The Gates

An Apocalyptic Horror Novel

By: Iain Rob Wright

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

What will you do when the world ends? That's a question that needs answering quickly when the gates to Hell open up all over Earth. Taking place across the globe is an apocalypse like no other, and humanity will find itself at war against a smart and merciless foe. Follow the struggles to survive with several characters as things go from bad to worse. Humanity is dwindling.

Guy Granger is a Coast Guard captain in search of his kids. Mina Magar is a photojournalist taking pictures of horror she could never have imagined. Rick Bastion is a fading pop star with his head in a bottle and no hope for his future. Tony Cross is a soldier stuck on the Iraq-Syria border, but fighting insurgents is no longer a priority as a new threat emerges. Follow them all as they fight to stay alive.

When the gates open, all Hell will break loose!

©2015 Iain Rob Wright (P)2016 Iain Rob Wright

Another interesting book from Iain Rob Wright

If you could sum up The Gates in three words, what would they be?

(A) Fascinating, Unique Apocalypse

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rick Bastion, he starts out low and has a chance at redemption

Which character – as performed by Nigel Patterson – was your favorite?

I like them all, his tone and mannerisms are always spot on, they really add a lot of emphasis and emotion to Wright's novels! And he's virtually mistake free (unlike all too many other narrators on this site)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Don't want to give anything away, but rest assured there is more than one gut wrenching moment

Any additional comments?

Iain Rob Wright is one of my favorite newer horror writers and Nigel Patterson does an awesome job narrating his books. It's a great pairing of talent. If you want a fresh voice in the horror scene, then look no further, Wright has you covered. Check out his back catalogue too, I especially recommended Housemates and ASBO!

Story was just OK

This audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this story for free. I have enjoyed many books by IRW. I thoroughly enjoyed Nigel Patterson as the narrator. He has a large variety of voices and accents that really enhance the story. It is the story that is just OK. It wasn't really anything new or edge of your seat exciting. It is easy to stop listening and pick up days later. I prefer to be gripped at the beginning and sucked into a story. This didn't happen. I didn't particularly like the ending either. I realize it's hard to write something extremely unique that has never been done before, therefore, it wasn't bad, just not great.

The Gates

Any additional comments?

I've read and listened to a few apocalyptic novels and this is one of the freshest ideas I've seen. I hope there is a sequel to this story

Thoroughly enjoyable!

When strange black stones appear all over the word, nobody knows what to make of them or how they came to be. But then these stones become something of a gateway and horrible things start coming out! What can people do against these Demons? This book follows certain people, a reporter and his camera woman, an army personnel, a coast guard captain and an ex rock star, and their struggle to stay alive.

I absolutely devoured this book!! For me anyway, the measure of a great book is one that grabs you from the first page and envelops you in the world the author created, it's one where you forget your own life and struggles and become part of the world. This is one of those books. Despite this being one hell of a world (literally ;)) I was sucked in and didn't want to leave. It's a brutal, disturbing, devastating and evil world but incredibly written and executed.

The characters were all well written and developed, and despite there being quite a few of them, I grew to love all. As per usual though, the author rips your heart out and stomps on it when it comes to his characters!! I thoroughly enjoyed each of their journeys and can't wait to see more from them.

In all this is an amazing Apocalyptic book and I need book 2 yesterday!! ;) Filled to the brim with action, adventure, Demons, Angels, Good vs Evil, deception, heroics and everything you could possibly want in a great read. This is a must read. This isn't my first, nor will it be my last book by this author. He has captured my attention with his talent and I can highly recommend.

Nigel Patterson has such an easy to listen to voice and made this a book that was effortless to listen to. He has a variety of tones and cadences that brought the book alive. He is a narrator that I need to check out more of his work.

*I received this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

ISIS & Gangs = Good Guys? Military = Idiots? WTF!?

Could have been great. Should have been great.

If only ISIS and street thug gangs weren't the good guys, the military weren't a bunch of bumbling idiots and the rest of thd characters weren't all as shallow as a kiddy pool while they ran around spouting the most corny one-liners ever regurgitated from already corny Hollywood movies.

Bold Concept. Not many serious writers willing to take something like this on, I'll give it that much. But come really? ISIS are secretly heroes they're just misunderstood? It's OK for them to commit atrocities because so did Britain hundreds of years ago? People are smart enough to figure out our own politics without having it spoon fed to us in, of all things, horror fiction. Just wish the focus here could have been more on telling a good story.

Don't waste your time.

So much potential...

What was most disappointing about Iain Rob Wright’s story?

Get out your Social Justice Warrior checklist:
1) men are stupid and cowardly, unless they're defending women.
2) women are virtuous, no matter what, and only err when men are directing them.
3) it's the man's fault for assuming you're straight, even though 97% of the population is; apologize at great length for affronting the lesbian, dammit! Because that's what's great about New York--over in Red State America they're just prejudiced!
4) gang-bangers are actually upstanding and moral.
5) Islamic terrorists will sacrifice themselves to save others.
6) the military is full of rogue operators who refuse to follow orders.
7) obligatory denial of apocalyptic creatures by the "religious right".
8) America is on its last legs because: empires rise and fall.
9) and the list goes on...

Outside the laughably overt left-wing filter, it's a decent story. I liked that the denizens Hell weren't invincible hordes who shrug off bullets and bombs, but were often just as fragile as humans--if not more so. And the "all at once" worldwide disaster is ripe for something so direct and unapologetic in its bravado. However, the glut of agenda-driven storytelling--particularly the coddling of females--poisons the story and has turned me off to continuing the series.

A must read for the lover of horror

One of the best, and unusual, traits of this story was the uncertainty of life or death. The author plays no favorites. Whether you believe in heaven & hell, demons & angels, this book will get you thinking.

Horrible

So disappointed. Loved the concept but the book didn't deliver. It brings to mind a saying that we sometimes say in the operating room. "The enemy of good is better." To me It came across like someone read a mediocre horror book and thought they could improve upon it by added more of everything. Like the author thought ok this book had a ten foot tall monster so my monster will be 15ft tall, I'll add more gore, more clever one liners, more reluctant heroes more action etc. It tried so hard that it became cheesy and not in a good way. It was predicable and I found my attention wandering off while listening to it. I'm the type of person will stick with a movie or book long after others give up because I want to give things a fair shot. With this book however I couldn't ,I couldn't even finish this book. The story was crap and the narration was awful. To be honest it seemed like the narrator was hating every minute he had to spend reading this book. Save yourself, a root canal without anesthesia would be less painful than listening to this.

Great story but ended quickly

I really enjoyed this book, my only complaint is it was too short, it felt almost like an abridged copy. Nonetheless, the story was excellent, narration spot on and not too overdone. I'm hoping there's a sequel

Action-packed apocalyptic thriller

This is another great book by IRW - I enjoy how he introduces us to various characters who are facing the world's greatest nightmare. We get to cut back and forth between each of them and see how they're coping. Keeps it interesting and I like how he intertwined their story lines.

Nigel Patterson does an outstanding job with his narration. He gives each character a unique voice. He doesn't drag or rush...his pacing matches the mood of the story. His versatility with various accents is top notch.

Well done!

Apocalyptic fiction with a fun twist & read well

Would you consider the audio edition of The Gates to be better than the print version?

No, idea as I only listened to the audiobook. I do like to read (and it's certainly quicker) but audiobooks are wonderful on my daily commute.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Gates?

There are many stand-out moments to the story but what really held me was the sense of unnerving menace and foreboding that IRW managed top create from the outset. The first scene is very tranquil and calm but suddenly takes a very dark turn that is then maintained throughout,

What about Nigel Patterson’s performance did you like?

The narrator makes or breaks an audiobook for me (Dotrice's reading of the Game of Thrones books was so awful I gave up halfway through the first book) but Nigel Patterson's voice and narration style is great. I previously listened to another NP/IRW collaboration ("Savage") so I was really pleased to hear his dulcet tones again.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

As mentioned above, the main feeling from the book was dread, mixed with moments of fear and the occasional flash of humour. I didn't exactly go into the book expecting a comedy. Some things (like the end for the lady with the dog at the start of the novel) have stayed with me as they seem so tragic.

Any additional comments?

I understand that Nigel Patterson is now working on reading "Legion" (the sequel to this book) and I'm really looking forward to it. I should say that Mr Patterson was kind enough to provide me with a free copy of the book (via Audible) so please bear that in mind for full transparency. He did so without any need for a review (either positive or negative) but I'd have given one anyway as I think both the author and narrator are well worth the attention of anyone who likes apocalyptic horror.
My one complaint is that I have to wait for the next book. Come on, Nigel, read faster!

World War Z meets Doom

Fun & entertaining horror story, narrator did a great job, will definitely finish the series.

Something different!

Great listen of a well written story with a different twist on the Apocalypse.
The author introduced characters at a fast pace, and they often left as fast!
Something different for me, but a great listen. Would recommend.

Great audiobook..

I've read the book a few times and decided to give the audio book a punt so I could listen to it in my car on the way to and from work.

Was a bit wierd at first as I already had voices in my head for the characters so to hear something different was odd. However after a while it all clicked into place and the story as always was enjoyable and a great listen in the car.

The narrator was very good and I'm already on book 2 on Audible and enjoying that as well.

Frustrated.

Enjoyed well narrated.... But the ending...... I'm still waiting 😕 unless part of a series

Rattling good yarn...

Fast paced story with good characterizations as usual from this author, can’t wait for part two!

Not sure this really went anywhere.

Not the best narration and I felt that the story was a little hit and miss. Really wanted to enjoy this book after reading all the positive reviews and was hoping for at least a grand finale.

not quite sure how I feel about this one

i found this one hard to listen to at the start and couldn't decide whether it was bad writing or bad reading or a bit of both.

the general premise and story were very good it's just when the character were speaking that I felt it lacked a bit.

I'm glad I stuck with it though as overall I enjoyed it and either it got better or I just got used to the "acting"

time to give the next one a go

A good, albeit slightly repetitive start.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Living on Dartmoor and a stones-throw from Crapstone I admit I was gripped within 10 minutes of this book starting. After all, how often do you find an apocalyptic tale that starts on your own doorstep?

From the humble walk near Crapstone to portals opening around the world the human race is suddenly under attach from beautifully terrible beings from somewhere beyond and our military seems helpless to defend us.

With its wide-reaching, globe-trotting story and horrifically original creatures this is a book not unlike many other Warr-invasion tales but with the added twist of creature's origians.

The narrator does a great job of giving identity to all the characters and creatures and ensures that confusion is very rare but with how one-dimensional most of the characters are this is rarely an issue.

Sadly, what started as a great book with a slowly building sense of impending dread quickly becomes a series of gradually increasing repetitive fights and, with the exception of a few (the ship battle being a favourite) I found the fights largely forgettable as the story progresses and even the ending of the book felt a bit flat.

A very interesting opening part of the tale and one that does leave me wanting more but I do hope it offers a little more variety.

A brilliant premise, badly executed

Absolute struggle. Voice actor did very well with a flat, obvious story. I love the horror genre but this was just awful.