*This review was read and written honestly and voluntarily. Possible spoilers ahead.

Are you ready for an epic fantasy adventure with a female lead and her furry friend?

Beckoning of the Gate brings readers into a fantasy world that could easily be part of the Sarah J Maas fae multiverse. 

So hop on the back of a phooka, and let’s go.

About Beckoning of the Gate

Readers are dropped into the middle of a scene as poor Margret tries to escape the strange creature chasing her in pursuit of the key around her neck. When she finally meets her end, we’re sent in time to the life of Santha, a goat herder with a reputation that recently became less than lovely. 

If it weren’t for Dandon, she would have to show her face in town more often, and people were already speaking filthy things about her. 

Things start to get exciting and dicey for Santha when one of her baby goats darts into the forest, and Santha hurdles in after it. There, she stumbles upon a strange key that seems to speak to her. But, once she takes it, she faces a wight who attempts to coerce her into giving up the key.

When she refuses, her family and the town’s fate are at risk. Santha is left with one solution—leave and follow and let the key guide her on a new journey.

Kelly’s Honest Review

Full of truly excellent writing and greatly detailed landscapes.

Beckoning of the Gate starts with great tension and fast pacing. That tension is still there when she encounters strange incidents on the edge of the forest near her parent’s property. 

I was engaged until her journey through the woods—which was supposed to be dangerous. There wasn’t much threat as she made her way to Berisolis, and I thirsted for the danger because I wanted to see what she was capable of.

When she got to Berisolis, I felt that excitement pick back up again, especially after her seemingly fated run-in with a past acquaintance, Erod, and being hunted by wights. After they escaped, they were off on the road again. From then on, I wasn’t sure where Santha was going or her primary purpose. 

With that, some areas were not realistic. And this is more related to Santha and what had happened to her at the beginning of the story.

Santha experienced a traumatic incident of sexual assault with a local man in her town before her journey started.

Throughout the story, she is mildly aware of the world (particularly men) around her. And rightly so. But I started to lose interest when she suddenly, without any real sort of lead-up or development of character, just fell in love with Erod. It was odd, given she had her traumatic incident just seven months ago. I highly doubt a woman would felt that comfortable that soon. Erod’s aggression and commanding tone by the campfire when she was detailing what happened to her was also difficult to read.

I didn’t know Erod enough to think, “Yes, this is the one for Santha.” I feel like she just gave in to it because he was there.

When I started to think about Santha and her journey through trauma, even her relationship with Dandon seemed odd. Because I would assume the last thing Santha would want is to be surrounded by men. In fact, I was surprised that Santha lacked female companions—Biahnd aside, who I enjoyed. I felt like she shouldn’t be doing this alone, yet somehow she was. She had no trust-worthy human or fae companions at all.

After falling in love, I noticed she just gave herself over a lot. She went way too willingly with people she barely knew. I would’ve liked to see her demonstrate more resistance to help match the trauma she faced and what it takes to reclaim her power after that.

I hope the author will focus more on developing these characters in future books so I feel more of a personal connection with them. The key could’ve spoken up way more than it did, especially if it gave her power. 

I know Beckoning of the Gate is part of a debut series, so I would like to read the next one to see what happens to Santha and if she grows. And I think the author is a very talented writer with great potential and would read other works from him.

Book Cover Rating

The cover is honestly one of the best covers I have ever seen. It was beautifully done, and I liked little Biahnd perched on the rock. 

Although it is a gorgeous cover, I noticed it didn’t entirely capture all of what was happening in this story. Meaning I was hungry for whatever this tiny little girl was going to do in the fiery hellscape painted on the front of this book. 

But no doubt about it, this cover will rope you into reading the story.

Overall Score: B

Other Publishing Information

• Date Published: October 7, 2021
• Publisher: Odyssey Books
• ISBN: 978-1922311412
• Genre: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, 
• Book 1 in The Vāyilian Threads series

More from the Benjamin J. Ryan

Born and raised in the tropical heat of North Queensland, Australia, Benjamin (Ben, Benji, Benny, Benno, take your pick) has always had his nose in books of magic, heroes, and the supernatural. 

He started writing at the age of fifteen, an enthusiasm that has become a passion and a habit, as well as a distraction from his profession as a qualified physiotherapist.

When not writing or working, he enjoys dallying in the worlds created by his beloved books, films, and games. Beckoning of the Gate is the first entry in his debut fantasy series: The Vāyilian Threads. And old gods willing, it won’t be his last.

Learn more about Benjamin on his website here.