The Gates of Dawn

The Chronicles of Blood and Stone #2

by Robert Newcomb

'The wind howled, and the lightening cascaded across the sky in unimaginable streaks, a portent of what was to come . . . the firstborn son of the Chosen One lives, and now he is ours.'For three hundred years, Eutracia was a kingdom at peace. Then a horror from the past, long thought vanquished, returned to wreak dreadful revenge. The war against the Sorceresses of the Coven was won, but victory came at a terrible the king and queen dead, the wizards' council decimated, and the land - ravaged by fear, scarred by battle - lawless. And Prince Tristan, forced by the Coven to turn his hand against his own and kill his father, is now a wanted man with a price on his head.In underground labyrinths that once bustled with life, the fugitive prince, together with his twin sister and her infant daughter, the wizard Wigg, sole surviving council member, and the crippled wizard Faegan, returned from exile in the forests of Shadowood, take refuge. To them falls the daunting task of rebuilding Eutracia, but it soon becomes apparent that evil has not yet had its fill of this ravaged land.An army of apprentice wizards, dispatched to hunt down the last remaining servants of the Coven, has fallen victim to foul beings that can only have been created out of hate. And, inexplicably, the sacred source of all magic begins to fail. Without its sustaining force the wizards will perish, and with them magic itself. With time and their powers fast dwindling, Wigg and Faegan must discover who - or what - has succeeded the Sorceresses, and now seeks to destroy Eutracia. As the awful truth is revealed, it is Tristan who must face this new enemy, an evil that transcends life itself, and fight the ultimate battle - for his life, his land and his destiny...Continuing the monumental adventure that began with The Fifth Sorceress, here is confirmation that, in Robert Newcomb, epic fantasy has found an exhilarating new voice.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction

Paperback

First published June 10, 2003

About the author

Robert Newcomb travelled widely in his youth as a member of the American Institute for Foreign Study. He now lives in Florida. The Fifth Sorceress marked his début and is the first book in 'The Chronicles of Blood and Stone' trilogy. The second volume, The Gates of Dawn, is also published in Bantam paperback and the concluding novel, The Scrolls of the Ancients, in Bantam Press trade paperback.

Reviews

[James Tullos · Rating 1 out of 5]

AaaSAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAaaaA

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume two of the chronicles of blood and stone was something that as an avid reader of this particular genre I was keen to delve into, with the author’s reputation highly recommended. It is a book that has exceeded all my expectations in abundance and which I lost myself within, a tale that is now forever etched within my memory as something utterly remarkable. Eutracia is a kingdom that was once peaceful but is soon to be overshadowed with its past, as a horror that was long forgotten re-emerges into the light once more seeking revenge. The fugitive Prince Tristan along with his sister and daughter and a crippled, aged wizard called Faegan, travel to Shadowood and plan to rid there land of this coming evil. As soon as the sacred source of magic starts to diminish the entire world of wizards is put under threat, and ultimately the use of magic itself. As secrets and hidden truths are revealed to all, the main characters have to decide what to do with the time that is given to them, plunging headlong into the greatest battle of all time that will shape the world’s future along with the Prince’s destiny. Continuing from the fifth sorceress this next installment within an epic fantasy series is just as spellbinding and creatively imaginative as the first. Being character-driven and full of sword & sorcery, here is a series that will delight many readers who not only love this genre but also who relish in a good fight; a fight of good versus evil. I was completely overwhelmed by the epic scale of Robert Newcomb’s creation and his world, characters and take on magic that is comparable to JRR Tolkien at his very best. The complexity of the plot and fast-paced action and drama, make this book gripping and exciting being unable to put down even for a moment. The quest stands on a knife edge that makes you sit tensely on the edge of your seat, wanting to find out along with the characters the truth and how to end this cataclysm waiting to happen. I felt like I was in the middle of the most compelling saga that only had two possible outcomes, which was mesmerizing hence I sat riveted to the spot whilst my mind was lost within Eutracia. Each separate section (the hunted, the stricken, the children, the warriors and the vanquished) was just as intensely rich as the one prior to it, as each section grew in profundity which built more anticipation. I cannot enthuse enough about an author who has written a most masterful work that is a tour de force in this genre, and which sets the standards sky high. Electrifying and intense, I know for certain that you will be hooked for a very long time.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I don't even know why I read this one. I thought it would be better than the first, but I discovered that it was just as slow and frustrating as the first one. But maybe other people really liked it, for me the character development is lacking and writing seems repetitive.

[Adon Coya · Rating 2 out of 5]

While not actually bad, I won't be reading it again, ever. The characters were for most of the book sitting in the one room or another discussing and explaining what is happening or what happened in the past. While simple and easy to read, there's no depth in the characters, no choices or dilemmas, just the evil guys against the good ones. There's hardly any character development, and the writing is repetitive, using lots of the same phrases all the time, and some of them not even correctly. The pacing of chapters is lacking, some of them range up 30 pages, while some of them hardly reach 3-4 pages.
But what I liked the worst, was the plot development. Firstly, the good characters hardly ever mattered during the story, they were merely puppets for the evil guys to play with, and when inevitably the bad guy was defeated, it was by oversight (while the good character was miraculously saved). Secondly, the writer's bad habit of saying outright that something is going on, but not what, then after all is said and done, the reader is told what it was. That's a way of telling oral stories, or maybe TV series endings; but in this book, it felt like the writer intentionally kept secrets the reader, and so often that he broke my trust in his honoring his side of our contract...

[Steen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was better written then the first one, it annoyed me less. At least he didn't use the same phrases all the time. The only thing I found annoying was it felt like Wigg and all the characters were for 95% of the book sitting in the one room discussing and explaining what is happening or what happened in the past. bleh. I dunno it's not my favorite series but I have to read the rest of them now to see what will happen. Although I must say the ending was very surprising. I knew something had to happen because the author couldn't kill of the evil side in the second book with four more to go. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't what happened. Maybe that is why I'm still interested. Shrugs.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is fantasy tripe. It is not good, but it's so simple and easy to read that the pain isn't too overwhelming. There's nothing remotely interesting about the characters, and they tend to be massively evil, evil bad evil guys or super perfectly angelically good goodguys. Boring. Throw in some Goodkind-esque misogyny and that's basically what this series is about. Except these books are shorter.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow this book was NOT great. Tell me I wasn't the only one that felt totally robbed by this ending? The first book was sort of interesting but I just lost all interest entirely by the end of this book.

[Min · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything in these books gets explained by some boring, illogical wizard babble before or after, yet still leaves you feeling dissatisfied and confused.

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

More of the same...there was a reason these books were on the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble. There's always some secret being hidden from the protagonist that moves the action forward.

[Michael Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, read last half in one night. The author's depiction of the "bad guys" can be a little over the top at times, bordering on rediculous; they seem to always have some twisted sexual fetish, and have a need to kill in the most gruesome way possible. Perhaps this is why I don't read a lot of fantasy, opting for Sci Fi instead. I find the "bad guys" much more interesting if they're evil in a more subtle way.
The paragon is beginning to lose it's power and Tristan and Wigg are tricked by a old enemy of Wiggs (a half-blood stalker) and an unknown more powerful force. They finally learn that the unknown force is the unborn child of Tristan's whom he left in Parthalon believing he was dead. Along the way the child's assassin, Scrounge, poisons Tristan, who only has days to live. If Tristan joins the child, he will cure him.
The child (Nicholas) is drawing all the power in the world into himself with the help of the "Heretics", the dark side of the "Ones Who Came Before". The child must take all the power into himself in order to build The Gates of Dawn which will allow the Heretics to return, stamp out the Vigors (the good side of magic) and rule the world. Tristan recovers the Minions from Parthalon, now under his command to fight Nicholas' forces to stop the Gates of Dawn. The Minions defeat Nicholas forces but are unable to stop the Gates. Just as Nicholas is about summon the Heretics, he collapses and dies, failing to open the portal. His blood had a previously unknown flaw which caused his demise. Just as Tristan is about to die of his poison at the gate, one of the Minions recovers the antedote from Nicholas and administers it.
The book ends with an unknown wizard in allegiance with Nicholas is looking for scrolls in the rubble of the fallen gates.

[Hans van der Veeke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a book that made an impression on me, so I decided to read it again. And this was a hard task which I almost did not finish. The book is way too elaborate. So many pages where nothing is happening and so many repetitions makes it very hard to swallow. Also my suspension of disbelief was sorely tested. The advantage of magic is that anything can happen even when it seems very unlikely. But if you need dozens of pages to explain what happened end why then I am loosing my faith. The problem was if it was two or three stars. He got the benefit of the doubt.

[Yvonne Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, with a few twists and turns. Well worth reading.

[Alyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god!! Richard has a son!

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew better but read this anyway. Surprisingly, there were no superpowered dominatrix rape scenes but the mindless droning of the story continues. My main gripes:

1) Cloning real items. Coming up with a bogus Dewey decimal system, blood transfusions, library catalog computer, and Gregorian calendar was done half-hearted. Do something original!

2) Bogus and anticlimactic ending--really, the all-powerful Heretics had no idea Little Nick would explode...really...and if they resurrected him once could they not again? And he was not fully born therefore his blood was incomplete?! seriously? The explanation might work for 5 year olds but come-on. Put some thought into what you type.

3) Shoddy save for Big Nick. So little nick can popping Celeste but not two flying Minions waiting to save Big Nick?!? Wow. And a blood transfusion after Nick is dead?

4) I detest when we have to go through 20-30 pages for the Wiz team to "explain" things. It's as if I am being lectured and I am 3 years old. Spending several pages to explain your ripoff of the Dewey decimal system was so painful I skipped a few pages.

Overall, this book was a letdown. I still rate the first book marginally higher than this one.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I only vaguely remembered reading the first book in this series, The Fifth Sorceress, so I went in to this one pretty much a clean slate. Which is OK, because repetition abounds! Weeee! My biggest gripe is that the author would set up these awesome plot twists and situations and then just easily write them off via the Prophecies or magic or some other "just so happens" excuse. It just so happens we sent some minions to fly in and carry you away from certain death. And, oh yeah, they grabbed the antidote, too! It all came together too conveniently.

There's a comparison to George R.R. Martin's writing on the sleeve to this book, and having just come off of reading A Game of Thrones, I find it pretty laughable. Martin crippled kids and beheaded kings - there was nothing convenient about it.

[Delia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts off a little slow for me. The book before ended so mysteriously that I was hoping it would pick up where it left off. While it sort of did that, I still find the pace of the book to be slow.

Besides that the story, the actual meat and bones, of the book are good. The conflicts are awesome and you find yourself wondering how Tristan and his friends will find their way out.

Although slow, I still find myself wanting to read the next installment.

[Annitamos · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was very bad and the questions and all the secrets was boring. You have one book talking about the greate power of Nicolas and in the end you have nothing. It's like you have cancel all the book.
I will never readed it again. If i haven't pay for the book i would have throw it away. The story line has so many potentials but it failed me in so many levels.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was better than the first - it held my interest in the 2nd half of the book.

[Walter Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that I thought could have been better, though I liked the premise. The characters never really let me get close enough to them to care about them.

[Fiona Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 The Gates of Dawn was a great read.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I forgot I had read this a few months ago.

I remember literally nothing about it lmao. Why the hell do I do this to myself? I have to stop searching reddit for terrible books.

[Jessica]

Pretty good, kind of slow at points, but the ending tanked it a bit.