I love Sara Douglass but this booked needed both more character development and more editing. ( )

I stuck through this series because the plot was intriguing, and I wanted to know what happened to one of the many characters. Unfortunately, the writing was inconsistent to the point of being distracting to the narrative. Almost all the characters were underdeveloped, and acted "out of character" at times. The plot and ideas had so much potential, but just didn't fit in Douglass's hand. If you want a fast throw-away fantasy series, then this is good. If you don't mind your characters suddenly dying, then this is good. Otherwise, there is better epic fantasy out there. ( )

♦ What I Liked. Almost everything. The action is intense. The situation is grim and continues going from bad to much much worse. The characters, omg how do I even give full credit to the characters. They are so, well, human. Even the non-human races, including the gods. They lash out in anger and frustration, then regret their actions, often too late. They make mistakes both large and small, then reap the consequences. They are by turns arrogant and compassionate, bumbling and competent, motivated and complacent. To sum it up, they are complicated, and they are so very real.

Everything in this story is layered. There are various levels of good and evil, each adding a unique flavor to the plot. This book and indeed the entire series is like an onion. As each layer is exposed it reveals a new, previously hidden layer. And this does not apply to just the forces of good and evil, it applies to the entire tale; its characters and the story itself.

This book will give you chills. It will give you thrills. It will make you angry and it will make you sad. It will surprise, amaze and enthrall you to the point where you stay up late and get up early, just to see what happens next. If you are looking for a book to get lost in, this very well might be it.

♦ What I didn't like. There was an odd mix of do nothing and do everything all at the same time. Let me see if I can clarify that without giving anything away. There is a siege. Now sieges are by nature, pretty much alot of people sitting on their hands waiting for either a miracle or somebody to knock the walls down. Not terribly exciting for either the reader or the characters.

Meanwhile, there are several different sets of characters out and about in the world trying to solve all of its problems all on their own. As they move from one crisis to another, to another, to another, it all feels a bit lopsided and rushed. And yet there was an odd lack of urgency. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for those walls to come down, while our heroes are out wandering around the countryside, taking side trips, and giving priority to things that in my opinion could have waited until later. Now granted, those little side trips to deal with this, that, or another thing, all contributed to unveiling those layers I was talking about. However I was still found myself going "What? You are going to run off and do this when there are several vital things people are anxiously waiting for you to do?"

But, now that I think about it, maybe this wasn't all that bad. It is an indication of how immersed I was in the story and its outcome. When you find yourself wanting to smack, kick, scream, shake and tell characters that you think they are complete idiots, you know you are well and truly hooked.

♦ Conclusion. I am going to have to do some research and see if this series was continued because it had a movie like ending. By that I mean the groundwork is laid for a possible sequel. The ending itself was surprising, bittersweet and definitely conclusive however the last page read just like a sequel tie-in. Sara Douglass obviously planned one but I'm not sure if she had enough time left to write it. I hope so. I am seriously hungry for more.

If you haven't read this, or any of Sara Douglass' books, you are sorely missing out on some award winning, world class Epic Fantasy.

Originally posted @ Dragons, Heroes and Wizards ( )

Some things about this book were really enjoyable, honestly. The excitement, the unexpected plot twists, the edge-of-your-seat action that gripped me and kept me flipping pages up until the very end. The emotion, the power, the strength of the multi-faceted characters, along with the well-crafted words that painted a mystical and beautiful picture...The Infinity Gate has so many good things going for it, but, unfortunately, these things were overshadowed by other items that left me with some mixed feelings about the overall epicness of this book.

The main thing? The heavy leaning on utilizing characters from The Axis Trilogy and the Wayfarer Redemption, and bringing far too many characters, plot points and world mechanics from these books into The Infinity Gate. Unfortunately, this has plagued the entire DarkGlass Mountain trilogy. Rather than simply mentioning the connections between this and previous novels, Douglass relies far too much on previous novels to propel the plot forward here. Old characters, especially Axis, and old plots, such as the rivalry between Axis and Borneheld, are given far too much attention here, I really would have preferred something new and more original...it's as if Douglass is so in love with Axis and Tencendor that she just can't let it go and really, it's time to move on to something new and fresh.

I wouldn't say The Infinity Gate and the DarkGlass Mountain trilogy is a complete bust, heck, it made me a fan of Sara Douglass again after being discouraged by Hades' Daughter, but she's capable of so much more. Maybe she needs to take a break from Axis and co. and do something a little different... ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/2010/10/20/dark-glass-mountain-the-infinity-g... ( )