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Ancient Earth Trilogy #3
The Fearful Gates
Plans that have been shaped for over a thousand years will finally be executed when dragons awake and the gates between worlds are thrown open.
Daniel and Freya, along with Alex, Vivienne, and the knight Ecgbryt, join together with the inhabitants of Nidergeard to confront the forces allied against them in this final volume of The Ancient Earth Trilogy.
Nidergeard lies exposed and the army that the dark wizard Gad has been gathering over the past years—made from giants, dragons, trolls, and yfelgopes—is finally assembled and ready to invade the nation. All that stands in their way is the Langtorr, the last standing structure in Nidergeard, and its inhabitants.
The fate of Britain—and the world—all centers around the events of a single day . . . a day when the mystery of what lies behind The Fearful Gates is revealed.
Daniel and Freya, along with Alex, Vivienne, and the knight Ecgbryt, join together with the inhabitants of Nidergeard to confront the forces allied against them in this final volume of The Ancient Earth Trilogy.
Nidergeard lies exposed and the army that the dark wizard Gad has been gathering over the past years—made from giants, dragons, trolls, and yfelgopes—is finally assembled and ready to invade the nation. All that stands in their way is the Langtorr, the last standing structure in Nidergeard, and its inhabitants.
The fate of Britain—and the world—all centers around the events of a single day . . . a day when the mystery of what lies behind The Fearful Gates is revealed.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Ross Lawhead
24 books31 followersRoss Lawhead comes from a literary household and has written since he could hold a crayon. He has collaborated with his father on a trilogy of speculative fiction, written and illustrated a graphic novel, and published two volumes of "awful" poetry in a series called "The Colour Papers." He lives in Oxford and this is his first full-length novel. For more on Ross' musings on comics, movies, books and culture, visit www.rosslawhead.com/blog/
https://www.facebook.com/RossLawhead
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 12, 2022
I did enjoy the “never knowing where this will go” story line. I bought in to this poor cousin to Gaiman’s “Neverwhere”.
September 13, 2016
This was the third and final book in this fantasy series by Ross Lawhead. Now that I have completed the entire trilogy I can say that I am impressed, especially as a first effort. Since two of my sons have also read the books, it was interesting enough to generate a conversation with them about the details, which were many. The author did not take nearly as much care as Tolkien or Rothfuss in trying to generate a realistic universe, but rather following the line of C.S. Lewis, who’s Narnia was brilliant, but not self-consistent. To be fair, Lawhead does provide at least a superficial explanation for just about everything. But the superficiality means that the books not as good as they could have been. Like his dad, Ross has created some very realistic flawed characters and is even willing to kill them off. This adds to the element of uncertainty and surprise while reading the books.
June 1, 2014
I like the themes that Lawhead has set forward in this trilogy. Ultimately it's about the futility of violence and the danger of ends-justifies-the-means philosophies. Most loose ends are wrapped up, some of them in a bit of a corny manner. I enjoyed the book (as well as the other two for that matter), but still much prefer the writing of his father.
August 20, 2022
An appropriate, and unexpected, end to the series. Like his father, Ross is able to create an intriguing world and explore the human condition therein.
May 10, 2014
This was an absolutely phenomenal book.
November 15, 2017
I have to admit, I wasn't too sure what to expect when opening the first pages of this book. The previous two books of the series (which I would highly recommend reading first), were interesting and a different take on celtic fantasy than I expected. This book, especially when compared with the last two, is pretty much non-stop action from the opening pages. Everything the last two books were building towards is unleashed, and it is quite a bit of chaos and destruction.
As far as plot and characters go, I'm not sure there would be much if not for the previous books in the series. That said, having read them, I thought the characters were decently fleshed out - especially Daniel and Freya. I specifically found Daniel's character arc pretty moving, which I did not expect going into this book. And Lawhead did a decent job of wrapping up most of the plot threads that were of any significance.
I will admit that after the first two books I wrestled with whether or not reading this last book of the trilogy was worth my time. I had a hard time connecting with Freya or Daniel and wasn't even sure I liked what Lawhead was doing with the characters. In the end, I'm glad I finished the book and am even going to encourage my sons to read it.
The worldview of the book is Christian in a general sense. Because of some of the violence, it probably isn't appropriate for younger children, and there are some pretty scary and horrific situations that sensitive children will be disturbed by. That said, the violence and 'evil' depicted are general enough that the book would be appropriate for teens and a majority of tweens.
As far as plot and characters go, I'm not sure there would be much if not for the previous books in the series. That said, having read them, I thought the characters were decently fleshed out - especially Daniel and Freya. I specifically found Daniel's character arc pretty moving, which I did not expect going into this book. And Lawhead did a decent job of wrapping up most of the plot threads that were of any significance.
I will admit that after the first two books I wrestled with whether or not reading this last book of the trilogy was worth my time. I had a hard time connecting with Freya or Daniel and wasn't even sure I liked what Lawhead was doing with the characters. In the end, I'm glad I finished the book and am even going to encourage my sons to read it.
The worldview of the book is Christian in a general sense. Because of some of the violence, it probably isn't appropriate for younger children, and there are some pretty scary and horrific situations that sensitive children will be disturbed by. That said, the violence and 'evil' depicted are general enough that the book would be appropriate for teens and a majority of tweens.
March 13, 2017
Who wrote this last book? Was it a committee job? It felt rushed and unfinished.
February 13, 2019
i feel bad for the children. Good ending though.
August 10, 2024
DNF Just didn’t care what happens. Oh well.
March 26, 2015
Ross Lawhead in his new book “The Fearful Gates” Book Three in The Ancient Earth Trilogy published by Thomas Nelson returns us to the world of Nidergeard and Daniel Tully and Freya Reynolds.
From the back cover: Plans that have been shaped for over a thousand years will finally be executed when dragons awake and the gates between worlds are thrown open.
Daniel and Freya, along with Alex, Vivienne, and the knight Ecgbryt, join together with the inhabitants of Nidergeard to confront the forces allied against them in this final volume of The Ancient Earth Trilogy.
Nidergeard lies exposed and the army that the dark wizard Gad has been gathering over the past years—made from giants, dragons, trolls, and yfelgopes—is finally assembled and ready to invade the nation. All that stands in their way is the Langtorr, the last standing structure in Nidergeard, and its inhabitants.
The fate of Britain—and the world—all centers around the events of a single day . . . a day when the mystery of what lies behind The Fearful Gates is revealed.
This is it! All the events of the previous two books has come down to this. The enemy has allied its forces and is going to do the last battle to take over Nidergeard. If you think this story has been epic until now “The Fearful Gates” is going to take you to the extreme. The good guys do not seem to be as strong as the forces opposed to them and this makes for a highly intense read. “The Fearful Gates” is the culmination of an adventure where the battle for good and evil has never been so important. This is not something that we can afford to lose. This is a page turning thriller as the war of light against darkness rages. In these pages there is much to learn of mythology and, I think, Mr. Lawhead has done an outstanding job.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
From the back cover: Plans that have been shaped for over a thousand years will finally be executed when dragons awake and the gates between worlds are thrown open.
Daniel and Freya, along with Alex, Vivienne, and the knight Ecgbryt, join together with the inhabitants of Nidergeard to confront the forces allied against them in this final volume of The Ancient Earth Trilogy.
Nidergeard lies exposed and the army that the dark wizard Gad has been gathering over the past years—made from giants, dragons, trolls, and yfelgopes—is finally assembled and ready to invade the nation. All that stands in their way is the Langtorr, the last standing structure in Nidergeard, and its inhabitants.
The fate of Britain—and the world—all centers around the events of a single day . . . a day when the mystery of what lies behind The Fearful Gates is revealed.
This is it! All the events of the previous two books has come down to this. The enemy has allied its forces and is going to do the last battle to take over Nidergeard. If you think this story has been epic until now “The Fearful Gates” is going to take you to the extreme. The good guys do not seem to be as strong as the forces opposed to them and this makes for a highly intense read. “The Fearful Gates” is the culmination of an adventure where the battle for good and evil has never been so important. This is not something that we can afford to lose. This is a page turning thriller as the war of light against darkness rages. In these pages there is much to learn of mythology and, I think, Mr. Lawhead has done an outstanding job.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
February 12, 2016
I liked the beginning of the series, but I liked it less and less with each book and wasn't terribly thrilled with the way the series wrapped up.
April 7, 2017
In the end I really liked this book and the series. The ending was beautifully done and I enjoyed the non-violent win.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews