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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Tor Books
Manufacturer: Tor Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 448
Printing Date: October 17, 2006
Publishing house: Tor Books
Release Date: October 17, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 42838
Studio: Tor Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
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 very 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 colour and excitement, masterfully crafted by a brilliantly gifted storyteller.
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Rated by buyers 
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Ms. Elliott has established a fair reputation with her Jaran series and the Crown of Stars set. This book looks like it might be the start of another incredibly long series. In and of itself, long stories are not a problem, as they allow the author to properly set the scene, build up all the little details of the world, and explore the characters in depth, and there's a lot of that set-up work done in this novel. Much of this is quite good, as she gives us a look at not one but multiple different societies, each with their own culture, habits, gods, and idiosyncrasies, along with a fairly nice reworking of the old trope of giant flying creatures capable of hauling people around with her eagles that are at least a little less unbelievable than the fire-breathing dragons that inhabit too many fantasies.
However, there becomes just too much of this background and scene setting. Every time someone walks down the street, every detail of that street needs to remarked upon, every peddler, beggar, fruit stand, scent, and building. The world mythology is detailed multiple times, frequently with the exact same words. After a while, this continuous descriptive work becomes overwhelming and smothers the story. In a planned series of books, I don't expect the very first book to have a great amount of story/plot development, but here I found only enough to really occupy about a 200 hundred page book. As it actually runs to over 400 pages, that's a lot of filler.
Her character development is good, with enough depth given to several characters to make me care about what happens to them, and I found these people to be generally likable even with their obvious character flaws. The problems her characters face grow naturally from the environment and the starting premise of the book. Her world seems to somewhat standard for a fantasy novel, with no high-tech wonders and a generally feudal type structure, but she has added the province of the Hundred, which seems to be much closer to a people's democracy with guaranteed rights for individuals, aided by benevolent, and, at least the beginning of this work, respected judges. As such, it makes an interesting contrast to the rest of her world.
An interesting story line and world populated by real people, but in severe need of pruning some of the excess descriptive work.
---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rated by buyers 
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I loved this book. If you would like a new type of fantasy, this is the one for you. It has ghosts, romance, eagles, and a wonderfully complex story line. It has pathos, political intrigue, and is wonderfully written. Kate Elliott strikes again with a super series!
Rated by buyers 
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"Spirit Gate" is the beginning of a seven-volume fantasy starring circuit court judges called reeves, who fly from court house to court house aboard gigantic eagles. The setting is sort of Oriental-medieval and the action begins in a land called the Hundred, although it quickly moves to other countries and Empires. Nine super-human Guardians once protected the Hundred and dispensed justice, but they've disappeared and the reeves are on their own against some very poisonous enemies.
Then the reeves and their eagles start to disappear.
This fantasy novel is a multi-viewpoint affair, sometimes confusingly so. There are enough love stories to warrant reviews in the romance blogs as well as "Sci Fi Weekly" and "Publishing houses' Weekly." The life-styles of the reeves, merchant families, mercenary soldiers, priestesses, and bonded servants are minutely detailed. There is lots of sex and violence--enough to require parental guidance if "Spirit Gate" were a movie, but not enough lingering close-ups for an `X.'
Except for the monstrous eagles, there is very little magic in this very first volume. The reader is treated to careful world-building, as multiple characters travel hither and yon, building relationships, and fighting shadow-armies. A once peaceful land is toppled from its golden age into war and chaos. The peasants are slaughtered like sheep. Farms and villages are set to the torch, almost with impunity, until the reeves and an outcast band of mercenary soldiers begin to organize and fight back.
I found "Spirit Gate" a little slow in places, especially when the viewpoint switched to yet another new character. I also would have preferred a few more touches of fantasy. But the eagles were magnificent, and most of the leading characters held their own against mischance and outright slaughter. I moved right into the second volume, "Shadow Gate" and read through until I ran out of pages. Hopefully, Kate Elliott is hard at work on volume III. It's usually a good sign when a fantasy series starts out in paperback and segues into hard-bound as this one did.
Rated by buyers -
I received a gift certificate to the bookstore for my birthday (my friends know me well) and I wanted to get something good so my friends' money wouldn't be spent in vain. I nearly spent it on a book about which I'd read good reviews, and I nearly spent it on a book recommended to me, but for some reason I picked up Spirit Gate and decided to take a chance. Oh Oh OH, Happy Birthday to ME!
I enjoyed the characters, the entrigue, the cultures, the lands, the reeves, pretty much everything in this book. I didn't feel like it dragged at all like the other reviewer said, but he was right when he said the end was fantastic. I was a little shocked when a main character was killed at the beginning, but Elliot tantalized us with something about that death later in the book.
The story deals with slavery so prepare for that. It's not the kind where slaves are tortured needlessly, it's more of a servent/slave type. It's still slavery, but it's integral to the storyline, not gratuitous.
There is also some sex in it, although it's done tastefully. Some of it needed to be graphic to add to the story, but you won't feel like you're reading, you know, Goodkind.
Honestly the only complaint I have about this book is that it's the very first in a series that's still unfinished. Waiting for the subsequent one will be excruciating.
Rated by buyers -
I really want book 2 right now, I feel a great need to continue the story.
It's not *quite* a 5* book but close, very close. There are moments when I found myself wondering what perspective I was reading from but once I got my bearings I couldn't stop reading. I was disgusted by intrusions from real life that got in the way of the story.
The story starts with a shocker, a character introduced as important is killed. However this does explain why her partner and lover does some of the things he does later (including trying to drown his sorrows regularly). Then it moves to a young woman in a different country and what happens when a handsome captain of an occupying force falls for her and offers for her hand in marriage.
There are some leaps in time here and the concept of people riding eagles has been done before. The eagle riders are called Reeves and are entrusted with the justice of the land (yes a select group with special mounts who serve justice, again done again) and they're losing the battle for power. Someone, somewhere is gathering power and some unsavory types and undermining the Reeves. The other mystery is where the Guardians of the land are. Old folk remember them, but they haven't been seen in generations, have they forgotten their covenant to the land and it's people? Have the Gods?
It's interesting how the different people interact and how different cultural differences are drawn, the characters became quite vivid in my mind by the end and I was left feeling annoyed that I couldn't immediately continue with the story. There are places where it falters I found it interesting and exciting. Others may not find it so but Kate Elliott has found a fan.
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