smart for his own good. The world building here is a must read for Urban Fantasy lovers. Orson Scott Card has come up with a magic system that takes into account Norse mythology, present day technology, and even some Christianity. The magic is very interesting and left me wanting more. The plot is straight forward, and the protagonist goes through predictable trials and growth. But, for the YA crowd and for Fantasy lovers, there is a lot to like here and even more to look forward to with future stories ahead.
January 23, 2011
2.5 stars
The Lost Gate is the first book I've read by Orson Scott Card. I've heard phenomenal things about his story telling and now I can understand why. Orson kept me engaged with his story with his detailed mythology and world building. I felt like I was apart of the world while reading about Danny's journey. I'll admit, I didn't feel a connection to his main character through out the whole story and at times some scenes were not at all what I was expecting, and little graphic, taking too much away from the story for me.
Danny is a teenage mage in exhile with the rest of his family. Living in the real world, they all have a magical ability, except Danny, or so they thought. Known as a Drekka to his family (someone with out magical abilities), Danny is constantly picked on and left out of things. Danny soon discovers he's more powerful than any of them, as he's a Gatemage- someone who can make gates and open the gates to the other world that have since been closed. Danny's power forces him to flee his family and he is on the run in the human world. Gatemage's are rare, the most powerful and feared.
This once wholesome, at times smart mouth teen soon finds himself hanging with the wrong crowd. What I felt was a huge down fall with Danny's character was his continued lack of making the right choice. I felt his character went from one extreme to the next a little too quickly. He soon discovers he can break into places by making gates and doesn't give a second thought to burglary. This side does show why many Gatemage's don't live long, as they can let their power get to their heads and don't heed with caution. I know he's a teenage boy, but I felt the continued need to moon people, and lust over a girl were mentioned a little too much and took away from Danny's story. The scene were Danny was almost molested by a married women completely threw me for a loop and I'll admit totally shocked me.
I did enjoy learning the rich history of Danny's people, through his journey. The parallel dialogues was at first a little confusing as Orson switches from Danny's story to the one of Wad, who's on the planet Westil. Wad himself was a character I was most interested in, and maybe that's due to the air of mystery that surrounds him. I'm not sure if he's good or bad, but he is able to manipulate the courts so he's close to the King and Queen, and after serving them for some time he finds himself not only in love with the Queen but romantically linked to her as well (keeping it family friendly). I was much more engaged with Wad's story than Danny's. Wad is a powerful character and I'm looking forward to reading more of his story in the sequel.
While at times The Lost Gate can be a little complex and at times I felt a little lost with what was happening plot wise, I did enjoy the way in which Orson introduces "the gods" and the powers they have with the elements and things of the world, be it wind, animals, etc. As I said before, the world building was beyond what I was expecting. The characters, the settings and the history that make up The Lost Gate are a showcase for Orson's story telling talent.
I think The Lost Gate will appeal to YA readers who are fans of fantasy, as well as teenage boys (not saying girls won't), but Danny is a character many boys will be able to connect with. While I didn't get into the story as much as I wanted to, I am looking forward to reading the sequel. I would recommend this story for those 14 years and older, as there is some sexual content and very mild language.
The Lost Gate is the first book I've read by Orson Scott Card. I've heard phenomenal things about his story telling and now I can understand why. Orson kept me engaged with his story with his detailed mythology and world building. I felt like I was apart of the world while reading about Danny's journey. I'll admit, I didn't feel a connection to his main character through out the whole story and at times some scenes were not at all what I was expecting, and little graphic, taking too much away from the story for me.
Danny is a teenage mage in exhile with the rest of his family. Living in the real world, they all have a magical ability, except Danny, or so they thought. Known as a Drekka to his family (someone with out magical abilities), Danny is constantly picked on and left out of things. Danny soon discovers he's more powerful than any of them, as he's a Gatemage- someone who can make gates and open the gates to the other world that have since been closed. Danny's power forces him to flee his family and he is on the run in the human world. Gatemage's are rare, the most powerful and feared.
This once wholesome, at times smart mouth teen soon finds himself hanging with the wrong crowd. What I felt was a huge down fall with Danny's character was his continued lack of making the right choice. I felt his character went from one extreme to the next a little too quickly. He soon discovers he can break into places by making gates and doesn't give a second thought to burglary. This side does show why many Gatemage's don't live long, as they can let their power get to their heads and don't heed with caution. I know he's a teenage boy, but I felt the continued need to moon people, and lust over a girl were mentioned a little too much and took away from Danny's story. The scene were Danny was almost molested by a married women completely threw me for a loop and I'll admit totally shocked me.
I did enjoy learning the rich history of Danny's people, through his journey. The parallel dialogues was at first a little confusing as Orson switches from Danny's story to the one of Wad, who's on the planet Westil. Wad himself was a character I was most interested in, and maybe that's due to the air of mystery that surrounds him. I'm not sure if he's good or bad, but he is able to manipulate the courts so he's close to the King and Queen, and after serving them for some time he finds himself not only in love with the Queen but romantically linked to her as well (keeping it family friendly). I was much more engaged with Wad's story than Danny's. Wad is a powerful character and I'm looking forward to reading more of his story in the sequel.
While at times The Lost Gate can be a little complex and at times I felt a little lost with what was happening plot wise, I did enjoy the way in which Orson introduces "the gods" and the powers they have with the elements and things of the world, be it wind, animals, etc. As I said before, the world building was beyond what I was expecting. The characters, the settings and the history that make up The Lost Gate are a showcase for Orson's story telling talent.
I think The Lost Gate will appeal to YA readers who are fans of fantasy, as well as teenage boys (not saying girls won't), but Danny is a character many boys will be able to connect with. While I didn't get into the story as much as I wanted to, I am looking forward to reading the sequel. I would recommend this story for those 14 years and older, as there is some sexual content and very mild language.
December 20, 2011
As always, what really sparkles in Card's books is his sarcastic and witty dialog. The rhythm of his words as his characters insult (with great affection) each other is always a highlight to me. That said, I enjoyed the book although I felt that a lot of it was a set-up for the later books. It's understandable since there is a lot of worldbuilding going on and a magic system that takes time to explain.
That's the other thing. I felt as if I could see the workings behind Card's thinking as he was writing the book. I don't know if it's because I've been reading a lot of articles on writing lately or whatever, but it seemed as if I glimpsed behind the curtain a bit and that kinda threw me out of the moment. However, overall, I'm glad I read it and it ended satisfactorily and I am looking forward to the next. (Just not with baited breath like some other sequels I'm waiting for.)
ETA: It's been 11 months since I read this book and for some reason, almost every other morning when I feed my toddler his oatmeal breakfast, I think of this book. I keep remembering (vaguely) a scene where Danny is talking to the couple who "adopted" him and he is saying how all the mundane daily things they did for him made him feel as if he were part of a family and that is what taught him what love is. I am completely butchering the scene (or of what I recall).
I keep returning to this moment because sometimes, feeding my toddler his oatmeal can be difficult, but I believe that the daily ritual of feeding him and caring for him is an embodiment of love. I seriously have to re-read this book just to have a better understanding of why it sticks in my mind so vividly. Therefore, simply because it has had such a profound impact (although, much stupider sounding now that I've written it out), I am adding a star, thus making it a 4 star book.
That's the other thing. I felt as if I could see the workings behind Card's thinking as he was writing the book. I don't know if it's because I've been reading a lot of articles on writing lately or whatever, but it seemed as if I glimpsed behind the curtain a bit and that kinda threw me out of the moment. However, overall, I'm glad I read it and it ended satisfactorily and I am looking forward to the next. (Just not with baited breath like some other sequels I'm waiting for.)
ETA: It's been 11 months since I read this book and for some reason, almost every other morning when I feed my toddler his oatmeal breakfast, I think of this book. I keep remembering (vaguely) a scene where Danny is talking to the couple who "adopted" him and he is saying how all the mundane daily things they did for him made him feel as if he were part of a family and that is what taught him what love is. I am completely butchering the scene (or of what I recall).
I keep returning to this moment because sometimes, feeding my toddler his oatmeal can be difficult, but I believe that the daily ritual of feeding him and caring for him is an embodiment of love. I seriously have to re-read this book just to have a better understanding of why it sticks in my mind so vividly. Therefore, simply because it has had such a profound impact (although, much stupider sounding now that I've written it out), I am adding a star, thus making it a 4 star book.
December 12, 2011
I admit that I initially found the book entertaining and engrossing. But, unfortunately, Card has the tendency to push the sexual content envelope in some of his novels--and did so here when I was about halfway into the book. I have reached a point in my life where no matter how good of a read the book might be, it is not worth completing if it contains "crap". In this case, it was all the more ridiculous because the incident did not appear germane to the plot whatsoever.
Aside from the "crap", I found myself liking the novel less and less as I progressed through it. The protogonist, who started out likable, intelligent, and insightful seemed to cultivate all of the converse attributes. Consequently, it was not that difficult to put it down when I reached the incident.
This was the third book by Card that I have stopped reading because of content...and will honestly be my last. All three incidences could have been addressed in a more suble and/or implied way or omitted entirely without damaging the storyline. It has sullied my view of him as an effective, inventive storyteller--it appears he now relies more on shock-value and distractions rather than story fidelity.
Aside from the "crap", I found myself liking the novel less and less as I progressed through it. The protogonist, who started out likable, intelligent, and insightful seemed to cultivate all of the converse attributes. Consequently, it was not that difficult to put it down when I reached the incident.
This was the third book by Card that I have stopped reading because of content...and will honestly be my last. All three incidences could have been addressed in a more suble and/or implied way or omitted entirely without damaging the storyline. It has sullied my view of him as an effective, inventive storyteller--it appears he now relies more on shock-value and distractions rather than story fidelity.
March 5, 2011
This is the first in a trilogy by Scott Orson Card and although it took me about a chapter or two to really get into the pacing and wonder of the novel I must admit I ended it with enthusiasm. The story takes place between two worlds, ours and a lost world that has been closed to us for 1400 years. Lost Gate provides a delightful explanation of ghosts, gods, werewolfs and other mythical and supernatural creatures. He even has an explanation for how our own Judeo Christian religions came into being. I loved the well drawn characters in the middle of the book and although at first I was a bit dubious of the lead character, Danny, and his wisdom I realized eventually that a god of course would have his wisdom combined with his teenage boy pranks and mistakes. IF you love fantasy this one is for you, but have patience as there is much more to come.
September 12, 2013
So I've been listening to the Mither Mages books in conjunction with the Hex Hall series - I am listening to these ones at work and the Hex Hall books in my car, in case it seems like I've got an earplug from each story in each ear, playing at the same time! I'm not that crazy - and they're good bookends to each other, mirroring and contrasting in a lot of fun ways. The stories are similar: kid realizes s/he is magical and more powerful than originally thought and then quests and troubles happen. Ok, so a lot of books are like that. Hex Hall is aimed at teenage girls, Mither Mages is for more "serious" scifi/suburban fantasy (WTH is this genre, anyway?) readers but they're still fun to read together.
SO! Anyway!
We've got Danny who is made of Norse gods, hailing from the North compound - heh heh heh - and he discovers he is THE MOST POWERFUL GODCHILD ON THE PLANET! Yeah, we've been here before. BUT! He doesn't get to go to a magicking school or be discovered an apprenticed! He goes on the run, instead! And it's all hijinks and hilarity from there, only not really.
Yeah, some of Danny's adventures are a bit over-the-top. He's a trickster, which appeals to me, but even he shouldn't be quite as quick as he is for his age. I like that he was pretty clueless about how the world really works but, at the same time, I thought there were many other things he shouldn't have known. I would cite them but I forgot to write this all up when I finished listening to it and have already thrown away my notes so this will just have to be vague.
I know I did have a "Yay! Shout-out to the Library of Congress! And Archives! SO COOL!" but that's the only thing I know I wrote down.
I liked the story, though. It was entertaining, I grinned quite a few times, I was often impressed with people following their own values even if those values didn't match up with good-society values (though there's an inordinate amount of good-society values going on among people who have no reason to have such a moral compass) and characters, though maybe not deep or complex, staying mostly true to themselves.
SO! Anyway!
We've got Danny who is made of Norse gods, hailing from the North compound - heh heh heh - and he discovers he is THE MOST POWERFUL GODCHILD ON THE PLANET! Yeah, we've been here before. BUT! He doesn't get to go to a magicking school or be discovered an apprenticed! He goes on the run, instead! And it's all hijinks and hilarity from there, only not really.
Yeah, some of Danny's adventures are a bit over-the-top. He's a trickster, which appeals to me, but even he shouldn't be quite as quick as he is for his age. I like that he was pretty clueless about how the world really works but, at the same time, I thought there were many other things he shouldn't have known. I would cite them but I forgot to write this all up when I finished listening to it and have already thrown away my notes so this will just have to be vague.
I know I did have a "Yay! Shout-out to the Library of Congress! And Archives! SO COOL!" but that's the only thing I know I wrote down.
I liked the story, though. It was entertaining, I grinned quite a few times, I was often impressed with people following their own values even if those values didn't match up with good-society values (though there's an inordinate amount of good-society values going on among people who have no reason to have such a moral compass) and characters, though maybe not deep or complex, staying mostly true to themselves.
February 25, 2011
This book is nerdy in a bad way. The first sign of nerdiness is the premise: the mythological gods were real people but with amazing magical powers, and they live on in a diminished state, awaiting the birth of a gate mage, one with the power to transport them back to their faraway mystical home. I actually thought that sounded pretty cool, but I am a nerd. Louise (also a nerd) thought it sounded pretty lame, and I can see where she's coming from: recycled mythological ideas grafted onto a YA bildungsroman. Sandman + Stargate + every YA book every written, anyone? Definitely a strong whiff of fan fiction (yes, I skimmed the afterword where OSC describes the distant origins of his idea; doesn't make it feel any less derivative)
Second sign of nerdiness: expository dialogue. I accept that most sf/fantasy requires some exposition, and even when it doesn't require it I'm willing to forgive a great deal of telling instead of showing. But the kind of heavy-handed pseudo-narration that occurs between characters in this book crosses a line into the literary equivalent of xtranormal.
Third sign: desperate attempts to seem current by over-referencing brand names. "Google" might be a verb to some, but it still seems awkward when written. "Googlemap" is definitely not a verb, and simply looks ridiculous in print. If the story doesn't concern the particulars of a brand, I don't feel like it belongs in the book. If a character is contemplating the nature of Google Maps, for example, then sure, mention the brand. Otherwise, plain old "map" is a perfectly good verb.
Overall, the story was diverting enough to keep me reading, so if you're a diehard OSC fan you'll probably enjoy it. I don't feel compelled to continue the series.
Second sign of nerdiness: expository dialogue. I accept that most sf/fantasy requires some exposition, and even when it doesn't require it I'm willing to forgive a great deal of telling instead of showing. But the kind of heavy-handed pseudo-narration that occurs between characters in this book crosses a line into the literary equivalent of xtranormal.
Third sign: desperate attempts to seem current by over-referencing brand names. "Google" might be a verb to some, but it still seems awkward when written. "Googlemap" is definitely not a verb, and simply looks ridiculous in print. If the story doesn't concern the particulars of a brand, I don't feel like it belongs in the book. If a character is contemplating the nature of Google Maps, for example, then sure, mention the brand. Otherwise, plain old "map" is a perfectly good verb.
Overall, the story was diverting enough to keep me reading, so if you're a diehard OSC fan you'll probably enjoy it. I don't feel compelled to continue the series.
January 27, 2015
A slick magic system, complete with a mythological feel, in today's world. I really enjoyed this one. The main character reminded me a lot of Ender, which was a treat because I enjoyed those books too. I have already ordered The Gate Thief. Enjoy!
January 3, 2011
In the fictional universe of Orson Scott Card’s latest novel The Lost Gate, what we think of as gods were actually people from another planet (called Westil), who arrived here through magical “Gates.” Passing back and forth through these Gates gave people with minor or latent magical powers huge boosts to their skills, resulting in god-like abilities — and as a result, they were often thought of as actual gods and entered Earth’s mythology. Some time in the 7th century, the trickster Loki closed all the gates between Earth and Westil, trapping all the “gods” here on Earth. Fast forward to the 21st century. Descendants of the Westillian “gods” still live on Earth, although greatly diminished in power. The North family are the many-times-removed children of the Norse gods, now living on a secluded compound in Virginia. Danny North, an adolescent member of the family and son of the current Odin (or family leader), grew up thinking he’s a “drekka” — meaning he seems to have no magical power at all, but early on in the book it becomes clear that Danny has some mysterious powers that indicate he may actually be a Gatemage. The ability to create Gates is the most powerful and most feared skill, because any family capable of creating Gates would quickly become strong enough to eliminate its rivals.
So starts The Lost Gate, the opening volume in the MITHER MAGES, Orson Scott Card’s newest fantasy series. In an interesting afterword, Card explains that the idea for the series goes back several decades but was put on hold, partly because, back then, fantasy wasn’t quite as popular yet as it is now — and in addition, the author had a huge hit SF series going with his ENDER books. Now that the MITHER MAGES has finally been taken off the back burner, it turns out to be an interesting but slightly disappointing entry in the fantasy genre.
The Lost Gate follows two parallel story lines, but the largest part of the novel is taken up by Danny’s story. As Danny flees his family, he takes up with a small-time criminal, ends up in Washington DC, meets some odd characters, and gradually discovers more about his powers. Danny is unfortunately a fairly annoying protagonist, filling the novel with juvenile humor and smart-alec back-and-forth banter that frankly becomes grating as the story continues. Fortunately Danny matures somewhat as the story continues, but for the majority of the time, he’s just not a very enjoyable character to follow.
The second story line follows a mysterious, nameless young man on the planet Westil, who arrives, sans most of his memories, in the middle of a courtly power struggle. Given the name Wad by the palace cook (after “Wad of Dough”), he gradually gets more embroiled in the intrigue between the King, the Queen and their lovers and hangers-on. Wad goes through a growing process that’s much more interesting and complex than Danny’s, but as we get to see much more of the Earth plot than the Westil plot, it’s not quite enough to make The Lost Gate a complete success.
On the plus side, The Lost Gate has an interesting magical system. The various “gods” have affinity with a specific element (be it animals, stone, plants, wind...) and, within each affinity, there are various levels of strength. Orson Scott Card never provides a Brandon Sanderson-style chart of the various abilities, and instead gradually introduces the various options as the story progresses. Even more interesting is the setup of the fictional universe, with the two worlds, connected in the past but now separated, influencing each other. The way Card explains the history of the various religions and fictional creatures on Earth by fitting them into his magic system is very nifty.
Other positives include Orson Scott Card’s reliably easy-flowing, page-turning prose style. The dialogue is often fun and snappy, although as mentioned before, there’s some juvenile humor and repetitive banter that I could have done without. Card also uses some plot devices that are simply too convenient and transparent to be plausible. You just can’t help thinking ‘wow, isn’t that a huge coincidence?’ at several points in the novel.
Still, despite an annoying main character and some iffy plot elements, this remains a fast and entertaining read with a level of depth that’s intriguing and promising for future books in the series. Orson Scott Card recently released Pathfinder, another novel about a young protagonist with unique powers, and in many ways it’s a more successful book than The Lost Gate. As The Lost Gate is only the first installment in a new series, it’ll be interesting to see how Orson Scott Card develops this intriguing fantasy universe.
(This review was also published on 1/3/2010 at www.fantasyliterature.com)
So starts The Lost Gate, the opening volume in the MITHER MAGES, Orson Scott Card’s newest fantasy series. In an interesting afterword, Card explains that the idea for the series goes back several decades but was put on hold, partly because, back then, fantasy wasn’t quite as popular yet as it is now — and in addition, the author had a huge hit SF series going with his ENDER books. Now that the MITHER MAGES has finally been taken off the back burner, it turns out to be an interesting but slightly disappointing entry in the fantasy genre.
The Lost Gate follows two parallel story lines, but the largest part of the novel is taken up by Danny’s story. As Danny flees his family, he takes up with a small-time criminal, ends up in Washington DC, meets some odd characters, and gradually discovers more about his powers. Danny is unfortunately a fairly annoying protagonist, filling the novel with juvenile humor and smart-alec back-and-forth banter that frankly becomes grating as the story continues. Fortunately Danny matures somewhat as the story continues, but for the majority of the time, he’s just not a very enjoyable character to follow.
The second story line follows a mysterious, nameless young man on the planet Westil, who arrives, sans most of his memories, in the middle of a courtly power struggle. Given the name Wad by the palace cook (after “Wad of Dough”), he gradually gets more embroiled in the intrigue between the King, the Queen and their lovers and hangers-on. Wad goes through a growing process that’s much more interesting and complex than Danny’s, but as we get to see much more of the Earth plot than the Westil plot, it’s not quite enough to make The Lost Gate a complete success.
On the plus side, The Lost Gate has an interesting magical system. The various “gods” have affinity with a specific element (be it animals, stone, plants, wind...) and, within each affinity, there are various levels of strength. Orson Scott Card never provides a Brandon Sanderson-style chart of the various abilities, and instead gradually introduces the various options as the story progresses. Even more interesting is the setup of the fictional universe, with the two worlds, connected in the past but now separated, influencing each other. The way Card explains the history of the various religions and fictional creatures on Earth by fitting them into his magic system is very nifty.
Other positives include Orson Scott Card’s reliably easy-flowing, page-turning prose style. The dialogue is often fun and snappy, although as mentioned before, there’s some juvenile humor and repetitive banter that I could have done without. Card also uses some plot devices that are simply too convenient and transparent to be plausible. You just can’t help thinking ‘wow, isn’t that a huge coincidence?’ at several points in the novel.
Still, despite an annoying main character and some iffy plot elements, this remains a fast and entertaining read with a level of depth that’s intriguing and promising for future books in the series. Orson Scott Card recently released Pathfinder, another novel about a young protagonist with unique powers, and in many ways it’s a more successful book than The Lost Gate. As The Lost Gate is only the first installment in a new series, it’ll be interesting to see how Orson Scott Card develops this intriguing fantasy universe.
(This review was also published on 1/3/2010 at www.fantasyliterature.com)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,798 reviews