The Traveler's Gate Chronicles

The Traveler's Gate Chronicles by Will Wight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Traveler's Gate Chronicles are a collection of 9 short stories from various territories of the Traveler's Gate world. They are tied together as an Elysian Book of Virtues telling a story to describe each of the Elysian powers along with their purpose. Some of the stories feature some familiar characters from the main series.

First and foremost I have to comment on when someone should read this book. If you don't want to potentially spoil any aspect of the Traveler's Gate trilogy, you should read this after finishing the City of Light. There are definitely spoilers for anyone who hasn't completed the Traveler's Gate trilogy.

None of these short stories are particularly groundbreaking, but I found myself enjoying the ones that focused on characters readers have already met. The stories that feature prominent characters from the main story are The Feathered Plains, The Steel Labyrinth, The Lightning Wastes, and Ragnarus.

The Feathered Plains features Valinhall Traveler Denner Weeks. I always enjoyed seeing Denner in the main series even though we don't get a lot about him. Here we get to see him being recruited for his speciality and showing off a Valinhall power that wasn't seen in the main series. He's sent on a mission to execute a young traveler who can see the future.

The Steel Labyrinth featured the Wanderer himself Valin. Valin is a young man in this story and Valinhall doesn't yet exist. This story was undoubtedly the most interesting to me because Valin is shown to be working for a prior Damascan Queen. Considering what has been revealed about Valin previously, it truly makes me wonder why he becomes determined to kill Damascan royalty later in life. Valin is sent by Queen Deianira III to Taratarus to assist the travelers with murders occuring in their territory. The story also gives some additional insight into who Valin is as a man and I'd truly love to learn more.

The Lightning Wastes features Queen Leah, Simon, and briefly Indirial. Leah, Simom, and an Endross traveler head into Endross. Their goal is to get the Endross traveler's to return to duty in Damasca. It's told from Leah's perspective which isn't always great. In this instance it's appreciated because it lets the reader see Simon as the world sees him. He doesn't look like much initially, but he's deadly when he starts to fight.

Ragnarus is absolute spoiler territory if you haven't read City of Light. It features Queen Cynara the first and Elysia's Rhalia. This describes the final battle between the two and how Cynara found herself hung under a Hanging Tree. It also opened up a potential mystery. I'm interested in finding out more whenever the sequel trilogy is written.

The Traveler's Gate Chronicles was a good set of short stories with a creative Elysian tie in.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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