Four worlds were created out of the ruin. Worlds for ourselves and the mensch: Air, Fire, Stone, Water.
Four Gates connect each world to the other: Arianus to Pryan to Abarrach to Chelestra.
A house of correction was built for our enemies: the Labyrinth.
The Labyrinth is connected to the other worlds through the Fifth Gate: the Nexus.
The Sixth Gate is the center, permitting entry: the Vortex.
And all was accomplished through the Seventh Gate.
The end was the beginning.
— Weis & Hickman, Into The Labyrinth pg. 9
Personally, I think the Death Gate Cycle is one of the best series of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, at par with Dragonlance in terms of world building and magic system.
By "world building", I am referring to how the two writers created the fantasy worlds of Death Gate. In the series, the original world (Earth) was sundered into four smaller worlds - Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. The first four novels focused on each individual world -- from the floating continents of Arianus (air), the forest world of Pryan (fire), the volcanic underworld of Abarrach (earth), and the ocean realm of Chelestra (water).
Each of these world has an overabundance of one element while severely lacking in the three others. Originally these four worlds were inter-connected and each world would supply the deficit element lacking in the other worlds. However something happened to devices that kept the four worlds running smoothly, and each world was cut off from the others.
Weis and Hickman used the first four novels to introduce each world, along with their own cast of characters, stories, and villains. The inhabitants of each world are struggling to survive and only a few people are aware of the existence of other worlds. What I loved about each of these books is that each world had its own unique "magical laws" which were carefully thought by the writers.
The waters of Chelestra, for example, can wash away runes and negate magic, thereby making the inhabitants vulnerable to the marauding sea serpents. And with the toxic fumes slowly killing the people of Abarrach, the wizards have resorted to necromancy to raise the dead and help the living protect their cities.
Another thing I like about this series is its magic system. The writers have based these worlds' magic on runes. Wizards use runes to weave their powerful incantations. These runes are supposed to help magicians manipulate the "wave" or the different levels of realities.
In the Worlds of Death Gate, the Patryns and the Sartans are two rival race of magicians capable using rune magic to do god-like magic. The lesser races (humans, elves, and dwarves) were not capable of mastering rune magic and were referred to as the mench. It was the Patryns who divided in the Earth into the four elemental worlds and imprisoned the Sartans in a fifth world called the Labyrinth.
At the start of the series, the Sartans have escaped their prison and are seeking retribution from the Patryns. The Sartans sent an agent to examine the four elemental worlds and seek their ancient nemesis.
Each succeeding novels reveals new clues, mysteries and enemies. In the last three novels, the major characters from the four prior novels begin to interact. They become aware of each other's worlds and the sinister forces that threaten to destroy all of them.
While the setting and plot build-up are excellent, I'm not really satisfied with the series ending. The two authors invested a lot of time and effort building their characters, stories, and world. I felt I was being led to a grand and spectacular ending. Unfortunately I find the resolution anti-climactic and I felt that the authors took the easy way to tie up all the loose ends. But still, the ending was suitable and realistic. It just didn't live up to my expectations.
Overall, I give the series a five star rating. Despite my disappointment with the ending, I am still impressed with the way the writers developed the four worlds and the characters.
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