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)

Shadow Gate - Kate Elliott

SHADOW GATE

Book 2 of 'Crossroads' Trilogy


Read about Book 1 here

ISBN - 978-0-7653-4931-6
FIRST PRINTED - 2008
PAGES - 773 [Paperback]


AUTHOR - Kate Elliott

BEST-SELLERS - King's Dragon, Crown of Stars, Spirit Gate

SYNOPSIS - Marit knows that her life as an eagle-reeve ended when she was murdered by vicious bandits.....and somehow she has been reborn as a Guardian, one of the godlike beings that has personified justice for the people of the Hundred. But now the Guardians are divided in purpose.

Of the nine Guardians, Marit is one of but a few who resist joining with corrupt Guardians: the traitorous immortals who, like all Guardians, can see the innermost thought of mortals, have abandoned the land and instead are using their powers to oppress those they formerly defended.

Marit, along with a small cadre of eagle-reeves and an outlander captain leading a small but fierce force in defence of the land, stands on the razor's edge between life and death.  On her shoulders, and on the wings of the horse that carries her aloft above the shadowed lands beneath, rests the future of the Hundred....


EXCERPT - The envoy of Ilu did his best to track the girl on her journeys around the Barrens without hounding her. Sometimes she hunted, or practiced her archery at a target she set up at the base of the hill, where the winds weren't so strong. Sometimes she returned to the hidden valley, with its unseasonable harvest of fruits and nuts and the strange, glittering threads drifting in the air. He kept his eye on her from a distance, because he knew absolutely that to try to force her to accept what she had become would be the ruin of his hopes.

FL Speaks - And with this Book, Marit is back. The one i thought was going to be a permanent character in the first book. Well that didn't happen. But she is back here. And reborn as a confused Guardian.


Meanwhile Joss is the Marshall at Argent Hall where he must gather the reeves for a battle that may happen anytime. Captain Anji tries to get his soldiers married to the Hundred folk so that they may permanently settle down in the city. An envoy of Ilu comes to the temple of the Merciless One and tells the priests that the girl traded for Zubaidit by his brother is actually a Guardian. That girl is Cornflower who used to travel with Shai and the Qin in the previous book. As she learns about the truth of her death, she promises vengeance on those who mistreated her.


Meanwhile Marit infiltrates the army of Lord Radas in hopes of finding out the other corrupt Guardians. There she meets another Guardian, Hari or as he is called, Lord Twilight, who yearns to be free of Lord Radas but has to live under his rules. Marit manages to escape with Cornflower and they both form an alliance with Jointhin who is one of the oldest Guardians to have survived the temptation of corruption. Elsewhere eagles without reeves has started choosing their partners. Nallo, a widow was one of the first and another eagle chose a Qin soldier to be her reeve.


Toskala is attacked by Lord Radas' army and the senior reeves at Clan Hall are all murdered by traitors. That included Volias. Leaderless, Nallo and Qin and rest of the novice reeves send word to the remaining clans and prepare themselves for the battle of Clan Hall. Back in Olossi, Captain Anji has sent two group of scouts, one to where Lord Radas' army stands and one to the Sirnakian Empire in hopes of learning more about them.


Phew. Quite a tale. This might be the best book of the trilogy. Oh wait, book 3 is still to be read. Yet, this trilogy threatens to be the best by Kate Elliott so far. Two new characters are introduced this time as Avisha and Nallo and both, i believe are going to play a major role in the last book. Nallo, more than Avisha, as she is an eagle-reeve. Can't wait for the concluding part. It takes a while to be immersed into the story, but eventually you fall for the plot and writing and hope the end never comes. The only sad part is some of the major characters do not appear for more than 100 pages and you practically scream at the author to bring him/her back. And its at this time, if you are not careful, you lose sight of the important happenings in the other characters lives. Anyway, as i said it, great continuation from Spirit Gate and am looking forward for the concluding part.

My Rating - 3.5 stars


PRICE - INR 290/- from Tor Publications

Spirit Gate - Kate Elliott

SPIRIT GATE

Book 1 of 'Crossroads' Trilogy

ISBN - 978-1-84149-274-2
FIRST PRINTED - 2007
PAGES - 630

AUTHOR - Kate Elliott


BEST-SELLERS - King's Dragon


SYNOPSIS - In a world torn apart by warfare and betrayal, a new darkness has risen.


For centuries the Guardians ruled the Hundred, but these unearthly beings have faded from human sight. Only the reeves, patrolling on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardian's power. But there is corruption in the land that not even they can control, and fanatics are devastating villages, towns and cities in a drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them or why.


Outlanders Anji and Mai are on the run with a company of dedicated Qin warriors, when they meet an unusual reeve. Together they can take on the devouring horde; and they must make the attempt, or the land will certainly be lost. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess holds the ultimate key...


EXCERPT - She's insane!


She pushed with her legs, scooting away on her back. 'Wait! Cut the rope - !'


The thrust punctured skin and gristle with a smooth, strong, angled stroke.


She's done this before.


Right into the heart. There was no pain.


The last thing Marit saw, as the blood drained from her heart, as the white cloak of death descended out of the sky to smother her in its wings, was the implacable face of the girl who was in that instant the Merciless One Herself. Beyond, a lifetime away, men shouted and came running. The girl spun the blade, plunged it up underneath her own ribs, and with a gloating smile, died.

FL Speak - This is my first Kate Elliott book and looks like there will be 2 trilogies and a single book in this 7-book saga. 


Spirit Gate starts with a reeve Marit. Reeve's are portrayed as people who ride on huge eagles and make sure there is law and order. They are more like the servants of the Gods. Marit and another reeve, Joss, stumble onto an Guardian site where they find the remains of a dead Guardian. 


When Joss flies back to the reeve HQ to report on th discovery, Marit is kidnapped by bandits and murdered. Meanwhile, in a far away place, Mai is chosen by the Qin captain to be his bride. As circumstances make them flee into the Hundred, they make an alliance with Joss to drive an invading army out of the Hundred. This happens nineteen years after the death of Marit and Joss still can't come to terms with her death.


In these nineteen years, the reeve halls have become corrupt and someone has raised an army. Someone, no one knows. Someone, who controls huge amounts of power. Its upto Joss with his few reeve comrades and the Qin soldiers led by Captain Anji to stop the coming threat and protect the Hundred. 


The battle of Hundred starts at Olossi. It is where the Qin defend the city. Unknown to Captain Anji and reeve Joss, a bigger battle is already on. The war for the soul of the Guardians has already begun.

Excellent writing by Kate Elliott. The story is rich in detail and lovable characters. Though some of the gaps in character jumps are too long. I have had to go back again to realise that this is one of the main characters. You will love Joss as he struggles to take charge over the reeve's and fight against the corrupted ones. The book drags a bit in the first half but its the characters you will love. Though at times i felt like keeping the book down and it actually took me 3 days to finish it as i paused a lot. But after sometime, the interest perked up and am glad i read it all. Elliott makes sure she doesn't reveal much in the conclusion and makes the readers wait to read the sequel.


My Rating - 3.5 stars


PRICE - INR 290/- by TOR publications @ Flipkart