Purgatory's Gate

The tale of Dr. David Monroe's journey into the depth of the occult after the inexplicable death of one of his patient's leaves the reader breathless, terrified and most desirous for more of the same. By turns truly terrifying and heartbreaking, with the occasional much needed moments of humor provided in the the character of Fr. Francis, this book rightfully falls under the auspices of horror fiction; however, references to ancient myths and philosophies raise it to a deeper level than most others of the same genre. These references fit appropriately into the narrative and also remind the reader that the battle of good and evil is indeed eternal. Every generation must reinterpret it for itself. Though I didn't attemtp this, I feel that for those with a taste for this kind of storytelling, this would be a great book to read aloud.

Here's a work which harkens back to the classic Gothic writers of horror. The opening scene of an unexpected death in the obstetrics ward alone gave me a bad case of tachycardia, but what distinguishes "Purgatory's Gate" is Raymond van Over's attention to characterization throughout the book--touching and successfully exploiting that morbid streak which runs through us all. A grand show, executed with taut pacing and nice literary flourishes. Enjoy...

Dr. Moore may be investigating a terrible murder, but he is also on a journey to make sense of his own life. The novel begins with this burnt-out doctor wondering what his life is about. The horror that the doctor encounters and his interaction with a knowledgeable priest who speaks honestly about the nature of good evil, leads the doctor on his own inner journey to make sense of the world that he lives in.

Rather than type out a whole separate review, I am just going to add my review of the inadequate review by Mark O.--with a few changes. I don't know what book this reviewer was reading. I thought it a "remarkable" book, firmly in the new trend in fiction of melding genre pacing with literary depth of character and setting as well as more emphasis on felicitous language. The use of metaphor was particularly pleasing to me. I also enjoyed the use of atmosphere and setting as a powerful tool to set mood, which helped build suspense and the considerable amount of horror regarding the tendencies by people to succumb to religious fanaticism. The discussions about doubt and the nature of good and evil between the old priest and the doctor were particular enjoyable. As for the two points the reviewer (Mark O.) raised claiming egregious mistakes every twenty pages (and using two questionable examples of a name and an old magazine) I thought the comments were gratuitous and almost personal. It made me wonder if the reviewer didn't have some personal antagonism beyond a simple review. By the way, I assume the reviewer is referring to "The Antiquarian Bookman" in his reference to an old magazine, which went belly up in 2000. My reading of that scene--since the reference in the book was to a "rumpled" magazine--was that it was an old magazine and the "old" bookman was living in the past. Those who insist on obsessing about minutiae generally miss the larger picture. Oh, well, we each find nuance where we can. To each his own. I loved the book.

Not been a big fan of horror novels, I couldn't put this one down. The plot is engaging and frightening at the same time. Half way through some chapters I had to stop reading for a while to shake off the terror of the scenes masterly described by the author. After a few minutes, I had to continue reading to find out the scene's outcome!. The book has the perfect thriller, sensuality, and horror mix. I highly recommend it, but think twice before reading it late at night!