Gate of Ivrel

Morgaine, Book 1

By: C. J. Cherryh

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy

Scattered about the galaxy were the time-space Gates of a vanished but not forgotten alien race. In their time, long before the rise of the native civilizations, they had terrorized a hundred worlds—not from villainy but from folly, from tampering with the strands that held a universe together.

Now the task was to uproot these Gates, destroy their potency for mischief, take horror out of the hands of the few who hungered for power by misuse of the Gates.

This is the story of one such Gate and one such world.

©1976 C.J. Cherryh (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great story

Still as amazing as when I first read it all those years ago. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

Have waited a long time for this!

Would you consider the audio edition of Gate of Ivrel to be better than the print version?

No. While the audio edition is excellent, the voice of the reader isn't quite what is needed, although she did a good job.

What other book might you compare Gate of Ivrel to and why?

Jennifer Roberson's Sword Dancer books. Both are about a strong woman with a mission she would trade all to accomplish

Did Jessica Almasy do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes she did. Different voices were obvious for different characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. I've waited so long for these books that I sort of doled them out to myself.

Now I know

Now I know what a overly involved author and a overly dramatic reader sound like.

Poor narration

The narrator's constant mispronunciation of words was a serious distraction. Really, someone who is to narrate a book for others to listen to ought to take the time to learn how to correctly pronounce the words she will be reading.

Disapointed

What did you like best about Gate of Ivrel? What did you like least?

I absolutely love this series. I have been waiting impatiently for it since CJ Cherryh's books finally became available. Vanye and Morgaine's story is one that has been with me as a true friend for 20 years.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gate of Ivrel?

I love Vanye's character, which as a far cry from the stereotypical heroes that we encounter in so much of today's fantasy writing.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator read the story as if she was on speed. She read so quickly that all of the nuances of speech and rhythm that go along with good writing were completely lost. I even tried to listen to it at 75% speed, but the after echo that goes along with it was too distracting. I am very sad that the editors chose to go with a female narrator for a book that is told from a male viewpoint, and then to make matters worse by allowing her to ruin to beauty of the story with her choice of pace. I'm even more disappointing that she is reading all of the books in the series.