THE INFERNALS

The sequel to THE GATE finds Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, transported to hell—replete with armies of comic and demonic characters whom narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds revels in voicing. Johnson is not without help; the demon Nurd from the earlier book appears, as does an ice cream truck filled with the dissolute dwarves Mumbles, Angry, Jolly, and Dozy. Footnotes—meant to elucidate or bring readers up-to-date—dot the text and are neatly incorporated as ironic asides by Reynolds. He’s delightfully droll, whether narrating the cataclysmic battle scenes, the terrifying journey of the 11-year-old who is drawn into hell, or the dwarves’ explosive brewery sampling of Old Peculiar. Connolly’s story is hilarious, and Reynolds’s sardonic telling is spot-on. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2012]