Review: "Hell's Gate" by Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch

This is a tough one for me. I really want to like this book. It's not that I don't like it, but I want to like it more than I do. On paper, hell, on the back cover, it has all the ingredients that would make it a top notch read for me. It has glowing blurbs by Clive Cussler and James Rollins, with additional praise from James Cameron. That's a lot of hype for someone like me. And you know what? Maybe that's it. Maybe it was hyped too much for me. 

But let's take a look-see, shall we?

Ostensibly, this book is about a zoologist-turned-adventurer that is tasked by the U.S. military to seek out intel on shady Nazi goings on deep in the Amazon. The Nazis and all their ne'er-do-well have awoken something better left forgotten by the world. 

Awesome?

Sure sounds like it.

Temper that excitement though.

The protagonist, R. J. MacCready, is a rough and tumble zoologist that may or may not have inherited schizophrenia from his mother (at least I think that is what was being eluded to). He has a background in the military and isn't afraid to throw a punch, pull a trigger, or blow some stuff up. But unfortunately, there wasn't a ton of that. I always enjoy a protagonist with a science background. It allows for a lot of that good scientific detail to flow from the characters naturally as opposed to an omniscient narrator dumping exposition. I also enjoy the trope of a brainy guy/gal doing some butt kicking. I think what is most endearing though, is the 1940's slag that is bantered about between MacCready and friends. 

The other two main supporting characters on the good guy side are Mac's friend Bob, a shroom eating botanist gone native, and his wife Yanni, a beautiful and adaptable indigenous woman with a unique gift. Bob and his friendship with Mac is believable, and the historically accurate issues that led Bob to leaving civilization in the rear-view add a lot to his character. Yanni should be more awesome than she is though. I love the idea of an indigenous character, and there is a lot about her that is eluded to, but I never felt like she had that much to do. Her special ability doesn't even really come into play until the (long) epilogue that is clear set up for a sequel. 

The Nazis/Japanese have a a large cast of characters, but almost too many for me. There is the evil General Wolff, who is evil. The evil Japanese scientist who is also evil. A rocket scientist that is evil. A conflicted rocket scientist that is not evil, but works for the Nazis so he can go to space. And to round it out, a female Nazi pilot who is evil. The most compelling fictional character in this lot is the conflicted rocket scientist who gives the reader an interesting perspective on the state of science in that time period. There is also a lot of time devoted to him, a bit too much. The evil rocket scientist and evil woman pilot were actual people, people that ended up having a lot of impact on various parts of history post WW II. Unfortunately, none of that really plays into the story. I would have almost preferred fictional characters as opposed to historical personages that kind of move in and out fiction without any real gravity. 

Oh. There is a Nazi captain that is also evil. 

The real draw here for me, other than the glowing praise by some of my favorites, was the creatures. There are some interesting ideas in here, ones that I really love. Even some truly horrifying bits. But there's the rub. They only remain bits. I am not sure if it was the author's plan to subvert expectations, but mine were definitely subverted, just not in a good way. The best scene involving creatures doesn't even focus on the main species that is key to all of this mess. There is a lot ton of good speculation and bending of scientific fact that goes on in this book. The naturally occuring "monsters" were genuinely well done and could be quite creepy. However, when I read "Will haunt you long after you put the book down." as quoted by James Cameron, I have to disagree. I am not haunted. I want desperately to be haunted. I wish I was and was sooooo close to being haunted, but it just never came to fruition. 

Haunt me, damn it!

Ultimately, I think this book suffered from a pacing issue. There were times when the action was ramped up to a 10, but only for like two seconds and then it was a 1 again. There were large spaces of this "adventure" that were dedicated to the sad backstories or relationships of people that just never resonated with me. Worst of all was the choppy and disjointed epilogue that went on far too long. I got it. I understood its purpose. But it wasn't satisfying to me. I really appreciate the later Marvel movies that understood it was bad to end a movie just to set up a sequel. That's what happened here. It wasn't a cliffhanger sort of thing, but a lot of pages throughout the book seemed solely dedicated to setting up a sequel. Of which there are currently two, I believe. 

Now, can I recommend this book?

Yes. I can. 

Especially if you need to take a break from Cussler or Rollins because their formula is growing stale. 

Will I read the sequels? 

For sure. 

There are some really interesting ideas present in this book, and MacCready partnered with Yanni have a lot of potential for cool things. I want to see them grow and I want to see what trouble they will stir up. 

I have high hopes for the next titles, but I have learned to temper my hopes some. I am not usually one to fall prey to the hype machine, and this book has reminded me why one should always be wary of marketing.

- L. D. Whitney 

Did I miss anything? Maybe my perspective is askew? Maybe you just want to talk about this book? Leave a comment!