“The footnotes in The Gates of Hell Are About to Open Want to Peek? or The Gates are as important to the story as the text above them. As the book begins a whole chapter is devoted to the Big Bang theory with detailed footnotes explaining the text. Then the story moves to a small town where two couples are preparing to delve into the mysteries of the occult. Mrs. Abernathy, the leader of the group, has coaxed her friends Mr. and Mrs. Renfield and her own husband,Mr. Abernathy, to perform a sacred ritual in the basement of her home. Everything is going smoothly until Mr. Abernathy opens the door to Samuel and Boswell his dog. Samuel, dressed as a ghost three days before Halloween, is hoping to get a jump on everyone else. Mr. Abernathy, dressed in a black robe, practically slams the door in Samuel’s face without even so much as a nut placed in his empty bucket, Samuel files the information away for another time.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider has been turned on again and when the atoms collide, though it seems like a small thing at the time, a bit of something separates and flies into the air. No one knows where it went, but they shut down the LHC to investigate. However, unknown to everyone on Earth forces have been unleashed that will affect Samuel, the Abernathys, the Renfields and many people in the small town of Biddlecomb.
In the course of the story the reader learns of a dimension no one has known and the creepy, crawly things that inhabit this world. When the LHC released that little bit of energy, a slight crack happened in the middle of the star Mrs. Abernathy had painted on her basement floor. Now the Abernathys and Renfields begin to change and not for the better. They seem to be inhabited by a force that causes them to decay and soon except for Mrs. Abernathy, who will keep her lovely visage and figure, they turn into lumps, who sit on the sofa without moving. When Samuel sees the transformed figures and the crack in the basement on Halloween, his entire life changes.
What happens next is more like an episode of “Supernatural”, because the reader is introduced to monsters and demons who cause mass chaos in the settled town of Biddlecomb, and bring one of the world’s leading physicists to Samuel’s home. The book moves along at a very fast pace. The author writes most of this novel tongue in cheek. However, some of the scenes have a great deal of gore. Though the reader knows it is just a fantasy, the writing is so descriptive that you might feel a chill or two in parts.
The story is so compelling that once the reader begins the book it is very difficult to put it down. As mentioned before, the footnotes add to the story and should not be skipped. The main character, Samuel, an eleven year old boy, is precocious, brave and an unlikely hero. He and his friends are the epitome of goodness as they go up against the evil unleashed by the nefarious Mrs. Abernathy and her minions. In the process of reading this novel you also learn a great deal of physics and meet some fascinating characters. You might even find a monster or two you want to hug.
Mr. Connolly is to be commended for bringing both science and the supernatural together in such a delightful and readable novel that will appeal to both adults and children.
(First posted on Authorlink.com)”
lionmother wrote this review Tuesday, December 29, 2009.
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