Demons, Devils, and Hellish Creatures

Having read John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things (rating: 9/10) and enjoying it, I looked forward to reading his latest novel, The Gates.  Unfortunately, a hundred pages into the book, I'm giving up.

In both books the main character is a young boy.  In The Book of Lost Things he's a 12-year old whose mother has died, and only has his books and his imagination for company.  When the story took serious turns, I thought of the book as something for adults.  On the other hand, there were many whimsical moments when I questioned that.  The theme - the transition from childhood innocence to adulthood - is certainly a serious one, and one most adults can identify with.

But in The Gates, the main character, Samuel Johnson, is a precocious 11-year old who accidentally witnesses his neighbors raising the Devil.  At the same time, with the unknowing help of the Large Hadron Collider, a portal between our world and Hell begins to open.  I know from the back cover of the book that Samuel will play a role in vanquishing Satan and his minions.  But the story is entirely too whimsical for me.  Demons with silly names, silly roles, and identity crises.  Humor, frequently in the form of lengthy footnotes to explain things to the reader, who is assumed to be young.  I think Connolly missed a chance to teach us something, as he taught us in The Book of Lost Things. And while Halloween costumes that make devils out of children can be cute, the concept of Hell is not one to be treated quite so lightly, I believe.  It seems to me that religion in the past placed too much emphasis on Hell and eternal damnation, and nowadays places too little.

As a scientist, I grow tired of seeing scientists stereotyped in fiction as feckless, irresponsible, hungry for power and at the same time prone to making Big Mistakes.  Perhaps Connolly's next novel will be better.  This one I'm getting rid of.