Salem's Gate, a new book release by author Donald David Sims, follows his previous publication Poems to Peruse in 2012. Salem's Gate combines action and medieval adventure in an interesting poetic tale-an odyssey. Two eleventh century kings, rivals Krislos and Akaan, provide the stage for war. War's issues intertwine and spin off their characteristic conflicts, betrayals, love, and rancor, with blood trails tracking life and death. The 'Shroud of Turin' enters the narrative, though inadvertently, via the foremost character, Rebekah, who forthwith must be its custodian. The Shroud existentially courses as a silver thread through the story, becoming a surprising benefactor to the embattled characters. The stirring rejoinder of Salem's Gate is that peace in a beleaguered world can establish its reign over strife to usher in a glorious triumph: Life over Death.