Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott

2007, Orbit

630 pages, Paperback

Personal Copy

Content:
(coarse language, some suggestive situations, adult relationships)
10/10

This would have stayed on my shelf with the other TBR pile. Only, when I received one of my books from Orbit, I thought it looked familiar. So I headed to the shelf, and pulled out Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate. I have to read these before the 3rd installment - otherwise I'll miss out on the story!

While reading the first few chapters, the story sounded really familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it. I followed Marit, who flies a very large eagle as the other Reeves do. She follows a fellow Reeve, Joss, to where he crosses an invisible line and investigates where the legendary Guardians are. This is a heinous crime, and Marit, not Joss is punished for it with death. Thus endeth part one of Spirit Gate. This isn't a major spoiler (not really...) because the book isn't about Marit. I know believe that I put down the book in disgust from the library, completely upset that Marit, a main character, died.

Let's just say I'm glad I bought the book and finished it. No, Marit doesn't come back, but the strength of the other characters is incredible. To paraphrase, or maybe quote what is on the cover, this is an epic fantasy. There's a lot of political intrigue, and in the midst of it all Joss is trying to life his life as a Reeve, in a world where Reeves are no longer wanted. Slowly, bit by bit, areas within the north known as the land of the Hundred are turning against the sky warriors (although they are peacekeepers too).

Mai, a young woman from the south goes to market as usual to sell her wares. This time, she's noticed by a man of significant importance from the over-rulers of her land; the Qin. She has no say in the marriage to Anji, the Qin man. As his wife, she travels with him, learning about his customs, which are quite different to what she's used to, and the trouble in the world.

On this journey where she learns to love, she is accompanied by her Uncle, Shai, who can see ghosts. Shai's POV provides great insight into Mai's character, and what it's like to be a member of the family whom no one cares for. In his homeland, seeing ghosts wasn't something Shai could advertise. Yet amongst the Qin, he gains respect for this skill.

Mai isn't truly alone, for Cornflower, a maid of unusual coloured skin stays with her. Cornflower doesn't have the protection which Mai does, and gets used by the men of the camp. Not long after, she disappears, perhaps taken by demons of the desert. Or is she? Cornflower reappears later on in the novel. I wasn't surprised by this, but I didn't quite see it coming. She is going to play quite an important role in the story to come.

One more thing about Anji, before I talk about another major character in this story: he has a background which will affect the route he takes with Mai.

Epic dramas employ a large cast, and its not possible to list them all. But the final one who I was particular interested in was Zubaidit. Her brother does all he can to free her from slavery of a certain kind, yet when he does she isn't the younger sister he remembered. She's cool because she has two creatures who follow her everywhere, who have an intelligence greater than animals. Zubaidit ends up protecting him, which takes a little getting used to.

Murder, disappearances, false accusations. Winged horses, sightings of legendary guardians and betrayal. Spirit's Gate has all this and more. Fantasy fans won't be disappointed.

The journey of Mai, Anji, Shai, Cornflower and Zubaidit continues in Shadow Gate, to be reviewed shortly.

All news regarding Kate Elliott can be found here. Good news - she's working on a 4th installment to the Crossroads series (which starts with Spirit Gate). And, and (not that I'm excited or anything) but she's signed another 3 book deal with Orbit!!! Check it out here. It sounds quite different from the Crossroads series, but just as interesting.

Liked this? Try The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

ISBN 9781841492742

Buy from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Borders.co.uk and Borders.com