Crossroads — (2006-2009) Publisher: World Fantasy and Nebula Award finalist Kate Elliott breaks new ground in a brilliantly original new fantasy set in a unique world of fabled cities, mysterious gods, and terrible dangers. From the first page readers will be swept up in the story of Mai and Captain Anji, as they become unwitting players in a conflict that began many years earlier, and which will shake the foundations of their land. For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, who patrol on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians' power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even the reeves can stop.
     
 The Crossroads Trilogy
Kate Elliott’s CROSSROADS TRILOGY, the first 3 books in a multi-book series, is a great example of how good epic fantasy can be in so many ways: its world-building is richly detailed and realistically heterogeneous; it has a multitude of characters spanning a wide spectrum of human nature and behavior, most of them nicely individualized; its depiction of war is grimly and painfully realistic; the plot contains some pleasantly surprising turns along the way; its fantastic elements don’t overwhelm the plot and are interesting in their own right; it has layers of complexity versus the all-too-frequent good vs. evil storyline; and it comes to a resolution despite being part of a larger series.
Despite all of this, I have to confess that I found more to admire than to enjoy in the reading, so much so that it was a struggle to finish each book, let alone the trilogy, even as I admired what Kate Elliott was doing with regard to craft and theme.
But let’s start with the good, since there’s so much done so well. The story beings with Spirit Gate and takes place in a land known as The Hundred, bordered by several other territories. Ages ago the land was torn by war and chaos and so the gods created “reeves” — a police force made up of men and women partnered with giant non-talking and still semi-wild eagles, and nine Guardians — seemingly deathless cloaked figures who could see into the hearts and minds of people in order to judge them and who could hand out death themselves in a second. It's been several generations since the Guardians appeared, the reeves are dwindling in number, respect, and integrity, and chaos threatens to return to The Hundred as bandits start to roam the roads freely, threatening not just local populations but even the reeves themselves, including two of the major characters — Marit and Joss, veteran reeves and long-time lovers.
At the same time, a small group of Qin (a conquering people in bordering lands) led by the uber-competent Captain Aniji and his non-Qin wife Mei (an equally competent merchant and organizer), in flight from the Captain’s past connections to a huge empire beyond the borders, enter The Hundred and hope to make it their home. In order to do so, they end up defending The Hundred against its enemies, including the newly appeared Guardians, some of whom have been corrupted and now lead armies bent on destroying the land.
That's the basic overarching plot throughout the three books in the CROSSROADS TRILOGY, though as one might expect in such a lengthy work it covers only a tiny percentage of what actually happens, while the cast of characters is far too lengthy to list here. As mentioned above, the worldbuilding is first-rate, filled with the tiny details that create a true sense of an alternate world. Even better is the way Kate Elliott creates fully developed multiple cultures within the world, as opposed to the usual monoculture surrounded by a thin tapestry of “other” lands. The Hundred’s rituals and customs differ greatly from those of the Qin, which differ greatly from those of Mai’s home, which differ greatly from those known as “Silvers,” and so on. Each has a rich sense of religion, ethics, and tradition; each differs in their view toward gender, slavery, domestic issues, etc.
The individual characters are equally strongly developed, each having complex personalities and changing over the course of time and in response to events and to other characters, some in unexpected ways. There are dozens of recurring, relatively major characters, but none of them blur and none of them feel like stock characters. In addition, few of them, if any, can be easily pigeonholed into “good” guy or “bad” guy.
The war that runs throughout is portrayed in detail, and realistically: it’s not merely a matter of a few hacking blades, nor does Elliott try to convey its horror by a simple matter of body count and talking about soldiers dying or even losing limbs. Often the true horror of war has to do with living, not dying, and often it takes place among the civilians — not the army proper. So we get repeated descriptions of rapes and gang-rapes and near-rapes of not just women but men and children; teens and babies are killed as easily as grown men; refugees flood the roads and towns grieve for all they’ve lost. War is an ugly thing, something often glossed over in fiction or shown via faux repulsion, but Kate Elliott keeps its true ugliness before our eyes throughout.
Just as individual characters aren’t easily pigeonholed, the same is true of the “sides” in these novels. One would assume, for instance, that our sympathies are to lie with The Hundred and its fight against corruption and ravening armies, but that sympathy is tempered by the ease with which The Hundred accepts slavery (and here again we see the horror of slavery: slaves not simply as secretaries or personal servants as is often the case in other works, but slaves gang-raped nightly). Yes, the reader wants The Hundred’s defenders to “win,” but the idea of returning to the status quo is discomfiting, to say the least. Another aspect of the complexity of war’s portrayal is the way Kate Elliott shows how war doesn’t simply result in individual deaths or physical destruction of a town here, a village there; it has far-ranging social and cultural impact — a subtlety seldom examined in fantasy.
There is a lot to admire here: the craftsmanship of the author in her characterization, innovative structuring (for instance, much of Shadow Gate covers the same chronological ground as Spirit Gate but from different perspectives), and setting detail. Also the way she parallels certain characters and certain plotlines. For example, the “good guys” actions involve both violence and destruction (creation of an army to kill an enemy), as well as negotiation and creation (of economies and communities), and moral complexities. This is a sophisticated work — and only half done.
But (and this is admittedly a big “but”), Crossroads never really compelled attention — never pulled me forward through the story. Instead I had to drag myself through it, sometimes by reminding myself that I needed to review it. Part of the problem was too much world-building. Lines like (and this is a paraphrase but a close one), “a group of school children, wearing the usual uniform of ... with orange bands round the forearms... “ fall into the category of too much information, especially in a 500 page novel. Unless those kids are going to play a major role (they didn’t) or what they were wearing would have some significance (it didn’t), I don’t need to have the story interrupted to tell me this. Now and then — simply to create that full sense of a world — is OK, but there was too much of this.
Another reason for not getting swept along was that there were far too many conversations and too many encounters where, after reading the dialogue or watching someone ride off, I wondered what the point of that scene was. It was all just too slow and filled with too much interruption. I'm someone who is quite happy with a “slow” book or a big book, and “slow” is a rare complaint from me, but these books, all three of them though to varying degrees, unfolded far too slowly for me. Another problem was the “problem”: the sense of a growing chaos was a bit too abstract, while the villains — the corrupt Guardians — were either vague presences or utterly incompetent, all of which robbed the main plotline of tension. I can see a reason for some of this — the “villains” may not be the real “villains” — but if they’re presented as such even on a surface level, they still need to be compelling ... and these were not.
Finally, the grimness also got to me a bit, with maybe a baby or two too many stabbed or spit on spear, a rape or two too many. These weren’t graphic and weren’t at all gratuitous, but they did wear this reader down.
So what does one end up recommending with a work that has so much to admire, yet in my mind fails at the most basic requirements of writing: compelling the reader to continue reading? I hate to say it, but I didn’t think the reward is worth the nearly 1500 pages or so of reading, which is a horrible thing to say about a series that is so ambitious and so successful at much of what it aspires toward. It reminds me somewhat of Robin Hobb’s SOLDIER'S SON trilogy, also an ambitious work with much to recommend it save for it didn’t hold the reader’s interest. So, I’ll repeat what I said about that series: give the first book of the CROSSROADS TRILOGY a shot, but if you find your attention wavering or find yourself frustrated with the pacing, don’t continue, because it won’t get much better in those regards. On the other hand, if you find yourself pulled along, then by all means, keep going because you won’t find many more complex or thoughtful fantasy works out there. —Bill Capossere
 Shadow Gate
Giant eagles and their reeves who patrol the skies as peacekeepers. Nine Guardians blessed by the Seven Gods to bring justice to the land of the Hundred who have mysteriously vanished. A Qin captain, his young bride and a company of soldiers forced into exile. A slave of twelve years who schemes to buy out his debt as well as his sister’s. An outlander — the youngest and least-favored of seven sons — who can see and hear ghosts goes on a quest in search of his uncle’s bones. A handsome reeve haunted by his lover’s death. And an army of thieves, murderers and other malcontents who threaten the Hundred from the north. These are just a few of the concepts, characters, and storylines introduced in Spirit Gate, the opening chapter in a new epic fantasy series by Kate Elliott who previously brought readers the Jaran science fiction novels, The Golden Key collaboration with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson, and the excellent Crown of Stars saga.
As confirmed by the author, Crossroads is a seven-volume series that will be divided into three parts — two trilogies and an interlocking standalone novel — so the new book Shadow Gate is essentially the middle volume in the first trilogy. As a result, readers can expect a few middle volume tendencies such as many events either being set up for or left unresolved until the next chapter Traitor’s Gate. At the same time however, the book also works as a standalone novel — as long as you’ve read the first one — and a companion piece to Spirit Gate, particularly because of the way the book is set up. You see, like its predecessor, the narrative in Shadow Gate is not followed chronologically and often jumps around. In fact, out of the novel’s seven ‘Parts,’ two are actually flashbacks that answers many questions from Spirit Gate like where did Cornflower come from, who she is, how she became a slave, and so on, and which act as a bridge between the two books. Readers will also discover more about the Guardians, including their abilities — riding winged horses, immortality, walking the 101 altars, possessing a third eye and a second heart to know a man’s darkest secrets, a staff of judgment, etc — learning who eight of the Nine are, and which Guardians have been corrupted.
Of the other storylines we have the pregnant Mai, her husband Captain Anji, and his fellow Qin who are trying to adjust to the strange customs of the Hundredfolk while settling down, which means finding themselves wives. Joss meanwhile, has become the Marshal of Argent Hall and is trying to strengthen the reeve halls and reestablish assizes courts following the events of the last book. Finally, two scouting parties have been sent off, one to the north to discover what kind of enemy the Hundred is facing, and another to the south where Emperor Farazadihosh of the Sirniakan Empire remains a threat to Captain Anji and his people. In short, there are several events happening at once in Shadow Gate — not to mention the number of additional subplots — so the story can get complicated real fast if you’re not paying attention, especially with the time shifts, but for those readers who are able to follow along and piece together how everything is connected, the book can be incredibly rewarding.
Now if you’re not familiar with the author’s work, it’s important to note that Kate Elliott places great emphasis on worldbuilding and characterization, both of which are featured prominently in the Crossroads series and thus, Shadow Gate. Of the former, the Hundred is an interesting place where slavery is not just accepted, but is a large part of their society. The Hundredfolk also worship seven different gods, are policed by reeves — and Guardians at one point — and measure time by a complex system that seems influenced by the Chinese calendar since people are born in the year of some animal like Snake, Wolf or Ox. Where things really start to get interesting though is when different cultures clash like the Asian-influenced Qin who are distrusted because of their ‘slanted eyes’ or the blue-eyed, white-haired tribespeople who are viewed by the Hundred as demons and vice versa. Obviously there’s much more to the world than what I’ve already mentioned, and much more yet to come, but basically if you’re a fan of detailed worldbuilding and crave something a little different from traditional fantasy settings, then the Crossroads series is highly recommended.
Of the latter, Shadow Gate, like the first book in the series, features a huge cast of characters with the novel narrated by several different third-person POVs including returnees Joss, the former debt slave Keshad, Captain Anji’s wife Mai, and her older brother Shai, while new perspectives consist of an envoy of Ilu, the pretty young woman Avisha, and Nallo, an ill-tempered widow chosen to become a reeve. Also, there are several supporting roles that are important to the story like Keshad’s sister Zubaidit, Captain Anji, Cornflower, the reeve Volias, and a few characters from the first book who seemed insignificant then but become essential components in Shadow Gate. And that’s really the beauty of Ms. Elliott’s characters — not just their diversity (personalities range from drunken womanizers to noble outlanders and strong females) — or how they evolve in unexpected ways, but how every single individual in the book, no matter how irrelevant they may seem, is integral to the novel. Of course, with such a large cast there are a few problems that arise like how unbalanced the narratives are — sometimes a character will disappear for a couple of hundred pages — or the occasional lapses where it’s difficult to tell who is actually speaking or thinking, but compared to Ms. Elliott’s overall performance, these are minor complaints.
Theme-wise, Shadow Gate explores a number of provocative issues such as racism; how power doesn’t make an individual into a certain kind of person, but what they actually do with that power; and slavery which is depicted in several different forms including those who are forced to sell their labor, Reeves who are chosen by their eagles without any say in the matter, Guardians who are similarly chosen, and strict women’s roles like having to obey a marriage contract or certain codes of conduct like the Ri Amarah. Then there’s the book’s darker subject matter, specifically all of the rape, murder, and abuse of women and children which can be shocking and disturbing, but necessary to the story. Because where there is darkness, light shines all the brighter and Shadow Gate is not without light, for people find love, hope, and new beginnings.
Admittedly when I first read Spirit Gate it took me a while to really get into the book, mainly because it was so different from the author’s Crown of Stars series which I had enjoyed so much. Eventually I came to accept the novel’s differences, and once I did I found myself totally immersed in the world of the Hundred and the vast story that Kate Elliott was weaving. Shadow Gate builds on that first book and doesn’t just continue the series, but takes us deeper into the world of the Hundred, its surrounding lands, and the lives of its characters through rich worldbuilding and intimate characterization. Factor in the answers that are revealed, the thought-provoking themes that the author examines, and a compellingly human story and the end result is a book that is much more powerful and satisfying than its predecessor. In the end, I know it’s early yet, but as of now, Crossroads is shaping up to be Kate Elliott’s best work and is highly recommended to both fans of the author and any readers who appreciate fantasy in the vein of Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, and J.V. Jones. —Robert Thompson
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