Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe, a gap through which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out....Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?Bursting with imagination and impossible to put down, "The Gates" is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy, who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power.In this wonderfully strange and brilliant novel, John Connolly manages to re-create the magical and scary world of childhood that we've all left behind but so love to visit. And for those of you who thought you knew everything you could about particle physics and the universe, think again. This novel makes anything seem possible.

约翰·康诺利（John Conolly )，1968年生于爱尔兰都柏林，担任过记者、酒保、服务生等，曾就读于爱尔兰三一学院英文系，并在都柏林市立大学学习新闻学，之后有五年的时间在《爱尔兰时报》担任自由记者。

1999年，康诺利以《夺命旅人》（Every Dead Thing) 出道，这本惊悚小说创下了英美版权史上第二高价的新人预付版税记录，令康诺利成为“夏姆斯奖”（Shamus Award )首位非美籍得奖者，并奠定其“爱尔兰惊悚大师”的地位。已五次获得英国zui佳犯罪小说奖“巴瑞奖”（Barry Award)。

康诺利才华横溢，左手写惊悚，右手跨领域、跨类型书写，开创全新格局，使人惊艳赞叹。从2009年到2013年，康诺利陆续推出以小男孩塞缪尔·约翰逊为主角的奇幻冒险小说。