It's been a while since I've read a book in a matter of 4 days. But this book is excellent. I won't compare it to "The Book of Lost Things." They're in the same vein of pseudo-children's books, but they're very different. "The Gates" is a wonderful book to curl up with and get completely lost in.
This book is almost cartoon-like. I get the sense that Connolly wrote this book more for himself than to impress anyone. It's nerdy and very funny and seems like Connolly could have written this book for his own fun, to amuse himself, and it translates. The book reels you in with a somewhat scary plot that doesn't disappoint. Samuel and Boswell make for two excellent heroes you really root for. And Connolly creates some terrifying and some surprisingly endearing demons.
In general, I hate footnotes. But Connolly writes his in the same narrative voice as the rest of the story and makes them humorous in a way that doesn't completely take you out of the story. They add to the story rather than distract and confuse. Although, some of the footnotes are a little confusing, but still manage to entertain. My personal favorite is an explanation of lesser demons, including "Erics', the Demon of Bad Punctuation." (He's a frequent visitor of mine; I misuse semicolons all the time.)
This book is absolutely worth reading. It makes me feel like a kid again, getting completely wrapped up in a fantastical story. "The Gates" is 100% enjoyable and if you have any affinity for fantasy/science fiction/a great story about the triumph of the unexpected nerdy underdog, give this book a try.
No comments:
Post a Comment