The Traveler's Gate Trilogy by Will Wight

Simon can only watch, helpless, as his family is killed and his village destroyed by enemy Travelers--men and women who can summon mystical powers from otherworldly Territories. To top it off, one of Simon's friends is revealed as a savior prophesied to destroy evil and save the realm. Prophecy has nothing to say about Simon. He has no special powers, no magical weapons, and no guarantee that he'll survive. But he sets off, alone and unarmed, to earn the power he needs to oppose the Travelers and topple their ruthless Overlord. It may not be his destiny, but Simon is determined to save the day anyway. Because who cares about prophecy, really?

This is a very good first book

Even better than Unsouled but I'm in love with that series and will's writing.
This man has pure talent. He make simple things astounding. And like his other series this also has some drawback as it is little slow to get into except that this book has everything a fantasy lover expect and this is not a cultivation book so people who don't like cultivation can pick this up :)

Executive Summary: OK, but not great. So far I much prefer his more recent Cradle series instead.Full ReviewWhen Will Wight was first recommended to me, this was the book/series that was mentioned. Instead I got a free copy of [b:Unsouled 30558257 Unsouled (Cradle, #1) Will Wight https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465881128s/30558257.jpg 51106215] and devoured that series.I decided I should circle back and read this series while I'm waiting on the next book in that series. I struggled a bit with this book. It's not bad, but I didn't like it nearly as much as his Cradle stuff.My main issue is that I didn't really find any of the characters likable. I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be rooting for, but I don't really care about anyone. I think we're supposed to feel more sympathetic about Simon, but I just didn't care about him for most of the book.Things did start to change later in the book. I started to find Simon less obnoxious and more interesting. I did think the world building was both interesting and fairly unique. However since I didn't care too much about the characters, it wasn't enough to keep my full interest as I found myself reading only a single chapter then stopping.I plan to continue on to the next book (especially since I bought the series omnibus), but I'll be taking a break to read some other stuff before circling back.

This is the most “okay” book I've read in a long time. Everything about it is fine. I have no feelings. I feel like I just got the Dementor's kiss in relation to this book specifically and am incapable of feeling anything. Wight has grown a lot as an author over the course of Cradle series and this being even much earlier than that it just feels very much like a debut. Will try book two at some point most likely