Spirit Gate

[Alia]

I'm not sure if Brian will let me do this, I'm not promoting this item but I am in a way by just posting it here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Spirit-Gate-by-K...QQcmdZViewItem

I was surfing ebay looking for the UK copies of The Crown Of Stars Series and stumbled upon this... The proof of "Spirit Gate".

I hadn't heard anything about this book. Apparently its suppose to be released October this year, according to the ebay site.

And on a side note... I think I would be upset, if I were Kate that someone has a copy of my book and selling it before the release date. Although, I'm tempted to bid on it.

[Alia]

From Amazon.com

World Fantasy and Nebula Award finalist Kate Elliott breaks new ground in a brilliantly original new fantasy set in a unique world of fabled cities, mysterious gods, and terrible dangers. From the first page readers will be swept up in the story of Mai and Captain Anji, as they become unwitting players in a conflict that began many years earlier, and which will shake the foundations of their land.

For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, who patrol on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians' power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even the reeves can stop.

A group of fanatics has risen to devour villages, towns, and cities in their drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them; they seem inhumanly cruel and powerful. Mai and Anji, riding with a company of dedicated warriors and a single reeve who may hold a key to stopping the deadly advance of the devouring horde, must try, or the world will be lost to the carnage. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess may prove more important than them all . . . if they are not too late.

A haunting tale of people swept up by the chaos of war, this is superlative fantasy adventure, rich in texture, filled with color and excitement, masterfully crafted by a brilliantly gifted storyteller.

Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (October 17, 2006)

Here's a little piece about it.

[GOLLUM]

I thnik I posted something on this a while back but it's good to see a firm date is in place and not too far away.

I seem to recall it's more YA than adult but anything by K. Elliott is going to be devoured by moi...

[Alia]

I love the book cover.

That guy is still selling it on ebay. I'm very tempted to make a bid.

I'm not sure if this is the same book that is a spring off of The Crown of Stars Series. I think I'm going to ask.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I thought Crossroads (of which this is apparently the first volume) is supposed to take place in a far corner of the same world as Jaran (only Fantasy not SF). Or am I confused?

edit: I'm not confused. I did a Google search and came up with this:

Kate Elliott: It is a new series with working title of Crossroads. It’s actually a fantasy novel set on Rhui, the same world on which Jaran is set. I imagine this as a fantasy story written by Sonia Orzhekov’s grand-daughter, channeled through me. I wanted to go back to Rhui and this was a roundabout way of doing so. It is not set on the plains, however, but in the uttermost east. It is not science fiction, but definitely fantasy. Beyond that, it’s hard to explain, although the tone is different from anything else I’ve written, as it should be. I’m really enjoying writing it.

Strangely enough, it's from our own Q&A with Alis.

[Alia]

I thought Kate was suppose to write a Young Adult book with the same world as The Crown of Stars book. It's actually in one of the books in that series.

[kyektulu]

I have nearly finished Kate Elliots 'Spirit Gate' I won it on here.

It is brillient, I have been engrossed all throughout the book, I definetly reccomend it.

I have to admit to not of read anything of Kate Elliots before but I will certainly be purchasing the ''Crown Of Stars'' series.

A must read for any Fantasy Fan.!

[nixie]

I'm about halfway through Spirit Gate.Finding it intriguing and very difficult to put down.Have to adore the reeves and their eagles.

[GOLLUM]

I have the book but am yet to read it, so many books, so little time *SIGH*

[Anomander]

I read the book, was quite nice. Not quite crown of starts material "yet", but may end up in that class.

[Rahl Windsong]

I have just started Spirit Gate as I spied it on the shelf at my local library yesterday. I really like the Reeves and the Eagles and I also like how Kate just jumps right into the story without pages of explanations.

[Lacedaemonian]

I have limited monies of late and though I have a book collection that boasts literally hundreds of unread works, I am on the look out for some new fantasy works. This caught my eye on Amazon but as yet I have not found a decent review of this book. I guess all I want to know is, how does it compare with the Crown of Stars series?

[Werthead]

My review of the second Crossroads book:

This is the second book in the Crossroads series, and the middle volume of the first story arc, reportedly a trilogy (preceded by Spirit Gate, which I reviewed earlier, and to be succeeded by Traitor's Gate, due in 2009).

In Spirit Gate, a number of outlanders arrived in the Hundred to find the land beset by troubles. Armies of vagabonds and cutthroats have appeared out of nowhere to challenge the justice of the reeves, the giant eagle-riding police force who have ensured the rule of law in the land since the disappearance of the Guardians many decades earlier. The outlanders, led by Captain Anji and his wife Mai, joined forces with Reeve Joss and the militia of the city of Olossi to defeat one of these roving armies and build a safehaven in the south-west of the Hundred. However, all are troubled by rumours of beings wielding supernatural powers and riding winged horses - as the Guardians were said to have done - apparently leading the invading armies.

Shadow Gate is a worthwhile and enjoyable follow-up to the first book, mostly because it works on two levels. On the one hand, it is a direct sequel, following up on the adventures of Joss, Mai, Anji, Shai and others following the Battle of Olossi. On the other, it is also parallel novel to the first, explaining a great deal of the mysteries in the first volume. One of the key weaknesses in the first book, I felt, was that the nature of the winged horse-riding beings and some storylines, most notably that revolving around the wandering envoy-priest and the bizarre antics of the slave Cornflower, were decidedly under-developed, to the point where their inclusion seemed to be extremely confusing. In this second volume you get the answers to those questions, told in an accessible and intriguing manner. Any thoughts that this was going to be a simple good-versus-evil struggle go out the window as we learn more of the nature of the Guardians, the rules they operated under and some explanations as to why they disappeared (although the full story, I suspect, will have to wait until Book 3).

At the same time, we get to meet some new characters, such as Nallo, the refugee who is chosen to become a reeve but whose training is complicated when the main reeve base comes under siege, and Avisha, a simple village girl who attracts Mai's favour and has to sort out a complicated love life as well as caring for her family. The new additions to the cast generally give us new and interesting outlooks on the world and the plot, and don't slow the story down too much. The pacing is also good, but arguably the conclusion is not as strong as it might be. Just as the Battle of Olossi seemed to happen very quickly at the end of Book 1, so the two big set-piece battles at the end of Book 2 also get short shrift, but arguably this is less important this time around as revelations about characters and several dramatic scenes between major characters form the meat of the finale, which does a better job of leaving the reader wanting to pick up the next volume straight away.

Spirit Gate (****) is a notably superior book to the first one, and actually makes the first one more enjoyable as well (a full re-read of the first book after the series is completed will pay unexpected dividends, I suspect). The book is published by Orbit in the UK and by Tor in the USA.