Through Gates Of Garnet And Gold (Wayword Children book 11 by Seanan McGuire (book review).
Once a series has reached eleven volumes, even if they are slim novella-length books, it is likely to have accumulated a faithful readership. Either that, or potential followers have turned elsewhere. There will still be some who have not yet experienced the intriguing worlds behind the Doors to other realities. For those new to the series, in Wayward Children there are Doors which open for some young people, allowing them to enter realms that suit their temperament. Sometimes their world will reject them and they are decanted back into our reality, where they no longer fit. The lucky ones end up attending Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. This is the anchor for the series.
The focus of Through The Gates Of Garnet And Gold, book 11 in the series, is the Halls of the Dead. This is the world of Nancy Whitman. The inhabitants of the Halls are living statues. Nancy has spent years perfecting stillness, only changing her pose at required intervals. She takes pride in her ability. There are ghosts in the Halls as well. Most are benevolent, while angry ghosts are kept out. Then the living statues start dying, consumed by a malevolent spirit attracted by any movement. Nancy flees back to the Home to get help.
Once Nancy passes through the Door in the basement of the Home, she meets up with characters followers of the series will have encountered before. A group of them accompany Nancy back to the Halls of the Dead, intending to help solve the situation. Since the resolution involves events that happened in earlier volumes, there tends to be a lot of repetition for the sake of newcomers to the series. For this reason, this volume doesn’t have the intensity of some of the other books. The worlds encountered on the other sides of the Doors are fascinating and quirky. These, and the characters who visit them, are the reasons the series continues to enchant.
Pauline Morgan
June 2026
(pub: TOR, 2026. 146-page small hardback. Price: $24.99 (US), $34.99 (CAN), £14.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-250-33940-9)
check out website: https://torpublishinggroup.com/through-gates-of-garnet-and-gold/
