The Traitor’s Gate – Sarah Silverwood (Nowhere Chronicles #2)
Hachette Gollancz, 2011
352 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575095809

Reviewed by Kate Smith

I was very happy to have this book offered to me as I enjoyed the first part to The Nowhere Chronicles in The Double-Edged Sword.  However, The Traitor’s Gate is a much darker story, and it gets darker very quickly.  In fact it is a very typical second part of a three part story – the introduction with hope, the darkest hour, and (one hopes) the dawn and resolution.  This particular darkest hour is very dark indeed, with everything that can go badly for the hero, going totally badly.  This does not make it the easy and happy read that the first part of the tale was, but it does allow for character and plot development.  Silverwood constructs her story well with pieces of the unknown past coming together smoothly but the twists and turns of the tale are not entirely unexpected.  The fact that there are no true surprises or shocks with developing events does not, however, detract from the enjoyment of the tale.

In this second part of The Nowhere Chronicles, Fin and the Knights believe that they have averted the Prophesy, not realising the extent of the serious mental and emotional difficulties Fin’s friends, Christopher and Joe, are in.  This is actually the start of the downwards slide to the apparent fulfilment of the Prophesy which was not averted after all.  As the storm builds, and with it the Rage in the atmosphere and the people of The Nowhere, Fin and his friends and the Knights find themselves consistently one step behind events occurring around them.

While I accept that this book was written for younger readers, and I read it as such, I could not help thinking that I would have liked further information and detail in the characters. Silverwood’s universe has so much potential in a lot of ways and I would really like to read her story written for adults.  I found myself wanting to hear the story from the perspective of the Knights themselves, or alternatively written in greater detail to fully explore events, places and emotions, even though I know that to write it in either way would not have made it a story for younger readers.  I can also see how The Nowhere Chronicles would translate easily to TV or film.

The bottom line is that The Traitor’s Gate is a book that is not written for adults but which can be enjoyed by adults.  It is the continuation of a good story with an unsurprising but solid premise, and I found it a good way to relax for a few hours.  I am looking forward to the third and last instalment for a good and hopefully positive conclusion to the tale.