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Kate Elliott
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Traitors' Gate: The Extraordinary Conclusion to the Crossroads Trilogy (Crossroads, 3) Mass Market Paperback – March 2, 2010

by Kate Elliott (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 248 ratings
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In Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate, Kate Elliott took readers to the fascinating world of the Hundred, a land teeming with an array of cultures, gods, and conflicts blighted by the shadow of chaos and destruction. Now, with the same intensity and dramatic sweep that has brought this epic to life, Elliott returns to the exquisitely crafted cities and landscapes of the Hundred, in a thunderous conclusion to the saga.

In the darkness of war and destruction, forces gather to reclaim the peace: Those immortal Guardians who still serve justice seek a means to end the devastating reign of one of their own; a hired outlander army struggles to halt the advance of the horde that has despoiled vast lands and slaughtered countless people in its murderous wake, while still guarding against a burgeoning threat from an aggressively expansionist empire; and the eagle reeves who have long been the only law enforcers of the Hundred struggle to reorganize after a devastating massacre has decimated their numbers. But even as these forces give hope to those who would live in peace, a terrible danger looms: a traitor with Imperial ambitions, the most dreaded, least anticipated threat of all…

In the unfolding drama of political upheaval and violent change, nothing is certain, as alliances dissolve and power shifts with the unpredictability of a desert sandstorm. A riotous epic with the vast breadth and excitement only masterful storyteller Kate Elliott can summon, Traitors' Gate will leave her many readers begging for more.

Previous page
  1. Book 3 of 3
    Crossroads
  2. Print length
    896 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Tor Books
  5. Publication date
    March 2, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    4.22 x 1.44 x 6.87 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0765349329
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0765349323
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Elliott crafts complex…characters, including strong women who persevere in repressive, non-egalitarian societies. She is equally adept at outlining intricate religions and myths. This promises to be a truly epic fantasy.” ―PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ON SPIRIT GATE

“What a splendid continuation of the story is Shadow Gate! It was well worth the wait. But now I am done, and so, ‘Please, Ms. Elliott, may I have some more?'” ―DENNIS L. MCKIERNAN, AUTHOR OF THE MITHGAR SERIES

About the Author

Kate Elliott has been writing science fiction and fantasy for 30 years, after bursting onto the scene with Jaran. She is best known for her Crown of Stars epic fantasy series and the New York Times bestselling YA fantasy Court of Fives. Elliot's particular focus is immersive world-building & centering women in epic stories of adventure, amidst transformative cultural change. She lives in Hawaii, where she paddles outrigger canoes & spoils her Schnauzer.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; First Edition (March 2, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 896 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765349329
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765349323
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.22 x 1.44 x 6.87 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 248 ratings

About the author

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Kate Elliott

Kate Elliott

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Kate Elliott lives in Hawaii, USA. In addition to the Crossroads series and the Crown of Stars series, she is co-author of THE GOLDEN KEY.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
248 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Putney
5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying conclusion
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2019
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A satisfying conclusion which tied up loose ends while leaving room for the author to continue with the story of the Hundred, the Eagle Reeves, the Guardians, and Captain Anji and Mai. The world building was very good, as one would expect with a Kate Elliott series. I personally disliked how Captain Anji changed as well as how the Eagle Reeves and other officials gave up their rights and traditions so easily to follow him. However, both flowed realistically within the storyline and historical example and did not detract from the story itself.
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E. Smiley
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent end to a worthy trilogy. Warning: loooong review!
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2011
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I enjoyed the first two books, but this one blew me away; a solid 4.5 stars. At this point, everything has been set up, the tension is high, and the increasingly ominous foreshadowing had me finishing this book more quickly than either of the others, even though it is longer. Obviously more action here, and there's a new POV character on the "evil" side who does a good bit to dispel the notion that this is traditional good-vs-evil fantasy. The ending, although well-foreshadowed, was unexpectedly bittersweet and brilliant. I don't know why more people don't read Elliott, and have to assume they're turned off by the slow beginnings and cheesy covers. And they shouldn't be, because neither is representative of how good this trilogy really is.

A spoiler-free review of the trilogy:

STORYLINE/PACING: Like many an epic fantasy, this could be summarized as "a defensive war against evil." But being a character-driven book, the plot is as much about each character's individual arcs and subplots, and being toward the realistic end of the fantasy spectrum, good and evil aren't clear-cut. There's much more character interaction than swordfighting, and the pacing is maybe a bit on the slow side, but once it gets going midway through the first book, the plot is compelling and something is always happening.

While there are logical ending points for the first and second books, like most fantasy trilogies this one is of the "three-volume novel" variety, and I rushed through them all back-to-back. But although more novels are planned in this world, there's a solid resolution at the end.

CHARACTERS: The character development overall is quite good, and most of the main characters are sympathetic and likable if at times frustrating. Elliott is a rare epic fantasy writer in that she uses the multi-book format to actually further develop the characters, and I found my opinions on several of them changing book by book.

A few things that stand out: One, the characters have actual interests, like carpentry, gardening, etc., beyond fulfilling their plot-related goals (these books made me realize how rare that is in fantasy). Two, they're products of their cultures, and have baggage and prejudices that they never shed. I was expecting the main characters by the end to repudiate slavery and realize there's no such thing as demons.... but most of them never did, and that made it better. Three, I liked the way sexual relationships are handled. There's romance (surprisingly little of it), and there's meaningless sex, and there's attraction that never turns into relationships. Characters (women included!) can be attracted to and have sex with more than one person in the series. Speaking of which: there are a lot of strong female characters, but more in a realistic way than a wish-fulfillment kind of way; it's good stuff.

For the first two books I did feel that personal morality aligns rather too closely with which side of the war a character is on, and wished for more moral ambiguity. To a large degree that's subverted in the final volume, though.

WORLDBUILDING: A highlight of this trilogy. There are multiple highly-detailed cultures. I loved the amount of thought Elliott clearly put into the customs, religions, and so forth, and the fact that the inspiration was non-European. I see some Pacific Islander, Chinese, Mongol, Muslim and Zoroastrian influences, and undoubtedly didn't recognize many more. The world is increasingly well-developed in subsequent volumes.

The Hundred, where most of the action takes place, is a bit idealized, but every culture has its strengths and weaknesses. The Hundred does very well (especially compared to the other countries in this world) in women's rights and accepting homosexuality, and has been peaceful for generations despite no strong central government. But slavery is widespread, arranged/forced marriages are normal, and there's corruption, xenophobia and disenfranchisement of religious minorities. Meanwhile, the only group in the entire world that opposes slavery also forces its women to wear something burqa-ish, and virtually imprisons them in the home.

The introduction to the world is handled well. Customs aren't explained so much as mentioned in passing, allowing the readers to deduce cultural practices and background from context. Sometimes a custom will be alluded to and never mentioned again, hinting at hidden depths. So, thank you Ms. Elliott for treating readers like adults here.

THEMATICS: You can tell Elliott thinks about what her books are saying, and epic fantasy still being a somewhat conservative and male-dominated genre, I love reading good fantasy books informed by a progressive and feminist ethos. The trilogy examines how power affects people, how cultures interact and change and has a fascinating take on the myth of the fantasy hero and the good-vs-evil dichotomy.

I did think that the "good" side (with very different, conflicting ideas of what's "good") was better drawn than the "evil" side. It's great that the "evil" army is human, comes from within the Hundred itself and that the problem was at least partially caused by actual corruption and ignored problems--but in my judgment Elliott didn't do enough with that, and there's no apparent reason why many of the people on the evil side are quite as evil as they are, and why there are so many of them. One has to read between the lines to figure it out, where the author should probably have explored the reasons for this more or else not had so much cruelty on the one side and so little on the other.

WRITING: The prose is average. Not bad, but workmanlike. It's true there's a lot of description, which I mostly liked but isn't for everyone. There are several POV characters, but dealt with in a disciplined way; we don't get into everybody's head, the POVs are well-developed and there's no head-hopping.

MAGIC: Not much of it, thankfully. No sorcerers, although a very limited number of people have very limited magical powers. The supernatural elements are mostly in the worldbuilding, while the real focus here is on people, as it should be.

OTHER THINGS I LIKED:
1) Groups that are usually either evil or two-dimensional in fantasy are neither here: merchants, conquering horsemen, people who wear headscarves or turbans, and most notably, non-white people (which describes almost everyone in the trilogy). Even slave traders aren't automatically written off.
2) Elliott allows main characters to be illiterate. Most authors do cortortions to avoid this even where it's realistic.

OTHER THINGS I DISLIKED:
1) Being told halfway through the second book that "week," "month" and "year" don't mean what I thought they meant. What do you mean a year has 432 days? Couldn't another word have been used to clue me in to this sooner? Do I have to recalculate everyone's ages now? Blargh.
2) Characters coincidentally meet rather too frequently.

I would recommend this trilogy to fantasy lovers who don't demand constant action; the character development and worldbuilding more than make up for the slow spots.
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Sandy B
5.0 out of 5 stars Kate Elliott is amazingly good, and this third book in the Crossroads series is one of her best
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2016
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Kate Elliott is simply amazing. Her books suck you in to a world of her imagining and everything seems so real. This series is unbelievably good, I can't recommend it enough. Storyline, plot, characters, a little romance, world-building, human interest, adventure, a grand love story, military combat, a little magic - all excellently written and intertwined in such a believable and interesting series of books. This one is the third of three and just as awesome as the first two. Don't miss out on a great story!
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KH
3.0 out of 5 stars As someone else stated, this book felt rushed to ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017
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As someone else stated, this book felt rushed to the end. The conclusion of the whole works was vastly unsatisfying as well. I won't offer spoilers, but the more the story/characters degenerated from their baseline, the harder it was to finish the book. I usually judge a book by my likelihood to re-read it. I might re-read the first two in this series, but I'm not likely to re-read this one. It was waaaaaaaay too long and too much work to get to a flat ending.
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D. Hewitt
5.0 out of 5 stars terrific book, great vendor
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2011
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My local library had the first two books in this trilogy and I was hooked. I rarely purchase books new, instead just wait until I come across something interesting at the library or the thrift store. HAD TO finish! Each book in the series was one I would stay up late reading - excited (but dreading coming to the end). Loved it. (I hate everything, hahahaha, btw).

The vendor I purchased from was speedy in the delivery and the book was in superb condition. An excellent transaction.
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Cathy L. Maddox
5.0 out of 5 stars Crossroad series
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2013
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I read the entire triology and there were plot points that I didn't expect. This is always a nice surprise. When the series was over, I found myself thinking about the characters and the choices they made. In doing so, I realized this was/is a good book.
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PJgardener
4.0 out of 5 stars It's a long way to the Traitor's Gate
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013
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Kate Elliott likes details. If you like details, then you'll like this densely written tome. Yes, it is looooong. I must confess about a third of the way through my eyes started skating over passages to get to the action. I liked it, but it was just too much work for me in the little time I have for pleasure reading.

That said, Elliott has built a rich and interesting world with well-drawn characters and the characters develop more in this second volume of the series. She shows us a lot of sides to the story and even more characters are added this time around. Everything is well-written. There is just too much. I don't think I will read the next installment.
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Thomas Spoor
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun world
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
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Great series this final book did not go the way I expected it to and that was a good thing. I look forward to reading the rest of the work this author has created.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kelly R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Crossroads series rocks!
Reviewed in Canada on July 15, 2015
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Love this series! The different cultures and traditions as well as the individual characters are great. Wish there were more of them to read. Will have to try some of her other series.
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M. Warner
5.0 out of 5 stars So when does Crossroads continue
Reviewed in Spain on February 8, 2014
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An enjoyable series of books. Great characters. Seems to have ended to soon. Hopefully Ms Elliott will continue this in the future.
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Tim C
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic trilogy, very highly recommended!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2012
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As this is the last of the three Crossroads books, I thought I'd put down what I thought of the entire trilogy, not just Traitors' Gate. They are, quite simply, fantastic. It's a well written and detailed story woven around so many great characters. It was about half-way through the first book when I realised I'd had to buy the other two as I'd been entirely hooked and the Traitors' Gate book in itself is a rush with the story coming to a stonking climax...and the ending made me smile a mile wide...such a great set of books, I can't rate it highly enough and to think I bought the first book on a whim! I'll certainly read the rest of Kate's books in the future.
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Him
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2018
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Great seller, good item!
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A. Whitehead
4.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying end to an interesting trilogy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2013
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An invading army is laying waste to the lands of the Hundred. The reeves, the giant eagle-riding police force of the land, are unable to hold them back. In desperation they have struck up an alliance with an exiled outlander prince and his militia, but the enemy are led by corrupted Guardians, resurrected beings with the power to look into souls and strike people dead with a glance. The only hope of victory may lie with the uncorrupted 'pure' Guardians. But to achieve this, they may have to give up a terrible secret...

Traitors' Gate concludes the Crossroads trilogy by Kate Elliott, or rather it concludes the opening three-book arc of the series. Future books are planned picking up the story some generations further down the line. For now, however, it is a self-contained trilogy with no major cliffhangers or unresolved plot elements.

It's been five years since I read the first two volumes in the series, so I was initially a bit swamped as I caught up with what was going on. The core storyline is fairly straightforward, but the secret to the success of the trilogy is how Elliott layers in thematic elements to apparently trivial characterisation and how she addresses a wide range of different topics - from sexuality and female empowerment to commerce and religious freedom - within the confines of a more straightforward story. In fact, my biggest complaint about the trilogy as a whole is that it like it could have done with an additional book to help flesh out the world and cultures (a far cry from her prior Crown of Stars series which, whilst very good, could have probably done with at least a volume being shaved off its length).

The book and the trilogy as a whole also explores the concept of corruption and the ethics of the use of power. Elliott has little truck with evil magic or other examples of simplistic morality, instead citing that every person has within them the capacity for good or ill, the Guardians included, and she contrasts well the rigid thinking of the Qin (who prefer to see the world in absolutes rather than shades of grey) against those who are more open to a more complex view of the world. There's a good culture clash element which is not over-egged. There's also a feeling of melancholy to the story: the Hundred is an open-minded, tolerant land which has to become harder and more regimented to fight the invaders and in the process loses something of itself.

The worldbuilding is excellent - the Hundred is not another European medieval fantasyscape but an original creation drawing on many sources - and the characterisation is fairly strong. The pacing is a little off: for almost three-quarters of the length of the novel it honestly feels like there is no way of defeating the enemy and most of the time is spent on less-important character arcs, and suddenly everything spins on a dime. It is done reasonably convincingly, but certainly the ending feels a little abrupt. However, the ending is also deliciously messy. Allies suddenly find themselves at odds and what seems like deliverance could be (and we don't find out for certain) enslavement under a different name.

Traitors' Gate (****) concludes an accomplished fantasy trilogy with intelligence and complexity. Elliott has crafted an interesting world here and it'll be interesting to see what happens there next. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
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