A fast-paced and thrilling young adult fantasy adventure, “The Door to Canellin (Gatehouse #1)” is full of action as well as providing a story that will be fun for anyone who is a fan of fantasy adventure stories. While providing plenty of action, it is not just a hack-and-slash story; it also provides plenty of character development and an interesting plot.
Wes is a typical teenage boy – sullen, emotions in a riot, devoted to doing as little as possible to get by in school and to get away with as much as possible in the rest of his life. He has also had trouble with a bully at school; and plays the trumpet in band. This day he is having a particularly bad day – the bully is giving him a hard time, his first chair seat in band has been taken from him, and his band teacher has lectured him about not putting forth enough effort. When a fellow band member is bothered by the bully at lunch, Wes loses it. They are both sent to the principal’s office, but the bully has no intention of letting things go and attacks Wes – when Wes retaliates, he ends up being suspended over the school’s Zero Tolerance policy about fighting.
Wes’s father, Paul, has been having trouble of his own, mostly at work, and when he has to leave work – again – to pick up Wes, he is threatened with losing his job if he doesn’t stop leaving work like this. Paul leaves Wes with his parents (Wes’s grandparents), and Wes, after doing many chores for them, goes out for a walk in the woods. While out there, he sees a mysterious little man, whom he follows to a hollow in which stands a ramshackle old shack – however, Wes doesn’t remember ever seeing this place before. Paul has arrived at his parents’ place in the meantime, and gone out into the woods looking for Wes, whom he finds just as Wes enters the shack. By the time Paul enters the shack, Wes is gone – and Paul follows him through a magical door to another realm – for Wes and Paul have entered the Gatehouse, from which a person can travel to many different places, realms and even planes of reality. The adventures they will each face will change them both completely.
While the initial plot upon entrance to Canellin is a bit spare, this is more than made up for during the thrilling and exciting denouement. Also, unlike many stories of this type, the characters are well-developed and their interactions are nicely realistic. Wes is portrayed as a teenage boy in all his sullenness and temper, unlike in many stories where boys his age are unrealistically mature. I found this all immensely refreshing. I think fans of fantasy and adventure, whether they are young adults or older adults, will all find something to love in this story. Also, keep a watch out in the fall of 2011 for the 2nd book in the Gatehouse series, “The Door to Justice.” I know I will be!