The Seventh Gate

Following the ancient war of the Patryn and Sartan throughout the books, among conflicts "of the lesser races" was facinating as well as exploring the various sundered worlds.The main characters, Haplo, Alfred, Hugh all keep you interested throughout the books.

So. After getting through Tolkien's incredibly complex and epic Lord of the Rings, here I am, right back in the upper middle of the proverbial chain of fantasy novel quality. Not that this series is at all mediocre -- it is actually a very, very top notch piece of work. True, Tolkien's novels were better thought out and written with a deeper and more deliberate use of language, but it's just so nice to instead read something that's a little more comprehensible, a series that makes excellent use of simpler language and contains quite a bit of modern humor.But I gotta stop here. Unlike many, I won't even attempt to compare The Death Gate Cycle with Tolkien's masterpiece; not because one is distinctly better than the other, but because the two are completely different entities from different time periods. I absolutely loved the Death Gate Cycle. I loved it. The series was exciting, original, and completely satisfied my fantasy fix. It had the right balance of everything that makes a story truly epic and unforgettable -- action, suspence, love, tragedy, comic relief, great characters, equally great character development, and finally the ability to get into your mind and leave you dying to dish out some cash and get your hands on the next novel. ^__^I'll admit, however, that the first and last books in the series were... iffy. The start -- Dragon Wing -- was much too slow for anyone with a short attention span. The ending -- The Seventh Gate -- was too forced. Not BAD, mind you, just hurried and at times confusing. Weis and Hickman could have easily added about 100 more pages to the last book and truly concluded the series.Fortunately, the start and fin are the only major down points in the Death Gate Cycle. The five novels in between are more than worth your time and money (Serpent Mage and Into the Labyrinth are probably my favorites among them). Each character in the series is distinctive, well-developed, memorable, and overall enjoyable. The worlds are very well-conceived (How do Weis and Hickman do it? It boggles the mind...), and the plotline is almost always smooth and flowing. My advice? Whether or not you like fantasy, get the first two novels of the Death Gate Cycle and give them a try. If you find you like them (and you probably will), you'll thank me. If you don't, then hey, you're only down a couple of bucks.

A brilliant and unusual ending to a must-read series. Instead of the usual blood-and-gore bashing so many writers (and readers) seem to think appealing, the tension is settled peacefully (mostly) yet without disappointing. A meaningful read. However, it IS a little rushed.

Pretty darn good. I personally think that the Cycle series is even better then the DL series , but this last book just isn't the best the can do. The book was too rushed and doesn't have the epic ending that the authors gave DL chronicles. I think the authors should have prolonged the book and draw out the ending a bit more. The way they did it gives the reader a feeling that the book isn't finished yet and should be longer. The 4th, 5th and 6th books were all way better, especially the 6th.

I read the prologue in the Hand of Chaos and was hooked! The Death Gate Series is the best I've read in years. I'm a huge Xanth fan and never thought to get so caught up in a storyline so different. What a wonderful adventure! The final? novel is so well written. A delightful read from the start. The Seventh Gate can hold it's own w/o any help from the other novels in the series