The Pomegranate Gate (The Mirror Realm Cycle)
In The Pomegranate Gate, Kaplan builds two parallel worlds. One is based on Inquisition-era Spain. The other, the realm of the semi-immortal Maziks, is far more fantastical, and is inspired by Jewish folklore and mysticism. Jews faintly remember Maziks, but as old wives’ tales, except for the humans with intermixed bloodlines who retain traces of magic. Passage between the worlds comes through a gate in a magical pomegranate grove during the full moon. Maziks cannot survive in the human world after the moon sets, but humans can live in either.
The novel’s world-building is rich and fully developed. The complexity of the conspiracies and betrayals will keep readers guessing. A secretive Inquisition-like institution manipulates Mazik kings and society even more disturbingly than the historical one. The plot involves drawing two humans into these poisonous politics, along with the mysterious heirlooms they possess, an amulet and a book, to save this immortal realm from self-destructive autocracy. As the first of a trilogy, the ending leaves some plot elements unresolved.
The two main characters, Toba and Naftaly, are humans with Mazik connections they do not understand. They are both endearingly quirky and faulty. For example, “Naftaly was a tailor… somewhat lacking in his ability to perform basic tasks, such as sewing in a straight line. His father insisted he would improve. It did not seem to matter much to the trajectory of his life that he had not done so… What he wanted, more than anything, was to be a help to his parents rather than a hindrance, but he’d failed rather spectacularly in that regard.” Being heroic is the last thing either would expect of themselves, and yet both win over other characters’ loyalties and the reader’s heart.
This trilogy will appeal most to readers who recognize its clever uses of Jewish lore, but it’s top-notch for all readers of historical fantasy.
