September 2009, Orbit
574 pages, Paperback
Review Copy
Fantasy
Cushions: 4
Daggers: 4
Paperclips: 4 (details of adult relationships - not all with consent, strong language)
Tissues: 3
Yunaleska's recommended rating:♥♥♥♥
The saga started in Spirit Gate which had an epic turning point in Shadow Gate carries on in this installment of the Crossroads fantasy series by the skilled author Kate Elliott. I am in awe of Kate and other writers who create such vast, highly detailed work. Keeping track of all the plots, which are many, can't be easy. Yet here is a well written, tension filled book.
Warning: I'm sorry but there are minor spoilers here: I have strong feelings about this book and want to present them here. I'm keeping spoilers to a minimum.
Admittedly this was the book which I nearly gave up reading. For one reason or another I couldn't get into this book until halfway through. I think most of it was due to those health gremlins attacking me. Some was in part to the minor yet increasingly annoying details when capital letters weren't always used for names. The rest might have been because my main interest in the story is Anji, Mai and Marit. The other characters are interesting, but they didn't keep my interest as much as those three. Joss and Shai grew on me.
Traitors' Gate follows our characters as they keep fighting for life, and for a way to bring down the corrupt Guardians. Marit, for the meanwhile, is safe. Anji doesn't view her as corrupt, but she worries that she is because she doesn't want death. Finally she crosses paths with Joss. On the first occasion Joss tries to start up the life they'd had together just before she became a guardian, but it isn't to be. The second time he's more successful, especially since he's undergone a major change in life.
Anji's character, including his faults, is shown well in this third tale. He has to make tough decisions for the benefit of his people. He has to put up with seeing his mother, who is full of character but not in the positive way. His mother refuses to accept Mai as his wife, and schemes against him. Anji protects Mai as best he can - there are so many battles to fight and he tries to fight them individually. I didn't agree with how Anji dealt with Joss in the story. I didn't see a need for that type of action.
I don't know how alone I am in my next view, but I thought what Anji did to Mai's uncle was justified. I didn't see it as a betrayal. As Mai's loving husband, he would do everything in his power to protect her. That aim made it necessary to do something Mai hated. If Anji had discussed it with her, she would have disagreed. Anji had to do it for the greater good. I think I can see why Mai was so upset, but looking at it objectively, I believe Anji isn't to blame. It is tough to do the right thing when people close to Anji will be hurt. Their son, little Atani is cute and counteracts, for the soldiers and his parents, all the bloodshed and warfare that goes on.
There is a lot of fighting, in great details which may prove disturbing to some readers. Content wise, there is a fair amount of relations that are covered in great detail, similar to the other books.
Returning to Mai, aside from disagreeing with her reaction to Anji's decision about Hari, her character develops tremendously. It isn't just because she's a mother either. Although her actions in the past have shown that she thinks about other people and their problems (espcially in trying to find wives for Anji's men), she can be rather blinkered regarding the people in her own household. The moment of realisation about her servants' status touched my heart. I thought 'She's growing up'. What she does for her servants' has a great impact on her life, but she knows it has to be done. Retrospectively I wish someone could have pointed out to her that this is similar to what Anji had to do with Hari. Maybe she wouldn't have been so mad at him in the end.
It is impossible for me to go through every character in the story and keep this brief. I've highlighted the ones which I care for greatly. I was a little surprised not to have more of Marit's view in the later half of the book, but that disappointment was made up by the focus on Anji and Mai. I liked watching all the plot threads slot into place in the later half of the book - I understood how all the backstories connected up. At a key point involving Mai, I knew why there is going to be a fourth book. That was a clever turn of events, and as a reader I thoroughly enjoyed it. The ending, with the numerous surprises that had me staying up past my bed time (it was a Saturday night) is brilliant. I love it and I'm champing on the bit for book four.
To find out how the Guardians get killed and to know what I'm talking about with Mai and Anji, go buy a copy of this book right now.
Kate Elliott's website is here.
Liked this? Make sure you've read book one Spirit Gate and book two Shadow Gate!
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