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NIGHTS AND
WEEKENDS - reviewed by
Margaret Marr |
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Grubbs Grady is
like any other
high school
teen. He likes
to hang out with
friends and
party when the
grownups are
away for the
weekend. But
every year he
gets closer to
the family
curse. If he
turns into a
werewolf, the
Lambs will be
called in to put
him down, but
only if his
relatives
can’t—which, in
his case, would
mean his uncle,
Dervish.
Dervish fights
demons—also
known as the
Demonata—but
Grubbs wants
nothing to do
with that kind
of life. He had
enough of that
when his parents
were attacked
and killed by
demons and his
sister had to be
put down because
she turned into
a werewolf. He
wants a normal
life—but that
might not be
possible with a
family history
like his.
As the full moon
grows closer,
Grubbs begins to
have nightmares,
feel sick, and
wake up in
places he
shouldn’t be,
having done
phenomenal
things beyond
his power as a
human. When the
beast inside
starts fighting
to get out, he
knows he’s in
trouble.
The day after a
party, Grubbs,
his best friend,
Loch, and his
half-brother,
Bill-E, start
digging for the
legendary gold
and jewels that
were supposedly
buried somewhere
near the Grady
mansion by Lord
Sheftree. It
seems like a
nice, safe,
normal thing for
teenage boys to
do. But they dig
into something
much
worse—something
that should have
stayed buried.
Blood Beast,
the fifth book
in the Demonata
series, has made
me hungry for
the first four.
I simply could
not put it down
for more than a
minute or two,
and I ended up
reading it all
in one sitting.
You can read the
fifth book as a
standalone
without too much
confusion, but
if you’re like
me, you’ll be
curious about
Grubbs Grady—and
you’ll want to
know how he
ended up where
he is now. And
if the rest of
the books are
anything like
this one, I know
they’ll be
fantastic
reading.
Fast-paced and
gruesome,
frightening and
extraordinary,
and just plain
engaging,
Blood Beast
should be at the
top of your list
for must-read
supernatural
thrillers.
Filled with
heart-stopping
suspense and
scary entities,
it will have you
checking over
your shoulder at
every suspect
noise. I
guarantee that,
after reading
this novel, the
full moon will
leave you with a
vague sense of
unease.
I still don’t
know how I feel
about a book
ending on a
full-blown
cliffhanger, but
I do know that
Blood Beast’s
ending will
leave readers
screaming for
more—probably
literally! But,
alas, we won’t
find out what
happens next
until April of
2008. If
Blood Beast
is any
indication,
though, it’ll be
well worth the
wait.
http://www.nightsandweekends.com/articles/07/NW0700616.php |
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