≫ [PDF] The Gate of Gods Book Three of The Fall of IleRien Martha Wells 9780380808007 Books

The Gate of Gods Book Three of The Fall of IleRien Martha Wells 9780380808007 Books

Download As PDF : The Gate of Gods Book Three of The Fall of IleRien Martha Wells 9780380808007 Books

The Gate of Gods Book Three of The Fall of IleRien Martha Wells 9780380808007 Books

The plot chugs along in this third book of the Ile-Rien trilogy but the prose falters. Partway through, hardly a page goes by with some character "lifting a brow" at another. At first it was driving me crazy, then it made me laugh, then I sighed and got on with following the story to its conclusion. Wells spreads her writing thin in the trilogy compared to the earlier Wheel of the Infinite and City of Bones, stand-alone novels. Maybe brows lifted in those too but not as frequently. Tremaine and Ilias are another of Wells's fine pairs of well-matched/mismatched male/female leads.


Tags : The Gate of Gods: Book Three of The Fall of Ile-Rien [Martha Wells] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Tremaine Valiarde and a small, brave band of heroes ventured into a wondrous new realm on their desperate mission to save Ile-Rien from the conquering Gardier. Now,Martha Wells,The Gate of Gods: Book Three of The Fall of Ile-Rien,Harper Voyager,0380808005,Fantasy fiction.,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,FICTION Fantasy Epic,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fantasy fiction,Fiction

The Gate of Gods Book Three of The Fall of IleRien Martha Wells 9780380808007 Books Reviews

I love Martha Wells as a writer. I'm not entirely sure why I love her so much; she just has a very absorbing and colorful way of writing a scene, I suppose. You get caught up and carried along and it's a great ride.

My comment is on this book in particular, but it's also on the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy as a whole because it's really just one long book cut into three pieces. This is not the kind of trilogy where you can start with any book. You *will* wind up being confused, believe me!

I suggest reading -- as I did -- "The Element of Fire" before launching into the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy. Maybe "Death of the Necromancer" too. It's not absolutely mandatory in order to understand the series, but it does help. Without reading "The Element of Fire" you really don't understand the world of Ile-Rien in its glory days, so to speak. When the "Fall" trilogy opens, Ile-Rien has already been buffeted by war with the Gardier for several years. It's harder to see what the country means to all of the main characters and what they stand to lose without seeing what the country used to be before the war.

Ile-Rien is a fully realized world. The way Martha Wells depicts it, it seems as real a place as Paris or Vienna. What makes the world of Ile-Rien different is that magic is a reality there. It's a principle of life no different than scientific principles like gravity. Wells deftly paints a picture of what a society like that would look like. She also shows how Ile-Rien changes from the two centuries from "The Element of Fire" which takes place in an 18th century-like setting, to the time when "The Wizard Hunters" open, which is about the equivalent of our 1940s. Think WWII.

Ile-Rien changes both technologically and magically. Things like cars and electric lights are common in Vienne, the capital city, but there is also a sharp decline in the appearance of the fay, the fairy creatures that dominated so much of the first book, "The Element of Fire". This makes sense because the introduction of steel train tracks and other markers of industrialization have made it nearly impossible for the fay to be in Ile-Rien. As in the myths of our own fairies, the fay can't abide being near iron.

I would suggest this trilogy to any lover of fantasy because the Ile-Rien books are unusual. Fantasy is so often set in medieval circumstances; Wells dares to be different.

I do, though, have two major criticisms. First of all, after roughly 1,200 pages of story, the plot is wrapped up (a little too neatly) in less than a hundred pages. As I got closer and closer to the end of "The Gate of Gods", I found myself frustrated and afraid that the author wasn't going to answer the "big question" at all -- namely, who are the Gardier really and why did they decide to declare war on Ile-Rien? The attack, from the view of the Rienish, seems completely unprovoked. There is also the question of how the Gardier went from the peaceful society they had a mere generation ago to the warlike, totalitarian people who attack Ile-Rien.

Well, Martha Wells does give an answer to these questions. Is it a satisfying answer? That's not easy for me to say. By the time she finally got to the explanation for the war, I was just relieved that there *was* an explanation, period. This fear was somewhat justified because I don't think it was ever made completely clear why the villain in "The Element of Fire" did what he did. At least, it wasn't clear to me.

On the whole, I think the solution to the Gardier mystery could have been a lot more elegant. After the strength of the rest of the trilogy, it was something of a letdown. It felt a bit tacked on.

I also think that the explanation of the spell circles could have been described more clearly.

There are spell circles that both the heroes and villains of the trilogy either make or discover. They use them to travel between three different worlds. But, especially in this final book, Wells gets into a very complicated system of stationary circles, mobile circles, point-to-point circles, and so on. About a third of the way through this book, it really starts to all go over your head because it's like trying to conceptualize a long math problem without the numbers and symbols being written down on paper. In other words, it's hard to visualize. It was for me, anyway. I'm sure Wells' logic on the circles is sound. I take it on faith; I'm certainly not going to go over the text with a fine-toothed comb and check her accuracy.

The main character, Tremaine, is somewhat problematic. That is, she is a very complicated character and the entire story really revolves around her. It's not only that she's important, it's that everyone else always treats her like she's important. (They may not be entirely justified in treating her that way, but they do.) I, personally, liked Tremaine. That is to say, I didn't actually always *like* her, but I always found her interesting and I liked that about the character. But, I can easily see how other readers would be turned off by her character and anyone who falls into that camp isn't going to like these books.

I do give Wells a lot of credit for Tremaine because I think her very existence as the main character in an intelligent fantasy series answers the question that Joanna Russ and other feminist SF critics have posed, which is, can a female character really be the heroine? Is it possible to create a new and authentic narrative of SF/fantasy heroism that isn't just dressing up a woman in a guy's clothing?

Wells proves that it's more than possible.

Having said that, Tremaine (and, to a large extent, Ilias and Gilead as well) did get on my nerves with her hypocrisy.

There were clear villains in the trilogy, like Ixion the wizard and Balin, the captured Gardier spy. Ixion, especially, was obviously just pure evil. But there were other characters who I think were unfairly set up just to be "straw-man" obstacles to Tremaine and Ilias' relationship. Ander, Cletia, Pasima and Visolela were supposed to be these irritating, unreasonable people, but I didn't find them so at all. There were times when their respective goals and ideas were are odds with the main trio of heroes -- Tremaine, Ilias and Gilead -- but I think they were mainly frustrated because they didn't take the time to really listen or understand where these people were coming from. The three of them hated to be unfairly judged and taken for granted by others but they were very comfortable doing those very things themselves and that grated. No one ever called them out on their double standard. But then, in a war, there probably wouldn't be the time.

All in all, a trilogy that stands up to the best fantasy series out there, in my opinion. I wish my people could be exposed to it.

Lastly, I want to say that Martha Wells is one smart cookie for putting the entire text of "The Element of Fire" on her website. Once you get a taste of her writing and the world of Ile-Rien, you will be hooked. Sure, I got the first book for free, but then I went out and purchased all three of the "Fall" books. I imagine that 2009 won't come and go without me buying and reading the other books she's written as well.
I love this series, this is my favorite author. I discovered the Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura) Series and after finishing that I have been going through all her other works, and I love it alllllll. This series is my second favorite next to Cloud Roads. It is an epic and enticing adventure between three worlds, with many cultures, magics, spirits and flying ships. If you have not read this and you love Scifi, then it is a must!!
Another strong book from one of the best fantasy writers working today. Her prose just hums along, and the world she's created here, as in other novels, is highly unique and possesses its own, singular feel. The action is well paced and while the plot does become a bit confused near the climax (as one reviewer put it, "all those circles!") this is a thoroughly enjoyable read that pulls you along and leaves you highly satisfied at the end.

Her characterization is for the most part outstanding, even the small clues and cues she gives regarding less-central characters. Yes, the character of Tremaine has been a bit of a mystery from the start and the emergence of the fact that she has a core of cold steel a la her father does raise some questions, but the book reads so well and unfolds so naturally they didn't occur to me until after I'd put it down. Despite a few (very) minor imperfections, all told this is top-notch fantasy and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. At the least, however, start with the first of this latest trilogy, The Wizard Hunters. If you can, go farther back. After reading Gate I tracked down the first book set in Il-Rien, The Element of Fire, (FYI it's on Well's website for printing free of charge) and my appreciation for how she has spun this series of stand-alone yet related stories grew.
In "The Gate of Gods," the third in the "Fall of Ile Rien" series, moody Tremaine Valiarde (perhaps the first bipolar SF heroine) and her squabbling companions continue to plumb the mysteries of the circles, discovered by the mysterious havoc-wreaking Gardier, that enable them to cross among worlds. With sword and sorcery, plus the equivalent of 1920s-era tech, as well as pluck and more than a little luck, the not so merry men (and women) finally figure out how the things work (readers may not be so lucky, as the rules seem to be in a constant state of flux), scoot between worlds (often just in time), discover more about the nature of the Syprian "gods," and are finally able to write "mission accomplished" to their adventures. Fans of the late-1960s TV midi-series "The Prisoner," which starred Patrick McGoohan, may smile with recognition as Tremaine's crew finally meets number 1. (Or not.) Anyhow, it's a delicious scene.

Well written and fun to read, the author dares to present a heroine who is truly "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Or, as the old song puts it Tremaine always is a headache but she never is a bore.

Notes and Asides This is the end of the trilogy but not, I suspect, the ends of tales of Ile Rien. Start with volume 1, please or you will be majorly confused. I did, and I was still minorly confused. (Now let me think, Gerard is the sorcerer, Giliad is the . . . )
The plot chugs along in this third book of the Ile-Rien trilogy but the prose falters. Partway through, hardly a page goes by with some character "lifting a brow" at another. At first it was driving me crazy, then it made me laugh, then I sighed and got on with following the story to its conclusion. Wells spreads her writing thin in the trilogy compared to the earlier Wheel of the Infinite and City of Bones, stand-alone novels. Maybe brows lifted in those too but not as frequently. Tremaine and Ilias are another of Wells's fine pairs of well-matched/mismatched male/female leads.