Fantasia Reviews Gates of Fire & Earth

Gates of Fire & Earth by Autumn M. Birt

Genre – Epic Fantasy

Published 4/28/2017

Ages 14+

About the Book – A Great Follow-up to a Great Beginning

“Named Guardian of the Elemental Spheres, Lavinia seeks the lost gates to the spirit realm and their ancient guardians. But some of the guardians have left their duties and those that have stayed may prove as dangerous as her enemy, whose wrath threatens the world. To end an ancient punishment inflicted on them by the Goddess for their role in a forgotten war, the Ashanti will conquer this world and that of spirit to gain power over death.

Lavinia must close the gates to stop the Ashanti, even though by doing so she risks ending all elemental powers. And the act has consequences greater than the ancient guardians imagine.

But one gate has a new guardian as well as the old, and the last time he saw Lavinia, he tried to kill her before she stole his power. And he’s been seeking revenge …” – Publisher’s Blurb

The Review – Gates of Fire & Earth Doesn’t Miss a Beat

Picking up where Spark of Defiance left off, Gates of Fire & Earth pushes the Games of Fire trilogy forward. Recently, we have said a bit about what we expect from sequels (which you can find here), so we wanted to focus on what makes Miss Birt’s series so great. The characters just seem to come to life on the pages. Zhao is as great as ever, Lavinia is fantastic, and Darag is great. We think you know where we’re going. Perhaps what makes Miss Birt’s character so great is that she never leaves one hanging. Each has their purpose in the narrative. She manages to juggle a veritable menagerie of characters, giving them all plotlines of their own and personalities, in a way that is not only refreshing but impressive. We can’t think of anyone who does it as well as her and in the same way that she does.

Seriously, there is a lot to follow in Gates of Fire & Earth. However, it doesn’t feel as bloated as other tomes might, instead Miss Birt seems to use these plotlines to further flesh out the world she has made.

Games of Fire is Coming Together

Not to spoil anything, but Miss Birt’s second outing in this trilogy is sure to make fans of many. She continued to expand this beautiful world, already firmly established in the Rise of the Fifth Order trilogy. Beautiful writing and a steady pace keep Gates of Fire & Earth rolling along, while the depth that is added to her characters and her world will keep readers yearning for more.

The Rating – A+

Could we expect anything less from Miss Birt? Probably not. We’re still in love with the world that she has so painstakingly built. We still love each of her characters. Gates of Fire & Earth, even if the title is a bit on the nose, is a stunning example of what epic fantasy should be. Brilliantly contrived and beautifully executed, it reminds us why we love the genre. Lovers of speculative fiction will find a lot to like in the pages of this tome. Fortunately, we won’t need to wait long for the third installment.

Do you want to read Gates of Fire & Earth? You can find it here.