The Infernals

A Samuel Johnson Tale

John Connolly

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781451643107
• Subtopic: Literature General

From New York Times bestselling author John Connolly, a wonderfully strange and brilliant novel about a boy, his dog, and their struggle to escape the wrath of demons. Young Samuel Johnson is in trouble. Not only is his eyesight so poor that he mistakenly asks out a letter box on a date, but an angry demon is seeking revenge for Samuel’s part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil. It wants to get its claws on Samuel, and when Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, the home of the Infernals, it gets its chance.

But catching Samuel is not going to be easy, for the Infernals have not reckoned on the bravery and cleverness of a boy and his dog, or the loyalty of Samuel’s friend, the hapless demon Nurd, or the presence of two clueless policemen and the unlucky, if cheerfully optimistic, driver of an ice-cream van.

Most of all, no one has planned on the intervention of an unexpected band of little men, for Samuel and Boswell are not the only inhabitants of Earth who have found themselves in the underworld. If you thought demons were frightening, just wait until you meet Mr. Merryweather’s Elves. . . .

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Chapter I: In Which We Find Ourselves in Hell, but Only Temporarily, So It’s Not All Bad News
• Chapter II: In Which We Learn a Little About How Hard It Is to Be in Love
• Chapter III: In Which We Delve Deeper into the Bowels of Hell, Which Is One of Those Chapter Headings That Make Parents Worry About the Kind of Books Their Children Are Reading
• Chapter IV: In Which We Reacquaint Ourselves with Nurd, formerly “Nurd, The Scourge of Five Deities,” Which Was All Something of a Misunderstanding, Really
• Chapter V: In Which We Encounter Mr. Merryweather’s Dwarfs—or Elves—and Rather Wish We Hadn’t
• Chapter VI: In Which Samuel Is Reunited with Boswell, and We Learn Why One Should Not Trust a Mirror
• Chapter VII: In Which We Pay a Visit to Mrs. Abernathy’s House. Which Is Nice. Not.
• Chapter VIII: In Which We Wonder Just How Smart Really Smart People Sometimes Are
• Chapter IX: In Which Mr. Merryweather’s Elves Embark on a New Adventure
• Chapter X: In Which Mr. Merryweather’s Dwarfs Make an Unpleasant Discovery
• Chapter XI: In Which Samuel Arrives, and Nurd Departs
• Chapter XII: In Which Dozy Is the Bearer of Bad News
• Chapter XIII: In Which We Meet a Ram, and Some Old Friends Are Reunited
• Chapter XIV: In Which the Forces of Law and Order Assert Themselves
• Chapter XV: In Which Something of the Nature of this World Is Revealed Through Old Ram
• Chapter XVI: In Which Hell Gets Stranger, and the Scientists Grow More Curious
• Chapter XVII: In Which the True Faces of the Conspirators Are Revealed, and an Ugly Bunch They Are Too
• Chapter XVIII: In Which Those Who Will Be of Help to Samuel Begin to Come Together
• Chapter XIX: In Which We Encounter Some of the Other Unfortunate Residents of Hell
• Chapter XX: In Which We Meet the Blacksmith
• Chapter XXI: In Which Nurd Considers Changing His Name to “Nurd, Unlucky in Numerous Dimensions”
• Chapter XXII: In Which We Learn That There Is Always Hope, as Long as One Chooses Not to Abandon It
• Chapter XXIII: In Which Mrs. Abernathy Loses Her Temper, and We Meet Up Again with an Unpleasant Personage from Earlier in Our Tale
• Chapter XXIV: In Which We Speculate on What, If Anything, Might Be Worse Than Evil
• Chapter XXV: In Which a Familiar Odor Sends the Dwarfs’ Spirits Soaring
• Chapter XXVI: In Which We Learn of the Difficulties in Re-creating the Taste of Something Truly Horrible
• Chapter XXVII: In Which We Hear a Surprising Confession
• Chapter XXVIII: In Which Everything Goes Horribly Wrong
• Chapter XXIX: In Which Various August Personages Put Their Plans in Motion
• Chapter XXX: In Which the Watcher Is Torn
• Chapter XXXI: In Which We Learn a Little of the Responsibilities of Command, and the Perils of Being Commanded
• Chapter XXXII: In Which Samuel and Mrs. Abernathy Meet Again, Which Only Delights 50 Percent of Those Involved
• Chapter XXXIII: In Which a Third Force Intervenes in the Conflict
• Chapter XXXIV: In Which We Encounter Some Cunning Disguises
• Chapter XXXV: In Which Battle Commences, and a Rescue Mission Is Mounted
• Chapter XXXVI: In Which a Certain Someone Wakes Up with a Sore Head
• Chapter XXXVII: In Which We Get to the “Happy Ever After” Part
• Chapter XXXVIII: In Which We Discover the Limitations of the Term Happily Ever After
• Acknowledgments
• Footnotes
• About John Connolly
• Copyright Page