Ariel Kaplan uses elements of the fall of the Islamic states on the Iberian peninsula and Jewish myth to create a stunning world—and a stunning series opener—in The Pomegranate Gate. Our protagonists are forced to flee their homes when word comes that the Inquisition is coming to either force the Jewish people to convert or leave with only the clothes on their backs. Toba and Naftaly have barely been on the road a day when very strange things start to happen that change everything they thought they knew about the world. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series because this book ended with a hell of a cliffhanger. (Readers who dislike cliffhanger conclusions should wait until the whole series has been published.)
Toba and Naftaly trade duties narrating the events of The Pomegranate Gate. Toba, who grew up scholarly due to her inability to run or shout, falls through a magical gate on the first day of her family’s expulsion. She is rescued by a friendly, magical man who, for lack of anything better, takes her to his uncle’s castle. Barsilay is Toba’s guide to the world on the other side of the gates, although neither he nor his uncle Asmel are very generous with details. You’d think the pair of them would learn to better educate their unlikely house guest after witnessing her complete inability to stay quiet and out of the way. Toba unintentionally causes trouble wherever she goes. It would be more fun to watch if the folks on the other side of the gate weren’t so free to dole out death threats or make one-sided bargains with her. (It’s still pretty fun, though, with Barsilay’s snarky comments and Toba’s gift for exasperating Asmel.)
Our other narrator, Naftaly, is even more hapless than Toba. Where Toba is hampered by her curse (the reason why she can’t shout or run or work magic), Naftaly was clearly somewhere else when they were handing out street smarts. Luckily for him, Naftaly is taken under the wing of a homeless woman who knows her way around living on the road. Less luckily, his mentor can’t help him with his ability to walk around in people’s dreams. When Toba’s mother finds him after Toba goes missing, he is whisked into a series of schemes to try and get the young woman back from wherever she’s gone.
The Pomegranate Gate is brisk with plot and packed with fascinating characters. I would have enjoyed this book even without its rich world-building. The setting—which includes a dense history of political betrayals, original magic going awry more often than not, hints of fantastical creatures like the ziz, a small apocalypse, and much more—makes this book utterly outstanding. Fans of adventurous fantasy that defies all the usual tropes will be enraptured by The Pomegranate Gate. Here’s hoping book two arrives quickly and lives up to the promise of the first book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.