I just finished reading this. My eyes are burning from a lack of sleep, my stomach is growling and I think, wait, yes, I do actually have a headache twisting around in my left temple. But good grief, I am sitting here just impressed with this book. I have no other way to describe how I feel sitting here, having just finished the novel AND the Author's Note at the back. I would clap but that seems weird, right?
There are references in the back of the book. Yes, I am making notes on all of them and adding them to my list of things to read soon. This book reminded me of an article I studied in high school, about the various ways people lie and there was a section on lying by omission that mentioned Lilith. Back then I only had so many resources to read up on this idea of Lilith and how mentions of her had been excised from texts deliberately. The fact that St. Clair has research and placed it in the book for others to read for themselves makes that impressed statement I made in the last paragraph turn into RESPECT because St. Clair is giving readers the opportunity to form their own opinions using the sources she had at her disposal and that is just BRAVO. Now moving on to a review of the book itself.
I have quite the number of books by St. Clair and I have always felt that St. Clair books are written in such a concise yet accesible way. There's an attention to detail, a clear and well-developed world/setting, and rounded main characters that make it easy to get swept up in the writing of these books. Terror at the Gates is no different. I wanted to read faster but at the same time I knew I wanted to take my time to appreciate all the nuance that St. Clair has worked into this story. I have no idea where the story will go or how many books it will take to get there but I will be reading each book as they are released.
Terror at the Gates follows Lilith, a young woman living estranged from her family, who comes into the possession of a blade with strange origins. In an attempt to pawn it, Lilith learns there is more in play with what the dagger can do and who it belonged to, making Lilith and those she loves and trusts new players in a plot that will change all they know about their existence, both physically and spiritually. I remember reading in St. Clair's newsletter about this book last year and I was drawn in by the description of a "fantasy mafia" but was particularly intrigued by the name Lilith and all the connotations from there. The writing is vague on the specifics of what religion is in the book but uses enough ideas to make it both familiar and yet wholly unique, with how their church was developed and how the world uses the writings of the church to control the congregation. There are trigger warnings at the start of the book that definitely need to be taken into consideration and the Author's Note at the back deserves a read as well. Concerning the trauma in this book, I feel St. Clair gave it the respect it needed without going over the top.
I don't want to say I loved Lilith as a character but I rooted for her every step of the way. She was selfish, impulsive, and yet loyal to a fault for those that deserved it and I respected her for that. Zahariev was an interesting man, in the sense that he seemed the only one capable of going toe to toe with Lilith, but I'm hoping for more on his motivations in the next book. Readers know he is devoted to Lilith and commands his territory in a ruthless kind of way but outside of that I have no idea how else to describe him. I guess he's the classic brooding love interest? There are short asides from his point of view interspersed throughout the book but they only reinforce his thoughts and feelings for Lilith and not much else. It's not enough to make me like this book any less but it does bear some mentioning when talking about the character development. Some of the secondary characters could use some more fleshing out as well, like Coco and Gabriel, some of Lilith's closest friends. I know that Lilith would do anything for them because she said so but readers aren't shown much of the why behind it. Considering the scope given of the world and where it's headed, no doubt their specifics will be given at a later time. There's just so much to get into place to begin with, it'll take time to give the rest of the characters their time to stand apart from the crowd.
I don't know how to put into words the points made about authority figures in religious settings. Suffice to say, I think if anything at all, what is seen in this book will allow readers to have the grounds to openly discuss trauma and abuse seen in religion, as St. Clair made a point to discuss in the note at the back of the book. The point is that some institutes of religion, any or maybe every religion, have things they try to hide about their inner workings and some even knowingly hide the wrongdoings of their workers for the sake of keeping their image unblemished. This book shows a little of what could happen when someone decides to fight back.
Rating on my scale: 10 Stars. My head and my heart hurt for different reasons after reading this book. I hope the wait for the next installment isn't too far into the future.
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