Spirit Gate

I am a firm believer that timing is everything when reading a book.  For some reason, I just couldn’t get in to Spirit Gate.

However, the premise sounded good enough to pick up the book (in addition to the cool cover!):

Guardians, who dispense justice, have disappeared; the eagle-riding Reeves, who have kept the peace, have lost authority; and a mysterious, ruthless new force preys on the towns and inhabitants of the Hundred and neighboring empires. But after years of dissolute behavior, a Reeve named Joss is regaining his will to defend his land. Meanwhile, Outlanders Captain Anji; his resourceful bride, Mai; and his well-trained band of Qin soldiers come to the Hundred by necessity.

The beginning drew me in right away. A main character was suddenly killed fairly early in the book. The initial shock was enough to keep me reading. The world and its races are exceptionally thought out, with interesting ancient Chinese parallels. Elliot told her story from varying points of view, which I usually enjoy, but they were so far between character A and B that by the time we got back to character A I had forgotten much of what I had already read. There were times I also felt that there were too many characters to keep track of. We mostly follow Reeve Joss, Mai, Shai (Mai’s uncle who sees ghosts), and Keshad, a man trying to buy his freedom and find his long lost sister.  Further, it was slow at times, and the vague threat of the “enemy” looming overhead wasn’t really what I had wanted. I felt too little was revealed too late.

The reeves were the sole police/judges, “chosen” to be a reeve (very Lackey-esque) by their magic-imbued eagles. Their role policing the Hundred and eventual loss of authority is a great storyline depicting a world falling to lawlessness.

I liked it enough to be curious about Book 2-I’ll let you know once I read Shadow Gate!