“Sixteen-year-old Jason is living a nightmare within a nightmare. He is trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world that has been overrun by demons from another realm, but it was his mother who opened the door in her experiment gone wrong. In a last ditch effort to redeem his family name and unload his guilt, he joins a squad whose mission is to destroy the Hell spawn around Mont St. Michel. When his team arrives in Paris to close the Hell Gate they discover an environment more frightening than anything they could imagine and demons more terrifying than they had ever encountered before. Time is now racing against them Can he gain his redemption along with the respect of his peers or will a new web of lies threaten to rip apart his world and jeopardize his team’s only chance for success?”

Hell Gate by Josh Matthews was an engrossing military story full of excellent paranormal twists and turns. The book is immediately exciting, but then slows considerably. Although it was a bit of a push to get through the first part of the book, the character development that happens there is masterful. It takes a special talent to give back story to every single character, even the minor characters. This approach is present throughout the book and gives to the reader a truly stunning panoramic view of the post-apocalyptic world. During part two, the excitement is back to stay. Nothing is spared during the gory showdowns between the survivors of Hell unleashed on Earth and the deadly demons pouring out from The Hell Gate. Everything is laid out in vivid detail, a true depiction of our deepest apocalyptic nightmares. Matthew kept his talents at work with his interesting approach to showing the various points of view. Battles moved quickly, and the reader is taken through each stage of the adventure as though it were a movie. This was a fantastic read, and though I look forward to reading the second book, I think this story would have had more of an impact on the reader if it had stood alone. The lead into a sequel feels forced, and because of this and a few grammar and spelling errors, I give the novel four stars.

Hellgate is currently available through Amazon and is currently free on Kindle Unlimited!