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Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates
The other side of the world could be just a step away...
Whether loved, despised, or just a fact of life, the Gates connect all parts of the globe to each other in an interwoven web linking disparate cultures and forming strange relationships. And whether you're a seasoned Traveler or a neophyte, when you step through a Gate, you won't be the same on the other side.
For one thing, you'll be naked.
The Gates only admit living beings - but living beings always bring with them their knowledge, their faith, their languages, their skills, and their beliefs. Some nations embrace the Gates. Others fear them. For some nations, they are the beating hearts of trade, centers for the exchange of language and philosophy, hubs of adventure and discovery. For others, they are useless dead-ends, objects of terror, or outright threats.
In this anthology, twelve authors explore the adventures, intrigues, and discoveries, large and small, global and personal, that occur because of the interconnections of these incredible magical Gates.
The anthology includes the following stories:
VIGNETTES FROM THE HILTHSTAD by Cass Morris
DEAD MAN'S MAP by Marie Brennan
THROWING MUSES by Mike Chen
MUSIC TO YOUR EARS by J.C. Pillard
THE CLOTHIER OF ALENNI by Victor Manibo
CANDIDATE ELEVEN by Kate Elliott
SILVER AND GOLD by Rowenna Miller
MARIT THE RESOLUTE by Lindsey Carmichael
LUMI & THE NAVIGATOR by Natania Barron
COURIER'S HONOR by Valerie Valdes
CHASING THE SUN by Marshall Ryan Maresca
SCHEMES, FACTIONS, AND CULTURE Non-fiction essay by Michael R. Underwood
Whether loved, despised, or just a fact of life, the Gates connect all parts of the globe to each other in an interwoven web linking disparate cultures and forming strange relationships. And whether you're a seasoned Traveler or a neophyte, when you step through a Gate, you won't be the same on the other side.
For one thing, you'll be naked.
The Gates only admit living beings - but living beings always bring with them their knowledge, their faith, their languages, their skills, and their beliefs. Some nations embrace the Gates. Others fear them. For some nations, they are the beating hearts of trade, centers for the exchange of language and philosophy, hubs of adventure and discovery. For others, they are useless dead-ends, objects of terror, or outright threats.
In this anthology, twelve authors explore the adventures, intrigues, and discoveries, large and small, global and personal, that occur because of the interconnections of these incredible magical Gates.
The anthology includes the following stories:
VIGNETTES FROM THE HILTHSTAD by Cass Morris
DEAD MAN'S MAP by Marie Brennan
THROWING MUSES by Mike Chen
MUSIC TO YOUR EARS by J.C. Pillard
THE CLOTHIER OF ALENNI by Victor Manibo
CANDIDATE ELEVEN by Kate Elliott
SILVER AND GOLD by Rowenna Miller
MARIT THE RESOLUTE by Lindsey Carmichael
LUMI & THE NAVIGATOR by Natania Barron
COURIER'S HONOR by Valerie Valdes
CHASING THE SUN by Marshall Ryan Maresca
SCHEMES, FACTIONS, AND CULTURE Non-fiction essay by Michael R. Underwood
279 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 21, 2024
Okay so I might be slightly biased reviewing this one considering I backed it on Kickstarter and my name is in the acknowledgements, (alongside many others) for that reason, but I did genuinely love this anyway.
So many of the stories I wished were full books. Novellas at minimum. I wanted to know so much more about some of these characters, or the history of their cities, or where they worked, or how that one weird religion came to be, but for now I will be satisfied with the little glimpses that I got.
It can be so difficult to get someone to care about a character or a place when you have so few pages to do it, and then you surround those pages with other stories also vying for that spot at the back of your mind where that one story that ends up standing out more than the rest will live for days afterwards - but somehow they all manage it. I finished each story wanting more, not because they were lacking, but because I wanted to keep living in that world, just for a little while longer...
So many of the stories I wished were full books. Novellas at minimum. I wanted to know so much more about some of these characters, or the history of their cities, or where they worked, or how that one weird religion came to be, but for now I will be satisfied with the little glimpses that I got.
It can be so difficult to get someone to care about a character or a place when you have so few pages to do it, and then you surround those pages with other stories also vying for that spot at the back of your mind where that one story that ends up standing out more than the rest will live for days afterwards - but somehow they all manage it. I finished each story wanting more, not because they were lacking, but because I wanted to keep living in that world, just for a little while longer...
July 21, 2026
For bingo’s Transportation HM Square, I read Traveling Light - Tales of the Magical Gates by World Building for Masochists.
This was basically a collection of stories in a world where magical gates appear, and can in turn make traveling instantaneous. That’s unfortunately the main utilisation of the gates, with the exception of the story Chasing the Sun.
The majority of the characters in the stories had different, though mostly related professions regarding the gates. It was very interesting seeing said different professions, in particular the gatekeeps, travellers and navigators, amongst seeing some others like couriers or rival pirates.
My only real issue is that some stories finish, just as it’s about to get more interesting. I’m not sure if some continued their stories, but I do know that Marie Brennan has not and hers was one of the more enjoyable stories to me.
Overall, it was a really good time where I only really disliked 3. Throwing Muses, Music to Your Ears and The Clouthier of Alenni.
And my favourites were Dead Man’s Map, Marit the Resolute, Couriers Honor and Chasing the Sun.
There was also a non-fiction addition at the end, which I admit I wasn’t too keen on reading. But, surprisingly, it was a lot more interesting than I expected. Especially regarding asking why when building a world, and how that can assist.
World building is my favourite part of fantasy, and I’m honestly glad that I found this. With the added bonus of the group having a podcast with 100+ episodes to choose from!
This was basically a collection of stories in a world where magical gates appear, and can in turn make traveling instantaneous. That’s unfortunately the main utilisation of the gates, with the exception of the story Chasing the Sun.
The majority of the characters in the stories had different, though mostly related professions regarding the gates. It was very interesting seeing said different professions, in particular the gatekeeps, travellers and navigators, amongst seeing some others like couriers or rival pirates.
My only real issue is that some stories finish, just as it’s about to get more interesting. I’m not sure if some continued their stories, but I do know that Marie Brennan has not and hers was one of the more enjoyable stories to me.
Overall, it was a really good time where I only really disliked 3. Throwing Muses, Music to Your Ears and The Clouthier of Alenni.
And my favourites were Dead Man’s Map, Marit the Resolute, Couriers Honor and Chasing the Sun.
There was also a non-fiction addition at the end, which I admit I wasn’t too keen on reading. But, surprisingly, it was a lot more interesting than I expected. Especially regarding asking why when building a world, and how that can assist.
World building is my favourite part of fantasy, and I’m honestly glad that I found this. With the added bonus of the group having a podcast with 100+ episodes to choose from!
September 18, 2024
A fun selection of short stories from the world of the Worldbuilding for Masochists podcast
October 6, 2024
A variety of story flavors from top-notch authors and, of course, gratuitous magical nude gate crossings.
December 1, 2024
This is an anthology of stories based on the world being built in the podcast, Worldbuilding for Masochists. I enjoyed every story, which is impressive in an anthology.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews