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SAMUEL'S
READING CHAIR - reviewed by
Samuel |
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Following
the horrific
events of
Slawter,
Grubbs Grady has
managed to
settle back into
a relatively
normal life -
hanging out with
friends,
avoiding the
school
counsellor, and
trying to
impress girls.
When Uncle
Dervish leaves
for a weekend to
farewell a
friend, Grubbs
seizes the
change to throw
a much-needed
party. The moon,
however, has
other plans for
him. He has seen
his sister and
his half-brother
both fall victim
to the
lycanthropic
curse that has
plagued his
bloodline for
generations. Now
it's Grubbs'
turn to
experience
headaches and
nausea around
the full moon -
symptoms that
are just the
beginning. Worse
still is the
fact that Lord
Loss will almost
certainly refuse
to cut a deal.
If Grubbs
changes, he'll
be on his own.
Blood Beast
is the fifth
brutal
instalment in
Darren Shan's
latest
children's
horror series
The Demonata,
and it drips
with the same
grisly chills,
the same
unrelenting pace
and the same
merciless
dispatching of
characters as
its prequels.
Fans of the
series will be
pleased to find
that Shan has
brought back
familiar faces
from Slawter,
as well as
managing to tie
in locations
from Bec.
Once again, his
latest novel
manages to equal
the excitement
of the rest of
the series, but
not quite
surpass it. I am
still waiting
for the one book
that will blow
all the others
away - hopefully
the upcoming
Demon Apocalypse
will be it.
It is
interesting to
see that Shan
has made
increasing
forays into the
world of regular
teenage
problems. As
well as demons
and werewolves,
Grubbs now has
to deal with
peer pressure,
the opposite sex
and choices
between social
groups at
school. This is
a difficult task
for any adult
author to
manage, but Shan
pulls it off
very well. His
work isn't the
best out there -
young readers
won't be blown
away by how well
he understands
them - but he
does a good
enough job to
support the
novel.
For Demonata-wise
readers, the
ending of
Blood Beast
will
unfortunately be
slightly
predictable -
but that doesn't
make it any less
fun! Shan throws
everything he
has at readers,
and then leaves
them hanging by
ending the novel
right in the
middle of all
the excitement.
Some critics may
view this as a
cheap trick to
increase the
sales of the
next book, but I
think it works
extremely well.
It's yet another
way for Shan to
build cohesion
between novels,
and make sure
that the pace of
the series never
slows down for
too long. I
would definitely
buy the next
book even if
Blood Beast
had not ended
the way it did -
I am a huge fan
of all of Shan's
writing.
All in all,
another triumph
from the
acclaimed
'Number One
Master of
Horror'. I
couldn't put
Blood Beast
down! It easily
lives up to my
expectations,
and I'll be
counting the
days to the
release of the
next instalment.
http://samuelsreadingchair.blogspot.com/2007/11/blood-beast-darren-shan.html
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