Gatefather – Orson Scott Card (2015)

Gatefather (2015) is the third book in Orson Scott Card’s Mither Mages trilogy, following The Lost Gate and The Gate Thief. It continues the story of Danny North, a young gatemage who grapples with immense magical power and the burden of leadership while trying to navigate loyalty, love, betrayal, and the threat of an ancient evil known as the Belmage or Set. As the stakes rise across Earth (Mittlegard) and the parallel world Westil, Danny must confront not only external enemies but also the darkness within himself.

Plot Summary

The world of Danny North had never been simple, but now it teetered on the edge of collapse. Danny, the most powerful gatemage in human history, bore the weight of two worlds on his shoulders – Mittlegard, Earth, and Westil, the magical world long lost to his people. He had forged Great Gates, reconnected the scattered mages, and sought to unify the fractious Families. But none of it prepared him for the oldest, cruelest threat: Set, the Belmage, a being who survived across centuries by leaping from body to body, consuming hosts, corrupting hearts.

Among his circle of friends, Pat stood like a lighthouse in the storm. The windmage had kept her powers secret, practicing in the quiet moments when no one was watching. But her love for Danny had never been a secret, not to herself, not even to Danny. She had watched him turn away every flirtation, every offer, holding to his vow that he would not be the kind of god who fathered bastards, who played casually with human lives. When Danny’s change came, it struck like lightning – sudden, shocking, and unmistakable.

At first, it was small things. The warmth drained from his eyes, his touch grew possessive, and the way he spoke shifted from tender to crude. His friends felt the change too, but it was Pat who gathered them, determined to understand. She led Laurette, Sin, Xena, Wheeler, and Hal through a hidden gate to Stone, an older mage in Washington, D.C., whose calm mind and deep knowledge they hoped would unravel the knot tightening around Danny’s soul.

Stone listened with a patience that steadied their fraying nerves. Nicki, a girl from school, had approached Pat with a terrible confession – she was pregnant, and Danny was the father. But Nicki spoke of an encounter that made no sense, a night when Danny seemed possessed, when a voice not his own spoke through her mouth, luring him into surrender. Stone’s face darkened with understanding. Set had crossed into Danny, and the stakes had risen beyond anything the young mages could face alone.

While Pat and her friends debated how to save Danny, on Westil, Wad – a mage older than legend – moved through his own labyrinth of guilt and duty. Bexoi, Queen of Iceway and a firemage of immense power, lay in a coma, carrying the child of King Prayard. Wad, who had loved, hated, and warred with her, now protected her body, uncertain if her mind was truly lost or merely waiting for its moment to strike. Rumors whispered of Anonoei, a woman thought dead, whose spirit might have leapt into Bexoi at the moment of death, holding her enemy frozen from within.

The tension between worlds was a thread stretched thin. Danny’s friends tried to act normal, but the Belmage’s presence shadowed every interaction. Danny’s charm curdled into arrogance, his playfulness into menace. Pat held her ground, slipping past his grasp with careful words, but she knew the man she loved was caught in a battle none could see. The other girls confessed that Danny had turned his charm toward them as well, testing boundaries he once respected, and the truth became inescapable – the Belmage was digging in, tightening his hold.

On Mittlegard, the boys Eluik and Enopp, sons of Anonoei, waited under the watchful eyes of Marion and Leslie Silverman. Wad, torn by his promise to kill Bexoi after her child was born, visited the boys through a Great Gate, only to be told by Enopp, speaking with Eluik’s ka inside him, that Anonoei still lived within Bexoi. Doubt, the crack that widens into chasms, took root in Wad’s mind. Could a manmage’s spirit linger, possessing a body it once sought to destroy? Could death be defied by love, by vengeance, by magic?

As Wad wrestled with uncertainty, Pat faced Danny in the woods where their friends often met. He came to her with a predator’s smile, fingers threading through her hair, a hand sliding where it never had before. Pat slipped from his touch, wielding her refusal like a blade, carving space between them. She spoke of love, of boundaries, of the person he used to be, and in his eyes, she searched for flickers of the boy she loved. The Belmage wore Danny’s skin, but it was a poor mask, careless and cruel where Danny had been thoughtful and kind.

Stone, meanwhile, warned the group of darker possibilities. Set, sensing rebellion, might lash out with violence, using Danny’s hands to kill, to maim, to ruin what little life the boy had left. To kill Danny, Stone explained, was the surest way to sever Set’s hold – but none of them, least of all Pat, could bear the thought. Yet they also knew that Set’s malice would not stay contained. Hal, Wheeler, and the others realized that if they stood too close, they risked becoming targets or worse, hosts.

Time unraveled in slow dread. On Westil, Wad paced outside Bexoi’s chamber, wondering whether to deliver death or mercy. On Mittlegard, Danny’s friends waited under the weight of unspoken fear, rehearsing normality while their hearts broke. Pat, carrying a secret wind within her, practiced her magery, shaping it toward mastery, knowing the day might come when it would not be enough to love Danny – she might have to stop him.

Danny, even under Set’s weight, held onto a scrap of himself. He avoided using his gates, aware that doing so might expose Set to the world, that power might slip through his fingers into enemy hands. There, in the heart of possession, the boy who loved his friends, who longed to be better than his ancestors, waged silent war.

Wad, standing in the clearing with Ced and the treemage, considered his failures and hopes. Anonoei, if alive, might hold Bexoi in check. Danny, if strong enough, might keep Set from shattering the worlds. Eluik, quiet in his brother’s body, might yet return. The great forces of love and ruin circled each other across realms, waiting for the next breach, the next surrender, the next act of defiance.

Back in the familiar woods of Virginia, Pat watched Danny walk away, his back straight, his smile sharp and false. She knew the shape of the storm gathering on the horizon. She knew the time would come when they would have to face the thing inside him, when love would demand more than patience, when power would have to speak. Until then, she held her secret wind close and waited, whispering to herself that somewhere inside the boy she loved, the real Danny was still listening.

Main Characters

• Danny North: A powerful gatemage known as the Gatefather, Danny can create and control gates between worlds. Initially burdened by his family’s expectations and the fractured magical clans, he matures into a reluctant but determined leader. His struggle with possession by Set tests his willpower, morality, and love for his friends.

• Pat: A perceptive and courageous windmage, Pat is Danny’s closest friend and love interest. She is sharp-witted and deeply loyal, often acting as the emotional anchor of the group. Pat’s journey involves coming to terms with her powers and stepping into a leadership role among their circle.

• Stone: An older mage and mentor figure, Stone offers wisdom and guidance to Danny’s friends. Calm, strategic, and insightful, he provides the necessary adult perspective to the group’s often chaotic efforts to save Danny.

• Hermia: A Greek gatemage whose past betrayal of Danny forces him into critical confrontations. Hermia’s relationship with Danny is complicated, marked by both camaraderie and treachery.

• Bexoi: A powerful firemage and manipulative queen on Westil, Bexoi represents an embodiment of ambition and cruelty. Her volatile relationship with Wad and her role in the larger conflict adds layers of intrigue.

• Wad: A thousand-year-old mage and enigmatic figure, Wad carries both guilt and wisdom. His efforts to protect Westil and navigate moral dilemmas parallel Danny’s own internal battles.

• Eluik and Enopp: Twin boys with latent magical potential, their intertwined connection (with Eluik existing as a ka within Enopp) introduces themes of loyalty, grief, and the boundary between life and death.

Theme

• Power and Responsibility: Danny’s transformation from a rebellious teen into a Gatefather underscores the tension between personal freedom and the heavy obligations that come with power. This theme is mirrored in Wad’s struggles on Westil.

• Identity and Transformation: The characters grapple with their evolving magical identities—Pat with her windmagery, Danny resisting Set’s possession, Eluik navigating life as a ka. These journeys highlight the fluidity of selfhood and the cost of change.

• Loyalty and Betrayal: Friendships and family bonds are tested throughout the novel, particularly in Pat’s unwavering support of Danny and Hermia’s betrayal. These tensions drive the emotional stakes and reflect on the difficulty of trust in a world of shifting allegiances.

• Sacrifice and Redemption: Both Danny and Wad face choices that demand profound sacrifice for the sake of others. The novel probes whether redemption is possible after betrayal and whether acts of sacrifice can heal deep wounds.

• The Battle Between Free Will and Possession: Set’s possession of Danny explores the terrifying erosion of agency, raising questions about moral responsibility, consent, and the strength of human will.

Writing Style and Tone

Orson Scott Card’s writing in Gatefather is fluid, character-driven, and deeply introspective. He balances fast-paced magical action with intimate emotional moments, allowing readers to experience both the grand scale of the conflict and the personal struggles within it. Card’s prose is accessible yet layered, often laced with irony, humor, and philosophical reflection. His attention to dialogue—particularly among the teens—feels authentic, capturing their shifting loyalties, insecurities, and bravado.

The tone oscillates between tension and tenderness. Card masterfully evokes foreboding during scenes involving Set’s influence, while moments between Danny and his friends are filled with warmth, vulnerability, and sometimes bittersweet humor. There’s an undercurrent of melancholy as characters wrestle with loss, change, and the looming threat of annihilation, but Card infuses the narrative with hope through their resilience and determination. The world-building, especially around the magical systems and interdimensional politics, is sophisticated but always anchored in the characters’ personal stakes.