Every January, I look forward to the release of the newest title in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. 2026 was no exception. I’ve loved this series since Every Heart a Doorway, and I’m happy to say that the most recent entry is just as fantastic.
When Nancy first arrived at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, she had recently returned to our world from a land known as the Halls of the Dead. There, Nancy had been favored by the Lord and the Lady as one of their most beautiful and elegant living statues, holding so still for hours on end that she could barely be perceived as living. At Eleanor’s school, she learned that she was hardly alone, as one of dozens of children who had journeyed to distant, incredible worlds and then reluctantly returned home. After an adventure with her new classmates, Nancy soon rediscovered the Door that would lead her back to the Halls of the Dead, and she departed without saying farewell. Later, a group of students on another quest made their way to the Halls in order to retrieve the soul of a student who had been murdered (she got better). There, they encountered Nancy again and enlisted her aid in convincing the Lord and the Lady to let that murdered soul go with them to be placed in a freshly baked body (I promise it makes sense in context).
Now, Nancy has returned to Eleanor’s school in order to seek out the aid of the classmates she once left behind. Something is stalking the Halls of the Dead and attacking the statues there. Something hungry. Something violent. Something that made Nancy uncertain enough in her place there that she was able to find and open the Door to take her back to the school.
The students who remember Nancy are now fewer in number, as many of them have found their own Doors back home. There are still familiar faces, though, and Kade and Christopher and Sumi are willing to break Eleanor’s “No Quests” rule one more time, along with a newcomer, Talia. With Nancy’s guidance, they return to the Halls of the Dead to discover the true identity of the threat and save the remaining peaceful souls that linger there.
Through Gates of Garnet and Gold is an absolutely spectacular return to world of the Wayward Children. McGuire’s blend of humor and horror is ever-present, as is expected of any team-up involving Christopher and Sumi. Callbacks to the earlier entries in the series are found throughout, and we get the wonderful experience of following Nancy as she examines what it really means to “Be Sure.” Nancy’s leading role aside, there are a couple of unexpected reunions in this one, but I’ll let you experience those for yourself.
My utmost thanks, as always, to NetGalley and Tor for an eARC in exchange for a fair review. Through Gates of Garnet and Gold came out on Tuesday, January 6th, 2026. Go check it out.
The Swords of the Ancients 