I'm all for reading about DEATH MATCH CHESS, but even that cannot save this book for me. It seems poised to snag whatever parts of the YA demographic that have not been sucked into the Twilight vortex. ("Not interested in reading an epic romance about a sparkly vampire? Try this book about demons eating parents instead! now with copious amounts of blood!")I liked how the hero, Grubbs Grady, gets a hard wake-up call to the realities of his world when his immediate family is slaughtered by demons, and I thought the reveal of that scene and the aftermath with Grubbs stuck in a cycle of psychiatric observation was extremely well done. But shortly after Grubbs' sole surviving adult family member arranges for Grubbs' release from observation, the narrative completely stalls and my interest took a sharp nosedive. First, wouldn't you logically expect a young teenager – having directly witnessed demons eating his family and having spent weeks in an asylum desperately pretending this hasn't happened for fear that he'll prove himself to actually be crazy, but then discovering that his uncle is the one adult in his world who believes in the demons too and who then spirits him out of the asylum to safety – to maybe ask this uncle about these demons? Maybe even ask why this horrible thing has happened to him? You wanna know how long it takes Grubbs to do this? One. Hundred. Pages. I was getting to the point while reading this that I seriously wondered if I'd accidentally skipped over the paragraph that explained this.It's as if the author was deliberately trying to slow the pace of this book, and I can't think of a single reason why he would want to do so. The beginning grips you instantly and the ending is really good, but the middle? Ugh – the story stops dead. Did Shan think teens couldn't handle reading a novel at breakneck speed and needed some sort of slow place where they could catch their breath? That teens would be unable to relate to a story entirely about a badass demon-fighting protagonist with a burning urge to stay alive and that it would be a better idea to tone it down for a few chapters so that teens could read instead about a protagonist doing exciting things like watch movies with a friend in his living room? Or had he just had a passing whim to switch the story's genre entirely from horror to light mystery but then changed his mind and switched it back to horror again at the end? It makes no sense. If you want to write a horror story, make it horror.Then Grubbs himself suffers from this sequence of random competence switchovers. He starts at as a sadistically nasty little brother – rigging a shower to pour rotten, liquefied rat guts on your naked sister assuredly counts as sadistic behavior – but he quickly goes through that horrible opening event and starts behaving very believably within the confines of the story, but once he gets to his uncle's house he starts acting like a careless moron and jettisons any of the experience bonus points he would have gained earlier. But then, by the very end of the book, Grubbs has another great growth of maturity and becomes responsible and interesting again. I want to throttle the author. Pick a characterization already, Shan!I would have loved this story if it had been rewritten with a more even hand. The plot had a great premise, and Shan shows loads of creatively. As the story currently stands, the characters' behavior is too frustrating for me to enjoy.ETA: I lent this book to my younger brother, who's very in to this sort of gorefest plotline. He friggin' loved the book, read it in the space of a week or two (books normally take him months to read), and approached me with a direct inquiry to see if I had any other titles in this series. (This never happens!) So Shan must be doing something right.
Lord Loss is a demon, everyone fears him. All except one. For once, someone has been able to conquer their feelings when Lord Loss has tormented him several times. Grubbs has accepted the truth, destiny is inevitable.What would you do if suddenly one day, your family died a tragedy and found three demons lingering around in your parents’ room? Once again, Grubbs has suffered all this. After that, everyone around him looked devious, like there was a lifetime of secrets, waiting for him to discover. Finally, he has found someone he can trust… perhaps the only one he can trust.My favorite part is when Lord Loss kills Grubbs’s beloved family, and how Darren Shan describes how he felt and how his heart seemed to disappear. This is my favorite part is because I really felt like Grubbs myself, and I could feel his fears and woes inside my heart. The details in this book are heart-pounding, and they always make you hungry for more.I personally think the main idea is about caring for others and being unselfish. I have read the whole series, so I think it’s obvious. It’s sort of easy to find. The books don’t say it directly, but it shows clues to make you realize what the book is really trying to tell you. I understand the moral because at the last book, magicians, werewolves, and immortals form a team, despite how the werewolves can be pretty demanding sometimes.I think this book is brilliant. Perfect, almost. In my point of view, this book is fantastic, I read it several times already and still enjoyed it the same as the first. It’s fast-paced, but slows down on real dramatic parts, so you won’t feel bored or anything. Most of the people have a least favorite part in a book, but I don’t. I liked every sentence, every word. The word choice is fantastic, and you just want to look it up in the dictionary because you don’t dare skip a word, you’re afraid that you would not understand the story. The point is, the Demonata series includes some of the best books I’ve ever read.I would recommend this book to people who like horror and action books. It includes werewolves, monsters, and those sort of things. They will gobble it up like demons gobble humans up.
What do You think about Lord Loss (2006)?
I loved Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak series (I mean, seriously, almost literally drooled over waiting for each edition of those books...) so set myself the goal of reading his other series as well. This sounded the more interesting, so this is the one I've started with. Definitely dark, definitely morbid, it's a young adult for older teens, despite how it's marketed. Just as enjoyable for adults, at least this one. The main character encounters a tragic, violent loss as he finds his family destroyed and faces the villains who did it (brutal stuff). When he mentally heals enough to cope, he finds himself sheltered by his long-lost uncle, a man who knows more than he's telling, but who is willing to tell it as soon as Grubbs wants to listen.I can tell there are complicated intricacies waiting in further sequels. This one kept it a little simple for effect and establishing structure. There were twists and surprises as they are slowly unveiled, but nothing too stunning. I finally figured out where the chess came into play - interesting stuff. I dug the idea of the family curse, the magic use, and the ties with the demon master Lord Loss.Grubbs is a worthy main young adult protagonist. He's not obnoxious, he's realistic, and I especially thought Shan wrote his madness well. Almost a poetic bend to tell that part of the story. The uncle is easy to fall in love with and I hope he sticks around. The new best friend, Bill-E, is adorably likeable. As far as villains go, Lord Loss is evil through and through, creepy, and even I wanted him to leave.There's violence and gore - from someone dead being used as a finger puppet, to beheadings, and even a bizarre story about the original owner of the house getting rid of a baby he didn't want by feeding it to his pet piranhas. It's not continuous, but it's brutal in the scenes which are meant to be horrifying. Of course these scenes hold up strong in their tensions. You never know what the author will pull out of his hat, after all.I rated three rather than five as the story didn't addict or fully captivate me yet. It has the potential to and I'll definitely keep reading.The ending is kind of a calm before the storm - a relieved sigh that things are surprisingly okay. This never stays, as I've found - especially considering there are at least ten more of these books to go.
—Erin (Paperback stash) *is juggle-reading*
I started this series after reading "Darren Shan Saga" and while I expected something different and distinct, I wasn't expecting so much originality and uniqueness.Start reading this book prepared! This series contains a lot of death, violence and gore! I am not a fan of tragedy(or gore) and I avoid it like it's a plague but I did enjoy reading this series without having my spirit crushed out of me.(I haven't read the last book yet!)The Demonata series has a great plot with memorable characters and surprising twists along the way.The story begins with Grubbs and although later many other characters are added to the series, he remains my favorite.He starts as a spoiled unpleasant brat but soon grows into a strong capable character. He has little choice, considering what shocking events take over his everyday life but he manages to deal with these horrors and even fight back.Darren Shan's stories have proved to be memorable, surprising and captivating.If you are a fan of horror stories and don't mind gruesome character deaths, then I recommend this series to you. Help your imagination and read it at night!
—Argona
See... F-I-V-E Bloody stars!My dad would have kicked Darren Shan for writing this book.But I won't. XDTrust me. It's gory and gross. I would never recommend this book to my lil bro. And I've hidden the ebook deep inside the PC so that dad doesn't accidentally find it or worse... read it.(view spoiler)[ Dad hates violence, I can't watch horror movies, play utterly gory games or read stuff on that when he is around (hide spoiler)]
—Nishanth "Art is... an Explosion!"
