Samuel Johnson vs The Darkness Trilogy

Samuel Johnson #1-3

by John Connolly

Bursting with imagination and impossible to put down, these novels - 'darkly comic' (Telegraph) and 'delightfully horrific and hilarious' (Eoin Colfer) - from The Sunday Times bestselling author John Connolly, are about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy - and a quirky 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.

The Gates: Samuel Johnson's neighbour Mrs Abernathy is trying to open the gates of hell. It's up to Samuel to stop her, except nobody will believe him, and time is running out.

The Infernals (prev. Hell's Bells): Samuel and Boswell are pulled through a portal into Hell. But Mrs Abernathy has reckoned without their bravery and cleverness, or the loyalty of Samuel's friend, the demon Nurd, and Mr Merryweather's Elves.

The Creeps: Samuel and Boswell are to be guests of honour at the opening of the greatest toyshop. A splendid time will be had by all, as long as they can ignore the sinister statue that keeps moving around the town, the Shadows that are slowly blocking out the stars, murderous elves, and the fact that, somewhere, a rotten black heart is beating a rhythm of reveng

Genres: Urban Fantasy

976 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2020

About the author

John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper, to which he continues to contribute.

He is based in Dublin but divides his time between his native city and the United States.

This page is administered by John's assistant, Clair, on John's behalf. If you'd like to communicate with John directly, you can do so by writing to contact-at-johnconnollybooks.com, or by following him on Twitter at @JConnollyBooks.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Samuel Capper]

25/04/25 - 29/04/25

DNF

I wanted to love this, it feels almost like a triple feature length Roald Dahl novel, but I think I'm just too far outside the target age to properly engage with it's humour for over nine hundred pages. Not bad by any means, just not for me.

[Peter Barrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books i,ve read great storys and so funny and like all john connly books very well written

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young reader book that I just cannot get into even though this I my favorite author. So sorry

[Elmore Wenholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this trilogy a few years back, so this review may not be the most lucid, but here we go.
This is my favourite trilogy, and I just couldn’t pick a favourite single book so I just bunched them all together because I am lazy.
The writing style is very fun and immersive and fits perfectly with the plot, which is the perfect blend of comical and interesting and moving and serious.
These books are really suitable for any ages. I read them when I was thirteen and enjoyed the comedy and whimsical adventure, but after looking back over it, with my new critical eye from all the classics I’ve read, I can see the raw talent in the writing, the sheer emotion and powerful meanings.
These books are both fun and thought provoking, but mostly fun, so go read them.
And if you don’t like fun, then you can rate this trilogy 1 star and everybody will know your an equal mix of puritan and troglodyte.

[Rachel Woollacott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Why haven't I read these sooner?! A young adult collection that is clever and funny. A great read.