Traitor's Gate - Kate Elliott

TRAITOR'S GATE

Book 3 of 'Crossroads' Trilogy

Read about Book 1 here
Read about Book 2 here

ISBN - 978-0-7653-4932-3
FIRST PRINTED - 2009
PAGES - 877
GENRE - Fantasy

AUTHOR - Kate Elliott

BEST-SELLERS - Spirit Gate, King's Dragon

SYNOPSIS - The nine Guardians of the Hundred, people who have died and been reborn into power and immortality, are pledged to protect the land. But their power has corrupted them, and they now command a vast horde that sweeps like a plague over everything in its path.

The hopes of the Hundred rest with the eagle reeves who patrol the land, and with the militia commanded by Captain Anji, an outlander mercenary whose force has already saved one city from destruction.

The reeves, their numbers decimated and scattered, turn to Joss. a reeve with a haunted past, to lead them. For the Hundred to survive, he must unite his comrades into a fighting force that can join with Anji's militia to reclaim the surrendered land.

As the great battle for the Hundred looms, a new threat is rising, one no one saw coming ....

EXCERPT - Miravia could barely look at him, but she accepted the reins and his help in mounting.

Chief Tuvi was still helping Anji with the baby, his back to them. Keshad slipped away into the lines. Miravia clumsily got the horse to move up besides Mai's mare. Anji signaled. The troop wheeled and, under the gaze of the Sirniakan slaves, headed down through town.

Anji was smiling, but Mai could not.

He had not said no.

FL Speaks - The best ending to a stunning trilogy. I was hoping something of this sort as a lot of events had to be covered in the final book but boy, this book delivered much more. One of the best works of epic fantasy and i would rate it even more than the works of Trudi Canavan or J.V Jones.

The battle for the freedom of the Hundred effectively starts here. Joss, much to his surprise, is named the Commander of Clan Hall which means he has the authority over all the reeve halls of the Hundred. Together with Captain Anji, they begin to take the fight to the advancing army.

Meanwhile, Zubaidit and Shai are on their own behind enemy lines where Shai meets his dead brother reborn as a Guardian. Marit escapes from the corrupted Guardians and with Joithinin and Kirit form an alliance. Hari comes to assassinate Anji but after talking to Mai, he decides to listen to her and hide from Lord Radas. They also inform others, including Anji on how to kill a Guardian thus giving them power over themselves as well...

Kate Elliott weaves a spectacular conclusion to her trilogy in which bravery, ignorance, betrayal and hope all criss-cross one another. The last 150 pages are stunning. Absolute shocker and fitting endings to every character. This is Kate Elliott at her very best. Characters you fall in love with do not appear the way they are or circumstances lead them to be otherwise. This is one book i will keep remembering for days to come. Now that the first Trilogy is over, am patiently waiting for the rest of the 4 books.

My Rating - 4.5 stars

PRICE - INR 290/- from TOR Publications (Paperback '10)