I was pleasantly surprised by this novella.  It's a quick read and the rather long synopsis above says it all: War. With supernatural beings.  Much of this novella hinges on a very epic battle that reminded me so much of the awesome battle scenes on screen in the Lord of the Rings movies.  Those were amazing scenes, and Thayer aptly paints a riveting picture of a very different battle raging, in this novella, at the gateway as warriors fight to close the portal and keep evil at bay.  Some will perish, some will triumph, and some will get away in this awesome fantasy novella that sets the stage for the full novels in the series.  Based on this novella alone, I'd be more than willing to try the first novel in the series, even though I'm not really much into fantasy, as it were.