Raven's Gate Book one of the Gatekeepers (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Matt Freeman knew he was making a mistake..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sir Michael, Raven's Gate, Lesser Malling (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-At the outset of this first book in Anthony Horowitz's latest series (Scholastic, 2005), 14-year-old Matt is arrested at the scene of an electronics warehouse break-in. Soon, he's remanded to the home of a crone in a country village. She's ornery, but the village is out and out creepy: he can't find a road that goes anywhere but in a circle and it seems everyone to whom he turns for help winds up dead. Horowitz's Alex Rider books presented the boy against the system of national espionage. Matt's situation is even worse-his opponents are witches. Simon Prebble's pacing as Matt struggles from quicksand, is chased by dinosaurs through the Natural History Museum, and finds himself about to be sacrificed by the coven in a secluded wood remains agonizingly steady, wringing every drop of horror from the author's carefully drawn plot in this fantasy set in modern times.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. Horowitz, fresh off his success with his Alex Rider series, ratchets things up a notch with the first in the Gatekeepers series about five young people who must save the world from evil. A master of edge-of-your-seat writing, Horowitz gives himself lots of opportunity to push the envelope here. He focuses on 14-year-old Matt, a troubled orphan who is in with the wrong crowd. As punishment for being present during an assault, Matt must choose between life with off-putting Mrs. Deverill in a remote Yorkshire village, or jail. As Matt soon learns, Lesser Malling is much worse than jail, because strange and dangerous things are occurring there. Raven's Gate, an ancient portal to the world of evil, is about to be opened, and Matt is to be the blood sacrifice. Novels about boys (and girls) facing dark forces are nothing new, and this one certainly contains elements of familiar stories (Hello, Harry Potter). But the real-world setting gives this an extra frisson of horror, and Horowitz's vivid descriptions are not for the fainthearted. It's what's inside all the thrills, however, that makes the book so strong: characters that readers will care about and root for. There will be an eager audience for the next in the series, to be titled Evil Star. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439679958
• ISBN-13: 978-0439679954
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #264,610 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The The Gatekeepers Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Summer Reads, June 6, 2005

By	kmr (USA) - See all my reviews

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, February 23, 2007

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, October 15, 2006

A Kid's Review

ravens gate by anthony horowitz is a great book. It has action. Once you start it you cant put it down. Since Im not an avid reader Idont no why im addicted but i am. A kid name matts parents die so he goes to his aunt. He attempts to steal from a warehouse and gets caught. then he decides not to go toprison and instead go to an old ladys house.