The Death Gate Cycle Series Review

I had fully intended to write reviews for all seven books of the Death Gate Cycle series. However, I soon got to a point where I didn’t really know what to say anymore and I just wanted to get through the books and finish the series.

So, overall, what did I think of this series? Well, for starters, the world building was a amazing. Each of the four worlds is very unique, each with their own beauty and dangers.

After the first book, some things were a bit predictable. It was fairly clear that Haplo would be visiting each of the four worlds and that each visit would take place within a single book. What happened after that was much less predictable.

Haplo changes significantly as a character. In the beginning, his loyalty to his lord and his lord’s cause is unwavering. He cares nothing for the people of the world’s he visits. He simply goes there to complete his mission. It isn’t long, though, before Haplo begins to change. The more time he spends around the various people of the different world’s and especially around the bumbling Alfred, he begins to see that his lord may not be the perfect ruler for all the worlds.

Other characters through out the series are interesting as well. Just don’t get too attached as they often have a tendency to die quite suddenly. Although, not every one stays dead.

I liked that the characters from the first four books made reappearances in later volumes. It may them feel more part of the story as a whole as opposed to just filler characters thrown in to serve Haplo’s journey.

I thought the magic system of the Sartans and Patryns was an interesting one. Rune magic isn’t an uncommon thing in fantasy but they way it was used here was less common. Each of the two races has their own set of runes, which the other race cannot use. The runes being tattooed on the skin of the Patryns was pretty cool in my opinion. Their race has existed in a horrid place, the Labyrinth, for centuries and they’ve found a way to help protect themselves and give warning of near by danger without having to actively use their magic.

My biggest dislike in this series is the references back to our modern world. I said this in a previous review that doing that in fantasy always annoys me. I read fantasy novels because I want to escape into an entirely new and different world that came from the author’s imagination. I feel like making that fantasy world into some distant future of our own world is just lazy and unnecessary. I’m sure there are times when it is done well, but I have yet to come across one.

Overall, this series is a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it to any and all lovers of fantasy. I think this would be a good series for someone who is looking to dip their toe into the genre for the first time.

Thanks for reading!

The Book of Boba Fett – Review

Synopsis: Bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigate the underworld when they return to Tatooine to claim Jabba the Hutt’s old turf.


Before I really get started, I feel I should mention that I am not, in any way, a Star Wars fan. I was aware previously of Boba Fett as a character as I have seen all of the Star Wars movies. However, I really don’t have much love of the Star Wars universe as a whole and I never had any intention of watching the Book of Boba Fett.

I am, however, a fan of the show The Mandalorian, so when I went looking for information on season 3 of The Mandalorian and found out that he and Grogu appear in the Book of Boba Fett, I realized I would need to watch it.

Sadly, I had no love of this show at all until The Mandalorian appeared. I didn’t find Boba Fett to be a particularly intriguing character, I felt no connection to him and therefore didn’t care about his journey at all. I liked Fennec Shand from The Mandalorian but when she appeared in this show, I just felt very meh about her as well.

Even the action scenes, which I would normally be really into, were kind of long and drawn out which just made them boring. Who knew action scenes could be boring?

I managed to soldier through until the Mandalorian finally appeared. Then, suddenly, I was actually interested and engaged in the show. Probably because I care about the Mandalorian as a character and his relationship with Grogu. I could have cared less about the stuff with Luke Skywalker though.

I know there are lots of Star Wars fans out there who will disagree with my assessment of this show. I’m sure this show was made more with actual fans in mind, which is completely fine. Fans will love this show and enjoy Boba Fett’s story. I just didn’t. It wasn’t for me. Only the last 3 episodes were of much interest to me. I’m glad I watched this only because it means I won’t be missing anything in season 3 of the Mandalorian.

My rating for the episodes without the Mandalorian: 2 stars, episodes with the Mandalorian: 4 star out of 5.

Monthly Wrap Up – June 2022

I have to say, June has been a very good month for reading for me. I completed 6 books, have a 7th that I’m almost finished and another to finish a series lined up. My main focus this past month was on the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I’m currently on book 6, which I hope to finish this evening then just have the 7th and final book and that series will be finished.

Once I’m finished that, I will probably read a couple of ebooks I have that I accepted review requests on. That should be a nice palate cleanser before I move on to a new series or trilogy.

I’ve been steadily working my way through a list of books that I own where the series or trilogy is complete. When I started, the list had close to 100 books on it. It is now down to 58. I’m 2 books behind on reaching my goal of 52 books this year, but hopefully I can make that up.

How was your reading in June? How’s July looking?