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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 Avenue. 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 which holds a pair of enormous gates-the gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to show more 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. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power. Like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Gates manages to recreate for grownups that magical and scary world of childhood that we've all left behind but so love to visit. show lessTags
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Humor, irreverance, footnotes -- John Connolly was definitely channeling Terry Pratchett in this YA novel. It's a little boy named Samuel who goes out trick-or-treating a few days before Halloween (just to get a jump start). So Samuel is outside his neighbors the Abernathy's and witnesses a mystical portal opening. The Abernathy's and their friends disappear into the portal and some demons take their forms. Although Samuel tries to warn others, he's just a kid and of course no one believes him. Samuel knows the demons are planning to open the gates of hell on the day after Halloween in order to release "The Great Malevolence" (or the devil). The Large Hadron Collider plays a part in this story, and is the cause of the portal opening. show more (When I checked the news and saw it listed there as turned back on, it was one of those moments where fiction and reality collide and confuse you for a few seconds.) A minor demon named Nurd (Scourge of Five Deities) was banished to the Wasteland for not being evil enough. When the portal causes Nurd to pop in and out of the Land of Men, he meets Samuel and gets to drive a really fast car. The character of Nurd was hilarious, and my favorite character. The book isn't to be taken seriously, and while reading it I "saw" the narrative as an animated story. I wouldn't be surprised if it became adapted to an animated film. Three and a half stars. show less
I probably should not describe a book about the gates of Hell opening as ‘cute,’ but here we are:
It was cute.
I haven’t read any Connolly before, not even the famous [b:The Book of Lost Things|69136|The Book of Lost Things|John Connolly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388253367l/69136._SY75_.jpg|1164024], so I didn’t know what to expect–besides the fact that friend Mimi liked it. Turns out it was a quick little read that was clever and entertaining.
Samuel Johnson is avoiding Stephanie the Babysitter and her bossy tendencies when he and his faithful dog, Boswell (the constant companion), witnesses the new neighbors at 666 Crowley Road summon a demon. As Samuel watches through the basement show more window, the demon brings over a few more pals and then helpfully outlines its plans to pave the way for the Great Malevolence. At the Large Hadron Collider beneath a mountain, the scientists are puzzled when a particle seems to ‘fly off’ and code is suddenly re-written. That shouldn’t be possible, either in Battleship or in Boson land. Meanwhile, Nurd, Scourge of Five Deities (but mostly just Annoying to his brothers who include “Graham, the Demon of Stale Biscuits and Crackers and Erics’, the Demon of Bad Punctuation“), is facing a serious bout of exile-induced boredom in the Wasteland when he’s suddenly pulled to Earth.
Narration has a dry British humor to it, although played down a bit to the young adult level. There’s some interesting science background integrated into the story–it’s not every day a fiction book educates on beginning of the universe and the scientific method--I appreciate Connelly noting, “This is how we end up with nuclear weapons, and scientists claiming that they’d only set out to invent something that steamed radishes.” It may be that I’m in British humor mode lately, as I make my way through Aaronovitch’s Grant audio books, but I found myself snickering quite a bit, especially in the beginning.
Trigger warning: there are a lot of footnotes, although used to a much better effect than Susanna Clarke. They really take off when he explains being ‘sick’ to the presumed adolescents reading the book. As he explains the punctuation, he then describes 'air quotes,' then taking it a step further by suggesting said adolescent use air quotes to describe a ‘dinner’ of boiled fish, I found myself laughing out loud. But perhaps I’m easily amused. The asides allowed educational but tongue-in-cheek social commentary while the story focused on plot and entertaining dialogue. Like the best child films, there’s quite a bit here to amuse those with a classical education, as when Samuel runs into trouble showing a Mr. Hume a pin, speculating about angels dancing on the head (please, dear reader, stop a moment and think on that).
Given all the cheeky asides and references, it is a relief that the plot is straightforward and moves briskly. Characters don’t get a ton of space to develop, but what is there is serviceable enough, avoiding caricature. I liked that Samuel’s separated parents provided an emotional foil to rival the physical threat of the demons.
I disagree with those who saw similarities with Gaiman, whose focus is often on world-building, weirdness and the occasional creepy sexuality, or those who saw a similarity with [b:Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch|12067|Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615552073l/12067._SY75_.jpg|4110990] by Pratchett, who never met a farce he didn’t want to turn into a 350 page book. Writing most reminded me most of A. Lee Martinez’ [b:Gil's All Fright Diner|225606|Gil's All Fright Diner|A. Lee Martinez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921255l/225606._SY75_.jpg|218511](review), somewhat strangely of [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531891848l/11._SY75_.jpg|3078186], and for a very brief moment, Mr. Frog of [b:Frog and Toad Are Friends|537296|Frog and Toad Are Friends (Frog and Toad, #1)|Arnold Lobel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626145524l/537296._SY75_.jpg|1231880].
Breezy, quick, with charming little informative asides–did you know that Michelangelo wrote a poem complaining about painting the Sistine Chapel?--I both laughed and learned. When was the last time I said that about a fiction young-adult book?¹ For that matter, an adult urban fantasy?² Highly recommended if one is feeling whimsical and clever.
¹Never.
²Only if you count mythology. show less
It was cute.
I haven’t read any Connolly before, not even the famous [b:The Book of Lost Things|69136|The Book of Lost Things|John Connolly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388253367l/69136._SY75_.jpg|1164024], so I didn’t know what to expect–besides the fact that friend Mimi liked it. Turns out it was a quick little read that was clever and entertaining.
Samuel Johnson is avoiding Stephanie the Babysitter and her bossy tendencies when he and his faithful dog, Boswell (the constant companion), witnesses the new neighbors at 666 Crowley Road summon a demon. As Samuel watches through the basement show more window, the demon brings over a few more pals and then helpfully outlines its plans to pave the way for the Great Malevolence. At the Large Hadron Collider beneath a mountain, the scientists are puzzled when a particle seems to ‘fly off’ and code is suddenly re-written. That shouldn’t be possible, either in Battleship or in Boson land. Meanwhile, Nurd, Scourge of Five Deities (but mostly just Annoying to his brothers who include “Graham, the Demon of Stale Biscuits and Crackers and Erics’, the Demon of Bad Punctuation“), is facing a serious bout of exile-induced boredom in the Wasteland when he’s suddenly pulled to Earth.
Narration has a dry British humor to it, although played down a bit to the young adult level. There’s some interesting science background integrated into the story–it’s not every day a fiction book educates on beginning of the universe and the scientific method--I appreciate Connelly noting, “This is how we end up with nuclear weapons, and scientists claiming that they’d only set out to invent something that steamed radishes.” It may be that I’m in British humor mode lately, as I make my way through Aaronovitch’s Grant audio books, but I found myself snickering quite a bit, especially in the beginning.
Trigger warning: there are a lot of footnotes, although used to a much better effect than Susanna Clarke. They really take off when he explains being ‘sick’ to the presumed adolescents reading the book. As he explains the punctuation, he then describes 'air quotes,' then taking it a step further by suggesting said adolescent use air quotes to describe a ‘dinner’ of boiled fish, I found myself laughing out loud. But perhaps I’m easily amused. The asides allowed educational but tongue-in-cheek social commentary while the story focused on plot and entertaining dialogue. Like the best child films, there’s quite a bit here to amuse those with a classical education, as when Samuel runs into trouble showing a Mr. Hume a pin, speculating about angels dancing on the head (please, dear reader, stop a moment and think on that).
Given all the cheeky asides and references, it is a relief that the plot is straightforward and moves briskly. Characters don’t get a ton of space to develop, but what is there is serviceable enough, avoiding caricature. I liked that Samuel’s separated parents provided an emotional foil to rival the physical threat of the demons.
I disagree with those who saw similarities with Gaiman, whose focus is often on world-building, weirdness and the occasional creepy sexuality, or those who saw a similarity with [b:Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch|12067|Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615552073l/12067._SY75_.jpg|4110990] by Pratchett, who never met a farce he didn’t want to turn into a 350 page book. Writing most reminded me most of A. Lee Martinez’ [b:Gil's All Fright Diner|225606|Gil's All Fright Diner|A. Lee Martinez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921255l/225606._SY75_.jpg|218511](review), somewhat strangely of [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531891848l/11._SY75_.jpg|3078186], and for a very brief moment, Mr. Frog of [b:Frog and Toad Are Friends|537296|Frog and Toad Are Friends (Frog and Toad, #1)|Arnold Lobel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626145524l/537296._SY75_.jpg|1231880].
Breezy, quick, with charming little informative asides–did you know that Michelangelo wrote a poem complaining about painting the Sistine Chapel?--I both laughed and learned. When was the last time I said that about a fiction young-adult book?¹ For that matter, an adult urban fantasy?² Highly recommended if one is feeling whimsical and clever.
¹Never.
²Only if you count mythology. show less
The Gates by John Connolly had me laughing and reading bits and pieces out loud to my husband for the entire book. Yes ... there are demons, witchcraft dabblers, The Great Malevolence, mayhem, and the possible end-of-the-world. I know these are not typically characters and topics that one would think of as funny, but in Connolly's hands they are screamingly so. It helps that there is a narrator who pops in, mainly in the footnotes ... Let me stop here for a moment and discuss the footnotes bit. I find footnotes to be quite distracting and usually do not appreciate them in my fiction. Heck, I can hardly stand them when I'm reading scholarly material, but I understand the necessity in that venue. But the footnotes Connolly writes into The show more Gates add to the hilarity. I couldn't help hearing the musical jingle from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fade in and out as I read the footnotes. I also couldn't help hearing the narrator's voice from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy when I read the footnotes. I can probably attribute this to the fact that in both Hitchhikers Guide and The Gates the narrator is trying to explain the outrageous that really can't be explained. So, what I'm trying to say is that I didn't find the footnotes to be a distraction at all and thought they made the book even funnier. Anyway, moving on from the footnotes ...
Young Samuel Johnson is a little boy that you can't help but love. He is rather nerdy, wears thick glasses and tries really hard to please people. For instance, he thinks he is showing initiative (and don't adults love it when kids show initiative?) by getting a head start on the Halloween night crowds and going door-to-door three days early. Instead he simply baffles the adults who misinterpret his actions as obnoxious or, at the very least, see him as a bit daft. So when Samuel witnesses the beginnings of an invasion of earth by a horde of demons he has a difficult time convincing the adults that he is not just a little boy with an overactive imagination. YES! Impending doom! The end-of-the-world is coming! Caused by the intersection of the supernatural and science (this is where the Hadron Collider comes in; really, you just have to read it)!
Can little Samuel Johnson and his dog, Boswell, save the world? show less
Young Samuel Johnson is a little boy that you can't help but love. He is rather nerdy, wears thick glasses and tries really hard to please people. For instance, he thinks he is showing initiative (and don't adults love it when kids show initiative?) by getting a head start on the Halloween night crowds and going door-to-door three days early. Instead he simply baffles the adults who misinterpret his actions as obnoxious or, at the very least, see him as a bit daft. So when Samuel witnesses the beginnings of an invasion of earth by a horde of demons he has a difficult time convincing the adults that he is not just a little boy with an overactive imagination. YES! Impending doom! The end-of-the-world is coming! Caused by the intersection of the supernatural and science (this is where the Hadron Collider comes in; really, you just have to read it)!
Can little Samuel Johnson and his dog, Boswell, save the world? show less
Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell aren't having much luck trick-or-treating a few days early. After being turned away at the Abernathy's, the boy witnesses the ending of the satanic ritual the couple and their friends had clumsily performed, one that worked in opening a portal to hell. Now all kinds of demons are pouring into the village and Samuel has to get someone to believe what's happening and help him fight, because the awful things that have come through the portal so far have just been the foot soldiers who are preparing Earth for the arrival of The Great Malevolence.
The village is being filled with evil demons, yet it's funny. I think if you enjoyed something like "Shaun of the Dead", you'd like this, which I do.
The village is being filled with evil demons, yet it's funny. I think if you enjoyed something like "Shaun of the Dead", you'd like this, which I do.
Many of the names in the story are plucked from the whos-who of occultists including the house at the centre of the story. Living in 666 Crowley Avenue should have been a sign that Seances mightn't go well. Add in a weakening of the walls between the worlds by the Hadron Collider, one boy and his dog, humourous footnotes (many of which are actually quite informative) and you get this gem of a book. Samuel Johnson is a great character, trying to cope with being smart, his dad leaving home (what happens to his dad's car is probably what many kids would like to happen to a car their dad appears to love more than them) and he faces the real problems of a kid with imagination faced with problems that adults in his life don't want to be show more real.
I enjoyed the read and would recommend it. show less
I enjoyed the read and would recommend it. show less
The Gates, the first book in a series by John Connolly, begins with Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween. At 666 Crowley road, Samuel stumbles upon his neighbors, the Abernathys unknowingly calling forth Satan himself, and creating a gap in the universe where the gates of Hell are visible. Not only that, but what he’s seen is a direct result of an accident at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which has opened up the gateway to hell. Samuel must work with scientists from CERN, his school mates, as well as a creature called Nurd (a character I particularly loved—hope he makes it into subsequent books), to close the gateway before Satan himself show more creates a literal hell on Earth. I loved this book—it was fun, an easy read, appropriate for many age groups or a family read. It reminded in many ways of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. The book is filled with humorous footnotes, and the overall tone is one of whimsy, fantasy and a little bit of mischievousness. The Gates has an added layer of science, which makes it a fascinating read for anyone interested in particle physics. Because the gateway to hell is opened through a stray particle escaping from the Large Hadron Collider Samuel insists on understanding the scientific principles behind it (the footnotes offered help this in a fun and entertaining way). I can’t wait to read the next in the series. 4 ½ out of 5 stars. show less
Trying to get an early start on collecting his Halloween treats, Samuel Johnson and his super-smart dog Boswell unwittingly stumble upon a plot from the denizens of Hell to conquer the Earth. The Gates by John Connelly would probably best belong on the shelf of a younger teen, but as a 47-year-old fan of good writing and dry British wit, I was enamored from the start. Of course, no one is going to believe poor Samuel as he attempts to enlist the aid of the typical authority figures, and he needs to begin the battle with only his own rare bravery and the help of two friends who trust in him enough to join the fight. The forces of evil don’t realize they have a real challenge on their hands, and that one of their own will prove to be show more instrumental to the human resistance. This novel kept me speeding through the pages, laughing out loud, and eagerly searching for the sequel, The Infernals. I am sure it won’t take me long to get hooked on that title as well, and I cannot wait to see what new adventures await Samuel and Boswell. I will have to hide both books from my kids until I get a chance to finish. show less
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Author Information
96+ Works 32,316 Members
John Connolly is the author of "Every Dead Thing" which was a bestseller in Britain and Ireland. He is a regular contributor to "The Irish Times," and has traveled extensively in the United States. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. (Publisher Provided) John Connolly was born May 31, 1968 in Dublin. He is an Irish writer who is best known for his series show more of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker. His first novel, Every Dead Thing was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and went on to win the 2000 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel (he is the first author outside of the US to have won the award). Connolly's debut introduced readers to the anti-hero Charlie Parker, a former police officer hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. Connolly has since written a further 5 books in the popular Parker series and a non-Parker thriller, as well as venturing outside of the crime genre with the publication of first, an anthology of ghost stories and later, a novel about a young boy's coming-of-age journey during World War II England. Before becoming a full-time novelist, Connolly worked as a journalist, a barman, and a local government official. After graduating with a B.A. in English from Trinity College, Dublin and a M.A. in Journalism from Dublin City University, he spent five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He quickly became frustrated with the profession, and began to write Every Dead Thing in his spare time. Connolly continues to contribute articles to the paper. His eighth book in the Charlie Parker series, The Reapers, was published in 2008. The tenth Parker novel, titled The Whisperers, was published in 2010. His current bestseller is A Time of Torment, the fourteenth in the Charlie Parker series.. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Las puertas del infierno
- Original title
- The Gates
- Original publication date
- 2009
- People/Characters
- Samuel Johnson; Nurd; Boswell; Ba'al
- Important places
- Biddlecombe, England, UK (fictional); Hell; the Wasteland; Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Important events
- End of the World; Halloween
- Epigraph
- Scientists are not after the truth;
it is the truth that is after scientists.
-Dr. Karl Schlecta (1904-1985) - Dedication
- For Cameron and Alistair
- First words
- In the beginning, about 13.7 billion years ago, to be reasonably precise, there was a very, very small dot.
- Quotations
- Samuel's teacher, Mr. Hume, often spoke about the importance of showing initiative, although anytime Samuel showed initiative, Mr. Hume seemed to disapprove of it, which Samuel found very puzzling.
Actually, astronomers who were recently sifting through thousands of signals from Sagittarius B2, a big dust cloud at the center of our galaxy, found a substance there called ethyl formate, which is the chemical responsible f... (show all)or the flavor of raspberries, and the smell of rum, the drink popular with pirates. Therefore, our galaxy tastes a bit of raspberries and smells of rum, which is nice. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Together, Nurd and Wormwood drove off, the car growing smaller and smaller, disappearing into the distance, until all that was left to indicate that anyone had ever been there was a throne, a scepter, and an old, rust crown...
- Publisher's editor*
- Ediciones B
- Blurbers
- Colfer, Eoin
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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