The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake, #3)

by David Leadbeater

• ISBN10: 1482536404
• ISBN13: 9781482536409
• Publish Date: 8 April 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 248
• Language: English

Reviews

With a title like "The Gates of Hell," a fairly high bar is set. It's hard for a book to deliver on expectations once the book starts with a phrase like. Still, Leadbeater pulls it off. Another compelling thrill ride that not only continues to deliver on character development but builds on the plot arc spun up in the first two books.

This said, there were some gaps that, if they were addressed, I missed them. The tomb known as the Gates of Hell resides at a location that requires more explanation as to why no one has ever stumbled upon it in the time since the famous pirate Cook did back in his time. It's hard to explain more without treading in the realm of spoilers so I have to leave it there.

The first book touched on the McGuffin of a time travel device reminiscent of the Philadelphia Experiment. When this happens, one has expectations of having said device play a pivotal role in the story. The old adage of storytelling where if the author hangs a gun over the mantel at the beginning of the tale, that damn thing better go off by the end. The pivotal devices in question never actually become functional in any way in books 1 or 2. Worse yet, one of the devices drives the plot forward in this book, only to have the antagonist discard it before heading to the final objective. It's unclear why he needed it to find the Gates of Hell, or why he spent book 1 and 2 killing so many people to get his hands on it.

These glitches fail to diminish from the overall impact of the book for anyone interested in a compelling character-driven adventure/thriller. Thus I still rate the book at 4 stars.