Three and 1/2 stars.

The only book I've read of Orson Scott Card's was ENDER'S GAME because of its seminal status in the genre. I really enjoyed it, but never got around to its follow-ups.

THE LOST GATE was a surprise departure in that it feels like a young adult title along the lines of the HARRY POTTERS and the PERCY JACKSONS, but Card mixes in a couple other genres and creates his own magic system and mythology for a surprisingly entertaining read. There isn't much in the way of action or adventure, but the story focuses on a teenager from a rival world who grew up thinking he was the one member of his family clan without powers only to discover he's the most powerful one of all. He has the ability to open gates (portals) and go anywhere he wants, but his user manual never showed up, so he spends most of his time on the run looking for answers. While the story does spend too much time focusing on characters talking about inane things and going over the very complex magic system, there is a charm and origianlity to the story as well. A sub-plot features another boy on another world going through similiar themes, but doing so in a magic-world medevial land. The fusion of the two stories and the lack of clear plot would probably make a lot of writing professors cringe, but Card gets away with it because he's just a good storyteller.

This one isn't for everyone. It's not as fully developed as HARRY POTTER, but it's better than PERCY JACKSON. Card doesn't pander to kids, which is nice, but I do wish sometimes he had more action in his stories. The lack of an antagonist and conflict leave a dearth in drama here, but I'm interested enough to turn in for the next volume.