Review: The Death Gate Cycle by Weis and Hickman

[professionalkass]

From the minds of the writing duo that started the Dragonlance saga, comes Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. After having read most of the novels in the Dragonlance saga, I was excited to learn of a separate series that had nothing to do with their main novels. Already being a fan of their writing style, I was definitely not disappointed with this new series.

The books tells the tale of one man's plan to get revenge on the Sartan for what has been done to his people, the Patryns. While the Patryns have been imprisoned, the Sartans sundered the world as we know it into four separate worlds based on the four elements of stone, air, fire, and water and then a nexus to connect all of the worlds, in an attempt to recreate the world as they want. Xar has escaped from his prison and sends his disciple Haplo to go to each of the worlds to discover what has happened and to learn if the Sartans are still around.

Haplo's adventures throughout the worlds are chronicled in these books as reports that he then relates to Xar. Throughout his travels, Haplo meets groups of people in each world that influence him in some way. Haplo and Xar discover that each of the worlds, while created as separate entities, were created to work together to survive.

Weis and Hickman do it again with a compelling story line that keeps you hooked from the beginning with deep character developments that have you falling in love with the characters and developing a deep hatred for others. While being a typical science fiction novel, I have not come across a similar story line, nor even such a compelling story line in any other books. Throughout this entire series, each book has you thinking one thing and gives you the idea that you may even have the story line figured out only to completely throw your mind spinning by plot twists and cliff hangers that keep you wanting more.

As an avid book reader, who mainly read sci-fi and fantasy series and novels, this series is a must read for anyone who reads these genres. I give this book series a 3.5/4 stars and recommend that this be your next read if you are looking for a great series to add to your collection.