Description

Miyo is washed up. A former instructor of a prodigious sword-school brought low by his own principles, now nothing more than a reclusive alcoholic. He is about to take on two pupils for the first time in a decade, and together they are going to embark on an expedition to maintain the fabric of reality.

Will he be able to overcome a decade of fermented insecurity? Can the widening gates ever be shut?

Community Reviews(2)

JonHRoyal Road

★★★★★ 5.0

Starting off, this story was a big surprise to me, I have to admit. I saw the eastern aesthetic and half-expected a very by-the-numbers anime-inspired tale. I am happy to report that I was very, very wrong.
Through the Gate's plot follows several characters, all of which are easy to root for. Subject matter borders on horror at times, which I love; along with hints of existentialism. Descriptions of scenes are well-done, and while I sometimes have trouble picturing things in my head when reading any book, this story makes it very easy for me to do so.
The language used is descriptive without being flowery, and borders on poetic at times without being full of itself. The writer has a great command of English prose, and I'm incredibly excited to continue reading what comes from them.
It's worth noting, again, the quality of prose. It feels like most chapters have been edited and re-edited, and the story cut from those edits is sharp and well-paced. Not once when reading this story have I wished I was doing something else. In fact, where as I usually take breaks between chapters, the opposite was true here. One chapter would end and I would immediately want to see where the next went. This is a page turner, ladies and gentlemen.
Another review has mentioned the story seemingly going nowhere. I disagree. This is a story that sets up expectations with its prologue, then slowly begins to deliver them over the next 10 chapters. It is a story that does not serve everything up front-- you have to immerse yourself in it like a hot bath-- slowly and purposefully.
Everything here is a long winded way of saying that this is an extremely unique story for RR, and I legitimately would buy this in a book shop if I were to find it. Tasteless, keep writing. I expect to have you on my shelf one day.

the_Enn_GeeRoyal Road

★★★★★ 4.5

Style: the style is relatively simple, almost primitive in a lyrical but not bad way. It is very conducive to action scenes so those do not stick out as boring or complicated. There is very. Little exposition, so little in fact that the reader stops caring about the world. Odd for a fantasy story on this platform.
Story: as said, very little exposition, but there is also little plot apart from characterisation. There are a bunch of characters and it takes a while until they find together. The prologue seems unrelated so far at 10k words. Nothing has really happened and there is no outlook or greater goal at the horizon.
Grammar: nothing bad can be said about the grammar. The style is so simple a foreign learner can understand it and there are no attempts to craft some overly elegant or flowery prose to the detriment of understanding. The use of some words is almost poetic and metaphorical that is however not hard to understand to me as a foreign speaker.
Character: the characters and their interactions are so far (10k words) the main focus. There is some back story to them that doesn’t connect to the main plot (as far as I can tell). They seem relatable and interact in an almost heartwarming way without it being corny or sappy.
Overall, the novel comes together into a non-plot written in a simple yet very effective language that sets up interesting characters with great chemistry and dialogue and some mysterious gate/monstrosity plot scheme that is leaving the actual story for later, I suppose.

Through The Gate

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Chapters(51 total)

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Community Reviews(2)