The Infernals

 I love Halloween, mostly for all the candy Mia brings home (especially the grape Nerds), but also for the excitement that fills the air. Mia had originally wanted to be Smurfette, but Doogie talked her into being something scary. She decided to be a vampire, and I think she was a pretty good one! The candy she brought home overflows my largest mixing bowl! I think all four of us are going to be in sugar highs for the next week or so until it's all gone.

The Infernals by John Connolly is the sequel to The Gates about young Samuel Johnson's battle against the demonic forces of Hell, with his best friend daschund, Boswell. In the previous book Ba'al took the form of Mrs. Abernathy and attempted to use the power of the Super-Collider to open a gateway to Hell and allow Satan to enter the world. Samuel and his demon friend, Nurd, were able to thwart her plans, so now she is on a mission to both destroy them and regain her status with Satan himself, aka The Great Malevolence. My synopsis does little to tell you the sheer brilliance of this book, and I don't use that word lightly. By brilliant I mean both wonderfully shiny as well as incredibly smart. Connolly's writing is whip fast, bouncing from the story to digressions on history, physics, and philosophy, all while thoroughly entertaining the reader. While reading I had to read portions aloud to both my son and husband because this is a book so good you must share it. Keeping it to yourself would be an act of the greatest selfishness. Rarely do I find a book this compelling and entertaining.  The Infernals is laugh out loud funny, terrifically smart, and hands down, one of the best books I've read this year.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book for review!