Customer Reviews

The Gatekeepers #1: Raven's Gate

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

To be honest, I picked up this book by accident. Presuming it was another of Horowitz's addicting Alex Rider series, I had taken it off of the shelf and found it in among my purchase bag as a total surprise. However, this did not stop me from reading this book first out of the many that I usually attain.

As an avid reader at age 14, I believe this book to be one of the best summer reads so far. This book takes you into a world where almost anything can happen, not unlike Harry Potter books. It is quick paced and encapturing, a lot like the Alex Rider series by the same author. Add a little other-worldy ancient evil into the mix, much like the Midnighter's series by Scott Westerfield, and you've got an instant wonder-book!

In this main tale, long-since orphaned Matt is given unequified punishment for crimes he only partially committed. Stuck to deal with a crazy new guardian in an even stanger new small town of the English countryside, he begins to realize that fate has its hand upon him. He finds evidence to believe that his new legal advisor- even the whole town- may have planned the whole thing, even back to the death of his parents!

Struggling with help of the few persons who reach out to him, Matt begins to realize he must fufill more than ever expected of a 14 year old before. An ancient prophecy remains to be proven at his hands. It is up to Matt to stop an ancient evil from rising into the world, against all odds.

I absolutely ADORED this book, and I could not have been more pleased to have 'accidentally' chosen it off of the book store shelf. This book discusses pre-ordained fate throughout witty plot and character developement. Fate, however, most definitely came into my hands in the form of reading this book. Absolutely excellent and I cannot wait for the entirety of the series to become available!

Do you believe in witches or the Old Ones?

Matt has been accused of committing a crime which actually he really didn't do. So now he has a choice to either go to jail or stay with an old lady named Mrs. Deverill in a remote area called Lesser Malling because of the government's new law called the LEAF Project. Matt should have chosen jail because he will soon find out that someone is planning something there at Lesser Malling, and Matt is in the middle of all the commotion.

Matt's past hasn't been the best. His parents died in a car crash six years ago and he has been living with his mom's stepsister, who doesn't necessarily treat him very well. But Matt has discovered that he has some kind of weird magical power--but doesn't know what it is.

When he gets to Mrs. Deverill's house he isn't treated in the best way possible. Even though he thinks the food is good he has to do chores and basically clean up all of Mrs. Deverill's property. After a while he has had enough of this bizarre nonsense and wants to leave, because this was supposed to be a volunteer act.

But when he tries to take a bike out to the main road back to Greater Malling and then back to London, every road he takes just brings him back to the place he started from. Well, he went home after that, and thought that he'd try the next day.

When coming back to the same spot, a guy named Tom Burgess appears and says he wants to help Matt out because this isn't a safe place to be. He also says that he will explain everything tomorrow at his farm, but what Matt doesn't know is that he will find Tom dead the next day.

After Tom's death things got even worse. Mrs. Deverill starts to come out more strongly and everyone that tries to help him get out of this creepy place just ends up dead. Is Matt's new helper bound to turn up dead, too?

Find out! Read the book.

I think this book is incredible!! Once you start reading you can't stop! This book has a twist at every turn. I recommend this book to anybody interested in books like the Harry Potter series--it's just so magnificent!!

Reviewed by: Spreeha

This book is awsome. Even though its slow at first but after a few chapters it gets freaky.You will never put all the pieces together until the end kind of like a puzzle.Anyway this book is great. PS. STAY AWAY FROM CATS

This was an awesome book written by Anthony Horowitz. One of the most addicting books I have ever read. One of those books you can't even think of abandoning. The best part is that it's written perfectly a little descriptive yet right to the point at the same time.


This book is about a teenager by the name of Matt. Matt's parents died when Matt was only six. The day they died Matt realized something, he was different not only did he know his parents were going to die the way they did he dreamed it the exact way it happened every detail was precise. And from that day forth he has felt terrible for not telling his parents about the dream. Now in his teen years Matt's a real trouble maker, but one day he takes it to the next level a real theft at a warehouse. He gets caught his punishment is the LEAF project he is sent to Lesser Malling with Ms.Deverill Matt knows something weird is happening in Lesser Malling and he also knows he is a big part of it.


This book is easy to read but gruesomely describes murder scenes. So with that I would recommend this book to anyone above the seventh grade.

Horowitz's opening book in his chiller-thriller series introduces readers to 14-year-old Matt Freeman, practically an orphan and callously abandoned by contemporary London society. As an alternative to jail for an attempted burglary (as a reluctant accomplice to a stabbing) Matt quickly chooses the new LEAF option. This program places troubled teens in quiet, rural areas where they receive a second chance with stable foster parents to become honest and productive members of society. Unfortunately Matt seems destined for an even worse fate; if he had realized the horrors he would face in Lesser Malling in distant Yorkshire, he would have instantly rejected the LEAF project.

With its Harry Potteresque elements, this book will grip readers of all ages as Matt is sucked into a dark world of roiling evil. Nor was it by chance that the ancient crone, Jane Deverill (just reduce her surname) made a special journey down to London to claim him--as her prized property. Shocked by his treatment at the dilapidated farm and the weird attitude of the villagers in Lesser Malling, Matt soon decides to run away. Alas for him--his attempts are foiled by his hostess' disgusting spies and flagrant use of outright witchcraft.

As the gothic novel gathers frightening momentum--the plot gushing with blood and primeval evil--Matt gradually discovers that every adult who tries to help him pays the ultimate price with his life. Insatiably curious about the purpose of an abandoned nuclear reactor, OMEGA ONE, Matt learns to his grief what horrors are about to be unleashed at the site called Raven's Gate--which was physically destroyed during the superstitious Middle Ages.

Despite being baptized with snake's blood and possessing untapped powers of his own, the boy cannot realistically outwit and defy an entire village dedicated to devil worship, hell bent to unleash true Armageddon upon the UK. Fortunately for our young hero there exists another secret society, the Nexus, whose international members convene to protect the unsuspecting world from these dire threats to human existence. They alone believe Matt's story and are equally determined to save the world--one hellish Gate at a time. This is the first in THE GATEKEEPRS series, featuring five Children who Saved the World once. Matt is the first, but he managed to catch a brief glimpse of his unknown peers, who recognized his innate abilities and destiny to help save mankind. Despite its
teenage hero, this book is not necessarily for Young Adults. If the black arts catch your literary fancy, then be prepared to travel to distant Lima, Peru, to coninue the saga of the Five who saved the World!

I read this book with my 9 year old son. He seemed to like it more than I did -- which may be all that matters -- but I thought it so-so. The beginning and middle of the book were excellent, exciting. Brief violence at the beginning was somewhat dark for a 9 year old, -- it was in a very real setting, but my son was OK. Then the boy in the story, Matt, gets sent somewhere and mysterious things happen -- all very good and extremely interesting. Really loved it to this point. You care about the main character, root for him, and wonder where the story is going. I was hooked. But the last 1/3, and I'll try to avoid spoiling (I don't think I do since the Gatekeepers series is about five young people who must 'save the world') I thought weak and worthy of B-script horror movies. Matt realizes he has special powers and after that it is all over for the bad folk (even if they have their own powers). Nothing intellectual about their defeat, they are no match for Matt. No inner journey -- except, "I've go the power". It became hackneyed and if I'm going to get hackneyed I prefer the Star Wars/Karate Kid type story, where the hero at least needs to work at it and needs a little help from friends (Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jackie Chen/Pat Morita). And what is borrowed in the last 1/3 of Raven's Gate isn't done as well as it was done originally (the museum scene in Raven's Gate is part Jurassic Park, part, "Night at the Museum.")

Would have given 2/3 of the book 5 stars, but overall this book just not in league with some others we've read (again I read with my 9 year old son): Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and Skybreaker books, Eoin Colfer's Airman, Brian Jacques Redwall series, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief series, or Dave Barry's Peter and the Starcatchers. So 3 stars.

I'm always on the lookout for things that would interest my nephew, partially because we share a taste in books. (Or at least, he reads many books that I liked when I was his age.) As such, I usually tend to read much of the new books before I send them to him.

Raven's Gate is the first in a series of 5 books by Anthony Horowitz. The first book follows Matt, a young boy who has been enrolled into the LEAF program after being a somewhat unwilling accomplice in what should have been a simple snatch & grab theft. He's sent to the home of Ms. Deverill, a sinister old lady with whom Matt instantly distrusts. Matt soon discovers that there's something sinister going on, & that if he's not careful he will end up as one of the latest casualties in the town of Lesser Malling.

I really did enjoy this book, although there was one thing that sort of bugged me. It's nothing major, but if you are curious then I'll elaborate more in the comments section. (The gripe is sort of spoilerish.) The book wasn't as well fleshed out as I'd like, but then this is only the first volume in the series. I can't expect all of the secrets to be revealed in the first book, now can I?

The only thing I'd warn parents about is that there's a lot of violence in the book, with one character dying graphically in the course of the book. Since each parent is different when it comes to this sort of thing, I recommend that the parents read the book first & then discuss the content with their child after they've finished reading it. The book is quite good, so the parents shouldn't have any problem reading it. (Plus it's a great way to connect with your kid!)

I can't wait to read the rest of the series- this shows a lot of promise!

Even though I've read only the first book in the series, I thught this book was very good. It was full of action and suspence and I just wanted to read and read.

Raven's Gate is a book about 5 children who saved the world thousands of years ago. Now Matt is just finding out that he is one of the five.He got sent away because he broke into a werehouse and his friend stabbed a security guard. Then he got sent to live with a women named with Mrs. Deverill and a few weeks living with her he starts to think she is crazy.
She works him to death snd when someone comes and tries to help him get away they wind up dead. Then he hears weird noises in the woods and sneeks out there and sees a fire with all the villagers around and phantom dogs coming out from the fire. He gets freaked out and runs and gets stuck in a bog and he gets free by a journalist who happened to drive by. The journalist takes him to London to meet a amn who is part of a organisation called the Nexus. But then when he goes and gets the keys he gets killed by skeleton dionsours. Mrs. Deverill kidnaps him and the next thing he knows he is on a slab of rock with all the villagers around. A moment later there is a knife plumeting at his heart. Will he survive or will the old ones break free and destroy the world?

This book is good for 11-14 years old.

Ravens Gate

Ravens gate is an excellent book by Anthony Horowitz. It is about a young boy named Matthew Freeman. (Matt for short) The book starts off with Matt as an outcast because he lost his parents in a terrible car crash. No one really likes him, and he lives with his aunt. Then he attempts to steal from a warehouse with his "friend" and they get busted by a security officer patrolling the area. Matts "friend" blames matt for the whole thing and matt has the choice of prison or go to a farm town, and live with a old woman who will train him in kindness, passion, and love- or so they say. He lives with her until he figures out that he is one of the five chosen ones to protect the gates from being opened. If opened, the world will be thrown into a pool of chaos.

I would give this book a 10 out of 10 because it is one of the best books I have ever read.
It has a VERY good story, remarkable characters, and it is very realistic. The author(Anthony Horowitz) made the characters seem very lifelike and makes the reader feel like they are actually there with Matt, figuring out his destiny. That ties in with the reality of the whole book. The story mixed with the realistic characters blends for a truly good story.

In conclusion, I recommend reading this book because it has a truly unique story and always keeps you on edge. -Chase-Mr Cosby...blehh

Anthony Horowitz has done it again! He's managed to begin another series that will entice reluctant readers to pick up a book!! Although, not as gripping as Stormbreaker (my favorites), Raven's Gate (the series) has the potential to develop into something exciting. Edgy enough for reluctant boy readers, mysterious enough to keep anyone reading.
Anthony has done amazing things in my 7th grade classroom through his books!