The Iron Gate

A Twenty Palaces Novel, Book 4

By: Harry Connolly

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

Stormy Bay is a dying town nestled against an eerily placid ocean, and Ray Lilly is trapped in it. He can barely remember his name let alone his mission for the Twenty Palace society. Worse, he realizes that for some time now he's been living as a puppet, his body and mind under the complete domination of an unknown power, and the townsfolk think this puppet is his real identity.

And that power can still seize control of Ray's body at any time, forcing him and the people around him to playact in nonsense stories that center around a mysterious boy and his monster dog.

The town and its people shift and change, but only Ray seems to notice. He has no idea what sort of magic has imprisoned all these ordinary folks in Stormy Bay, but he does know he needs to get them, and himself, out.

But that might mean crossing a line he has never crossed before. While Ray has certainly taken lives in his work for the society, it was always in self-defense or in the desperate moments before impending calamity. Can he bring himself to commit cold-blooded murder, even to save dozens of lives?

©2017 Harry Connolly (P)2023 Tantor

Finished in one night!

I cannot wait for the next one. I'm glad the series is starting to see more readers!

It's actually two books. Both are great.

The first three Twenty Palaces novels were bloodbaths. The genre is really a mix of horror, mystery, and thriller--and the tone is gritty and relentlessly grim. The world is surrounded by predators (outsiders) and filled with people tempted to summon them. When even a single outsider could result in the death of the world.

Normally, Annalise and Ray Lilly enter into the story in time to interrupt the rampage of an escaped predator, or its summoner. What ensues is a charnel house of death and horror. It's honestly a great time. These two stories hit differently, though. They have a different tone, and a slightly different narrative thrust. Don't get me wrong, they are just as dense as the rest of the books. Lots of characters and things happening, but you don't get lost, and you don't forget who the characters are. It's very well written, and very compelling.

The Twisted Path seems closer to a novella, or a short story. Ray and Annalise visit Portugal to present Ray to the peers of the first palace. What follows is a mystery split between Ray's perspective before and after he receives a wound that threatens his life. It ends in a way I won't spoil for you, but let's just say that the peers of the Twenty Palaces had a few secrets to keep...

The Iron Gate is a very strange story, and the moment I figured out what was going on, I was convinced I wouldn't like it. Ray Lilly gets trapped inside the predator equivalent of a twilight zone. But it's actually very interesting to watch him slowly puzzle things out. The rest of the story is engaging as well, so it didn't take me long at all to get sucked in against my will. This story is still filled with death, but it has a much lighter tone, and contains some extremely welcome character growth for both characters. The stories are no longer merely apocalyptic thrillers where Ray barely saves the world with a Ghost Knife, they have grown into much more than that.

Which makes sense, since this is the first full-length novel coming out of the cancellation. The books were released in 2009, 2010, 2011, and then these two books were released in 2017 and 2022 respectively. There's a clear time jump in the author's style, maturity, and voice. The story, too, has gone through a transformation, but I was engrossed the entire time. The world of the Twenty Palaces has opened up, and just in time, since the end finally comes into sight by the end of this book.

It's been a long road, but i'm eager to read The Flood Circle.

Very happy

I loved the pervious twentypalaces novels and this one is just as good. Can't wait for more.

Interesting twists

Our two stars are split up and solving separate issues toward finding each other again. Some character development for each, plus tangly mysteries…

the characters

this book is a return to form from Harry Connolly, reminding us all why we fell in love with the series originally