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Gate of Ivrel (The Morgaine Cycle, #1)

C.J. Cherryh

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What Members Thought

Mar 05, 2013 Joseph rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Once upon a time there were the qhal and they connected all manner of worlds and times with Gates, which in the end destroyed them. In latter years, humans found the Gates and, wishing to avoid the fate of the qhal, sent a team a hundred strong to follow the the Gates, closing them one by one, until the network was no more. Now, an indeterminate time later, only one remains of that party -- Morgaine, wielder of the sword Changeling, a mighty force in its own right.

This is not her story.

This is t ...more

23 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2009 Derek rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

The entire book is emotionally and interpersonally complex, containing layers of motivations and relationships that drive events. Morgaine herself, though her thoughts are never revealed for certain, seems the most straightforward: her quest is to close the Gates.

But that goal is almost a background item as the story is told. Vanye, Morgaine's bound henchman, is the reader's guide through the web of rivalries and hostilities between clans as well as Vanye's own disputes and allegiances. Everyone ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2022 Oliver Brackenbury rated it it was amazing

A fine, restrained mix of scifi & fantasy that I'm blown away to read was Cherryh's first novel!

I agree with others who've said Morgaine has a definite Elric vibe, and I think that's a good thing. I also think it's useful for the book to focus on her unwilling-to-start servant, Vanye, for his knowledge of the culture of the world this story takes place on, and his more grounded, relatable perspective.

Speaking of perspective, Wikipedia says: "Cherryh uses a writing technique she has variously lab ...more

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Jan 20, 2014 S.E. Lindberg rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-se

Sword & Sorceress Adventure: Morgaine rivals Elric with her dragon blade
This reviews Gate of Ivrel, which I read as part of the The Morgaine Saga which was DAW’s 2000 omnibus of C.J. Cherryh Sword & Sorcery trilogy (1. Gate of Ivrel 1976; 2. Well of Shiuan 1978; 3. Fires of Azeroth 1979). There is a fourth book Exile's Gate written in 1988. Actually, this is my first C.J. Cherryh novel and I was impressed (Gate of Ivrel was her first published work, and it is quite good).

Morgaine is reminiscent ...more

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Jun 07, 2009 Charles rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. I just really had a fairly hard time getting caught up in it. I see a lot of others have rated it higher so it may just be me. I stopped here in the trilogy, though, and to this day haven't read anything else by Cherryh except some of the fine short stories she did in the Theives' World series. ...more

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