Cherryh lists it on her website as a fantasy novel,[1] and noted author Andre Norton agreed with her.

Exiled for his crimes, Vanye inadvertently frees Morgaine, a beautiful woman whom he recognizes as a legend from the past.

Morgaine had been trapped in stasis for a century in one of the many "Gates" (passageways through space and time) which dot the land.

Morgaine explains that she is on a mission to close the Gates, as the misuse of their powers has destroyed entire civilizations in the past.

The rest of her group were betrayed while attempting to attack this planet's master Gate at Ivrel, controlled by Thiye.

Morgaine draws her sword, Changeling, which can tap the power of the Gates to send its victims to another place and time.

Andre Norton praised the novel highly, writing that: ... never since reading The Lord of the Rings have I been caught up in any tale as I have been in Gate of Ivrel.

She has drawn an entirely believable hero on an alien and enchanting world, working in bits of customs, beliefs, and history so cleverly that it now certainly exists-somewhere.

[2] Fellow fantasy and science fiction author Jo Walton found all four books in the series to be "too grim.