Heather’s Bookshelf: The Thirteen Gates Apprentice
Author: Elton Gahr
Released: 05/04/21
Genre: Urban Fantasy
“As he considered the possibilities, the colors spun, reacting to his thoughts. This wasn’t uncommon, but this time, they seemed more energetic than ever. If he didn’t know better, he would think they were excited. Nate spoke of senses as a third part of the wizard. You had a body, a soul, and your magic.”
“The Thirteen Gates Apprentice” introduces Quinn, a young man whose mentor, Nate, passes away. Upon his death, Nate leaves many of his belongings to Quinn including his car and the responsibility of having closed the thirteen gates over 500 years ago. When Nate passed the gates reopened and magic was re-released into the world.
Quinn and his best friend, Tim, soon encounter several magical creatures and also find themselves at the center of a murder investigation. Hanna, a schoolmate, realizes she’s an ifrit and must contain her power and desire to end those with the smell of death on them.
The trio must rely on Quinn’s acquired knowledge from all the books Nate encouraged him to read throughout his mentorship and his journals to save themselves and the world. When their loved ones are threatened, they must all step up and work together including travelling through the magical gates to worlds much different from their own.
Trigger Warning: Death, violence, murder
Overall, I was torn on this story. I really enjoyed some of the themes and ideas on the pages. However, the overall structure and pacing of the story was often confusing and unbelievable. The beginning of the story was set up well with an easy introduction to many of the main characters, limited background, and some emotional connection. The main character Quinn was an endearing protagonist, but he starts out as completely naïve to the magic in the world and within a blink of an eye is jumping through literal gates while declaring the new rules of the universe. I liked the inclusion of the diary snippets but wished they were more related to the events following to best convey Quinn’s enhanced rate of learning. I also wish the ancillary characters were more well developed and the relationships between them and Quinn more pronounced. I just didn’t feel as much of a connection as I wished I had when reading about their perils and felt the same about the main villain. The ending was also a off for me. The epilogue helped to clear everything up, but I still wish it would have all come together by the end.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An interesting concept full of magic and an endearing protagonist that didn’t quite come together to make a complete story
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