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    Hell's Gate: A Thriller
    Hell's Gate: A Thriller
    Hell's Gate: A Thriller
    Audiobook10 hours

    Hell's Gate: A Thriller

    Written by Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch

    Narrated by David Colacci

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    When a Japanese submarine is discovered abandoned deep in the Brazilian wilderness, a smart, adventurous, and tough zoologist must derail a catastrophic plot in Hell’s Gate.

    1944. As war rages in Europe and the Pacific, Army Intel makes a shocking discovery: a 300-foot Japanese sub marooned and empty, deep in the Brazilian interior. A team of Army Rangers sent to investigate has already gone missing. Now, the military sends Captain R. J. MacCready, a quick-witted, brilliant scientific jack-of-all-trades to learn why the Japanese are there—and what they’re planning.

    Parachuting deep into the heart of Central Brazil, one of the most remote regions on the planet, Mac is unexpectedly reunited with his hometown friend and fellow scientist Bob Thorne. A botanist presumed dead for years, Thorne lives peacefully with Yanni, an indigenous woman who possesses mysterious and invaluable skills. Their wisdom and expertise are nothing short of lifesaving for Mac as he sets out on a trail into the unknown.

    Mac makes the arduous trek into an ancient, fog-shrouded valley hidden beneath a 2000-foot plateau, where he learns of a diabolical Axis plot to destroy the United States and its allies. But the enemy isn’t the only danger in this treacherous jungle paradise. Silently creeping from the forest, an even darker force is on the prowl, attacking at night and targeting both man and beast. Mac has to uncover the source of this emerging biological crisis and foil the enemy’s plans . . . but will he be in time to save humanity from itself?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 7, 2016
    ISBN9780062471963
    Author

    Bill Schutt

    Bill Schutt is Professor of Biology at LIU-Post (Long Island University) and Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History. He is the author of Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures and a novel, Hell's Gate (with J. R. Finch).

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    Reviews for Hell's Gate

    3.5/5

    32 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I was disappointed by this book because, from its description, I was expecting more of a "creature in the jungle" adventure story. That was only part of the book. A lot of the book involved the actions of the Germans and Japanese creating and testing chemical/biological weapons and delivery systems for them. The authors obviously did a lot of research about this, but it wasn't the story that I wanted to read. I felt that way too much time was spent setting up the German and Japanese villains, when everyone already knows they behaved despicably during the war. I didn't need the details in order to hate them. The creatures didn't show up until about 30% into the book and by that point I was really rooting for them to kill everyone. They were by far the most sympathetic and intriguing characters in the book. Captain R.J. MacCready, tropical zoologist and intrepid explorer, was such a cardboard character that I didn't care about him at all, and his colleagues Yanni and Robert were equally uninteresting. There were a few good action sequences. I particularly liked the turtles. However, I had hoped for a better book. It seems that there is going to be a second book featuring MacCready, but I doubt that I will read it. One small point about the editing - I don't think the term "clusterfuck" was invented until the 1960s. Its usage made me doubt the authenticity of the other period details. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 4/5
      Fast paced, interesting read. I found the ending a bit abrupt but since this is the first in a series, the next installment has the perfect place to start. I appreciated the section that gives a reality check so you know what's based on fact and where the authors took creative license.
    • 2/5
      Hell’s GateAuthor: Bill Schutt and J R FinchPublisher: Bakk Bone LLCPublished In: New York City, NYDate: 2016Pgs: 373REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERSSummary:1944. Missing Army unit in the Amazon. A impossibly big Japanese submarine discovered aground in the jungle. An Axis plot arising in the jungle interior of Amazonia. And a darker force is coming as well. Captain R J MacCready is sent to investigate. Will he be enough? Can he make a difference? Will it be too late by the time those questions are answered?Genre:AdventureFictionHorrorMilitaryMonsterMysteryParanormalPulpVampiresWarWhy this book:Jacket reads like a Dirk Pitt novel.______________________________________________________________________________Favorite Character:Maurice Voorhees, reluctant, young, Nazi, rocket scientist, drafted away from Peenemunde to work on a project in the Amazonian hinterland of Brazil. Character I Most Identified With:Mama bat creature who is just trying to keep her family fed on the wayward warm blooded creatures who fall into their telempathic embrasure. The Feel:Almost put it down after the description of what happened to MacCready’s family. Heavy handed make the reader care about poor him. Cynical of me, yes, but still true.Feels a bit like the hero is shoehorned into the villainous Nazi plot. The plot pieces are much better than the hero’s journey portion of our program. Uneven, so far.Favorite Scene / Quote:The opening with the “gas” attack on the Russian Army in the Ukraine and the two German soldiers in the Brazilian jungle falling victim to whatever those telepathic jungle vampires are are much better scenes than any scene with MacCready so far.Plot Holes/Out of Character:MacCready and Hendry’s talk when the later gives the former his assignment was supposed to be the easy repartee of acquaintances with a shared history, but it doesn’t ring that way. Feels forced. Tried to consider the conversation against whatever happened with MacCready’s family, but it still doesn’t deliver the character touchstone that, I feel , this was supposed to be.Hmm Moments:Giant intelligent vampire bats with 10 foot wingspans and a hunger for blood. Okay...that’s awesome. And Nazi rocket sleds throwing manned missiles suborbital to rain something down on American cities out of the Amazonian interior of Brazil. ...yeah...that’s cool.Is MacCready going to end up teaming up with telempathic bat people to fight rocket Nazis in the rain forest? With the differences in the MacCready character scenes and the Nazis in the jungle and the bat creature scenes, I wonder if this was originally conceived as Nazis vs bat people and some editor or self-editing lead to needing to include a hero’s journey as part of the story.WTF Moments:MacCready carrying the corpse of the scarlet ibis that got caught in his propeller around with him is gross.______________________________________________________________________________Last Page Sound:Kinda wandered around in the denouement positioning characters.Author Assessment:I would read the jacket of more by these authors, not sure if I would pick up the book though.Knee Jerk Reaction:meh! Disposition of Book:Irving Public LibrarySouth CampusIrving, TXDewey Decimal System: FSCHWould recommend to:no one______________________________________________________________________________
    • 4/5
      In 1944, the discovery of an empty Japanese submarine large enough to transport three bombers marooned by the Germans deep in the Brazilian jungle near the mysterious Hell’s Gate region shocks Army Intelligence. After the disappearance of a team of Army Rangers, Army Captain R.J. MacCready parachutes into the area to investigate and learns of a diabolical Axis plot to destroy the United States and its allies. But there’s another danger lurking in the jungle paradise; MacCready must find the source of the biological crisis and foil the enemy’s plans be fore it’s too late.Well-developed characters, an amazing sense of place, a tad of the nightmarish, and a twisting plot with non-stop action all combine to create a first-rate suspenseful mystery. And a “Reality Check” provided by the authors serves to ground the story with the background and historical basis for the events in this well-spun tale.Readers will find much to enjoy in this exciting narrative but will be hard-pressed to set the book aside before reaching the final page.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Hell’s Gate is a great new historical action (I could add about 20 more adjectives) thriller from Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch. Think Indiana Jones meets Michael Crichton. Set in 1944 as World War II is winding down in Europe, Hell’s Gate features Axis soldiers, rocket scientists, and the jungles of Brazil that swallow up Japanese submarines and Army Rangers with equal appetite. And then it gets scary. Captain R.J. “Mac” MacCready is a zoologist called in to discover what the Axis powers are up to deep in jungles of Brazil. Discovering his long-presumed dead friend Bob Thorne and his indigenous wife Yanni, Mac makes plans for Bob and Yanni to get the word out about what the Nazi’s are up to while Mac tries to get closer to the Axis base and disrupt their plans.While Mac tries to halt the Nazi plans, something in the jungle is stalking them all. Something that the natives both fear and respect. Whether this new threat will stop the enemy or turn out to be the key in their devastating plan to destroy the United States is a terrifying question.The authors bring a wealth of knowledge to this novel, from history to botany to zoology. This level of realism heightens the thrills. While reading, I found myself swatting at imaginary insects and listening for sounds in the night, so convincingly did I feel like I was in the jungle. The three main characters, Mac, Bob and Yanni shared an easy camaraderie and were fun to root for. The Nazi and Japanese military and scientists ran the gamut from short-sighted to chillingly evil. There were some bumps typical to a first book in a series, namely rough edges on the characters and a plot that was a little choppy moving forward from time to time. On the whole this is an exciting thriller and adventure story. It’s also going to give you a wonderful case of the creeps as you lose yourself in the jungles of Brazil, with Nazi’s on one side of you and something that goes “click click” in the night and whispers in your ear not to worry on the other side.This is a wonderful new book with characters that set up nicely for more adventures. Sign me up! Fans of James Rollins, Matthew Reilly, Michael Crichton, and Alistair MacLean will all find something to love here. Highly recommended!I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book.