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Hell on Earth #1
The Gates
An apocalyptic horror novel
The Gates is the 1st book in the epic Hell on Earth series, a terrifying thrill ride of epic proportions. You cannot escape death when death is everywhere.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS A TERRIBLE ENEMY HAS BEEN WAITING...
NOW THE GATES ARE OPEN...
AND HUMANITY'S EXTINCTION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN...
All across the globe strange gates have appeared at random. Anyone who touches one dies. Anyone who tries to interfere with one dies. The world's best scientists have no idea what they are, but one thing is certain... these strange gates are about to open.
Humanity holds its breath.
On the United States' chaotic East Coast, Coast Guard captain Guy Granger sets off on a desperate journey across the Atlantic to find his kids. Mina Magar is a photojournalist forced to take pictures of horrors she could never have imagined as something terrible emerges onto London's busy Oxford Street. Rick Bastion is a fading pop star with his head in a bottle and no hope for the future--even before the apocalypse began on his doorstep.
For all of them, staying alive is almost impossible, but they must try. Hell is coming and no one can escape it. Mankind must fight back or become extinct.
The gates are open. And all Hell is about to break loose.
The Gates is the 1st book in the epic Hell on Earth series, a terrifying thrill ride of epic proportions. You cannot escape death when death is everywhere.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS A TERRIBLE ENEMY HAS BEEN WAITING...
NOW THE GATES ARE OPEN...
AND HUMANITY'S EXTINCTION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN...
All across the globe strange gates have appeared at random. Anyone who touches one dies. Anyone who tries to interfere with one dies. The world's best scientists have no idea what they are, but one thing is certain... these strange gates are about to open.
Humanity holds its breath.
On the United States' chaotic East Coast, Coast Guard captain Guy Granger sets off on a desperate journey across the Atlantic to find his kids. Mina Magar is a photojournalist forced to take pictures of horrors she could never have imagined as something terrible emerges onto London's busy Oxford Street. Rick Bastion is a fading pop star with his head in a bottle and no hope for the future--even before the apocalypse began on his doorstep.
For all of them, staying alive is almost impossible, but they must try. Hell is coming and no one can escape it. Mankind must fight back or become extinct.
The gates are open. And all Hell is about to break loose.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2015
About the author
Iain Rob Wright
89 books1,563 followersOne of Horror's most respected authors, Iain Rob Wright is the writer of more than forty books, many of them bestsellers. A previous Kindle All-Star and a mainstay in the horror charts, he is a prolific producer of unique and original stories. From his apocalyptic saga The Gates to his claustrophobic revenge thriller ASBO, Iain writes across a broad spectrum of sub genres, creating both beloved series and standalone titles.
With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.
To get 6 of his books for free (no strings), just visit: www.iainrobwright.com
With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.
To get 6 of his books for free (no strings), just visit: www.iainrobwright.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
December 10, 2017
I'll be honest: I wasn't expecting this one to be any good. Maybe because it was so cheap, maybe because the whole "invasion of Hell" schtick is so susceptible to cheap narrative cliches, but even so, I still decided to give it a shot, because damn it, the premise was just too intriguing not to at least check it out.
And... oh dear. I suppose I was right to keep my expectations low. Let's start by letting the text speak for itself on just how bad it is:
Quotes!
The Boring
The first immediately noticeable thing, right from the opening sentence, is the quality of the prose, which ranges from painfully flat to straight-up laughable, with all telling and no showing. First of all, things that ought to invoke powerful emotions by default are rendered so vaguely as to have zero real impact:
Wow, that really does a good job of conveying the unspeakable horror, doesn't it? What reader could possibly fail to quake in their boots at those exquisitely crafted depictions the author conjures up of "distressing images", "unbelievable things", and "exquisite tortures of the worst kind"?
...you're describing the full horror of Hell destroying a woman's mind and it reads like a grade-school textbook.
Wow, nice job getting across the gut-wrenching anger and dread and discomfort. "Remember, kids: prejudice is bad!"
The Shyamalizing
Was this written by a five-year-old?
What adult talks like this? Unless you're directly addressing a very small child, nobody with more than a single digit in their age is going to talk about what's going on in their "tummy".
The guy has an open break in his leg and you're seriously calling it whining? You really couldn't take two seconds to come up with a better verb, or I don't know, not use "glistening" twice in the same sentence?
Use it.
This is a Coast Guard captain who's supposed to be levelheaded and responsible, and you're showing his deep concerns over the plight of innocent civilians by having him stamp his foot like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum.
...that's so bizarre I can't even think of a snarky comment. Make of it what you will.
The Unintentionally Hilarious Similes
You mean like this?
Yep, this is totally what the fanatics in your poorly-disguised ISIS analogue are driving.
(Also, great job shooting yourself in the foot by reminding me of a post-apocalypse that was actually good.)
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present our heroine as she flees for her life.
...I don't think even a Google image search can put a picture to something this weird.
The Downright Cringeworthy
Please put down your megaphone. Your Author Tract is seriously starting to hurt my ears.
The Obligatory Rape
Because everyone knows you can't write a post-apocalypse without at least one on-page rape attempt! It can't be done! Can't, I say! Oh wait...
The one and only thing I can say in its favor on this count is that, unlike The Last Survivors, at least there was only one attempted rape shoehorned in for cheap shock value - but doing better than The Last Survivors is a really low bar.
The Generic
This book was advertised as an apocalyptic horror novel featuring the legions of Hell set loose upon the Earth, and I'll give it that the giant fallen angels were legitimately intimidating - for the approximately three pages total that they were actually on page. As for the hordes that the heroes actually ended up fighting, though? From what the synopsis promised us, I was expecting to see pockets of humans trying to eke out an existence in the middle of The Inferno, which actually would've been a really interesting premise, but what it gave us instead was just another zombie story.
Oh, sure, they're called demons, and they come crawling through a bunch of mysterious gates rather than graves and crypts. At the end of the day, though, they look like boilerplate zombies, they shamble like boilerplate zombies, and they die just as readily as boilerplate zombies. Calling them "demons" is just the gimmick the author is using so he can claim that he's *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* not actually writing another generic zombie story - but if you're going to write zombies with a gimmick, you should at least try to make the gimmick actually count for something. Like maybe make them tougher or faster or scarier or in any way legitimately more threatening than your average zombies?
You know, like this.
Or this.
Or possibly this.
Or I don't know, this.
Oh, for - My Little Pony is doing this better than you!
You have the literal legions of Hell at your disposal and the best you can come up with are shambling burned humans that obligingly keel over with the application of anything from a bullet to a fireplace poker? You're supposed to be a writer - where is your imagination?
The Verdict
I did briefly consider taking pity on this book and giving it two stars, because at least it was bad in ways that occasionally made me laugh. In the end, though, the funny moments didn't come anywhere close to making up for the blandness of the rest of the story, and they definitely weren't enough of an incentive for me to finish the book - the horror didn't break any new ground, I didn't care about any of the characters, and life is too short to keep wasting time on this, so I gave up reading a little over halfway through. A pity, really, because this concept could make for such a good story in the hands of an author who actually had some spark of imagination.
And... oh dear. I suppose I was right to keep my expectations low. Let's start by letting the text speak for itself on just how bad it is:
Quotes!
The Boring
The first immediately noticeable thing, right from the opening sentence, is the quality of the prose, which ranges from painfully flat to straight-up laughable, with all telling and no showing. First of all, things that ought to invoke powerful emotions by default are rendered so vaguely as to have zero real impact:
Elizabeth was just about to pull away when something seized her. Her fingertips fused against the stone's icy surface. A powerful force snatched her mind and showed her unbelievable things. Distressing images seared themselves into her soul and boiled the blood in her veins.
She saw horrors - exquisite tortures of the worst kind.
A vast legion of monstrous creatures.
She saw Hell.
The pictures in Elizabeth's mind were so wondrous and terrifying that her eyeballs melted inside her skull and leaked down her cheeks while her heart burst in her chest like a pin pricked balloon. When her sixty seven year old body slumped to the ground it was an empty husk and her days of ambling through the fields were over - her retirement irrevocably ended.
Wow, that really does a good job of conveying the unspeakable horror, doesn't it? What reader could possibly fail to quake in their boots at those exquisitely crafted depictions the author conjures up of "distressing images", "unbelievable things", and "exquisite tortures of the worst kind"?
...you're describing the full horror of Hell destroying a woman's mind and it reads like a grade-school textbook.
When she heard the man mutter the words, 'Fucking Paki,' she was stunned. How dare he! She wasn't even from Pakistan. How could people be so hateful?
Wow, nice job getting across the gut-wrenching anger and dread and discomfort. "Remember, kids: prejudice is bad!"
The Shyamalizing
She needed a real man, with real man parts.
Was this written by a five-year-old?
Mina's tummy churned.
Samantha sipped the hot beverage and sighed at the spreading warmth in her tummy.
What adult talks like this? Unless you're directly addressing a very small child, nobody with more than a single digit in their age is going to talk about what's going on in their "tummy".
"I can't," he whined. "My leg."
Samantha looked down at Samuel's leg and saw that his sprained ankle had developed into a broken shinbone. The glistening white shard poked out of his trousers and glistened with globs of blood.
The guy has an open break in his leg and you're seriously calling it whining? You really couldn't take two seconds to come up with a better verb, or I don't know, not use "glistening" twice in the same sentence?
Use it.
Guy stamped his foot. "Goddamnit, man. People are drowning in the Hudson River. Are you telling me to leave American civilians to die?"
This is a Coast Guard captain who's supposed to be levelheaded and responsible, and you're showing his deep concerns over the plight of innocent civilians by having him stamp his foot like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum.
He lifted both hands away from the keys in horror. The uninvited C Major had been unmistakable. His ears did not lie.
...that's so bizarre I can't even think of a snarky comment. Make of it what you will.
The Unintentionally Hilarious Similes
The lad's girlfriend screeched like a tomcat and pounced on the sergeant with her claws out.
You mean like this?
AK47 barrels protruded from the car windows like spines on a porcupine.
Yep, this is totally what the fanatics in your poorly-disguised ISIS analogue are driving.
(Also, great job shooting yourself in the foot by reminding me of a post-apocalypse that was actually good.)
She almost fell back down to the blood soaked grass as her knees clashed together like cymbals.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present our heroine as she flees for her life.
Flaps of blackened skin hung from his naked body and littered the floor behind him like gory breadcrumbs.
...I don't think even a Google image search can put a picture to something this weird.
Aymun's last remaining man went down as two creatures grabbed his arms and yanked them off, bleeding into the air like a sprinkler.
The Downright Cringeworthy
The ordinary people of Iraq were perpetual victims of religion and money, and neither served them well. Tony felt sorry for them in the same way he felt sorry for cows in the field - they didn't realise how much their lives were not their own.
How could the Arab nations ever hope to evolve and pull themselves up out of the dirt if the West interfered every time a government was threatened?
Not that Tony held any respect for the ISN. Like all fanatics, they were monsters hiding behind ideals and traditions - they deserved whatever they got - but it was for the Arab world to deal with them. Only through their own trials and triumphs would the people of the Middle East gain the confidence needed to unite against extremism and join the rest of the world on equal footing.
Please put down your megaphone. Your Author Tract is seriously starting to hurt my ears.
The Obligatory Rape
Because everyone knows you can't write a post-apocalypse without at least one on-page rape attempt! It can't be done! Can't, I say! Oh wait...
The one and only thing I can say in its favor on this count is that, unlike The Last Survivors, at least there was only one attempted rape shoehorned in for cheap shock value - but doing better than The Last Survivors is a really low bar.
The Generic
This book was advertised as an apocalyptic horror novel featuring the legions of Hell set loose upon the Earth, and I'll give it that the giant fallen angels were legitimately intimidating - for the approximately three pages total that they were actually on page. As for the hordes that the heroes actually ended up fighting, though? From what the synopsis promised us, I was expecting to see pockets of humans trying to eke out an existence in the middle of The Inferno, which actually would've been a really interesting premise, but what it gave us instead was just another zombie story.
Oh, sure, they're called demons, and they come crawling through a bunch of mysterious gates rather than graves and crypts. At the end of the day, though, they look like boilerplate zombies, they shamble like boilerplate zombies, and they die just as readily as boilerplate zombies. Calling them "demons" is just the gimmick the author is using so he can claim that he's *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* not actually writing another generic zombie story - but if you're going to write zombies with a gimmick, you should at least try to make the gimmick actually count for something. Like maybe make them tougher or faster or scarier or in any way legitimately more threatening than your average zombies?
You know, like this.
Or this.
Or possibly this.
Or I don't know, this.
Oh, for - My Little Pony is doing this better than you!
You have the literal legions of Hell at your disposal and the best you can come up with are shambling burned humans that obligingly keel over with the application of anything from a bullet to a fireplace poker? You're supposed to be a writer - where is your imagination?
The Verdict
I did briefly consider taking pity on this book and giving it two stars, because at least it was bad in ways that occasionally made me laugh. In the end, though, the funny moments didn't come anywhere close to making up for the blandness of the rest of the story, and they definitely weren't enough of an incentive for me to finish the book - the horror didn't break any new ground, I didn't care about any of the characters, and life is too short to keep wasting time on this, so I gave up reading a little over halfway through. A pity, really, because this concept could make for such a good story in the hands of an author who actually had some spark of imagination.
January 13, 2024
This was a refreshing side to the apocalypse. No zombies, but something more horrifying. Demons rising up from the gates of hell.
This book follows many main characters from all parts of the world, which was also something most apocalyptic books do not do. I liked this about the story.
I enjoyed many of the main characters, even though some do not survive, but, it is an apocalypse. How many people survive that?
This was my first time reading a book by Iain Rob Wright, even though I have many of his books on my Kindle to read. I was given an ARC of this book as a part of his advanced readers group. I enjoyed this book and will look forward to the sequel.
4 out of 5 stars.
This book follows many main characters from all parts of the world, which was also something most apocalyptic books do not do. I liked this about the story.
I enjoyed many of the main characters, even though some do not survive, but, it is an apocalypse. How many people survive that?
This was my first time reading a book by Iain Rob Wright, even though I have many of his books on my Kindle to read. I was given an ARC of this book as a part of his advanced readers group. I enjoyed this book and will look forward to the sequel.
4 out of 5 stars.
March 21, 2021
My first book by this author, loved it! Very well written. I'm glad I discovered this author and this series. It, as well as many other books and series by the author are included in KU!!! I'm on to book two!
July 30, 2016
The Gates is a step away from Iain Rob Wright's normal horror novels. Typically you'll find he focuses on a small group of characters within a confined setting, tackling a terrifying situation. But with The Gates, Wright is no longer shooting for grounders and doubles, he's winding up and going for the home-run.
This is the apocalypse on a grand scale, and it's a solid start for his new series. Rather than following one family through the quite literal transition of hell on earth, Wright tells this story through multiple point of views, spanning the globe. From military heroes to news reporters to a washed up pop-star, each takes the high concept of the story and brings it to a ground level with all of the visceral details and horrors you'd expect from a Wright novel. Surprisingly, considering the amount of interconnected story lines, there wasn't a single group that felt like mere caricatures. It's some of the best character work Wright has done.
The demons themselves are the only things I felt could have been improved on. They often fell into the "horde" category, merely being bodies for some of the heroes to sweep through and destroy, (& dying much easier than they had any right to). The ending promises a lot more that will be coming through these gates than just what we've seen in this book, and some of the twists and turns regarding the gates themselves were fascinating discoveries.
A novel I'm glad I dove into, and one that speaks to Wright's talents as an author as his voice and style continue to mature. Worth checking out!
This is the apocalypse on a grand scale, and it's a solid start for his new series. Rather than following one family through the quite literal transition of hell on earth, Wright tells this story through multiple point of views, spanning the globe. From military heroes to news reporters to a washed up pop-star, each takes the high concept of the story and brings it to a ground level with all of the visceral details and horrors you'd expect from a Wright novel. Surprisingly, considering the amount of interconnected story lines, there wasn't a single group that felt like mere caricatures. It's some of the best character work Wright has done.
The demons themselves are the only things I felt could have been improved on. They often fell into the "horde" category, merely being bodies for some of the heroes to sweep through and destroy, (& dying much easier than they had any right to). The ending promises a lot more that will be coming through these gates than just what we've seen in this book, and some of the twists and turns regarding the gates themselves were fascinating discoveries.
A novel I'm glad I dove into, and one that speaks to Wright's talents as an author as his voice and style continue to mature. Worth checking out!
April 26, 2019
More than six thousand gates to Hades are opened on Earth and our planet is suddenly over-run by vicious marauding demons. It’s literally Hell on Earth in this superb British horror novel.
Taking a page from old 1970’s disaster movies, the book zeroes in on a cast of characters who are clearly set up to be our heroes and heroines in this battle for humanity. But here the narrative takes an interesting twist, as very early on it starts killing off some of these characters. We’ve been led to believe that they are our protagonists, but such is the chaos of war that not even they are safe. Nothing is.
The violence and bloodshed is handled expertly – making one wince, while never being too gory – and the story moves along with the propulsion of an adventure tale. It’s the first of a series about the war between man and demon and I will certainly be back for seconds.
Taking a page from old 1970’s disaster movies, the book zeroes in on a cast of characters who are clearly set up to be our heroes and heroines in this battle for humanity. But here the narrative takes an interesting twist, as very early on it starts killing off some of these characters. We’ve been led to believe that they are our protagonists, but such is the chaos of war that not even they are safe. Nothing is.
The violence and bloodshed is handled expertly – making one wince, while never being too gory – and the story moves along with the propulsion of an adventure tale. It’s the first of a series about the war between man and demon and I will certainly be back for seconds.
March 24, 2020
I'm conflicted about posting a negative review here - the author made his books available for free during the COVID-19 quarantine, and that's very generous and awesome of him. So I'm posting this in the spirit of constructive criticism, I guess.
The positives: the premise is very interesting, and there was something in there that kept me reading to the end, so the bones of a good story are in there. The fact that I wanted to see what happened despite my criticism below is what I gave the second star for.
But other than that, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading all the glowing 5-star reviews here that declare it an amazing book. I found the characters to be one-dimensional, the dialogue to be absurdly unrealistic, and I definitely echo the reviewers below who complain that the "demons" are really just zombies with a different name.
Because of the reviews here and on Reddit, where I found the link to the giveaway, I may try a different book by the author outside of this series, but man, this one did not do it for me.
The positives: the premise is very interesting, and there was something in there that kept me reading to the end, so the bones of a good story are in there. The fact that I wanted to see what happened despite my criticism below is what I gave the second star for.
But other than that, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading all the glowing 5-star reviews here that declare it an amazing book. I found the characters to be one-dimensional, the dialogue to be absurdly unrealistic, and I definitely echo the reviewers below who complain that the "demons" are really just zombies with a different name.
Because of the reviews here and on Reddit, where I found the link to the giveaway, I may try a different book by the author outside of this series, but man, this one did not do it for me.
October 3, 2020
The prologue sets the story up nicely, apart from the glaring projection of male attitudes towards sexuality onto a female character. The story is about Hell taking over Earth starting with the appearance of some black, obsidian-like stones that are dangerous to touch.
We meet several characters around the world in different situations and see how awareness of the sinister stones unfolds for each. In Central Park, New York, the situation develops further and spreads as the gates open.
The one criticism I would make of the first few chapters is we're not given a single character to identify with the story. The chapters switch around four groups of people and two of them have a military situation which is a genre I don't enjoy.
The story gets pretty graphic and no one is safe, not even children. It constantly barrages with the stress of the situation and doesn't often give the reader a chance to catch their breath.
Despite this I mostly enjoyed the story, though I had to take it a few chapters at a time. However, the ending really blew it. It doesn't end. It's not even really a cliffhanger but cuts off mid-scene when someone's about to have trouble and goes straight to the advert to buy the next book to see what happens.
This i a sales method I abhor and although I had the second book on my Kindle already, I deleted it along with the first book. I still have some stand alone books from the author I may try eventually but I won't read any series by authors who do this.
We meet several characters around the world in different situations and see how awareness of the sinister stones unfolds for each. In Central Park, New York, the situation develops further and spreads as the gates open.
The one criticism I would make of the first few chapters is we're not given a single character to identify with the story. The chapters switch around four groups of people and two of them have a military situation which is a genre I don't enjoy.
The story gets pretty graphic and no one is safe, not even children. It constantly barrages with the stress of the situation and doesn't often give the reader a chance to catch their breath.
Despite this I mostly enjoyed the story, though I had to take it a few chapters at a time. However, the ending really blew it. It doesn't end. It's not even really a cliffhanger but cuts off mid-scene when someone's about to have trouble and goes straight to the advert to buy the next book to see what happens.
This i a sales method I abhor and although I had the second book on my Kindle already, I deleted it along with the first book. I still have some stand alone books from the author I may try eventually but I won't read any series by authors who do this.
December 11, 2015
"So to question number one. Is it utter crap? Absolutely not. Earlier this year when I read Mr Wrights The Picture Frame, I gushed about it saying it was probably the best thing he had ever written. I mentioned then that his writing had matured in so many ways and pointed to the fact that his endeavours to finely tune his craft where paying off big time. With The Gates Iain Rob Wright has, in my opinion, crossed to another level in his writing."
See here for the full review:
The Gates
See here for the full review:
The Gates
April 7, 2018
I usually love these types of stories but the standard of writing is so childish and simplistic and frankly down right juvenile it was actually hard work to finish, the vocabulary is 8 th grade level and the prose downright boring, the characters are uninteresting, the plot is uninteresting, I literally did not care about any of the characters introduced and cannot imagine reading any of the following volumes
April 8, 2017
This is my first book by Mr. Wright and I must say I truly enjoyed it and have already placed my order for the next one. I had no trouble loving all the characters and really getting in their skin. The story moves along at a good clip but you are never left behind. This was a nice different read on the end of the world. This is story (very similar) my very religious Grandparents told me about. Makes you really consider is your soul safe...
I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5 because of the book and the Kindle edition. I have them both and when I read I like to read the actual book during daylight and then for night time reading I use my iPad. The physical book ends on page 337, the Kindle edition has a few more chapters introducing new characters to the story. The physicial book wasn't formatted correctly. I too am indie author and making sure your paperback looks professional is important. This did not. The justification and word wrap as well as font changes from top to bottoms of pages make it look elementary. The Kindle edition about 300 pages in is as if the editing stopped. Spelling errors, extra words, etc. were everywhere.
No doubt Mr. Wright is an AWESOME horror author, but I'm not thrilled with the publishing and differences between the two books. They were rushed and new editions were pushed out without edits only for one format.
I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5 because of the book and the Kindle edition. I have them both and when I read I like to read the actual book during daylight and then for night time reading I use my iPad. The physical book ends on page 337, the Kindle edition has a few more chapters introducing new characters to the story. The physicial book wasn't formatted correctly. I too am indie author and making sure your paperback looks professional is important. This did not. The justification and word wrap as well as font changes from top to bottoms of pages make it look elementary. The Kindle edition about 300 pages in is as if the editing stopped. Spelling errors, extra words, etc. were everywhere.
No doubt Mr. Wright is an AWESOME horror author, but I'm not thrilled with the publishing and differences between the two books. They were rushed and new editions were pushed out without edits only for one format.
February 23, 2023
Oh my God is all I'm gonna start off by saying. This book is incredible it is one of my favorite books. I can't wait to read book 2 and 3. This was also incredible writing and I love how he bounced back-and-forth between people, to complete the story. I did get a little frustrated at times only beacuse when you gain a relationship with a character, just for them to be died off that does upset me. Lol But I still love the book regardless. My favorite part of this book Is when they close the 1st gate, it does suck that it takes human sacrifice, but that's what Warriors and heroes do. I would recommend this book to anyone and I will recommend this book to anyone. I give this a 10 thumbs up and a 5 star rating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2019
Wasn't sure what to expect, as I am kinda Zombie'd out, but this was a pretty good book. It's marketed as an "apocalyptic horror novel," and that sounds like an awesome combo to me! The Gates did not disappoint. I was quickly sucked into this story, told from several different characters. Across the globe, large black stones mysteriously appear...then open, unleashing armies of demons. Literal demons, like, from Hell. Each army is commanded by a winged giant. Small bands of folks are fighting back, but they face an uphill battle. There were enough cliched eye-rolling moments to lose a star for me. For example, the Coast Guard guy who abandons all duty to sail to England to find his vacationing children. Really?? Anyway, I have already started book 2, and it's also great. Lots of death and destruction here...and don't get too attached to any character. We go through them faster than Game of Thrones!
May 1, 2018
This is one of those books that you want to read as quickly as possible to find out what happens. The author does a good job conveying a sense of dread, as well as making the action seem real. My only complaint is the lack of character development. There are so many characters that it's difficult for the author to give any of them enough "screen time" to make us care about them. I hope he corrected this by the time he wrote the second book.
April 11, 2020
Great fast paced story that kept me riveted from start to finish 4 books to go!! HELL ON EARTH!!
January 21, 2019
I read this book second and the second first 😏. Didn't spoil the enjoyment of the book though. I just can't get enough of Iain Rob Wright 😁
January 4, 2020
Really good book. I liked the characters and all the details. Love the books by Iain Rob Wright! Onto the next in the series...!
August 14, 2017
I am going to be a bit ambitious with this review. Rather than one book review, I am going to give you three. (I thought that I was going to be reviewing a trilogy, however thankfully these 3 books are hopefully only the beginning.
I present to you the Hell on Earth series (Books 1 - 3)
Iain Rob Wright is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. When I finished book one of this series, I immediately had to read book two, and when I finished book two, I immediately jumped into book three. Now, I have to wait like everyone else for book four to be released, which can't come soon enough! Here are my brief thoughts on each book:
The Gates (Book One)
If I had to choose one word to describe Wright's endeavor with this series, that word would be Epic!. This book is completely character-driven. Some chracters you will root for, other characters you will despise. Either way, you are with each of them on their journey of survival.
Legion (Book Two)
This one starts off with longer chapters than the first book (I am a fan of relatively short chapters), though in this case, the longer chapters are okay, as roughly the first 35% of the book is filling in the blanks from the first book (which is awesome) and introducing some new characters. (Speaking of new characters, I just have to say that the Caretaker needs his own story/book!)
Both books 1 & 2 end with "Collateral Damage" which help explain the flip side of certain parts of the story. (which, again, is awesome!)
Book 2 also has two (very captivating) Bonus Short Stories by author +Stuart Keane (who I will definitely be checking out!)
Extinction (Book Three)
Just to give you a time-frame - at the beginning of this book, it has been six-weeks since the gates first opened. You would think, by this time, some parts of the story would seem slightly stale. This is not the case, as Wright in no way makes this story repetitive. In fact, he introduces two new characters in this one (Beedle & Molok) who are, once again, deserving of their own tale. (and the identity of Skullface - whoa!!).
Before I sign off, I just have to say that it was hard not talking about any of the characters, as I do not want to give any aspects of the story away. I do want to say, however, that I love the fact that at the end of book 3, Wright begins to allude to some of his other books (some of which I have not yet read). This opens the door to magnificent potential! There is so much to love about this series! I cannot recommend it enough!
I present to you the Hell on Earth series (Books 1 - 3)
Iain Rob Wright is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. When I finished book one of this series, I immediately had to read book two, and when I finished book two, I immediately jumped into book three. Now, I have to wait like everyone else for book four to be released, which can't come soon enough! Here are my brief thoughts on each book:
The Gates (Book One)
If I had to choose one word to describe Wright's endeavor with this series, that word would be Epic!. This book is completely character-driven. Some chracters you will root for, other characters you will despise. Either way, you are with each of them on their journey of survival.
Legion (Book Two)
This one starts off with longer chapters than the first book (I am a fan of relatively short chapters), though in this case, the longer chapters are okay, as roughly the first 35% of the book is filling in the blanks from the first book (which is awesome) and introducing some new characters. (Speaking of new characters, I just have to say that the Caretaker needs his own story/book!)
Both books 1 & 2 end with "Collateral Damage" which help explain the flip side of certain parts of the story. (which, again, is awesome!)
Book 2 also has two (very captivating) Bonus Short Stories by author +Stuart Keane (who I will definitely be checking out!)
Extinction (Book Three)
Just to give you a time-frame - at the beginning of this book, it has been six-weeks since the gates first opened. You would think, by this time, some parts of the story would seem slightly stale. This is not the case, as Wright in no way makes this story repetitive. In fact, he introduces two new characters in this one (Beedle & Molok) who are, once again, deserving of their own tale. (and the identity of Skullface - whoa!!).
Before I sign off, I just have to say that it was hard not talking about any of the characters, as I do not want to give any aspects of the story away. I do want to say, however, that I love the fact that at the end of book 3, Wright begins to allude to some of his other books (some of which I have not yet read). This opens the door to magnificent potential! There is so much to love about this series! I cannot recommend it enough!
December 6, 2020
Absolutely horrible.
Iain is a lazy, unimaginative twit.
Iain is a lazy, unimaginative twit.
March 14, 2019
Great way to spend a evening
I thoroughly enjoy this book and looking forward to more in this series. The blog and different characters in different places make for an exciting read. I truly love that the villains are something totally different and a new take on the End of the Workd .
I thoroughly enjoy this book and looking forward to more in this series. The blog and different characters in different places make for an exciting read. I truly love that the villains are something totally different and a new take on the End of the Workd .
August 28, 2015
Iain Rob Wright has pulled it out of the bag again with his new release, The Gates. As one of his advance readers, I was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book prior to release.
The opening chapter dragged me into this story instantly even though I'd had no prior knowledge of what this book was about. In a nutshell, there are strange-looking black stones appearing in various locations all over the world but nobody knows what they are at first. As the story progresses, we discover, in the most gruesome way, that they act as a gateway from Hell and Satan's demons want to escape and take over our realm.
Like The Peeling series of books, our focus is on various pockets of individuals across the globe who are coping with this event in different ways. We are drawn into their worlds as they all do whatever it takes to survive the attack. The characters we are introduced to are very varied. We watch Mina, a photographer with a local newspaper, develop from a timid and bullied individual into one of the heroes of the story. Captain Guy Granger is desperately trying to cross the Atlantic in a Coast Guard Cutter to find his children and faces many adversaries on his journey. There are many more characters who I wished had lasted the duration of the book but not everyone survives in a book like this.
We do not find out how this ends as IRW cruelly ended this on a cliffhanger so we'll all be eagerly awaiting the next instalment in this series. A refreshing change from zombies but just as fast-paced and unrelenting, with tons of bloodshed for the gore-hounds amongst us.
The opening chapter dragged me into this story instantly even though I'd had no prior knowledge of what this book was about. In a nutshell, there are strange-looking black stones appearing in various locations all over the world but nobody knows what they are at first. As the story progresses, we discover, in the most gruesome way, that they act as a gateway from Hell and Satan's demons want to escape and take over our realm.
Like The Peeling series of books, our focus is on various pockets of individuals across the globe who are coping with this event in different ways. We are drawn into their worlds as they all do whatever it takes to survive the attack. The characters we are introduced to are very varied. We watch Mina, a photographer with a local newspaper, develop from a timid and bullied individual into one of the heroes of the story. Captain Guy Granger is desperately trying to cross the Atlantic in a Coast Guard Cutter to find his children and faces many adversaries on his journey. There are many more characters who I wished had lasted the duration of the book but not everyone survives in a book like this.
We do not find out how this ends as IRW cruelly ended this on a cliffhanger so we'll all be eagerly awaiting the next instalment in this series. A refreshing change from zombies but just as fast-paced and unrelenting, with tons of bloodshed for the gore-hounds amongst us.
October 1, 2021
I won't spend too much time on this review. I really wanted to give the book 2 stars because, despite being a poorly written B-movie of a book, I was actually quite enjoying it on a certain level. But in the last 20%, it descended virtually into self-parody. None of the characters sounded like real people. The whole arc of Guy Granger is completely subverted by the horrifying fact that he has comandeered a military vessel in a time of grave crisis solely so that he can go on a rescue mission for his kids who are on another continent. The dialogue is plain weird at times, with characters expounding weak points in unnatural ways. The dialogue of the monsters is even worse, employing the most hackneyed and pathetic threats and anachronistic language. The author takes time to show off the research he's done on certain topics or locations, even though it in no way feeds into the story. The last few chapters abandon the characters you've been following and introduce a bunch of new characters who, for the most part, play out ridiculous self-insert male fantasy scenarios involving heroically rescuing a young woman.
My biggest complaint is that this is presented as coming from an author of horror and suspense, but the book contains scant little of either. Most of the time, it's kind of low-key B-movie comedy which is difficult to tell whether it's intentional or not.
For a fuller treatment, just take a look at the top rated review by Erin. It covers all my thoughts and more.
My biggest complaint is that this is presented as coming from an author of horror and suspense, but the book contains scant little of either. Most of the time, it's kind of low-key B-movie comedy which is difficult to tell whether it's intentional or not.
For a fuller treatment, just take a look at the top rated review by Erin. It covers all my thoughts and more.
May 10, 2023
Lol why even bother? The writer lets the reader know almost immediately that they can’t get invested in any character whatsoever and then proceeds to reinforce that repeatedly throughout the entire book. The reader has no one to root for, no one to care about, no one to connect with thanks either poor lazy writing or a writer thinking they’re going to be shockingly different. The book starts with action and then proceeds with the same action for the rest of the pages with no character development (which wouldn’t matter considering how fast he goes through them), no plot development, not even any backstory. It’s essentially just the same scene of group-fights-demon over and over just at a different location for a couple hundred pages. Even then, there’s no sense of urgency or heart pumping thrill. Every scene is so monotonous and pretty much identical that you could read the first few pages and the last few pages and still have a crystal clear understanding of the entire book. Also, this absolutely shouldn’t be a multi-part series. It could easily be a single book if written well but seems like the writer needs to hone their skills more and remember that quantity does not equal quality.
March 13, 2018
First the positives: it's fairly well written; the premise is interesting; there are multiple perspectives; the author is not afraid to kill off characters the reader may have affection for.
Then the negatives: page after page of extremely dull dialogue most of it quite unlikely given the circumstances (the legions of hell unleashed on the Earth); unconvincing actions by characters (I'll sail my little coastguard vessel across the Atlantic to find my kids and hang whatever else is happening!); strange theology (it's faeries that cannot stand "cold iron" not demons); ridiculous anomalies (Demons burn at the touch of iron but run around on the decks of battleships and drive cars? The legions of hell strangely vulnerable to fire?)
It's not the worst of the post-apocalyptic books that plague the book world but it's not good enough to encourage me to read any more of the series.
Then the negatives: page after page of extremely dull dialogue most of it quite unlikely given the circumstances (the legions of hell unleashed on the Earth); unconvincing actions by characters (I'll sail my little coastguard vessel across the Atlantic to find my kids and hang whatever else is happening!); strange theology (it's faeries that cannot stand "cold iron" not demons); ridiculous anomalies (Demons burn at the touch of iron but run around on the decks of battleships and drive cars? The legions of hell strangely vulnerable to fire?)
It's not the worst of the post-apocalyptic books that plague the book world but it's not good enough to encourage me to read any more of the series.
January 1, 2016
So I really liked this book. It was running along nicely as a solid 4star read. Then it ended. Just like that. It felt like it ended halfway through, with no actual ending. Like the author had just taken a break from writing and never returned. I was immensely disappointed by this,because I was enjoying the book so much and wanted to see what direction the author was going to take it. Maybe there will be a follow up, I really hope so! But unfortunately the way this book ended has knocked this down to a 3 star.
June 8, 2016
Incredible story telling
This book is the first, in what I hope, is a long series. The concept of demons coming to Earth via portals left throughout the world by God Himself, is very unique indeed. The bevy of characters live out their individual stories of a worldwide tragedy. It's a gripping tale where the entire world is facing its demise & the variety of heroes who try to stop it from happening. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in the remaining books to follow. This is one you don't want to miss.
This book is the first, in what I hope, is a long series. The concept of demons coming to Earth via portals left throughout the world by God Himself, is very unique indeed. The bevy of characters live out their individual stories of a worldwide tragedy. It's a gripping tale where the entire world is facing its demise & the variety of heroes who try to stop it from happening. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in the remaining books to follow. This is one you don't want to miss.
March 13, 2017
Please note that it took three weeks to read only because I bought the Audible version and I can only listen when I am alone. Which is not often enough.
That said THE GATES is spectacular even for Iain Rob Wright. It scared me so much a couple of times while I was driving that I pulled over onto the shoulder of the road to calm down. I have read many of Mr. Wright's books and love them all but so far this is the best.
Sorry, I can't give any details but you really want to get them for yourself. I have to go build an iron fence around my house.
Be careful driving.
That said THE GATES is spectacular even for Iain Rob Wright. It scared me so much a couple of times while I was driving that I pulled over onto the shoulder of the road to calm down. I have read many of Mr. Wright's books and love them all but so far this is the best.
Sorry, I can't give any details but you really want to get them for yourself. I have to go build an iron fence around my house.
Be careful driving.
June 28, 2018
I enjoyed The Gates as a different take on the end of the world apocalypse. There was a lot of action, the story kept on moving forward and I found that I wanted to keep reading but I found that it just seemed to end. There was no rising action, no dramatic ending that made me want to read the next one, it just sort of stopped. That's my only issue with this novel but definitely worth a read.
July 28, 2018
Brilliant as always
Took a little while to get into this book, which is not like the other books of Iain's i have read previously. I found it started off at a slower pace than others, but it soon picked up. I got to the end and wanted more! I need to find out what is happening. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. Highly recommended.
Took a little while to get into this book, which is not like the other books of Iain's i have read previously. I found it started off at a slower pace than others, but it soon picked up. I got to the end and wanted more! I need to find out what is happening. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. Highly recommended.
October 20, 2019
A disappointing read. I really like IRW's pulp horror, but this book just annoyed me. Overwhelming monsters that kill everyone except the main characters. Characters whom I simply can't feel any empathy for in the first place because there is zero character building. Not for me this one.... too bad as I have liked most of his other works. Especially the more recent ones.
April 17, 2016
This is the second book I have read from the pen of Mr. Wright and both have been unique stories, well developed and well written. I will be leaving a more detailed review on the blog, The Lazy Book Reviewer, so stop by in a few weeks, visit the site and read a more detailed review. 4.5 stars
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