The Death Gate Cycle

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's The Death Gate Cycle and its computer game adaptation Death Gate

[thedeathgatecycle]

Are there sexual scenes that would be inappropriate for children to read? My 10 yr old just finished eragon series, hobbit, and many other complex books, but I’m unable to find parental guidance on this one and I read it 20 years ago so I don’t recall...

Hi there! Although I'm not a parent myself, my dad was the one who introduced me to the books and he had me wait until around 11-12, though not so much for sexual content. There aren't any sex scenes and the sexual content is very mild and mostly implied, such as a “fade to black” style sex scene, but there is a described (consensual) groping in book 6. Other content may be too intense for your child. The emphasis on necromancy in book 3, for instance, is descriptive of the animated dead and has some additional disturbing imagery like harm to animals (dog) and murder. I'll do my best to further answer about the content if this wasn't enough. I'd guess the majority of the books would rate a PG-13 while book 3 is more of R imho.

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

Death Gate Cycle Discord Server

For those who like Death Gate Cycle, I made a public server! For discussions, sharing art, fic, and anything else! Feel free to use as much as you would like.

Much of this server is a work-in-progress, so any suggestions on what channels to add or things to incorporate are encouraged! You can also just talk about death gate, it’s all good. Please remember to be courteous to everyone!

Invite here: https://discord.gg/urGKS4x

[thedeathgatecycle]

Looking for official images of the patryn runes all I've found so far is fan art

Unfortunately, there are no official images for Patryn runes like there are for the Sartan. Keith Parkinson’s cover art did have some rune designs on Haplo’s ship that might count from a certain point of view, but cover art isn’t done with the authors’ input. Haplo lacks his VERY IMPORTANT tattoos and colored hair tips, for instance.

Weirdly, the Haplo illustration in Hand of Chaos used the Sartan rune designs from Dragon Wing, so that makes me wonder about how much input was involved in the interior art.

I wish we had clear and official Patryn rune art, too :(

[tediousreviews]

The Seventh Gate

Nearly three months after I started, it’s finally time to say goodbye to the Death Gate Cycle. I’m a bit torn to be honest. I wouldn’t describe any of these books or the series as a whole as amazing, but on the other hand, I can’t at this point think of a single other series I’ve read that’s this long, this cohesive, and that maintains this level of quality throughout. And I guess maybe that’s amazing in its own way.

The final entry is a story of love, redemption, and the nature of divinity. It brings together vast forces of unimaginable power in an apocalyptic confrontation, casts down proud and powerful leaders, stymies the machinations of devious foes, and ultimately is resolved by a dog biting a dude in the junk.

As for this review, well… I’m going to do my level best not to write about any of that.

Keep reading

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

The Patryn aren’t evil, they’re that grumpy neighbor who scowls all the time, but will drop whatever they’re doing to help you at the first sign you’re in trouble and never even have it cross their mind that you might feel obligated to repay them somehow.

This is probably the best description for them. And Haplo is the grumpiest of them all. (Or used to be). Now I’m imagining Alfred as the nice, well-meaning neighbor that accidentally knocks over Haplo’s lawn gnomes when he comes over to give him a house-warming gift. Haplo also has one of those ‘Beware of Dog’ signs when his dog is the most welcoming animal there ever was.

The little fanservice in the end will always be my favorite - it’s a nice end to a book that, while still had its problems (like Hugh’s, uh, less than stellar ending), was still really fun. Also, that would be a pretty awkward family reunion if the real Rue ever showed up, wouldn’t it? Luckily, Patryns have shown themselves to adapt to situations really well, as we have seen. :P

Thanks for reviewing all of these! This was fun to follow and revisit my favorite series again.

[tediousreviews]

You’re welcome. This project I’m doing to review every book I own has had good experiences and bad ones. The Death Gate Cycle was definitely one of the better ones.

When it comes to Rue, I’m sure things would work out. Eventually. But not before the other parts of Patryn nature make for a great big tangled mess of drama and passive aggression and hurt feelings that absolutely no one but Alfred will acknowledge even exist. And yet, somehow they’d work their way through all of it and come out the other side as a real family.

“I don’t understand. Why would I be angry that my parents rescued and adopted literally every Rue in the Labyrinth that wasn’t me? It isn’t like I was expecting anything from them after they abandoned me. As an infant. Without even bothering to tell me their names. Or leave a note. Maybe a portrait. Or a dagger. You know, to fight off the horrible armies of monsters I couldn’t defend myself from.”

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t need you. I had real parents. The ones who raised me. Right up until the chaodyn murdered them and half the adults in our camp.”

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

Patryns are just all about denial, which is where Alfred comes in! He’d be a great counselor/mediator/all-around cool guy to talk to.

Always wanted Weis and Hickman to do a little short story for Death Gate Cycle. Seeing maybe the possibility of the real Rue coming to the Nexus, and seeing how Alfred, Haplo and Marit fared, would’ve been fun. (Not counting that one short story they did write for the Death Gate Cycle game).

[tediousreviews]

Fire Sea

Time for more Death Gate. Where this time Weis and Hickman heard you liked death so they put some more death in your Death Gate so you could read about death while you read Death Gate.

There are a few different places I could take this review. But what really comes to mind is something I missed the first time around but has become much clearer to me over the years after having it rubbed into my face by every series out there and particularly Star Trek.

It turns out that the more some fantasy culture brags about some part of its culture, the less that thing is actually a real part of their culture.

For example, using Star Trek. Vulcans brag about their logical nature but are in fact barely controlled seething masses of emotions who are astonishingly bad at even the most simple logic. The Klingons are a proud warrior race whose culture is centered around honor and hand to hand combat, but essentially every Klingon we ever see is a dirty, lying, dishonorable coward who couldn’t win a thumb wrestling match against an arthritic Ferengi. And humans in Star Trek pride themselves on their peaceful nature and their ability to resolve problems without murdering everyone around them…

I bring all of that up because in The Death Gate Cycle, we have a race of obscenely powerful sorcerers who pride themselves on their honesty, trustworthiness, wisdom, and just general all-around goodness.

They’re called the Sartan, and this book is about them.

Consider yourself warned.

Keep reading

[thedeathgatecycle]

Reblogged not for the book review aspects but for the very interesting Sartan commentary! If you haven't read this because you thought “I don't need to read a book review of books I already love,” think again!

[assassinsread]

A ‘why’ is a dangerous thing… It challenges old, comfortable ways, forces people to think about that they do instead of just mindlessly doing it.“ […] "I think the danger is not so much in asking the 'why’ as in believing you have come up with the only answer.

Haplo and Alfred in Dragon Wing by Margaret Weis (via assassinsread)

[talesofsymphoniac]

I just got like. Really emotional about Alfred, which happens sometimes, but like, he left Arianus to look for Bane because his mom was so worried? And this is ALFRED, pre-character-development-Alfred, like he was probably scared as hell but he went anyway… I love him? 

[talesofsymphoniac]

Like he’s so interesting because for all his nervousness and bumbling he’s really freaking brave and always does the right thing. Like he goes after Bane even when Bane tried to kill them all, he doesn’t act afraid of Haplo even though he knows how much Haplo hates him because he “feels a kinship with him,” he sneaks back into the castle on Abarrach to save Haplo when he’s dying, like he was always BRAVE and GOOD, even when all he wanted to do was run away.

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

Alfred is seriously the bravest character in the entire book, but also the most humble, because he never thinks what he’s done is enough, and tries to make up for other people’s shortcomings reflexively (Bane, his own people) even when he thinks of himself as lower than dirt. Alfred is the purest character there ever is and I love him. :D

Also going on a little tangent - all that mercy and compassion he has gets passed onto Haplo. And Haplo himself gives him the motivation and confidence to become more proactive about taking action, and using his bravery to even further use. Because he was always brave, (like when he first tried to find Bane with Hugh) he just needed someone to help him find his way and to start accepting that part of himself.

[talesofsymphoniac]

THANKS FOR THIS NOW I’M CRYING OVER HIM AGAIN

[thedeathgatecycle]

Dog: *runs around Alfred and wagging his tail*

Alfred: I think your dog likes me.

Haplo: No, he doesn’t.

Dog: *hangs out with Alfred for an entire book*

Haplo: GOD FUCKING DAMMIT.

[deathgatesideblog]

I diss on Elven Star a lot but tbh Haplo being asked to officiate a human/elf marriage is the HEIGHT of comedy. like i mean it it’s probably the literal funniest moment in the whole series, CAN YOU BELIEVE

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

Paithan: Please marry us, sir. Truly you are the most romantic one out of all of us. :)

Haplo: the fuck did you say to me

[thedeathgatecycle]

Marit: He wants to talk about his feelings. I’m not good at that.

[flashback]

Haplo: I’m just….feeling so hurt and shocked and I don’t know how to react and… ar- are you climbing out the window?

Marit: (climbing out of the window) ... No.

[talesofsymphoniac]

@likes-words-and-shrimp While I’m thinking about Alfred/Haplo/Marit

So Patryns in the Labyrinth canonically have same-gender marriage (WELL it specifies that that practice isn’t necessarily romantic but then Xar and Marit rune-bond and they call each other husband and wife SOOOO) and I get the impression that they’d be pretty open about something like polyamory, like, it’s already a bit weird to have a committed partner in the Labyrinth as far as I can tell, so why not a poly relationship, you know? 

On the other hand, I get the impression that the Sartan culture would be more closed about that kind of thing (can’t really point to anything specific, just an impression) and then Alfred spent all that time in Arianus and yeah, basically I seriously doubt the concept of a relationship with Haplo and Marit would occur to him.

So I’m reading Seventh Gate and I can’t stop thinking: Marit and Haplo think they’re already in a relationship with Alfred, but Alfred doesn’t know that’s a thing. Like, they all know how they feel about each other but Alfred’s thinking “I want them to be happy, I’ll remove myself from this” and that’s how the kids come to call him Grandfather, because Haplo’s like “Well if Marit’s mother and I’m father what do you want them to call you?” And Alfred’s like “hahaha Grandfather works I guess” and Haplo’s like “well that’s weird but Alfred’s always pretty weird so whatever”

Anyway so it gets to be this weird confusing thing of miscommunication and cultural misunderstandings but they eventually figure it out so it’s all good.

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

/SLAMS DESK

Dude I have been thinking about how the Patryns might think about polyarmory for a long while too. Because like! The Patryns have always tried to go beyond and outright rebel against the Sartan’s own conservatism in multiple ways (in magic, in their ways of life, their perception of mensch). The binding ceremony-marriage thing is one of them, since they also can bind with a person of the same gender (I wish the books had shown this instead of just told but oh well). And they also have a concept of sharing things, that the Sartan do not. They share food, the raising of kids, and lovers too. So!!

Alfred would not think twice that his relationship with both Haplo and Marit could be something more, because he doesn’t want to intrude, or ruin things. But I like to think that Haplo and Marit could be very open to it, and slowly get Alfred to understand it, they accept him, and love him to this level. And Alfred is so very open to understanding, he just doesn’t think he deserves all the good things in life (but he totally does.)

And geez, I have been trying to write fic about how a poly relationship slowly comes into play for them, even through such cultural differences between them, (and then I got distracted..) because that is the purest thing that all three deserve, with their happy marriage with their dozens of kids and still fighting to get people out of the Labyrinth and I love these books oh man.

[talesofsymphoniac]

likes-words-and-shrimp:

talesofsymphoniac:

likes-words-and-shrimp:

talesofsymphoniac:

I’ve been on a bit of a Death Gate kick so I wanna talk (for a long time apparently wow) about the romances in the series, especially the treatment of women in the romances

Keep reading

Loved all of this. Orla/Alfred is probably my most favorite romance in the books, as I feel it gives both of them growth, and delves into Orla’s character pretty well. Also that it showed how they are both pretty similar in a lot of ways, actually? They’re very passive people that know that things within their societies aren’t correct, but are also hesitant to change it. Orla tried to do so, and it only resulted in some of her people getting sent to the Labyrinth instead. Alfred tried in other ways, such as with Bane, and it failed him hard. Honestly, them vowing to go together and take their exile by Samah just- It showed how far they’d come! And then the authors ruined it by killing Orla off because why not. (I am very bitter about this STILL).

Haplo/Marit go through their own growths, too, and yeah, Marit paralleled Haplo’s own journey very much. Just, I really really wished they hadn’t imposed the weird husband/wife thing with her and Xar? It didn’t? Really need to do that?? They’d already done this with Iridal/Sinistrad, and Orla/Samah, so it was, pretty redundant by this point. Also that whole rune-binding scene was awkward, and kinda made me dislike both of them for a while. I liked Marit afterwards, but that scene totally soured me on everything. (Also, if Xar had that ability, why didn’t he just use it on Haplo before? IT’S VERY CONVENIENT, WHY DIDN’T HE? Answer: the authors just pulled that out of nowhere.)

Pryan relationships were the most uninteresting of the bunch, especially with how sudden these relationships were. And I liked Aleatha and Drugar, but again, SUDDEN. I’d rather it have been a friendship instead of one-sided romance, but well, Pryan likes its romance. 

Jonathan and Jera is actually something I wanted to write about one day - dunno, there’s a lot to build off of I think. Also, “Haplo found her attractive too, and blamed Alfred for him finding a Sartan attractive.” Well, there was that one section in Fire Sea where Alfred was dancing and Haplo was -entranced- so hey, maybe, haha.

The King and Queen of Arianus I hadn’t thought about too much, but I’m starting to get intrigued now. It was a rather nice surprise happy ending for them both, wasn’t it?

Heck yeah, I always thought there was more that could have been done with Orla after the fourth book and instead they just killed her, like???? All that character development and focus on her character, making her the most developed female character up to that point, and she just gets killed offscreen???????? But yeah those are some good points about Orla

THE WEIRD RUNE-BINDING THING WITH XAR AND MARIT. Like, it was doubly weird because they’d already established that the Patryns had a “marriage” ritual and then it was weirdly retconned, like “oh well this is even MORE intimate even though we already said that that ceremony was already ridiculously rare” and also, yes, it would have made so much more sense for Xar to do it with Haplo, but then they couldn’t have given it all those uncomfortably sexual vibes (well, they could have, but then it’d be gay and uncomfortably sexual, not to mention vaguely incestuous) and obviously that wouldn’t do.

Honestly Aleatha and Drugar would have been awesome as just a friendship, and I prefer to read it that way, viewing Drugar’s feelings as primarily friendship even if there’s a crush involved there, too. It worked for their character arcs to give Drugar a crush on her, but also meh, you know.

Jonathan and Jera have a lot of potential tbh, it just isn’t fulfilled because Jera dies. I would have liked to see how her character could have been expanded otherwise, and her relationship with Jonathan, too. And lol, I think there’s an actual line where Haplo’s like “Jera would be a good partner in the Labyrinth, wait, what did I just think, damn you Alfred” and it’s like. Okay then.

And idk I just really like the King and Queen, their story made me smile a lot even though it was so small :)

Man, I’ll always be so bitter about Orla’s story though, just so much potential thrown to the wayside because the authors had written themselves into a corner with her (at least I’m assuming). I don’t totally resent that she was a tragic character, just… they could have done it better?? I once read a fanfic where it still went through with her death, but instead of being trapped in the Labyrinth with Alfred, she had been exiled by herself, with no hope of ever getting back. So she was stuck in a bad place with no support, cut off from everyone, so the circumstances of her death I thought made more sense there. BUT, that’s fanfic, and the book authors instead just wrote her off in such a lazy way, arrgghh.(But an AU where she lives though, ah, that would be something).

Haha, it would’ve been very uncomfortable with Haplo and Xar with the rune binding, which is why I very much believe they came up with that at the very last minute. They should’ve just not inputted it at all, because it also makes one of the few highlights of Elven Star just… not seem as important anymore. That Haplo flashback to the marriage ritual was one of my favorites, but now there’s RUNE-BINDING for SUPER BONDING, and it’s like, man whatever. I’m just looking at the rune-binding as something Xar mostly made up for his own purposes (which he apparently used plenty of times), or something that was a more invasive corrupted version of the marriage ritual (which is already called a binding ceremony anyway). Because I love that marriage ritual and I wanna keep it with the vows and everything plz.

I forgot to mention this before, but yeah, the Haplo/Alake was all the NOPE for me. lol Haplo, why you gotta do this? I guess it foreshadowed that Xar, which he imagined telling him to take advantage of the situation, is a huge creeper. Moment of weakness for him, I’ll get past that for Haplo, but STILL THAT WAS WEIRD.

Johnathan and Jera situation kinda catches my attention since we never see Jera again after Fire Sea, and I keep kinda wondering why Johnathan was basically the chosen one/messiah for that world. Keep playing with the idea that they interact again after Haplo and Alfred leave, and maybe that’s why we don’t see her afterwards? (It’s a plot bunny that keeps teasing me).

And lol, I think there’s an actual line where Haplo’s like “Jera would be a good partner in the Labyrinth, wait, what did I just think, damn you Alfred” and it’s like. Okay then.

Haplo just constantly blames Alfred for these vague moments of attraction it’s hilarious. And they’re always just randomly thrown out there too. Or when just thinking about Alfred in general. Pretty sure in Serpent Mage he compared the color of his runes to Alfred’s eyes please. (I could swear he did this in Elven Star, too, comparing the sky to his eyes before). Haplo, you and your Alfred obsession.

Yeah, it’s not really so much Orla’s death that makes me :/ as much as the wasted potential there. Like, come on. After all the attention and development in the fourth book, you’re just gonna kill her offscreen? Weird choice.

“One of the few highlights to Elven Star” EXACTLY lol, Elven Star is honestly my least favorite one, it felt so disjointed from the others? It pretty much felt like it was there to 1. Introduce Pryan as a Thing that Exists and 2. Set Haplo up for the beginning of his character development in Fire Sea. I mean, it’s got themes of its own that it explores, like every book, but… yeah, not my favorite entry. But the binding ceremony was one of the few details that I liked, and then, like you said, they kinda threw that away for RUNE-BINDING. DOUBLE MAXIMUM SOUL-BONDING. I could almost see Xar having just made it up except that for some reason it seems to be an established part of Patryn culture, which is ALREADY weird considering the regular binding ceremony was made out as super rare already. Yeah, I’ve never liked that explanation, that’s for sure.

Haplo/Alake is a world of NOPE like. ‘Nuff said there tbh. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Also I REMEMBER THAT LINE ABOUT ALFRED’S EYES and being just. Did I just read that? He’s so obsessed with Alfred, it’s insane. I think my other favorite instance of that kind of thing is when Haplo starts thinking about names and their meanings in the sixth book, because Marit’s just told him that there are like a million Rues or whatever, and suddenly Haplo is all affronted that Alfred has never told him his true name. Even though he had no reason ever to do so??? lmao it’s fantastic

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

Exactly! Just how they handled her death made me feel they didn’t think much of her character, or at least not anymore. I mean, they gave Samah an on-screen death and all, complete with internal conflict. With Orla it’s like, ‘hey. here she is and she’s dead.’ Maybe they wanted it to be surprising, and it was, but not in a good way.

Actually they did the same with Hugh by the end of the series. His character was so good both in book 1 and 5, and after that I think they floundered on what they wanted to do with him next, and finally finished him off with an off-screen death. Almost even less attention from that than with Orla, lol it’s so sad though.

Oh yeah, the Alfred obsession is real. It’s weirdly there even as early as in Elven Star, where a passing line just mentions how Haplo felt an affinity for Alfred, and how they were both ‘strangers to the rest of the world - but they were not strangers to each other.’ Haplo, man, you knew him for like a week calm down. 

Haha, I remember that part, too. He really was so affronted about Alfred’s true name thing! He just really equated them both as on the same level, so to him, it was offensive that Alfred didn’t reveal stuff. “Damn it, Sartan! Why don’t you tell me the secret of your entire being?!” And then Alfred does so right away, oh my god. (And this is the guy who refused to tell his name to his own people, but for Haplo, he’ll just break every rule out there yeah no problem).

[venneccablindart]

Warm up sketch. I just got this idea to make a dress made of butterfly wings and then I remembered this book series I read a few years ago called the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman… And there are these priests with butterfly robes and I just wanted to get this out onto paper. Then I also made it rainbow. Yay.

[hachi-mitsu-semi]

Modern era!Death Gate Cycle because the idea of Grundle and Alake as college students is waaaaay too tempting for me.

Also in this AU Alake gets to liiiiiive!!!

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

YESSS, I love it so much. College kids Alake and Grundle is too good. :D

[thedeathgatecycle]

!!! The axe! The SIDEWHISKERS!!!

[mochakimono]

Halfway through Serpent Mage again...

And I just realized Alfred hasn’t changed clothes in months.

Meanwhile Haplo’s like “*hiss* MY CLOTHES ARE WET *strips in front of everyone*”

[thedeathgatecycle]

Surely there’s a Sartan laundry dance? Alfred can do his surprisingly graceful moves while flapping his laundry in the conjured breeze.

[kindaoptimisticsquirrel]

This was such a wonderful idea that I couldn’t resist drawing!

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

THIS IS WONDERFUL.

HAPLO YOU KNOW IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL. DOG UNDERSTANDS.

I don’t think I’ve seen fanart of Alfred dancing before, which is like his entire thing. Which makes me love it all the more yes thank you so much.

#that little heart above the dog makes it all the more amazing #cute little fun death gate pics were missing from my life

[thedeathgatecycle]

I LOVE THIS!!! I should've checked my notes/activity sooner so I could love on this before-- I don't think I've ever seen dancing!Alfred fanart, either eeeeee!

We don't really have any fandom memes but if there was ever going to be one... I think we know what it is!

(And omg I can't believe how long I left this in my drafts)

[whitewingedcrow]

“I lied,” Haplo snarled, grabbing hold of the first mensch that came within his grasp. “I’m not a mysteriarch!” Blue and red sigla from the Patryn’s arm flared, enveloped the human’s body in dancing runes. The sigla flashed around the terrified man like a whirlwind and, with the speed of lightning, arced from him to the elf he was battling. The jolt sizzled from that elf to the human fighting behind him. Faster than any of them could let go an indrawn breath, the runes jolted through the bodies of every elf and human inside the cable room, sped from there throughout the ship. There was a sudden, frozen silence. “I’m a god,” Haplo announced grimly. -The Hand of Chaos, pg 397 There are a lot of really memorable moments in the Death Gate Cycle, but this moment when Haplo absolutely loses his shit after four books of trying to hide or play down his actual power is definitely one of my favorites. I really adore him as a character, but there’s next to no canon representations of him; this is my best guess based on a combination of written description, the one actual canon drawing, and various fanarts. It’s been nice to finally draw something for Death Gate, now that I finally feel like I’m starting to get to a place where I can actually draw scenes with the attention to detail that they deserve. It’s a super underappreciated series, and one that’s definitely influenced my approach to writing and worldbuilding a lot.

[deathgatesideblog]

ok so basically i made this blog to scream about death gate cycle because i felt bad putting everything in the tag….. basically i made the mistake of rereading the books over spring break and got into another ~phase~ and now i have a lot of Thoughts, they will be tagged, appropriately, as Thoughts (though “screaming into the void” is a good tag too… nevermind I’m using that instead)

anyway idk why i felt the need to intro this but it has now been intro’d

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

I found this blog by pure chance so expect a wave of notes from me later in the day

[deathgatesideblog]

*sweats*

[thedeathgatecycle]

MWAHAHAHA followed! and signal boosting so my followers can hopefully become your followers.