From Publishers Weekly
Alternating between incoherence and impenetrability, the sixth volume in the Death Gate series takes place in Abarrach, a land filled with magic, necromancers and the walking dead. Xar, the Lord of Abarrach, seeks control of the Seventh Gate, located beyond Death itself, which has the power to sunder the world. But Haplo, an adventurer with some magic of his own, may be a threat to Xar's plans. To eliminate him, the Lord sends an assassin (who quickly defects to the other side) and Haplo's former lover, Marit, who is now bound magically to Xar. Haplo and his companion Alfred must enter the ancient punishment caverns of the Labyrinth to defeat Xar's schemes. Burdened by clumsy expository writing and thin, uninteresting characters, the story is further weighted down by frequent footnotes intended to aid those who are not familiar with the series; instead, they make an already confusing plot more difficult to follow. Even Death Gate fans may find this poorly constructed novel disappointing. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Haplo and his companions enter the treacherous Labyrinth in search of the Final Gate and a chance to defeat the armies of chaos that threaten the sundered worlds.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The imprisoning labyrinth has loomed like a shadow over the preceding five volumes of Weis and Hickman's Death Gates series. In the sixth, protagonists Alfred and Haplo finally enter it as the next step in their quest. Haplo has two assassins with him, one a ghost and the other a former lover who has sworn to be his nemesis. This situation promises plenty of action and emotional impact, which the authors by and large deliver. Their characterization is not of the highest order, but long familiarity with the people and superior world building restore their advantage and will retain their readers' loyalty. Weis and Hickman rank with such colleagues as the two Davids (Eddings and Duncan) as spinners of tales made up of comparatively conventional elements who keep readers coming back for volume after volume's worth. Roland Green


From Kirkus Reviews
Sixth entry in the authors' sprawling, grand-scale Death Gate fantasy series (The Hand of Chaos, p. 30, etc.). This time, protagonists Haplo the Patryn, whose magic derives from his tattoos, and Albert, the bumbling but mysteriously powerful Sartan, enter the Labyrinth--the deadly prison maze whence Haplo escaped in the inaugural volume. Like the previous entries, this one is far from independently intelligible; neither has the authors' technique--ranging from the wretched dialogue through the hopelessly flawed logic of the entire Death Gate notion--shown any sign of improvement. Still, the Weis & Hickman yarns sell exceedingly well. Why? Because they do. Stay tuned for the seventh- -and last--volume. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

ANNOTATION

Another spectacular story set in the New York Times bestselling Death Gate universe. Haplo, targeted for death by two assassins, and Alfred enter the terrifying Labyrinth, a prison maze guarded by fearsome creatures. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Nexus raises an army from the dead to attack the Tytans.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the Death Gate series, Weis and Hickman have created their most exciting and original epic to date. Into the Labyrinth, the sixth of seven books set in the vast and richly imagined Death Gate Universe, is a romantic and heroic tale that spans four worlds in an age-old battle to control the sundered realms of air, water, fire, and stone... Xar, Lord of the Nexus, has traveled to the fiery world of Abarrach to learn the secret art of necromancy, hoping to raise an army of the dead to conquer the four worlds. But he discovers an easier way. One of the undead tells the lord about the Seventh Gate, the magical chamber used by the Sartan to sunder the world. The Seventh Gate still exists and whoever enters it can either create worlds - or destroy them. Only one person knows the location of this gate, although he doesn't know he knows it. That person is Haplo. Xar sends a Patryn assassin to kill Haplo and bring back his corpse. The lord plans to use his necromancy to bring Haplo back to life and turn him into a mindless slave who will reveal the location of the Gate. Xar is certain of success, for the assassin is someone from Haplos past, someone whom Haplo trusts with his life. Another assssin is also after Haplo. Hugh the Hand has been hired by the Kenkari to kill the Patryn, and the Brotherhood has provided an ancient Sartan weapon - the Accursed Blade - to help him in his task. Wounded and weakened, Haplo nearly falls victim to his killers. But when the Accursed Blade runs amok, all of them, including a terrified and extremely reluctant Alfred, find themselves fighting for their lives in the most dreaded place of all - the deadly prison maze called the Labyrinth. Betrayed by the one he loves, Haplo is imprisoned by his own people, forced to watch helplessly as an army of evil prepares to march on the Labyrinth, dooming all inside to death.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Alternating between incoherence and impenetrability, the sixth volume in the Death Gate series takes place in Abarrach, a land filled with magic, necromancers and the walking dead. Xar, the Lord of Abarrach, seeks control of the Seventh Gate, located beyond Death itself, which has the power to sunder the world. But Haplo, an adventurer with some magic of his own, may be a threat to Xar's plans. To eliminate him, the Lord sends an assassin (who quickly defects to the other side) and Haplo's former lover, Marit, who is now bound magically to Xar. Haplo and his companion Alfred must enter the ancient punishment caverns of the Labyrinth to defeat Xar's schemes. Burdened by clumsy expository writing and thin, uninteresting characters, the story is further weighted down by frequent footnotes intended to aid those who are not familiar with the series; instead, they make an already confusing plot more difficult to follow. Even Death Gate fans may find this poorly constructed novel disappointing. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Haplo and his companions enter the treacherous Labyrinth in search of the Final Gate and a chance to defeat the armies of chaos that threaten the sundered worlds.

BookList - Roland Green