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The Blood Gate
Behind a wall in a hidden chamber lies a dark secret: The Blood Gate. Legend hints at its awesome power—and its dreadful costs. Since ancient times, the mysterious portal has been kept sealed and hidden. Only the great Xarhux himself had ever dared to enter...
And he emerged with the strength of a god.
And the mind of a madman.
Now, a young descendant of the Conqueror, the exiled Prince Hurrus, must discover the Blood Gate's terrible secret if he is ever to reclaim the throne of his father.
His people fight and die for his return. Bands of rebels wage a hopeless war against vast supernatural forces. Outmatched and increasingly desperate, a single dream keeps them alive—the dream of the return of their king. The dream of Hurrus.
But he must first face what few have survived—hired blades of the famed Prathian Guard...
Unforgettable characters, non-stop action, romance, and intrigue…
The Blood Gate is a 160,000-word novel of epic fantasy. From the author of The War God's Men.
And he emerged with the strength of a god.
And the mind of a madman.
Now, a young descendant of the Conqueror, the exiled Prince Hurrus, must discover the Blood Gate's terrible secret if he is ever to reclaim the throne of his father.
His people fight and die for his return. Bands of rebels wage a hopeless war against vast supernatural forces. Outmatched and increasingly desperate, a single dream keeps them alive—the dream of the return of their king. The dream of Hurrus.
But he must first face what few have survived—hired blades of the famed Prathian Guard...
Unforgettable characters, non-stop action, romance, and intrigue…
The Blood Gate is a 160,000-word novel of epic fantasy. From the author of The War God's Men.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2011
15 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2011
The Blood Gate is an epic fantasy tale with rich characters, tons of action and intrigue, romance, and great storylines. The world the author created for this book was extraordinary, with a created mythology of dieties and religion that was somehow still fully believable, despite being so far out of our own reality and mythologies.
Sometimes epic fantasy can become muddied with all of the subplots that are a part of the epic story, or those subplots can feel incomplete. Neither was an issue with this book. The subplots were almost stories in and of themselves and were woven together without a bit of the muddiness. The action and the intrigue was kept at a great pace that kept the rather long novel from ever becoming stale and kept me turning the pages.
I don't know that this is a book that would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of depth and character and really draws you in. Fantasy or not, it has a very historical feel to it, thanks to an incredibly well-created world. The characters, whether you root for them or not, are very relatable and draw you right into the story!
Sometimes epic fantasy can become muddied with all of the subplots that are a part of the epic story, or those subplots can feel incomplete. Neither was an issue with this book. The subplots were almost stories in and of themselves and were woven together without a bit of the muddiness. The action and the intrigue was kept at a great pace that kept the rather long novel from ever becoming stale and kept me turning the pages.
I don't know that this is a book that would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of depth and character and really draws you in. Fantasy or not, it has a very historical feel to it, thanks to an incredibly well-created world. The characters, whether you root for them or not, are very relatable and draw you right into the story!
March 16, 2024
I feel like I was catfished by a book. I apparently downloaded this on Kindle years and years ago, because it was like $2. It has sat for so long, I kindve felt sorry for it and decided it would be a side read for me. I reread the synopsis...." Behind a hidden wall lies a dark secret...THE BLOOD GATE, muwhaha. Legend hints at its awesome power and dreadful costs." OK, you hooked me tagline. I read a few reviews and people were giving it 4 and 5 stars. Blood Gate, I will see what you are all about.
The story begins with two assassins heading through the desert to kill a young prince they know nothing about. This book has Egyptian undertones, political intrigue, a witch who can read your mind appearing as both a beautiful woman and a hag, old gods who have the power to manipulate our daily lives and a love story. Huge sprawling battles scenes, a man who can transform into a pure white snake, and a female Huntress deadly and beautiful. But, a Blood Gate? I'm half way through, no mention of a Blood Gate...ok 75% in and still no blood gate. I reread the reviews, am I reading the same book? WHERE IS THE BLOOD GATE? Finally at 92% in, we reach the Blood gate, the mystery, sinister other world, a bull god waiting for you. I'm so excited, this is going to be so good. And, within pages its over. Hurrus kills the god, returns to the realm of man and seems no worse for the journey. OMG, I can't believe I spent a good amount of time invested in this book. Was it good? Yes. Just change the name to Murder in the Desert or something like that.
The story begins with two assassins heading through the desert to kill a young prince they know nothing about. This book has Egyptian undertones, political intrigue, a witch who can read your mind appearing as both a beautiful woman and a hag, old gods who have the power to manipulate our daily lives and a love story. Huge sprawling battles scenes, a man who can transform into a pure white snake, and a female Huntress deadly and beautiful. But, a Blood Gate? I'm half way through, no mention of a Blood Gate...ok 75% in and still no blood gate. I reread the reviews, am I reading the same book? WHERE IS THE BLOOD GATE? Finally at 92% in, we reach the Blood gate, the mystery, sinister other world, a bull god waiting for you. I'm so excited, this is going to be so good. And, within pages its over. Hurrus kills the god, returns to the realm of man and seems no worse for the journey. OMG, I can't believe I spent a good amount of time invested in this book. Was it good? Yes. Just change the name to Murder in the Desert or something like that.
January 28, 2016
At the beginning of The Blood Gate, the assassins Xanthippus and Nydeon, members of the once fabled Prathian Guard, are traveling to a trade outpost to meet with their contact Seus in order to obtain passports. Their presence in the city is apparently supposed to be a secret, as they lie to the first guard they encounter regarding their ethnicity in an attempt to blend in. When the ruse fails, they attack the guard. They then continue into the town, where their contact comes outside and meets them in front of the palace...and in front of other guards. It is a situation early in the book that leaves the reader scratching her head, because you wonder why all the worry about secrecy if they were just going to stroll up to the palace steps anyway.
There are a lot of scenes like that in The Blood Gate.
This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book. To the contrary, The Blood Gate is a high octane action-adventure with an original cast of entertaining and intriguing characters. I could easily see the book translated to the big screen. However, my feeling is that the author was in fact writing the book as if it was a summer blockbuster movie and may have forgotten that what works on screen does not always work on the page.
Xanthippus and Nydeon's target is the exiled Prince Hurrus, about to wed King Myletos' daughter. Hurrus believes himself to be a direct descendent of the legendary Xarhux, the last man to walk through the Blood Gate and emerge with almost godlike power. He is determined to discover the truth of his heritage and reclaim his father's kingdom from the supernatural forces that have invaded it. But first he must survive the assassins sent to kill him.
The plot is well structured and finely detailed. There are plenty of side intrigues that add a nice layer of depth to the world. Both the main cast and secondary characters are well developed. But the pacing is off. The timeline never really seems to match up with what is going on, as if the entire story has been put on fast-forward to jump to the action parts. This causes certain plot points to get overlooked or muddled, leading to unnecessary confusion for the reader. It sometimes becomes unclear who is where and why because the author doesn't clearly define the timeline. This, coupled with the assortment of odd logic lapses like the one mentioned above, prevent the book for reaching its full potential.
The world of the Blood Gate is nominally modeled off of the classical world, though the author changes the spelling of words somewhat (Gyriecian instead of Grecian, or Prathia instead of Parthia). Before someone gets too bent out of shape, the presence of reptilian races and other supernatural creatures should make it clear this is a fantasy, not a historical fiction. But I did find myself "auto correcting" in my head for the first few pages until I realized the spellings were deliberate. I only mention it so other readers don't fall into the same pattern.
The Blood Gate is an entertaining read despite the issues noted. Go into it ready to simply enjoy the roller coaster ride and don't dwell too much on the lapses. Casual readers probably won't notice most of them anyway.
Reviewer Note: Reviewer given a comp copy of the book for review.
There are a lot of scenes like that in The Blood Gate.
This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book. To the contrary, The Blood Gate is a high octane action-adventure with an original cast of entertaining and intriguing characters. I could easily see the book translated to the big screen. However, my feeling is that the author was in fact writing the book as if it was a summer blockbuster movie and may have forgotten that what works on screen does not always work on the page.
Xanthippus and Nydeon's target is the exiled Prince Hurrus, about to wed King Myletos' daughter. Hurrus believes himself to be a direct descendent of the legendary Xarhux, the last man to walk through the Blood Gate and emerge with almost godlike power. He is determined to discover the truth of his heritage and reclaim his father's kingdom from the supernatural forces that have invaded it. But first he must survive the assassins sent to kill him.
The plot is well structured and finely detailed. There are plenty of side intrigues that add a nice layer of depth to the world. Both the main cast and secondary characters are well developed. But the pacing is off. The timeline never really seems to match up with what is going on, as if the entire story has been put on fast-forward to jump to the action parts. This causes certain plot points to get overlooked or muddled, leading to unnecessary confusion for the reader. It sometimes becomes unclear who is where and why because the author doesn't clearly define the timeline. This, coupled with the assortment of odd logic lapses like the one mentioned above, prevent the book for reaching its full potential.
The world of the Blood Gate is nominally modeled off of the classical world, though the author changes the spelling of words somewhat (Gyriecian instead of Grecian, or Prathia instead of Parthia). Before someone gets too bent out of shape, the presence of reptilian races and other supernatural creatures should make it clear this is a fantasy, not a historical fiction. But I did find myself "auto correcting" in my head for the first few pages until I realized the spellings were deliberate. I only mention it so other readers don't fall into the same pattern.
The Blood Gate is an entertaining read despite the issues noted. Go into it ready to simply enjoy the roller coaster ride and don't dwell too much on the lapses. Casual readers probably won't notice most of them anyway.
Reviewer Note: Reviewer given a comp copy of the book for review.
September 25, 2012
Review originally over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Blood Gate by David Ross Erickson was also another book which the author hadn’t approached us for, but again the blurb and excerpt worked in its favor. The story begins by introducing several characters in a land which is similar to Egypt and is called Tygetia. The author begins the story by introducing us to the two main characters Xanthippus and Hurrus, who are the main focus of the story.
Xanthippus is a warrior who travels to Tygetia with his blood brother Nydeon for a specific cause as some one is looking to hire them for a job of sorts. Hurrus is a prince of a far away land who is looking to return as a conquering victor. They however will have to contend with a lot more issues than they think are present. Also in the midst of things is the titular object which can grant mystical powers but also granting madness at the same time. There are many more characters and thus there is a lot more drama. The story is a myriad one wherein there are multiple plot threads and the author slowly introduces each and every one of them, slowly and surely building a tapestry for the reader to view. The story then spiral to its fantastic conclusion and has an epic ending of sorts.
What I liked about the book was its understated epicness, whilst the characterization was a strong point. The main draw of the story is the plot twists, the author has thoroughly planned the story and made sure that the reader who closely follows it will be thoroughly rewarded. Another excellent point about the story is its standalone nature, nowadays with huge series with more than 5/6 books, its very heartening to see an author pitch out an epic story and then contain it within the confines of a single book. This move helps as nowadays a lot of readers are left waiting to read the next chapter/book in their favorite series and so a standalone book will definitely be appreciable.
Lastly what is a focal drawback for the story is its tepid pace, through out the first half of the book, the pace of a story is a major deterrent. With the author structuring the story the way he has. I believe the narrative pace of the story was destabilized and that can cause certain readers to be disenfranchised with the story as the major plot points are being built up. However I would advise such readers to not lose their way and read through to thoroughly enjoy this book which reads partially like historical fiction. Recommended for readers who enjoy well developed stories with good characterization akin to stories by Kate Elliot and J.V. Jones.
October 1, 2012
This book is a military based Fantasy "historical" novel, which to be fair, is not the sort of book that I would normally read. However, this one has had some good reviews so I thought I would give it a go.
There are two stories in the main, that intermingle at the beginning and then run along side by side for the majority of the book. The first being with the characters of Xanthippus and his blood brother Nydeon. They are sent on a mission to kill a Prince Hurrus and, unbeknown to them, are not expected or wanted to survive. Prince Hurrus survives and so do they and that is where the story splits until the end.
There are a wealth of characters in the book that you will know a lot about, but for me, I also felt that there were stories or pieces of the character missing. For example, Hurrus' brother, Kerraunus, is possibly a shapeshifter who runs away from a battle that he is losing, with one of his "companion body". Although he has been a major character to this point, he is never mentioned again. Some characters just sort of fade out (Myletos) whilst others just disappear.
This book has been planned from start to finish and takes you on a journey. It has been good to read and I'm glad that I have read it. If you like military based books, intermingled with heroes and Gods with an historical twist then this is the book for you.
There are two stories in the main, that intermingle at the beginning and then run along side by side for the majority of the book. The first being with the characters of Xanthippus and his blood brother Nydeon. They are sent on a mission to kill a Prince Hurrus and, unbeknown to them, are not expected or wanted to survive. Prince Hurrus survives and so do they and that is where the story splits until the end.
There are a wealth of characters in the book that you will know a lot about, but for me, I also felt that there were stories or pieces of the character missing. For example, Hurrus' brother, Kerraunus, is possibly a shapeshifter who runs away from a battle that he is losing, with one of his "companion body". Although he has been a major character to this point, he is never mentioned again. Some characters just sort of fade out (Myletos) whilst others just disappear.
This book has been planned from start to finish and takes you on a journey. It has been good to read and I'm glad that I have read it. If you like military based books, intermingled with heroes and Gods with an historical twist then this is the book for you.
He had expected simple faceless murder, and a fat coin purse waiting for him at the end. What he found instead were layers upon layers of deceit and betrayal.
July 25, 2011
And when the author promises unforgettable characters, non-stop action, romance, and intrigue, he most certainly delivers. The Blood Gate engages the reader quickly from the beginning and transports them into a world of war and treachery. A definite 5 stars out of 5.
Read the full review at Sift: http://siftbookreviews.blogspot.com/2...
Review by: Erica of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
Read the full review at Sift: http://siftbookreviews.blogspot.com/2...
Review by: Erica of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
June 28, 2011
A rather charming story. There are a lot of characters, but I don’t a reader will loos track of who is who. The subplots each had a strong character. There are a few story lines that intersect so you will never get bored and the writing is well done.
I like the fact of all the research of the ancient world. It was easy to tell apart from the Egyptians to the Greeks and more. When you read the battles you feel like you are right there as the background of research is spot on.
The book won’t appeal to everyone, but for the ones it does, you will be glad you read it.
I like the fact of all the research of the ancient world. It was easy to tell apart from the Egyptians to the Greeks and more. When you read the battles you feel like you are right there as the background of research is spot on.
The book won’t appeal to everyone, but for the ones it does, you will be glad you read it.
October 28, 2012
An epic fantasy...no kidding. From rich, well-formed characters, including wrong women who love to fight. From the incredible military onslaughts that lead the rule of beautiful kingdoms. Though slow to start I ended up unable to put down this creative history.
February 21, 2012
Lots of action scenes. David Erickson paints an action packed picture as you read. Ths plot twists and turns leaving you enthralled.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews