Serpent Mage

This is book four in the series...Book 1 was pretty good : Book 2 was pretty good as well : Book 3 was really slowBut all three books were laying important ground work.Book 4 was a good read (I probably read it the fastest of the books so far). Without going into specifics, Book 4 "Serpent Mage" started to give us some of the really important background information that had been missing. A very elaborate job has been done in painting a picture of some key characters and expanding even more on previously introduced characters. Plus, depending on the twists and turns that MW & TH have instore for the readers, we can start to see a picture of the future story line that will be covered in the final three books. I am really looking forward to them.

Book 4 of the DGC is hardly a disappointment! Haplo finds his way to the 4th World in a sea of water, were there is the only remnants of the Sartan and the dwarves and elves and men are separated and have bad relationships with one another...New to this book are the serpents, evil beings that ARE evil in its solid form seeking to control and annihalate all 'good' life. Using deception, and hatred as tools, Haplo accepts their aid as he wants to destroy the Sartan, and the Sartan accept the serpents aid as they want to get rid of the Patryn. Will the double-siding work and both sides get destroyed? What are the serpents REALLY after? Find out by reading this top-notch book...

Serpent Mage takes you to the fourth world of the Death Gate Series. It takes you to the world of Water, known as Chelstra. Here, in the beginning of the novel, Alfred finds himself in the crystal tombs of the Sartan.........AND they are still living. Once Alfred wakes up his fellow Sartan, he realizes that he is talking to the one and only Samah.Samah is the lead Sartan in a council of Sartan that had Sundered the world. He and his fellow Sartan have been left asleep for thousands of years. They can not believe the corruption that has taken place on the other worlds. In due time, Alfred is ostricized by his own Sartan.Haplo has entered the world to find that the saltwater on this world has a debilitating effect on his magic. He comes across some of the Mensch on this world to find that they are unique here on Chelstra......they are at peace. However, Haplo comes across some "creatures" that are more evil than the Sartan, and they are the serpents.This novel is excellent due to the complex nature of the whole story. On one hand, you have the totally evil serpents who thrive off of chaos. And on the other you have Alfred and Haplo, who are the only ones who truly understand the dreadful power of the serpents.Alfred has finally found his greatest desire, and that is living Sartan. However, he realizes that he is nothing like the original Sartan. Unfortunately, Alfred does not have similar opinions as the original council created by Samah. As a restult, Alfred faces the same punishment by Samah for those Sartan who opposed Samah. The punishment is stunning, and shocking.Again, this novel is excellent, because you further understand both Alfred and Haplo, and what the whole purpose of the Death Gate is. It is fast paced, and chaotic in nature, but the enjoyment level is high. Overall, this novel is very informative as to what is occuring in the present and the past. With the addition of the serpents, this should leave to a stunning conclusion in this series.

This is the fourth book of the Death Gate series and final book of the Death Gate Cycle and takes place on the Realm of Water, Chelestra. Alfred emerges from the Death Gate (having just fled Haplo's ship) find's himself in a Sartan chamber similar to the one on the Realm of Air. This chamber is filled with living Sartan which Alfred awakes. He soon discoveres that these are the original Sartan who sundered the world but for some reason can not bring himself to trust them.Meanwhile Haplo attempt to go to Chelestra without meeting with his lord, Xar. Xar has other plans and manages to get the information about necromancy and the possibility of a higher power out of Haplo. Xar punishes Haplo for his considering the possibility of a higher power as well as punishing him for allowing Alfred to escape. Once his punishment is done, Xar notes with satisfaction that Haplo's mysterious dog is now missing.On Chelestra, Alfred is surprised by Haplo's dogs appearance at his side. He is also concerned that the Sartan leader refuses to believe there is a higher power and his attempts to hide the truth from Alfred. Haplo makes his way into this world of water when he is shocked to discover that the oceans negate ALL of his magic. Haplo is rescued by a human, elf, and dwarf child who are captives of the powerful and mysterious Dragon-Snakes.As Haplo learns the truth about the Dragon-Snakes, Alfred learns the truth behind the Sundering. The Dragon-Snakes lead Haplo, the humans, elves, and dwarves to the Sartan and the Sartan leader reacts by threatening to destroy these 'invaders.' As the Dragon-Snakes flood the Sartan city with the rune magic negating ocean water, the leader of the Sartan opens the Death Gate and allows the Dragon-Snakes into the other realms.This book makes it clear that not all Sartan are good and not all Patryn are evil. Learning more about the past and the fight over whether God (the higher power) really exist proves more interesting than I've made it sound. Fear and arrogance seems to rule both the Patryn leader and the Sartan leader. An excellent read!

This book is awesome. The earlier books in the series set my expectations very high for this book and it met my expectations. The characters were very well developed creating a very good story with an indebt plot. Great Book!