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    The Shattered Gates: The Rifter Book One
    The Shattered Gates: The Rifter Book One
    The Shattered Gates: The Rifter Book One
    Ebook128 pages2 hours

    The Shattered Gates: The Rifter Book One

    By Ginn Hale

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    When John opens a letter addressed to his missing roommate, Kyle, he expects to find a house key, but instead he is swept into a strange realm of magic, mysticism, revolutionaries and assassins. Though he struggles to escape, John is drawn steadily closer to a fate he share with Kyle—to wake the destroyer god, the Rifter, and shatter a world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBlind Eye Books
    Release dateAug 18, 2016
    ISBN9781935560012
    The Shattered Gates: The Rifter Book One

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    Reviews for The Shattered Gates

    3.5/5

    60 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Just fine.

      If it were a novel I'd have kept reading, but instead it's a 100-page first installment in a serial, and it just wasn't good enough to get me on the treadmill. $4 each, ten times for the complete story, $40...I maybe care $5 worth, or $6 worth, or, heck, $12 worth, but $40? There's a neat set-up and the worldbuilding is pretty interesting, and I like the characters...but I kept wanting to take a red pen to the text. I thought Ginn Hale was supposed to be an amazing stylist, but I found the prose good rather than great, nice rather than fantastic.

      Textbook three-star for me. I like it, I don't really have anything negative to say about it, but I'm not compelled to read on. It's a curious element of this short, serial form that that compulsive, desperate desire to keep going is more important than in other books.

    • 3/5
      It's hard to review the first instalment of a serial, and make no mistake, that's what The Shattered Gate, the first instalment in a serial, not the first book in a series. Whether it's good or bad will largely depend on what's to come. Have I been set up with the right expectations? Do I care enough about the characters to stay with them through the nine remaining parts? We shall see.

      What I can say is thatThe Shattered Gate makes me want to read the next Rifter book. That's a good thing too since I've paid for them all in advance (only now does it occur to me that I took a bit of a gamble). I also give Hale points for zipping past the 'zmog! we're in another world how can this be' drama, which I find utterly tedious and puts me off reading anything in the 'portal to a secondary world' sub-genre. I can't overstate what a relief it is to have that over and done with.

      Otherwise-wise I think I'll have to withhold judgements until there are more instalments to base them on.
    • 3/5
      It's hard to review the first instalment of a serial, and make no mistake, that's what The Shattered Gate, the first instalment in a serial, not the first book in a series. Whether it's good or bad will largely depend on what's to come. Have I been set up with the right expectations? Do I care enough about the characters to stay with them through the nine remaining parts? We shall see. What I can say is thatThe Shattered Gate makes me want to read the next Rifter book. That's a good thing too since I've paid for them all in advance (only now does it occur to me that I took a bit of a gamble). I also give Hale points for zipping past the 'zmog! we're in another world how can this be' drama, which I find utterly tedious and puts me off reading anything in the 'portal to a secondary world' sub-genre. I can't overstate what a relief it is to have that over and done with. Otherwise-wise I think I'll have to withhold judgements until there are more instalments to base them on.
    • 4/5
      A fresh fantasy story with some interesting worldbuilding and promising setup for the rest of the series.The basic premise is that Kyle is an agent from another world, sent to keep a close watch on John, a man from Earth who is unaware that he is actually something of a weapon for the people in this other world. After a mixed up delivery, John and his two friends are sucked into the fantasy world, and have to figure out how to get themselves out, while Kyle pursues them but finds himself lost and confused upon arriving at the other side of the gate.This was a solidly written first book, where a good portion of the premise is set up, and a handful of diverse players are put on the stage. I found the world building to be particularly interesting, with some fresh ideas and a macabre tint to everything, including talking bones, blood magic, the execution of witches, and so forth. Conlang fans may wince a little at the gratuitous apostrophes, but the fantasy words sprinkled throughout didn't distract, and did led a nice extra level of flavor to the world.Our two main characters, John and Kyle are both interesting and three dimensional, which is important considering they share time as POV characters. I cared about them enough that at the end of the first book I immediately wanted to get the second and find out what was going to happen next. There's enough at risk for both of them that things could go wrong in any number of ways, which always makes for a good suspenseful read.The most difficult issue with the book is its narrative arch. A lot of information is withheld from the reader, presumably to be explained later on, and this can create a bit of narrative disorientation. I wouldn't call this a negative though, as it seems intentional, and I have faith that after reading the full trilogy everything will make perfect sense.I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants some interesting worldbuilding, a broad cast of interesting characters, and some gay representation served on a platter of decent prose.
    • 5/5
      This story is short, it's almost like a prologue, setting up the story to come. We meet John and his mysterious roommate, Kyle. It reminds me a bit of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, with a desolate wasteland, and in tiny ways crossing paths with our own world. Kyle has been traveling between worlds for years, watching John, a Rifter (we readers still don't know what that is at this point), when John accidentally manages to stumble into Kyle's world, dragging his friends Bill and Laurie with him. And that sets us up for what looks to be a fascinating series that I am most anxious to continue reading.

      Romance lovers should know though, that there is no romance to be found in this first episode, although there are tiny hints that something might be on the horizon.
    • 4/5
      It has been a while since I read the Cadelonian series, but so far this series is quite different. The writing is still good, it's just hard for me to connect with the characters (but this is the first of ten). I do like John and Kyle, especially the latter's way of reasoning out the way the world works. At the moment, though, it's just a little confusing as to where things are headed. Laurie seems to have some abilities in Basawar she didn't in America, but I'm not sure what Bill's purpose is yet. Or John's either. At this point I'm not sure I like Bill or Laurie, but I do think John is interesting. He's trying to learn the language and learn more about the new world around him--I like how he connects with the earth.

      But, it is the first of ten, and I hadn't realized they were serialized monthly, so I'm glad they are all out before I started reading (sometimes I do get lucky). The world is incredibly bleak, dangerous, and pretty much downright scary. Along with the number of things seeming to need blood sacrifices to work, and John's first sight of the local population is not a cheery one.

      I'm still not even quite sure where to rate it, because I'm confused (not entirely uncommon), the characters are confused, and where's Kyle?

      OK, I know, 9 more to go. A lot could (and I'm sure will) happen.
    • 5/5
      The first installment of an epic fantasy which is like nothing else I've ever read. I come back to this and re read it every few years, one of my favourite series ever. Wish there was an audiobook so I could 'read' it a different way.
    • 3/5
      This is sold as a ten-part ebook series, but it’s really just one story, and somewhat overpriced given that. John and Kyle are roommates, but Kyle is also from another dimension, sent to watch over John in case he needs to be killed; in Kyle’s world, John has immense power to disrupt and destroy. When Kyle’s distracted by the needs of his sister (who happens to be a living bag of bones—it’s a thing they do to women there), John crosses over to the other world with two of his friends, and there his troubles begin. The worldbuilding is interesting, but sometimes confusing; the story plays with time and causality in ways I’m not sure hang together, but am willing to accept. I really liked the idea of dimensional gates that did serious, long-term damage in their opening; Fringe did that in TV, but I’m not sure I’ve seen it in fantasy fiction. Just in terms of “fantasy with gay hero protagonists,” I think this suffers from comparison with Richard Morgan’s work, though if you can’t stand total grimdarkness then Hale has Morgan beat, despite the presence of homophobes and the extreme offscreen violence against women—not by our protagonists, but by others—in some phases of the story. I was carried along until the end, but you can probably tell that it didn’t quite have that spark that makes me pick up the next independent story.
    • 4/5
      I’d read positive reviews about Ginn Hale’s books – and wow! This exceeded my expectations. I have to admit, I knew this wasn’t from a mainstream publisher, and also that it’d been released as an online serial, and both of those things made me doubtful. But I have to say, there’s absolutely no reason Hale shouldn’t be picked up by a mainstream publisher (if she wants to be – I don’t know). The writing is excellent, and the story is a fresh and interesting take on the theme of people from our world being transported into another land and forced to make their way. (I'd definitely recommend this for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry).

      John is a graduate student. His roommate Kyle is a little weird and disturbing, with his scars and his tendency to carry weapons and disappear without explanation. But John needs the rent money – and, though he doesn’t really want to admit it, Kyle is pretty hot, too. But when Kyle’s gone, rent is due, and a letter arrives for his roommate, John gets nosy and opens the letter. (It feels like it contains a key, and he suspects Kyle might be returning his house key and not coming back.) It IS a key – but not the house key. It’s the key that ends up transporting John and his two best friends: the new-agey psychic Laurie and her boyfriend Bill, into another land.
      Little could John have guessed that his roommate was the Khalil, one of the only adepts able to make the dangerous crossing between worlds, and that his assignment was to involve killing John, who may be the prophecied Rifter, who could destroy both worlds.

      There are a few disorientingly abrupt transitions, and some events go implied when I would actually rather have read about them. It’s also by no means a complete story – there are sequels. But I really do want to read those sequels.
    • 4/5
      I've read the whole series, but I wanted to put a review on book one just in case you are like me. I had a hard time getting through book one until about ¾ of the way through. It was only because people I respect a lot raved about this series that I keep reading. I was totally confused about what the heck was going on. I am so glad I kept reading, because otherwise I would have missed out on one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. And really, it is one 1000 page book and not a series of books. I didn't know what the word 'world building' really meant before reading this series. This series takes effort (complicated storylines, herds of characters, unfamiliar language, and cultural situations galore) but it is so worth the effort.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    The Shattered Gates - Ginn Hale

    Chapter One

    The letter wasn’t addressed to John. The return address, however, was his. Not that he had sent the letter. He would never have mailed anything off without a zip code, and he certainly wouldn’t have wasted postage attempting to contact The Palace of the Day in the Kingdom of the Night.

    But his roommate Kyle would have.

    John frowned at the yellowed parchment envelope and the gothic letters scrawled across it. A blood-red droplet of sealing wax clung to the back of the letter like a wad of chewing gum on the underside of a school desk. As John turned the letter back over, he noticed faint watermarks on the envelope. Crescent moons.

     John could almost see the mailman rolling his eyes as he tossed the letter into the mailbox along with a heap of bills, sale flyers, pizza coupons, and a glossy new underwear catalog.

    He wandered back to the kitchen sink, pulled the trashcan out, and dropped the flyers and coupons into the mire of orange peels and coffee grounds. He paused a moment to consider the catalog.

    Tanned men in an assortment of absurdly small briefs grinned up at John from the pages. What little clothing the models displayed was tawdry and over-priced. Still, he lingered on a spread of muscular bodies until their waxed chests and fixed gazes reminded him too much of store mannequins. Then he dropped the underwear catalog into the recycling bin and returned to the mysterious letter.

    He turned the envelope over, feeling the uneven mass of the enclosed contents. It felt small and heavy, like a key. John traced the hard outline, almost embossing the shape into the sealed envelope. It was definitely a key. A house key. Probably the key to this very house.

    He hadn’t seen his roommate for two weeks, not since the awkward night that they had recognized each other through the crowd of half-dressed men roving the Steamworks bathhouse. John could still remember Kyle’s expression, how it had shifted from something like appreciation to horror when he seemed to realize that John was staring back at him. Then Kyle had disappeared. Just vanished, as if he’d only been a trick of the dim light, and John hadn’t seen him since.

    Which was fine, John supposed. He was a private man himself, and he could understand the desire to keep one’s personal life secret, but rent was due tomorrow.

    John gazed at the envelope, feeling the weight of it in his hand. It would have been like his socially awkward roommate to work out some weird way to return the house key without actually having to tell John face to face.

    With an absent push from his foot, John shoved the trashcan back beneath the sink.

    Assuming this was Kyle’s house key, Kyle’s half of the rent was going to be hard to scrape together. And if it wasn’t Kyle’s key? John shook the envelope and considered how he would explain opening his roommate’s mail.

    Kyle obviously hated any kind of intrusion into his privacy. When he had first moved into the house, he fitted his bedroom door with a heavy iron padlock that looked like a prop from a pirate movie. Nothing of Kyle’s decorated the living room, kitchen, or hall. No books, photos, posters, CDs, or tapes. In the bathroom, the only hint of his presence was a red travel toothbrush and a bar of soap. Oddly, the soap was still in its paper wrapper and had been from the first day that he moved in. He kept his dishes and food in a locked cupboard, protected from the bad influence of John’s packages of instant noodles and peanut butter.

    Sometimes John would look at Kyle and simply could not understand how he functioned.

     Returning to the letter, John studied the wax seal. He supposed he could use a heated razor blade to slice through and then stick the seal back down with glue. Immediately, John imagined Kyle holding the letter few inches below his sharp nose and taking in a strong, suspicious whiff. It was the kind of thing Kyle would do.

    Freezing the letter might weaken the seal. Or John could try cutting the top of the envelope itself and then gluing it back up. He would have to carefully line up  the edges—and there was still the problem of the lingering smell of most adhesives.

    Screw it. John ripped the letter open and dropped the key out into the palm of his hand.

    It was not the house key.

    It looked like the key to Kyle’s room: gold and decorated with moons and etched with some faint script.

    John stared at it for a few moments, trying to figure out why Kyle would send anyone the key to his room. He supposed that he might as well read the enclosed letter since he had already opened the envelope. Maybe it would offer him an insight into Kyle’s strange appearance and odd behavior.

    For a moment, he wondered if he really wanted to know more. There was a certain ease to simply not knowing what Kyle was thinking while watching him slink up the stairs, dressed in a heavy black leather coat, carrying lethal-looking knives and a bundle of cloth as long as  a human arm. John wasn’t sure if he was prepared for a deeper insight into Kyle’s inner workings.

    But he was so puzzling that John couldn’t help being fascinated by him.

    He wasn’t bad looking. He stood nearly as tall as John but with a leaner musculature. His dark eyes and full mouth softened his otherwise sharp, angular features. He would have been handsome if weren’t for the scar that sliced out from either side of his mouth, back almost to his ears. How did a guy get a scar like that? And that scar was only one of several that cut across Kyle’s body like red interstate lines on a road atlas. Then there was his long, black hair and the tiny black symbols tattooed across the backs of his hands and his eyelids.

    Who, in his right mind, got his eyelids tattooed?  How did he ever get a job with tattooed eyelids? For that matter, what did he do for a living?

    He claimed to be a milkman, but John didn’t believe him.

    And what about the two black-bladed knives he always carried? What about the sword?

    John decided that the weapons alone might justify reading this one letter. He pulled it out and unfolded it. The entire page of parchment was blank except for a single word.

    It said: Don’t.

    Chapter Two

    The night wind slashed through the black branches of the trees, ripping off spring blossoms and young leaves. It swept over Kahlil, tugging at his braided hair and whipping through the folds of his coat. He drew in a deep breath. The bristling energy of the rising storm filled his lungs. Heavy violet clouds churned overhead.

    A low reverberation cracked across the sky. It could have been thunder, but Kahlil knew it wasn’t. The smell of gunpowder suddenly hit the air. If they were lucky up in the convent, the rain would break before the fires could spread. Not that he had the luxury to worry about the nuns. He was still a long way from safety himself.

    Kahlil bolted from the cover of the trees. He leapt across an irrigation channel and sprinted for the apple grove. His pack rocked against his back, settling uncomfortably against his scabbard. Behind him siege mortars roared again, and he heard a crash as the timbers of the temple gate exploded. The smell of burning wood rushed over him on a warm wind. With it came the quick cracks of line after line of artillerymen opening fire.

    It’s not them guns that kills ya, a soft voice whispered from his pack, an’ it ain’t they bullets neither.

    It’s the holes that kill you more than either. Kahlil only mouthed the words, not needing to give them voice when speaking to the bones.

    Nestled safely inside his pack, the bones gave out a silent laugh.

    Kahlil picked his way between the black trees. The overhanging branches of the apple orchard blocked the distant light of the burning convent. Above him, the first soft patters of rain began to fall. Soon the wet ground would make it hard to keep up his pace and his footing.

    Runnin’ dead, down a hill, the bones whispered, smokin’ temple at you back.

    Little ghost caught a chill, rode it out inside a sack, Kahlil answered silently.

     Again he felt the tiny shaking motions of mirth. Skeletal fingers petted him through the heavy leather of his pack and coat. The icy sensation pierced down to his bare flesh.

    At the edge of the grove, an open expanse of road wound up toward the convent. A few yards further on, Kahlil saw a match flare briefly as one soldier offered another a light for his cigarette. They stood close, protecting the flame from the rain.

    For a moment their faces were illuminated, expressions soft and relaxed. The chinstraps of their helmets hung loose. Their rifle barrels pointed over their shoulders, still strapped to their backs. Their coats looked crisp, probably still staining the shirts below with new red dye. Probably neither of them had seen action yet.

    Two only, the bones whispered. "Cut they throats and share

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