Orson Scott Card is a very good writer. The man can tell a story. And one of the things he does best is coming-of-age stories, especially with adolescent misfits as the protagonists. “The Lost Gate” has such a misfit, Danny North. Danny is the only kid in his village who can’t do magic. He is smart and athletic and funny, but he can’t do the simplest magic. Sadly for Danny, magic is not only the most valued skill, but also the ticket to success and status in his community. So Danny feels pretty sorry for himself until one day he figures out he CAN do magic – unfortunately, it is the one kind of magic that is forbidden; and they aren’t kidding around. If his elders discover he can do this particular kind of magic, he will have to be killed. So, of course, he is discovered and has to flee. And thus the story begins.
I wasn’t as stunned by this book as I was by “Ender’s Game”, but not much has the kind of impact that book had. And I like that Card is developing this as a basis for a series – not dependent trilogies, but books you can read and not be pissed off because it ends in a cliff hanger.
If you like fantasy, this is a nice easy, fairly quick read. And Card has a real ear for dialog, especially adolescent patter. And snark.
Warning: maybe it was just me, but I did get a bit confused in the last third of the book when Danny’s skills are advancing so quickly I had trouble keeping up…but I think a lot of this is laying the groundwork for subsequent books in a “Mithermages” series. So it will be more familiar next time around. And I will be reading them.