Man, I love and hate Kate Elliott. I really like her characters, her lands, and her plots but I just wish she was a little less epic. That being said, if she wasn't epic, she wouldn't be Kate Elliott. This book got good for me about a third of the way through, with the introduction of Mai. ( )

After 8 days on my honeymoon, I had read every book I had brought with me, the hotel had nothing except a worn copy of a Danielle Steel novel. To keep me quiet and sane, my husband gave me the book he was reading. Now, my husband only reads non-fiction maths and physics books and fantasy novels, and this particular fantasy novel was picked up at Manchester Airport. It is really thick, door-stop thick, 631 pages. It has taken me 21 days to read this book, and I am so relieved I have finished it. The story is set in a mythic country called the Hundred, which by the end of the book, I had gathered is governed by seven gods, who created ghost like creatures called the Guardians to oversee justice, and giant eagles and riders called Reeves who also oversee justice. There is a dark force called the Shadows - we are never really sure who they are or why they are "evil" - who are creating strife in the Hundred and in outlying areas. The Guardians appeared to have died off and the Reeves are dying off. The story is basically one long road trip about the fight of a certain Reeve, his eagle and various other characters he meets, against the Shadows. I was quite cruel about the book yesterday when I still had 40 pages to go, I think I called the book plotless. What I will say is that this is not as good as the Robin Hobb book I read a few years ago though it is definitely similar. Good points - some good characters such as Mai and some interesting parallels with life on Earth, such as the treatment of women. However, the book just meandered along and became boring for me. I was going to give the book 2 stars. However, the last 40 pages improved my opinion and the first 100 pages were gripping, so 3 stars. ( )

I (mostly) enjoyed the Crown of Stars series, and decided to start one of her other series. I definitely enjoyed this book, and plan to pick up the rest of the Crossroads series. The universe is interesting (even if it does follow the unavoidable fantasy formula), and the characters are well defined. Elliot allows a bit more rawness and griminess into the tale than is typical in my experience with fantasy (which tends to be shiny, velvety, and bedecked with many colorful gems), adding a bit more reality to the characters and events. ( )

Spirit Gate - Kate Elliott
Crossroads, Book 1; Fantasy; DNF
I like Kate Elliott (love Jaran most of all) and was pleased to try this new series. I liked what I read - this certainly isn't a bad book and don't let my DNF put you off - it's just that I was finding it hard going (because of my faulty CFS brain struggling with all the detail rather than any problems with the book) and I looked at it, realised that if I finished it I would want to read the next one and I was therefore setting myself up to read seven big fat books and I just couldn't cope with the idea. So I stopped. I'm sorry, as under other circumstances I'm pretty sure I would have liked it. I had the same problem with her Crown of Stars series, where I liked the premise and the writing but couldn't face seven big fat books.

Spirit Gate is a fantasy book set in the land of The Hundred, a European-esque land of isolated cities. The cities are presided over by the Reeves, who keep to their own castles beyond the cities and ride giant eagles around the countryside. The Reeves are responsible for meting out justice... http://icantstopreading.wordpress.com... ( )