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The Infernals
- By John Connolly
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Devilish comic adventure in hell mixes physics, philosophy.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this sequel to The Gates, the first in the Samuel Johnson series by John Connolly, while full of goofy and very mildly rude humor and cartoony mayhem, has its heart completely in the right place and fosters an interest in the latest theories of quantum physics. Connolly employs a sly, digressive style that delivers more irony and satire than some readers might be used to, but which will delight those teens whose senses of humor are tuned to the same wavelength.
What's the story?
Having saved the planet once from being overrun by the forces of Evil in The Gates, 13-year old Samuel Johnson and his trusty dog, Boswell, are kidnapped by the demon whose terrible plot they foiled. Along with two police officers, an ice cream van driver and a band of disreputable performing dwarves, Samuel and Boswell find themselves in Hell, where various factions of monsters want to be the first to present the boy to the Great Malevolence. Although aided by a Nurd, a demon he befriended in the earlier volume, Samuel must draw on his inner reserves to save himself and prevent another invasion of Earth by the minions of Hell.
Is it any good?
THE INFERNALS is a spirited follow-up to The Gates by John Connolly, author of the down-and-dirty Charlie Parker thrillers for adults. Although the author is Irish, Connolly's sense of humor is straight out of Monty Python's Flying Circus and should enthrall teen boys, especially. Cataclysmic events are presented with a delightful sense of the absurd, the supporting characters tend toward the dim but well-meaning, and authority -- even in the form of the Great Malevolence itself -- is tweaked for its presumptuousness. Connolly is well served by the skills he has developed in his detective novels, and he makes The Infernals a fast-paced and thoughtful entertainment, perfect for an adventurous younger audience.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how various religions portray the afterlife and whether heaven or hell is part of their cosmology.
In the novel, the portal to the underworld is created unwittingly by physicists at the Large Hadron Supercollider. Can scientific inquiry ever have unintended negative consequences?
Samuel meets a wide variety of personalities and creatures in his tour through hell. What are the kinds of characteristics that allow people to move forward in the face of great danger, disappointment, or suffering?
Samuel saved the world in the first volume of this series, but now his schoolmates and neighbors seem uneasy around him. Why are people uncomfortable with what they don't understand?
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy |
| Author: | John Connolly |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Atria |
| Publication date: | October 18, 2011 |
| Number of pages: | 320 |
| Hardcover price: | $22.00 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 |
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