Tombs. Hundreds of them. All lying in concentric rings in the greasy, cold darkness of the cavern. At their very centre, hanging from a burnt and blackened tree. a huge, cracked bell. And under that, The Gate, built from the bones of a thousand murdered souls. Lazarus knew ringing the bell would be very bad. He also knew he had no choice - he needed the kind of help only Hell could give him... The Dead don't just want to return, they want Earth for themselves. And it's Lazarus Stone, Keeper of the Dead, who has to stop them. Trouble is, the Dead are the exact opposite of rotting, stumbling corpses. And they desire one thing only: to live again. To do that, all they need is a good supply of fresh, warm bodies... Lazarus now knows his mum murdered him, betrayed his dad, and is about to open a portal between worlds that will bring about the end of life as we know it. Trouble is, his best mate has disappeared (again), he still hasn't rescued his dad (but he will), and the only help he has is that of an undead priest (who carries a blunderbuss) and a female angel (who drives a 4x4 and has an alcohol problem). This isn't just about saving the world, this is personal...

This is book 3 in The Dead .

This book has been graded for interest at 12-17 years.

There are 352 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton General Division .

David Gatward trained as a teacher and outdoors pursuits instructor before working in publishing. He has written numerous titles for Kevin Mayhew publishers, as well as the popular Demon Defenders series for Puffin as Jake Lancing. He has also written To the Extreme (FYI) for Barrington Stoke. David lives in Frome, Somerset.