In this sequel to The Lost Gate, bestselling author Orson Scott Card continues his fantastic tale of the Mages of Westil who live in exile on Earth in The Gate Thief.
Here on Earth, Danny North is still in high school, yet he holds in his heart and mind all the stolen outselves of thirteen centuries of gatemages. The Families still want to kill him if they can't control himand they can't control him. He is far too powerful.
And on Westil, Wad is now nearly powerlesshe lost everything to Danny in their struggle. Even if he can survive the revenge of his enemies, he still must somehow make peace with the Gatemage Daniel North.
For when Danny took that power from Loki, he also took the responsibility for the Great Gates. And when he comes face-to-face with the mages who call themselves Bel and Ishtoreth, he will come to understand just why Loki closed the gates all those centuries ago.
Review
Mr. Card is giving a kind of tour of fantasy possibilities while integrating them into his intricately imagined system of magic. One of the system's charms is that it explains such a lot: what ghosts are (the fading outselves that mages can project), what fairies are (playful creations that mages make from trash, plants and petals), and why all Indo-European gods have such strong family resemblances. The hints of real history behind the families are especially enticing: I look forward to learning more.
The Wall Street Journal on The Lost Gate
About the Author
ORSON SCOTT CARDis the author of the internationalbestsellers Shadow of the Giant, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Hegemon, and Ender's Shadow, and of the beloved classic of science fiction, Ender's Game, as well as the acclaimed fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.