Masters of Reality: The Gathering

The Ancient Future #3

by Traci Harding

Tory Alexander, from the 20th century, ruled as Queen with her beloved, King Maelgwn of Gwynned in 6th century Britain. In this book, the Shining Ones and the Chosen, who are hiding within the circuits of times, gather to defeat the evil ones and bring about a new age of awareness to the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction Fantasy, Young Adult

665 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1998

About the author

Traci Harding, is an Australian science-fantasy author who currently has twelve books in publication, on the Voyager label of HaperCollins Publishers Australia.

Her work blends fantasy, fact, esoteric belief, time travel and quantum physics, into adventurous romps through history, ulternative dimensions, universes and states of consciousness.


The Ancient Future Trilogy
Book 1 -The Ancient Future 1996
Book 2 -An Echo in Time 1997
Book 3 - Masters of Reality 1998

Stand Alone Novels
The Alchemists Key 1998
Book of Dreams 2002
Ghostwriting 2003

The Celestial Triad
Book 1 – Chronicle of Ages 1999
Book 2 – Tablet of Destinies 2000
Book 3 – The Cosmic Logos 2001

The Mystique Trilogy
Book 1 – Gene of Isis 2005
Book 2 – The Dragon Queens 2007
Book 3 – The Black Madonna 2008


Triad of Being
Book 1 - Being of the Field 2009
Book 2 - The Universe Parallel 2010
Book 3 - The Light Field 2012

The Time Keepers
Book 1 - Dreaming of Zhou Gong 2013
Book 2 - Forthcoming
Book 3 - Forthcoming

The Ancient Future is currently listed on both the Dymock’s Top 101 Books. Along with The Alchemist's Key, The Ancient Future has been published in Complex Chinese for worldwide release.

The first book of the Mystique Trilogy -Gene of Isis is now to be published in Russian, Czech, Slavic, Greek and Romanian, as is book two The Dragon Queens.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

mary-sue is a word used too freely and almost always in a negative context. the story of tory alexander, brought to a conclusion in this text, is often tagged as one of the 'ultimate mary-sue'. but if she had been terry alexander instead, surely no-one would have batted an eye.

so, having said that - i *love* this series of books. they're not the best written, but i don't expect high end literature in escapist fantasy.
'the gathering' finally answers many of the questions asked by tory in the first two books - who her ancestors are, what is the purpose of her family, the final fate of the souls she had met throughout time.

i really do enjoy the adventures of tory and her 'chosen' family. paradoxes, poor writing and cries of mary-sue wil not sway my opinion here :D

[Mikaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole series was amazing- and this book (while slow to start) was no exception. I love all the characters, and the ending was superb! Very Cute.

Traci Harding is one of my favourite authours, and this series if one of my favourites!

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book Tory and her clan (with lots of current incarnations) head towards the gathering. In this book they discover the lost city of Atlantis and Tory is reunited with her immortal son Rhun.

The planet is dying after nuclear wars and the chosen are all made immortal awaiting the return of Maelwyn and the other chosen.

Rhiannon is kidnapped by an immortal descendant of Tory's that is overlooked (oops!) and has a beef with the dragon clan.

I didn't like this as much as the previous two but I think it summed up the series nicely and answers a few questions from previous books. From the first book in the series to the last they begin as fantasy with a little bit of sci fi. This one is predominately sci fi with lots of technology and space travel. I didn't have a problem with it but it may not be embraced people wedded to the fantasy genre.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

When compared to the previous books, i found this one not as mesmerising. Although, having said that i did enjoy reding it very much. I just thought that the adventurous nature of the series was lost slightly. But, all in all, the novel was still up to standard in correspondence with the book 1 and 2.

[Ali Constable · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favourite in the Trilogy but still enjoyable.

[~Anita~]

I preferred the first book

[kashiichan · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this book Tory and her clan head towards The Gathering, a major event that was vaguely hinted at through the previous two books. In this book Tory finds the lost city of Atlantis, is reunited with loved ones, learns about her ancestral history, and discovers her family's true purpose.

I hated this book. Tory is still completely "perfect and talented", everyone still loves her as soon as they meet her, she learns new magic by simply WANTING to, and everything is solved with "technology" (magic) so there are barely any stakes. Harding's ‘ye olde language’ returns, but at least there weren't as many rape attempts as in previous volumes. Sadly the writing is still terrible, resulting in a plethora of purple-prose sentences:
* "The smoke tasted strong enough to induce an out-of-body experience."
* "This celestial woman, whose flowing robes left her half naked, was more beautiful to behold than any starlet of the silver screen, and her speech was more eloquent than the finest Shakespearean actor."
* "I love my mother, dearly, don’t get me wrong. Who can blame her for being so perfect and talented. But there is one task she could never bring herself to do, and that, my friend, is why I took the assignment upon myself. No one else could have pulled it off, not even Mother."

[Debbie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing this series ,I can say, yes, I enjoyed Tory's story. The complexities in the plot and the enormous amount of research to link fable,myths, legends and globally significant problems could have lost my interest . But , I kept in mind that this was a fairytale series. Love, family and friendship, being the ultimate goal for humans and apparently mythical gods too. The biggest negative is ; why are the characters physically perfect , beautiful specimens ,academically brilliant or bright souls ? Answer ; we should all see ourselves as perfect, beautiful, intelligent and soulful.

[Sandra qt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does it really have to end?

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book three of the Ancient Futures series by Traci Harding. Tory Alexander continues her adventures in time, this time shooting into the future - a future where the Earth has almost been destroyed by the Nefilim, the master race that is the origins of Homo Sapiens. Basically, they hate us because of what we have done to our planet.

In this story, Tory continues her evolution and explores her powers further. Her son and husband come back into the picture to guide her, but I found it a little frustrating that they have developed their powers and abilities a lot further than she has. It just didn't seem to fit in with the impressions generated in Book One - that Tory will be the 'be all and end all' of time travelers and psychics and protect mankind forever. Instead, Tory has spent her immortal life worrying more about everyone else's love lives. Gone is the hard-arse tough chick who could kick your head in with her Tae-kwon-do skills. What is left is a soft, emotional girl who is just a shell of the woman depicted in the first book and a half.

Having said that, I did still enjoy this book, which moved from mystical fantasy to futuristic sci-fi. It has finished off the series, but I don't think it did so with the same flair as it began. 3 stars.

[Chloe-Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well thought out series. I was captivated from start to finish and was drawn to so many characters. I love how in depth this series is. Although it is so drawn out the reunion of Tory and Maelgwen, it was well worth it, and plenty of other relationships filled the gap. Rhun and Rhiannon were amazing children and I loved watching both of them grow and be as strong as their mother. Definitely one of my favourite series. Had a mixture of everything :) reading each different book was like reading a whole new story but with the same characters. Tory’s story will forever be one of my favourites.

I will miss these characters.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

All three books of this trilogy were absolutely brilliant and were easy to read although it involved time travel and the story line included stories from the past and present time, I found it enthralling.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantasy escape - but a good one & nice semi conclusion to a great trilogy (semi because there are another 3 that follow in a second trilogy).

Branches into more of the esoteric leaving you thinking beyond the conclusion of the story. Nicely done, definitely leaving me as a Traci Harding fan

[Sarah Smit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way this book was written with a more split view was a risky move that paid off. You get drawn into what is happening and can imagine being there yourself, and feel for the characters as if you were there. These books are never far from my mind.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending to a magnificent trilogy which transcends time and place. I highly recommend reading the entire trilogy for any lovers of fantasy, time travel, reincarnation, historical events and/or quantum physics.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, an amazing read :)

[Karon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Angelique · Rating 2 out of 5]

a disappointment. sorry but it bored me. Must be the change in that it's more sci fi, set into the distant future, unlike the first two books which are set in the past. only read half of it.

[Michael Wakefield · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series has a decent story line but is a bit of a wank.

[Becci · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chosen gather for the final confrontation - past and future join to save the planet

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

+++ 20

[Dale Furse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in the trilogy and it didn't disappoint. Traci Harding is a wonderful writer and a talented researcher.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a good read and a fun story.

[szallj · Rating 4 out of 5]

good comeback after the second book. the last half of this is especially great.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK

[Ramah · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

[Linda McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, great author