The Shattered Gates

It's hard to review the first instalment of a serial, and make no mistake, that's what The Shattered Gate, the first instalment in a serial, not the first book in a series. Whether it's good or bad will largely depend on what's to come. Have I been set up with the right expectations? Do I care enough about the characters to stay with them through the nine remaining parts? We shall see.

What I can say is thatThe Shattered Gate makes me want to read the next Rifter book. That's a good thing too since I've paid for them all in advance (only now does it occur to me that I took a bit of a gamble). I also give Hale points for zipping past the 'zmog! we're in another world how can this be' drama, which I find utterly tedious and puts me off show more reading anything in the 'portal to a secondary world' sub-genre. I can't overstate what a relief it is to have that over and done with.

Otherwise-wise I think I'll have to withhold judgements until there are more instalments to base them on. show less

I’d read positive reviews about Ginn Hale’s books – and wow! This exceeded my expectations. I have to admit, I knew this wasn’t from a mainstream publisher, and also that it’d been released as an online serial, and both of those things made me doubtful. But I have to say, there’s absolutely no reason Hale shouldn’t be picked up by a mainstream publisher (if she wants to be – I don’t know). The writing is excellent, and the story is a fresh and interesting take on the theme of people from our world being transported into another land and forced to make their way. (I'd definitely recommend this for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry).

John is a graduate student. His roommate Kyle is a little weird and disturbing, show more with his scars and his tendency to carry weapons and disappear without explanation. But John needs the rent money – and, though he doesn’t really want to admit it, Kyle is pretty hot, too. But when Kyle’s gone, rent is due, and a letter arrives for his roommate, John gets nosy and opens the letter. (It feels like it contains a key, and he suspects Kyle might be returning his house key and not coming back.) It IS a key – but not the house key. It’s the key that ends up transporting John and his two best friends: the new-agey psychic Laurie and her boyfriend Bill, into another land.
Little could John have guessed that his roommate was the Khalil, one of the only adepts able to make the dangerous crossing between worlds, and that his assignment was to involve killing John, who may be the prophecied Rifter, who could destroy both worlds.

There are a few disorientingly abrupt transitions, and some events go implied when I would actually rather have read about them. It’s also by no means a complete story – there are sequels. But I really do want to read those sequels. show less

Just fine.

If it were a novel I'd have kept reading, but instead it's a 100-page first installment in a serial, and it just wasn't good enough to get me on the treadmill. $4 each, ten times for the complete story, $40...I maybe care $5 worth, or $6 worth, or, heck, $12 worth, but $40? There's a neat set-up and the worldbuilding is pretty interesting, and I like the characters...but I kept wanting to take a red pen to the text. I thought Ginn Hale was supposed to be an amazing stylist, but I found the prose good rather than great, nice rather than fantastic.

Textbook three-star for me. I like it, I don't really have anything negative to say about it, but I'm not compelled to read on. It's a curious element of this short, serial form that show more that compulsive, desperate desire to keep going is more important than in other books. show less

I've read the whole series, but I wanted to put a review on book one just in case you are like me. I had a hard time getting through book one until about ¾ of the way through. It was only because people I respect a lot raved about this series that I keep reading. I was totally confused about what the heck was going on. I am so glad I kept reading, because otherwise I would have missed out on one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. And really, it is one 1000 page book and not a series of books. I didn't know what the word 'world building' really meant before reading this series. This series takes effort (complicated storylines, herds of characters, unfamiliar language, and cultural situations galore) but it is so worth the effort.

It's hard to review the first instalment of a serial, and make no mistake, that's what The Shattered Gate, the first instalment in a serial, not the first book in a series. Whether it's good or bad will largely depend on what's to come. Have I been set up with the right expectations? Do I care enough about the characters to stay with them through the nine remaining parts? We shall see. What I can say is thatThe Shattered Gate makes me want to read the next Rifter book. That's a good thing too since I've paid for them all in advance (only now does it occur to me that I took a bit of a gamble). I also give Hale points for zipping past the 'zmog! we're in another world how can this be' drama, which I find utterly tedious and puts me off show more reading anything in the 'portal to a secondary world' sub-genre. I can't overstate what a relief it is to have that over and done with. Otherwise-wise I think I'll have to withhold judgements until there are more instalments to base them on. show less

It has been a while since I read the Cadelonian series, but so far this series is quite different. The writing is still good, it's just hard for me to connect with the characters (but this is the first of ten). I do like John and Kyle, especially the latter's way of reasoning out the way the world works. At the moment, though, it's just a little confusing as to where things are headed. Laurie seems to have some abilities in Basawar she didn't in America, but I'm not sure what Bill's purpose is yet. Or John's either. At this point I'm not sure I like Bill or Laurie, but I do think John is interesting. He's trying to learn the language and learn more about the new world around him--I like how he connects with the earth.

But, it is the show more first of ten, and I hadn't realized they were serialized monthly, so I'm glad they are all out before I started reading (sometimes I do get lucky). The world is incredibly bleak, dangerous, and pretty much downright scary. Along with the number of things seeming to need blood sacrifices to work, and John's first sight of the local population is not a cheery one.

I'm still not even quite sure where to rate it, because I'm confused (not entirely uncommon), the characters are confused, and where's Kyle?

OK, I know, 9 more to go. A lot could (and I'm sure will) happen. show less

It has been a while since I read the Cadelonian series, but so far this series is quite different. The writing is still good, it's just hard for me to connect with the characters (but this is the first of ten). I do like John and Kyle, especially the latter's way of reasoning out the way the world works. At the moment, though, it's just a little confusing as to where things are headed. Laurie seems to have some abilities in Basawar she didn't in America, but I'm not sure what Bill's purpose is yet. Or John's either. At this point I'm not sure I like Bill or Laurie, but I do think John is interesting. He's trying to learn the language and learn more about the new world around him--I like how he connects with the earth.

But, it is the show more first of ten, and I hadn't realized they were serialized monthly, so I'm glad they are all out before I started reading (sometimes I do get lucky). The world is incredibly bleak, dangerous, and pretty much downright scary. Along with the number of things seeming to need blood sacrifices to work, and John's first sight of the local population is not a cheery one.

I'm still not even quite sure where to rate it, because I'm confused (not entirely uncommon), the characters are confused, and where's Kyle?

OK, I know, 9 more to go. A lot could (and I'm sure will) happen. show less