I liked it; it was good
Reading this book on the heels of book 2, and I can’t wait for books 4 and 5 to come out (the author is working on them now!).
Read: January 29 – February 2, 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
Book contains: death, swearing, revenge, attempted murder
Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca
After an intense argument with Derry, Kyer leaves the group, all but cementing their suspicions of her. When Fredric joins the quest, their opinions only plummet. All but Phennil, who remains faithful to his friendship and more bold since his encounter with his father. Even without Kyer, they still must collect the ingredients and complete the quest to save the life of Lady Alon Maer. Can they do it before it’s too late?
One thing I will say before anything else is that I’m an absolute sucker for when characters discover something big that the reader already knows. We spent all of last book watching scenes unfold from Kyer’s perspective, then from Derry’s as he misinterprets her actions behind a mask of his own anger, and now, finally, they are seeing things clearly. I always love the buildup, then the huge realization that they’ve been blind this whole time.
Again, this book is written in the third person, but it follows multiple characters and as such, follows their perspectives. It’s used less as a literary device here than it was in the second book, as it’s not as important that everything falls apart due to unreliable narrators. The text is still small and still on white paper, so my eyes are a bit sore after reading for longer swathes of time, but I’m used to it by now.
We get all the same characters as the second book, but get to watch their growth and realization as they evolve. The party, after Kyer’s abandonment, first believe their suspicions against her—all but Phennil, who is a truly loyal friend and now more bold after standing up to his father (great consistency for his character!). The antagonists come back to deceive the party, and it’s intense to watch Fredric/Hunter gain the favour of other characters. It makes you wonder if he’ll succeed.
I loved seeing the evolution of Derry and Kyer’s relationship. They were reluctant friends in the first book, but after that was a divide that only widened as they went on. This divide clouded Derry’s view, and in return, made Kyer defensive, but now that they’re apart and both thinking clearly, the wrongs they’ve done to one another becomes clear. Still, suspicions and mistrust run strong, especially with so much evidence popping up against Kyer—and emotions getting in the way.
The quality of the writing is awesome as always, even if I like books with sparser description. It’s beautiful, but just a bit too heavy for me. Anyway, the world is unique, and it’s never a chore to explore the new places that the quest brings them.
As I said, the pacing of Wallace’s books is a bit slow due to excessive description, so readers used to fast-paced books would not enjoy it. It’s a great book for fans of LOTR though, giving the similar premise and length!
I’m excitedly awaiting the next two books in the series! We finally get to know more about Kyer, so even if this quest is over, the next one is sure to be just as intense! This whole series is recommended to sword & sorcery readers, and fans of high fantasy.
*The Gatekeeper Book 1: Gatekeeper’s Key by Krista Wallace*
*The Gatekeeper Book 2: Gatekeeper’s Deception Part I Deceiver by Krista Wallace*
*The Gatekeeper Book 3: Gatekeeper’s Deception Part II Deceived by Krista Wallace*
*The Aodh Generations Book 1: The Gift of Marmidon by Tiffany M. Rhys*
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