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The Gatekeeper's Son #2

The Fallen Gatekeepers

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This book is now out-of-print.

A new Extended Edition of The Fallen Gatekeepers will be released October 2018.

390 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2017

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338 people want to read

About the author

C.R. Fladmark

2 books46 followers
C.R. Fladmark was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. From an early age, he loved to create imaginary worlds and to read books.

As a teenager, he became interested in all things Japanese (ninja, swords, old temples and shrines, customs), although he had little exposure to the culture. More than a decade later and after forgetting most of his interest in Japan, he was introduced to a Japanese woman on a blind date.

His subsequent travels to Japan (with her) introduced him to the myths and history of Japan that go back thousands of years, to the time when the gods ruled Japan. He now travels often to Japan, where he researches his novels among the ancient sites in Shimane Prefecture.
To learn more, visit www.crfladmark.com or find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/crfladmark.

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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Erin Dunn.
Author 2 books105 followers
July 12, 2017
https://angelerin.blogspot.com/2017/0...

Thank you to Ryder Author Resources for providing a free copy of The Fallen Gatekeepers By: C.R. Fladmark in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to do a shorter review for The Fallen Gatekeepers because I don't want to give away any spoilers for book 1. One thing I immensely enjoyed about this one is how it expanded on the world building. I am a sucker for great world building! I also liked how Junya and Shoko's relationship was more intriguing in this one.
#WorldBuildingIsSoImportant!

Overall I liked The Fallen Gatekeepers just as much as The Gatekeeper's Son and I can't wait for book 3! I did read this one super slowly as well because things have been loco in my life. However, the book is great and the end really left me wanting more!!
#MoooooorePlease

I also recommend The Fallen Gatekeepers to all urban fantasy fans. This is a terrific series so far.
#DefinitelyTryIt!
Profile Image for Michael Bates.
63 reviews5 followers
March 30, 2017
Plot-4 Stars
Characters-4 Stars
Setting-4 Stars

I will have to say I am impressed. The second book takes everything from book 1 and multiplies it. More action, romance (although I am personally not of fan of sex scenes), locations and powers.
Junya is slowly, slowly growing as a person. He is stubborn and needs to think more but hey he is a teenager. With access to lots of money. With what Junya had to learn in this book should make him really start to be a leader in the future. Shoto opens up more in this book but yet still remains to me a badass. Mack shows the most growth to me. He is understanding, even after what happened to him at the end of the last book, and starts to learn Martial Arts. He also realizes education is important, even more so if he doesn't want to have to ask Junya for a job. I look forward to Macks role in the next book. As well as Junya's dad who had to learn a lot of hard truths in this book.
Adding other cultures, Shamans and gods is always a big plus for me. What is not is the fact that they fight a lot of Evil Ones but no true leader till the end. Having been introduced to Bartholomew in the last book, I was hoping for more of him in this one. There is enough going on with the Land of the Gatekeepers to keep you turning the pages. While again I am not a fan of sex scenes, I am still invested in Junya and Shoko. That ending though alone makes me curious about the next book.
Overall this book adds to the overall series. Fladmark does a great job giving you more history on the Gatekeepers and Junya, while also still giving you a lot of action, powers and romance. It was a nice blend.
Now the question is, would I read the next book? The ending alone would make me read the next one. About the only way I wouldn't would be if the Gatekeepers themselves were trying to stop me. (Although a group of cute girls sounds nice, the fact that they would kick my ass pretty easily makes it an easy decision to not try them.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jessica Meats.
Author 17 books35 followers
June 8, 2017
I didn’t realise when I first started this book that it was part of a series, but it quickly became apparent. The book jumps in without any real introduction to the main characters, the world-building, or the events that led up to this point. It was very hard to figure out what was going on for the first couple of chapters because the characters would talk about things that happened in a previous book without there being any additional explanation for those readers who hadn’t read that book. It got easier after about four chapter when I’d figured out the basics of what was going on, but there were still moments throughout the book when knowledge of the previous book was just assumed. For example, a character was brought into the story who’d not been so much as mentioned in this book, and I was left with no idea who this person was. I realise it’s a delicate balance when writing a sequel as the author doesn’t want to bore readers who have read the first book, but I thought this one could have done with a little more background explanation. Still, that’s probably not an issue if you read the books in order.

The Fallen Gatekeepers is a fantasy story about other worlds inhabited by gods, and the gatekeepers, an order of warrior girls who protect the gods from Evil Ones. Junya is a teenage boy who has been caught up in this world of magic and gods. He is determined to help the gatekeepers fight the Evil Ones, but he also wants to spend more time with Shoko, a gatekeeper of great skill. When the Evil Ones start attacking Shamans, Junya and Shoko must break with tradition and come up with a new plan to fight them.

There’s a lot that’s good about this book. The plot is interesting. There were some nice twists and turns that kept me reading to figure out what might happen. The plot was cleverly constructed and was what held my attention to the end.

There are some nice underlying themes about jealousy and the desire for material things which add a layer to the book without coming across and preachy. It comes through the book in a very natural way and feels understandable in the reactions of the characters.

I liked the character of Mack, one of Junya’s friends, and there were some interesting dynamics between some of the gatekeepers who work with Shoko. There are a large of range of characters, both major and minor, who all feel like different people with their own desires and goals.

My main issue with the book was that Junya did some things that annoyed me. He frequently checks out women and girls in the early part of the book. This starts with watching Shoko getting undressed when she’s taking a bath but also includes ogling at women who work for his grandfather. There were also some sexist traditions in Shoko’s world that it would have been good to see Junya call out. When discussing what happens if a girl gets pregnant – she loses her position and her honour, but the boy who impregnated her isn’t punished – Shoko dismisses this as being because the elders know what young people are like, especially boys. This is a “boys can’t help themselves” argument that I find infuriating and it would have been nice for Junya to address it instead of letting it slide.

Junya is also obnoxious about money. He has a large amount of money thanks to the events of the previous book (he talks about millions of dollars in a stock account at one point) and he does things like throwing half a million dollars on a fancy car just because he can. Then he goes and talks about wealth inequality and how it isn’t fair that a small minority has so much money – despite being part of that small minority. If he was ever shown being generous with his money it would be fine, but these statements come across as hypocritical given his behaviour in the rest of the book. This could have been easily fixed with an aside mention of charity donations, or an extra sentence to say that he paused to give money to the homeless people he passes while walking with Shoko – instead the homeless people are mentioned and Junya just walks right by. This is especially grating given the message the books shows in other places around how desiring stuff for stuff’s sake can be damaging.

The other thing that annoyed me at times was the way other countries and cultures were portrayed using stereotypes. Japan wasn’t so bad because there were enough different Japanese (or Japanese-inspired) characters that they could have different personalities, but the way the ninjas were written or the girls wore school uniforms and so on did feel like stereotypes at times. But other countries get only a very brief mention and they come across as ridiculously stereotyped – such as the tribesmen of Africa (the land of big cats and elephants – even though this description might apply to India), or the clansmen of Scotland (the land of druids – even though this could apply to Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, etc.). In the exchange with the Scotsmen, Shoko uses a few phrases with local dialect wording and Junya talks about how she’s “talking Gaelic” even though she’s actually speaking English. The scenes in Africa and Scotland were quite short in the book, but they still grated because they felt very stereotyped.

The plot of the book and the ideas behind it were very interesting, but it was the details of how it was written that annoyed me. I feel like I’m being quite harsh in this review – I did enjoy reading the book after all. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the first book in the series before coming to this one.

If like me, you come to this book without having read this series, I’d suggest going for the first book before coming back to this one.
Profile Image for John Middleton.
Author 1 book8 followers
June 21, 2017
In GATEKEEPERS 2, the main characters - James and Shoko - do a lot of growing up. A lot. And author Fladmark grows, too. "The Fallen Gatekeepers" shows a maturing and a sophistication of story-telling, proof that Fladmark is honing his craft as he develops his story. The author is not a bit reluctant to broach the subject of teenagers coming of age in the real world, all the while spinning a fast-moving tale of duty, honor, betrayal, and more. I'm left with a keen feeling of anticipation for GATKEEPERS 3. Reading "The Fallen Gatekeepers" is well worth the time spent.
Profile Image for Shane Jardine.
184 reviews15 followers
April 28, 2017
I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was pretty excited to receive my copy of this book in the mail a couple weeks ago. I’m glad I can say that I wasn’t disappointed at all. I thought The Fallen Gatekeepers was a fast-paced and exciting read with enough twists and turns that I was never quite sure what was going to happen next. I once again made the mistake of starting this book before bed and ended up reading it in a single sitting, I ended up going to work the next day on no sleep at all. I would honestly say it was worth being tired for my entire shift.

I think C.R. Fladmark is an excellent author who managed to take everything I enjoyed about The Gatekeeper’s Son and expanded upon it. The story was well written and engaging enough that I was unable to put it down once I had started reading it. It was one of those books where I had to know what was going to happen next at the end of every chapter. If I had to choose one thing that I thought really stood out about this book it would be how much Junya and his friends have grown as characters. The characters were my favorite part of the last book and I thought Fladmark did a great job delving deeper into the characters and expanding upon them.

My biggest complaint about the previous book was how much legalese the story contained and how difficult it was to follow the story at times. happily, C.R. Fladmark left most of that out this time and I thought the story flowed a lot better without it. The only thing that bothered me while reading this book was that every foreigner was portrayed in a fashion stereotypical to whatever country they were from. I thought those characters could have been handled a bit better.

All in all, I would say this was a much better book that it’s predecessor and I would happily recommend it to anyone looking for something to read. Though I would suggest that anyone who goes to read it should read The Gatekeeper’s Son first unless they want to be a bit lost as to what’s going on at times.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Tonja Drecker.
Author 3 books241 followers
June 23, 2017
I was excited to get my hands on this book after reading the first one in the series. I would strongly suggest that readers start with the first book, since the second book builds on the events and characters of the first without taking the time to re-explain things. In other words, this is not a stand alone.

Again, the author builds a rich world full of interesting characters and lots of action. Although the main focus is on Junya and Shoko, the other members of Junya's group and several other side characters are not shoved off. This gives a nice rounded story with several layers, which make it a joy to read.

The world building is even better in this book than in the first. Small confusions are avoided as the world and layers of mystery and information flow smoothly and form an intricate world. There's action and magic and a wonderful amount of adventure, but this doesn't over power the emotional end. The thoughts and feelings of the characters come across clearly, add depth, and make this feel more like a young adult read than the first book did.

A variety of cultures and countries are whisked through in these pages, and, unfortunately, this could have been better done. The visits to each country are quick and give little insight on real life or true cultural aspects, but rather stick to stereotypes. This superficial sweep over also seeps into several character attitudes, especially in the way females are handled.

All in all, this is a solid fantasy read for teens and holds all the adventure, magic and tension to keep the reader hooked until the very last page.

I received a complimentary copy and wanted to leave my honest thoughts.
Profile Image for Dave.
259 reviews8 followers
December 24, 2017
Review originally published at Book of Bogan.

The Fallen Gatekeepers seems like a relatively standard portal fantasy, with people from Earth with special powers being able to travel between worlds as and when it's convenient for them, and people from a very tightly controlled society in an alternate dimension which sounds suspiciously like Japan who travel to our dimension. It has magic, lizard people who can take on the appearance of human beings, with the inventive name of "the evil ones"...

And that's what I don't get about this book - it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer at times, and spends way too hard on creating some sort of allegory, without taking the time to focus on telling a decent story. Part of my problem was that the book is told in first person perspective, and I never felt like I could connect with the main character. I thought the author was trying just a bit too hard to sell the message of the corrupting outside influence on an otherwise closed society of Totally-Not-Japan. And although I'm an adult, and do not consider myself prudish, I thought the fact that the Japanese Schoolgirls' magic was powered by sex was a bit too much for me. That is before I even mention the fact that one of the teenaged protagonists is basically gifted a Porsche sportscar when they don't even know how to drive.

I think when you're writing in a genre that is crowded with competitors, you really have to do something to stand out from the pack. I really felt this was just... generic... with ham-fisted plotting and world-building. While this book may well be of interest to a younger audience, but there are some definite themes involved that make me wonder just what audience this is intended for. I suspect that most adult readers would find it overly simplistic, and the characters too childish.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

It might be someone's idea of a fantasy, but I won't be going back.

I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
273 reviews
May 16, 2019
Second in a series, read book 1 first. That said there are teens that have superpowers and can slip between worlds, I kind of picture them stacked up like a deck of cards. One culture is fundamentally conservative Japanese and one is modern America. Teens being brain less, hormone driven creatures, of course there is sex. But a decent , quick read. Good vs. Evil lizard monster people!
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,391 reviews4 followers
September 6, 2017
I found this book to be just okay. I think the first book was better. However this second book fell short compared to the first book.

- -Received copy through Netgalley - -
L
Profile Image for Robert.
91 reviews3 followers
May 21, 2017
Not as good as the first one. It went full YA on me. Clearly this book didn't have the time and effort put into it that the first had. Things really didn't happen until the latter half of the book and then were rushed. Far too much teen emo drama with little or no reason for it.

Full review at ReadingOverTheShoulder.com on May.15.2017
Profile Image for L Cam.
729 reviews
March 4, 2019
Title provided via netgalley for an honest review

What attracted me to this book was the culture. I love the history behind Japanese culture, and I really think there is a gross under-representation of Asian or Asian-American YA books. You see more predominantly White, or African-American protagonists. Which there's nothing wrong, but I'm an avid diversity in reading advocate.

However, afterwards this fell a bit short for me. I'm not entirely sure how I felt about the back and forth between terminology of Japanese words versus English. I was hoping more of Japan with a sprinkle of not-Japan.

On top of it what or me was the writing. While this is a great adventure story and a brief (accuracy is debatable) delve into Japanese culture, the entire story reads as a dialog or a play. There's nothing but character verbal interactions throughout the entire story. I wanted to SEE Junya and Shoko when they experienced all these different times, gods, and powers, because man is that kind of thing interesting. Not just hear them talk about it. I think this could have been executed a lot better than it was.
Profile Image for Cherry London.
Author 1 book84 followers
November 10, 2018
As one of the gatekeepers Shoko is a powerful kickass woman, who is also a deadly warrior, she has an elegant style with which she accomplishes her task, elegant but deadly. An adventurous storyline eclipse with powerful and magical beings. Shoko and Junya another gatekeeper injured from their last encounter with their deadly foes are faced with a monumental and perilous task, that has fatal consequences for all, that of saving the land of the Gods Izumo. Up against a formidable and powerful enemy, so evil and deadly, not only is his bite poisonous, he as an army of poisonous reptiles at his disposal. This book is an interesting and adventurous read with a manga style.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews