The Zimiamvia books were conceived not as a trilogy but as part of a larger work left incomplete at Eddison's death. "The Mezentian Gate" itself is unfinished, though Eddison provided summaries of the missing chapters shortly before his death. C. S. Lewis wrote a blurb for the cover of "The Mezentian Gate" when it was published calling Eddison's works "first and foremost, of art." Some additional material from this book was published for the first time in the volume "Zimiamvia: A Trilogy" (1992).