The Infernals: A Samuel Johnson Tale [Paperback]

The Infernals is the sequel to 2009's The Gates. Whilst The Gates was an experimental book of sorts for John, The Infernals isn't of any such sort. It's a clear sequel to its hilarious predecessor and one which takes the themes and situations developed from the original and pushes them even further into the land of the comically absurd.

The book opens up in Hell wherein the Great Malevolence has gone into a crisis of sorts by the mishap which occurred nearly fifteen months ago when the Great Malevolence and his hellish cronies decided to leave their world and join ours. This plan however didn't account for the presence and active thinking mind of Samuel Johnson, his daschund Boswell and an entity known as Nurd. Events happened which now have caused Mrs. Abernathy to be a recluse of sorts and all hell is in an uproar. Mrs. Abernathy hasn't however given up hope on her plan and a newer variation includes getting revenge on Samuel for derailing her grand plan. Events are set into motion by the unwitting scientists of the Hadron collider and soon Mrs. Abernathy has her plans come to fruition when Samuel gets pulled along with Boswell in to the realm that is Hell. Unfortunately so do a few other people including Sergeant Rowan, Constable Peel, an ice cream truck driver with an unhealthy optimistic outlook and lastly the four creatures that are known as Mr. Merryweather's elves. Hell just doesn't stand a chance when it comes to these elves.

The Infernals is in many ways a strong sequel to its predecessor as well as a book which stands on its own. The book follows up with the presence of foot notes which made up such a huge part in the hilarious nature of the original tale and in this one are as striking as the first book and will often have the reader chuckling along. well. Basically this story is the mirror reverse of the original tale wherein a few demons went to Earth and now a few humans have come to Hell. The story's strength lies in is its whimsical nature which is very much reminiscent of Terry Pratchet's Discworld books. The characterization is good as with other John Connolly books however is kept at a level which this book is aimed for. The story though is a bit less comical than its predecessor due to the darker turn of the story however the Elves make up for much of the mishaps caused in Hell.

The biggest strong point of the book is humor which particularly fills almost every paragraph of the book. The book lays quite a scenario and then goes about its comical way filling in the reader with nuggets about time travel, physics, the nature of evil, etc. The ending comes as a nice surprise and the author again leaves a thread open for the third and possibly final book in the series. Even though this book is aimed for kids, adults will have a fun time reading it taking in mind that the author has purposefully kept certain things the way they are. Deficiencies to the story are the same which can be labeled against any children's books. Therefore they can be easily discounted by asking people who do not like to read such stories, to not read them. However I feel one should read such stories from time to time to let the child in all of us escape from adult life.

CONCLUSION: A heartfelt comedic tale about friendship, demons and what it means to be a hero, John Connolly again excels in this sequel to his previous YA book and leaves a small thread open again for a potential climatic third book which will be fun to read as ever with John's writing, the reader can easily lose themselves in his world knowing that they are in for a treat.

Where else can you find an evil tree, homicidal dwarfs and war among demons? Well, you could try your luck at the mall this Christmas or you could buy a copy of this book.

This wonderful book, but wasn't clear that this is the sequel to Connolly's novel 'The Gates'. Be sure to add both of these to your cart.The Gates: A Novel

Ba'al, fallen angel and god to the ancient Semites, has retained human form and is stalking a boy residing in a small town in England. That town has been subjected to strange events of the near past and is about to undergo even stranger episodes created by Mrs. Abernathy, a demon setting out to please a master henchman to the devil... the Great Malevolence. Scientists in Sweden are using the Large Hadron Collider and are unwittingly constructing pathways for the demons who are dwelling under ground. The demons are conspiring to grab hold of a certain citizen of Biddlecombe by luring him to the underneath. The Collider is providing wormholes to those alternate universes; places where evil lurks and where the Great Malevolence resides.
If you're a fan of John Connolly's fantasy writing you're travelled similar pathways and have already met nearsighted Samuel Johnson (hero of The Gates and now 13 years of age) and his pet dachshund Boswell. And you will realize as well that this foray into the demonic also seems a version of Alice through the Looking Glass and that it presents every bit as odd a cast of characters. The guards standing at the portal to the gates of hell (one thin, and long-faced, and sporting the name Edgefast; and his companion Brompton... a shorter, fatter version of Edgefast and also incompetently evil (but reminding the reader of a sort of Lower World Lou Costello). They provide comic relief of a sort from the bizarre images of figures massing atop the guarded doorway and crawling along the surface of the door panels. There are of course Mister Abernathy's drunken demon dwarfs, and a not-so demonic demon named Nurd. They travel alongside a pair of hapless policemen and the driver of an ice cream truck. There is also the image of an Aston Martin being drawn into service and belonging to Samuel's dad (but not of the Finn McMissile class or 007).
The story carries along in outrageous fashion; proving horrific one moment and hilarious the next. And that is the genius and beauty of the tale; a unique blending of characters whose names have been drawn from actual 19th century sources melding to narrative concerned with drama, comedy, and sheer overwhelming terror. I love this book and would recommend as an edge-of-your-seat hysterical roller-coaster ride from beginning to death-defying end.