The Lost Gate (Mither Mages Book 1)

Mr Card writes a very engaging tale that explains where our legends and myths come from and how they fit into the modern world. The last few chapters, however, left me thinking: "....and?" Despite that, I found the book generally very enjoyable and I look forward to the next volume in the series

Enjoyed learning with the main character, using the trial and error process. As well as having many questions left for the next book to solve. I believe that this book will be enjoyed by most all readers, young adults through seniors.

This book has an interesting story line, and I want to see how it continues in the next book. I am not willing to pay $10.67; however, to read the second book in the series. I was sad to tell the characters goodbye at the book's end.

My wife and I started this book after she accidentally read the first chapter when attempting to read Ender's Game on my kindle. I'm really glad she did, because this is one of the most enjoyable new series I've started in a while. Another great job by Orson Scott Card.

Like the book. Love the author. Found some of the content to be irksome but had no problem wanting to get lost in the story and understanding the world built by Card. Wish there was some news on finishing the series.

Another series that has me hooked. An incredibly engaging story that is worth the read. I knew as soon as I read the sneak peek that I had to read the whole book. If you like sci-fi, mythology, or magic, you should really enjoy this. You don't even have to like all three, but if you are a lover of all three genres, you will be overjoyed with this one.

I have been eagerly awaiting The Lost Gate since reading Mr. Card's recent novella Stonefather. The Lost Gate continues in Stonefather's milieu of an intricately imagined world where inhabitants possess various degrees of supernatural powers exercised according to the familiar diversity of human virtues and failings. This kind of story will not be unfamiliar to Mr. Card's long-time readers as it bears direct echoes of a Planet Called Treason and the Worthing Saga with the feudal power struggles of Hart's Hope. Frankly, Mr. Card had already written the story of a young person who discovers that he is really fantastically gifted long before a certain bespectacled character turned its creator into a multi-billionaire.

Mr. Card has become much more comfortable writing to younger readers; however, his ideas transcend age. His literature is really an exploration of power--how it is used, what it can mean. Card loves to portray the morality of the powerful and he hits the question pretty often in The Lost Gate, which contains a wealth of adolescent hand-wringing about what can be done with the protagonist's gifts. In fact, this book contains a surprisingly frank treatment of the powers wielded by the attractive and socially confident, powers with which we all have familiarity if not quite the same interest as those who are younger.

As the apparent first volume of at least a trilogy, there is a great deal of exposition, yet our author is quite skilled enough to keep the story moving. To explain too much of the plot really ruins a great read. First episodes can sometimes bog down as we get to know the characters and powers, but this book promises to deliver some of the best world-creation Mr. Card has published in a long time; it is certainly wonderful to have a new world to explore.

Highly Recommended

Very pleasurable read. "Fresh" ideas around a good story. I found the ideas and concepts to be new and not replayed themes. Many times books like this trip up or miss step along the way. This one does not. The complexities of the story flow well and are meaningful without getting bogged down or overly complex. But by no means is the detail watered down. Very good balance. I really enjoyed the story and found it hard to put down. I can't wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

real world characters enhanced with the power of the mage, if not the strength of all mythologies. well defined characters without contradiction or ambiguity. a wonderful story line from OSC. I am off to explore other books in this series!

Having just re-read Ender's Game and Seventh Son, this book felt like it was written by one of OSC's interns. The aforementioned titles do a wonderful job of showing us the characters internal emotions and showing us the rules of the universes in which they exist through the action of the plot. The Lost Gate spends way too many paragraphs pausing plot to tell us these things in detail. Card usually has such a penchant for dialog, but not in this case. It felt as if he were trying out a new voice and not quite making it work. There was something artificial and forced about the way characters interacted. Furthermore, I get kind of skeezed out by Card's tendency to put his young (too young) characters in inappropriate sexual situations. I usually just gloss over it, but it felt really jarring in this instance.

On the upside, it was a very quick and easy read. Having finished and moved onto the sequel I can't say the next book fixes any of these problems, but that is for a different review. I love the concept and potential of this world Card has created, and for that reason alone I gave it, and will give it's sequels, a chance, but Card really should be finishing up the Alvin Maker series instead of investing time and creativity into something that just never quite feels whole.

The single greatest talent Orson Scott Card possess as a writer is character development. His greatest novels are ripe with main protagonists and even antagonists that are so richly developed you think of them as real people by the end of their stories. As a long time OSC fan, The Lost Gate left me empty and aching for that connection, having just read a mediocre book about a jumbled, predictable cast of characters I couldn't have cared less about.

The book begins (or ends, I really can't remember sadly), as many of his stories do, with a narrative by Card outlining how he had created this character and world twenty or more years ago, almost as though he felt he had to defend his decision to write this book because, frankly it seems incredibly derivative of the Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Twilight craze that so many writers have found incredible success in. In this way, The Lost Gate seems to be a direct and unabashed attempt to reach out to the tween audience whose attention Card has lost since Ender's Game. Unfortunately, OSC must have felt he needed to lower his standard of quality to those books while going out of his way to mimic them...badly. The term "sold out" is tossed around a lot, but I believe it applies here.

The disheartening experience of reading this book leaves this imaginative reader with a single scene in my head in which Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson) snubs OSC at a book symposium, leading Card fuming with fist ashaking, yelling "I'll show you, Riordan! I'll take your books and turn all your characters into Norse gods! Muwahahahaha!"

Unfortunately, it's probably Rick Riordan and Stephanie Meyer who are laughing now.

The combination of mithology, magic powers and history,, with a powerfull intrigue and humor is very stimulating. Tris series has more humor than the Alvin books. The work of OrsonScott Card is always interesting

Once again, Card has created an entertaining world with compelling characters. I continue to enjoy the way he weaves magic and reality. This is no Ender, however, and I have read enough of his work to want to withhold some evaluation until I have completed the series.

After reading Ender's Game, I was super excited to read Orson Scott Card's other novels. I was disappointed though. The plot was hastily developed and rather boring. There wasn't the element of surprise that Ender's Game incorporated, and the characters had few, if any redeeming qualities. As an airplane read, this was fine, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Compared to the other works of Mr. Card, this book seemed half formed. The two main story arcs were not woven together well. The character development was rather shallow when held against his other efforts.

And, from reading Mr. Cards account of how this manuscript was produced, it seems he knows this. By his own account the strongest characters were contributed by a collaborator.

It seems as if Mr. Card became two involved in the mechanics of the stories universe, to the detriment of his characters.

Another Card Series & it doesn't disappoint. Much like the Alvin Maker series, he re-imagines an existing culture. and (in this case) mythology. His twist on that existing thread always makes for addictive reading. It drags a bit from time to time due to his propensity for complete exposition ( backstory) but still a fantastic read. O.S.C. has done it again!!!!