Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott

Spirit Gate was an interesting beginning. We’re dropped into a world that is not explained to us in a very straightforward way. The story is fairly character-driven and so we know no more than the characters do. I found it intriguing.

The Reeves and their eagles reminded me very much of the Heralds and Companions of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar, though without the magic and speech they posses. Even the mistrust that is sown in regard to them reminded me of certain bits of Valdemar that distrust Heralds.

I’m interested in finding out more about the Guardians, through this trilogy, since that is (but of a spoiler) where this is apparently going. It seems quite strange to be so in the dark as to the overall aims of the antagonists. Just sowing darkness and apparent chaos feels a bit… meh as far as goals go.

I really liked how big the world is made out to be pretty immediately. The different customs and gods of the countries Mai, Shai, and Anji pass through are neat. It’s also nice to be reminded every so often that not a one of the characters are white. Not a single person of European-ish heritage to be found here. It’s also a little annoying to have pretty much all of the cultures be Patriarchies that would rather have their women completely hidden away than let them be part of the rest of society. It seems Mai is very lucky she ended up married to Anji and they landed in The Hundred, which seems more egalitarian than the rest.

I actually think it’s rather neat a different (at least from what I’ve been reading) to have the protagonists be rather disparate. There’s not the usual band of heroes here. The protagonists actually have very little to do with each other, even despite Mai and Shai being related. I also thought seeing the final battle of the book largely from outside the battle was novel. Usually readers are right in the thick of things.

So yeah… Spirit Gate was pretty good. I was fully engrossed in the world during my reading sessions. I largely liked the characters and how their individual stories overlapped to form the whole. Here’s hoping the rest of the trilogy is as engrossing.

And With That

I have smashed my Reading Goal for the year!