The Gates

John Connolly (Le

ISBN 10: 0606232613 ISBN 13: 9780606232616

Publisher: Turtleback Books, 2011

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe, a gap through which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out.... Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?

Bursting with imagination and impossible to put down, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy and the courage of a boy who is barely old enough to trick or treat on his own. This novel makes anything seem possible.

Review:

A demonic, darkly comic tale . . . satisfyingly peppered with science, history and amusing footnotes on everything from St Thomas Aquinas to quantum theory, and will go down well with readers of Eoin Colfer and Lemony Snicket. (Daily Telegraph)

Brilliant. I loved every word of it. John has found a voice that compares favourably with Stephen King and Monty Python which is not an easy trick. (Eoin Colfer)

Destined to be another runaway success appealing to both young adults and their parent alike. (Sunday Independent)

Book Description:

Funny, scary adventure with a dachshund, demons, science - and footnotes