What do You think about Exile's Gate (1988)?
I read the other books of this saga as a young adult. I liked them very much and never forgot Morgaine, Vanye and their endless quest. I discovered Exile's Gate only some time ago - it has never been translated into my language - and I was so happy to find a new piece of the story that I read the book in one shot. Then, for the first time in all my life, I felt the need of translating the first chapter in Italian - for my own pleasure, of course, as I'm certainly not a skilled translator (as you should have yet understood). To make a long story short, I haven't yet been able to stop... I'm now translating chapter 13 and I like this book more and more. The characters are amazing. Vanye is likeable as always, and I like Chei, Bron and the rest of friends and enemies and enemies/friends very much too, but in my opinion is Morgaine whom we learn to knew more than in the previous books. And finally we can truly love her, too. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll say only a thing: I am really enjoying chapter 13, because here there is some Clint-Eastwood-western attitude. I highly recommend this book, so as I have always highly recommend the Morgaine saga. My only regret is having discovered Exile's gate too late, so I can't speak about it with anyone. Sadly, I have no hopes to find someone to speak about it in my own language.
—Bruna
Gate-time works differently than world-time -- for Nhi Vanye and Morgaine, mere moments passed between when they rode into the Fires at Azeroth and when they emerged at Morund, but for the rest of us ten years had passed.This is the final (not concluding, but presumably last) book about Morgaine and Vanye. It's the largest in the series -- in terms of word-count, it's probably double any of the preceding volumes -- and the most complex in terms of the number of POV characters and in terms of the situation on the ground. On the world of Exile's Gate, some qhal still remain and still control the Gates, to a greater or lesser degree, at the behest of a power infinitely older and more dangerous.We still never get inside Morgaine's head -- all of our experience with her is filtered through other characters' observations, most especially Vanye's. The relationship between Morgaine and Vanye is, as always, one of the chief structural members of the story, and we get to see a glimpse of that relationship from outsiders' perspectives; we also, before the end, do learn somewhat about Morgaine herself.Myself, I'd be thrilled to see further adventures of Morgaine and Vanye. But if this is the end, I'm well-content, secure in the knowledge that they still ride the Gates, but at a place too far for tales to filter back.
—Joseph
There is a plot, but it is merely a structure to drape the book over. (Morgaine and Vayne, liege and vassal, ride from world to world to destroy the reality threatening teleportation Gates. They leave behind chaos and suffering from undermining the societies built around the Gates.) The story is all Vayne's struggle between duty, honor, friendship, and love while coping with Morgain whose mission overrides any concerns of mercy or warmth or truth. The effect of telling the story from Vayne's point of view is very appealing since we never get any deeper understanding of Morgaine than he does, just as we never 100% understand another person no matter how close we get to them.
—Mark
