Gatefather

I had thought that I read the second book in the series before reading this one. Alas, I had not, and that left made this a bizarre metaphysical exploration. The book spends much of its time exploring life after death and the internal battle between good and evil. By having the second book The Gate Thief, fresh on your mind, this would all make sense in the story. But without that context, it seems to be just about an author preparing for the end of his life.

In addition to the metaphysical exploration, we also get a war between the gods of another world, using modern technology. Modern military weapons have a greater capacity to cause destruction. When these are combined with "mage" powers, they can be more destructive than anything on this or the other world. There are also subplots of a queen whose body is occupied by her rival, high school kids that know a powerful mage, and the battle between body-less evil influencers.

The book got better as it moved along. It would be better after reading the second book in the series.