Isobelle Carmody Quotes

“Outside the wind was blowing the wrong way and the world was filled with the smell of death ...” At face value, Cheshunt is a model neighbourhood. But almost as soon as he and his mother move there Nathanial knows there is something wrong--something hideously wrong. And it isn’t just the stench from the old abattoir, which doesn’t seem to bother most residents.

Fifteen-year-old Nathaniel Delaney, a newcomer in Cheshunt, senses that something is very wrong and joins forces with a small group of new friends to defeat the age-old evil presence that holds the town in its horrific grip.

Grade 7-10-Vile odors, feral dogs, fascistic school monitors, and a demonic principal combine to convince Nathaniel, 15, that something is terribly wrong in his new town.

It is this last-minute insight, however, that makes the chilling climax a success. The message-that love, loyalty, and true friendship can conquer jealousy and hatred-will not be lost on readers.

Nathanial soon learns he is not in Cheshunt by accident. As the dark calls its own, so does the light. Nathanial must confront phantoms from his own past if he and all the others called by the light have any hope of stopping the Gathering and its creator.

The evil from that chilling incident still grips Cheshunt and is now rapidly gaining power. Nathaniel finds himself drawn to a group of misfits at school and they are soon involved in a struggle against the terrible forces that seek total control of the community.

Suspense builds slowly and creates an atmosphere of grim foreboding. However, Nathaniel is the only one of the young people whose personality is distinct, and the fantasy elements in the plot are not fully developed.

As part of a class assignment, he probes into local history and discovers the shocking truth about the death of a school janitor years ago.

The principal is, of course, pure evil. The other adults are mostly unaware of the epic battle shaping up around them. Only when evil is about to triumph do the young people at last understand the true nature of their power.

A number of people see the Cheshunt school’s headmaster, Mr Karle (“the Kraken”) as a representation of Hitler. In a quote on the book’s front flyleaf Terry Lane is reported to have called The Gathering “a dark, grim allegory of fascism”.