The Devil’s Gate: An Impossible Journey | Deepak Kripal | Book Review

The Devil's Gate An Impossible Journey by Deepak KripalPLOT: 3/5
CHARACTERS: 2.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 2.5/5
CLIMAX: 2.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5

It takes courage to write on concepts and notions which rarely catch the fancy of other writers.

Even if one does choose to settle down to an ‘unheard-of’ theme, it takes even more courage to put it into words and deliver to the readers, exactly what it had intended to deliver in the first place.

In that regard, the effort and the skill of this debut author must be applauded generously, for indeed, he has made a point and has successfully made the readers see, what he had intended them to see.

Through the medium of this adventure fantasy novel, the author has driven home the point of futility in the growing cruelty towards animals and destroying of their natural habitat in order to satisfy the insatiable human hunger for materiality.

The social message which The Devil’s Gate intends to drive home runs deep and is frequently hinted at various points in the book.

The United Animals (UA) is a clandestine organization run by animals and for the benefit of animals. In order to find a new place, a new land, where animals will be not be driven out by humans, the UA plans on a secret mission.

The mission is to approach an island called the island of “Five Hundred Graves” where no living being has ever dared to set foot. The devilish island set to be inhabited only by demons is only visible for a short time on the night of the full moon.

It is towards this island that Katy the cat and Dug the dog begin their journey with little hopes of achieving something for the benefit of the animal fraternity.

But what Katy and Dug don’t know, is that no one has ever come out alive from the island of “Five Hundred Graves”.

So how will Katy and Dug reach the island, when no one has ever accessed it before? Even if they manage to somehow find their way across the island, will they ever be successful in cheating death? What kind of demons and monsters inhabit the island? Will the UA ever be successful in achieving a human-free land for animals?

To know this and much more about the journey of Katy and Dug, get a copy of this interestingly mysterious book today and find out all about the island, the monsters, the impregnable Devil’s Gate, the ancient Vanora palace, the equally ancient Vanora curse, the dark book and the ultimate evil soul Penacus.

What I liked the best in the book was the underlying message that becomes the foundation stone of the book. Along with its unique evils and demons, the book is surely meant to lure children and teens.

I also liked the surprise which awaited the reader at the turn of every chapter, here, I must say, that the end was very unpredictable and kept getting more and more mysterious as the pages flipped by.

The only parts I didn’t savour much was where unnecessarily lengthy conversations (often filled with humour) seemed to spoil the whole ‘evil and mysterious’ theme. Overall a good read, I recommend The Devil’s Gate to fantasy lovers, especially young children and teenagers.

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