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In Blood
Beast, the
fifth book in
Darren Shan's
Demonata series,
the lycanthropic
nightmare
continues for
teenager Grubbs
Grady. He's
already lost his
parents and his
sister to the
family werewolf
gene and the
battle to save
his half-brother
Bill-E from the
same fate has
cost Grubbs and
his uncle,
Dervish, dearly.
So now, when the
full moon
approaches, and
Grubbs begins to
experience
nightmares and
fevers, he fears
the worst. And
it's almost too
much to bear. We
last saw Grubbs
on a
demon-ridden
film set,
rejecting his
magical
abilities in
favour of a
normal teenage
life, having
friends, staying
out late,
chasing girls.
So, like most
teenagers would,
Grubbs makes a
potentially
fatal mistake
and tries to
keep his fears
to himself. He
doesn't tell
Dervish. He
tries to cope
alone. And it's
not easy...
Locked
inside Dervish's
study. Breath
coming quickly,
raggedly.
Trembling
wildly. I still
feel sick and
dizzy, but maybe
that's fear. I
force myself to
breathe
normally,
evenly. When I'm
in control, I
study my
reflection,
looking for
telltale signs.
Am I turning
into a werewolf?
I don't know!
And away we
go for more of
the Shan
trademark wild
ride of tension
and horror and
blood.
But...
... I'll just
have to have a
slight tantrum.
Blood Beast
ends on a
cliffhanger. I
don't like it
when children's
books end on
cliffhangers.
While I don't
mind series in
which overall
themes develop,
I do like to see
resolution for
individual
episodes,
especially when
the book is
aimed at the
early secondary
years. So meh.
Tut. Tsk.
Russnfussn.
Moan. And
whinge. Having
said that, my
twelve year old,
who haunts
Shan's website,
was well aware
he wasn't going
to get a
resolution and
didn't mind in
the least. So
perhaps it's
just me. I'm
still not
pleased though.
Cliffhangers
aside, I don't
have a bad word
to say about
Blood Beast.
It's tense and
exciting. It's
chilling. It's
full of
betrayals and
distrust and
fear. However,
underneath all
the schlock
horror, there's
a solid base of
morality in
which friendship
and family ties
can redeem us
all, if only we
establish who it
is we can trust
and then trust
them implicitly.
Shan seems to
understand his
audience
completely. He
knows children
are bloodthirsty
little beasts.
He appreciates
that there is no
such thing as
too much gore.
But he also
knows when to
stop. There's
enough camp and
enough
high-spirited
joy in the
telling of a
story to keep
his readers feet
(and fears)
firmly on the
ground.
Fans of
Bec  ,
the heroine of
the
splendiferous
fourth Demonata
book most
shamefully
unreviewed by
Bookbag, will be
glad to know
that she makes a
mysterious
appearance here.
The links
between the
various worlds
Shan has created
in this series
are really
beginning to
make the kinds
of connections
that will make
it one children
will remember
long into
adulthood. This,
like the first
four, come
highly
recommended by
Bookbag to all
junior horror
fans of ten or
eleven and up.
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/shanbeast.htm |
