Danny North belongs to a family of powerful mages--his parents being the most prominent--but much to everyone's dismay, he seems to have no magery skills whatsoever. What no one tells him, and what everyone tries to ignore, is that he's a powerful gatemage. But centuries ago, the last gatemage nearly destroyed their world (Westil) and their current land (Earth), so anyone born with this powerful skill is murdered immediately. 
 Naturally, as time goes on, Danny learns that he's not the useless North family kid everyone thought he was. He is, in fact, a gatemage, and rather than live in the safety of home hiding his skill he runs away and tries to learn more about it. 
 This novel has everything I've come to expect from Card. There's a supersmart kid, an alternate world, a plot that weaves within itself and leaves you guessing. But despite the appealing ingredients, the final recipe falls flat. Danny is less than spectacular. He's intelligent, and he has a desire to learn, but he's a snot-nosed kid with a bad attitude that he blames on his magery. And everyone accepts this! He's not endearing, and I don't know how he has any friends at all. (Somehow, everyone he comes across wants to help him, despite his bad attitude.) 
 There's far too much speculation and not enough plot. Danny does a lot of talking. He talks about his magery, he talks about his family, he talks about his research. It's not until the end that something happens, and by then you're tired of listening to him at all. 
 I feel awful for giving this only two stars, since it took over three decades to write, but I honestly finished this days ago and already forgot major plot points. It will be a series, but I'm likely to forget all about it by the time book two is released.