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Earlier on in
the year, one of
my friends was
poking me to
start reading
the Darren Shan
books. I’m quite
the wimp when it
comes to horror,
and the best
I’ve managed is
the Point Horror
Unleashed
series, as
Stephen King
gave me bad
nightmares. He
suggested I
start on the
less “gory” of
the two “sagas”
that Darren Shan
has written.
So I picked up
the first
trilogy of “the
Darren Shan
saga” in July.
Started reading
it on the train
home from London
and couldn’t put
it down. I went
onto Amazon when
I got home and
ordered the rest
of the Saga
immediately. I
was amazed at
how beautifully
the books were
written, and how
cleverly the
plots were
brought about
and how much
thought had gone
into the books
themselves.
I decided I
was strong
enough to read
his second
series, The
Demonata series.
These books are
a lot more gory
than the Darren
Shan saga books,
but I find that
these books are
better than the
Darren Shan Saga
now although I
didn’t think so
at the start! I
was completely
lost in the
world of the
first book when
I started
reading it and
found it
impossible to
put down. I
ended up
purchasing the
rest of the
Demonata series
that have been
brought out and
reading them one
by one,
discussing the
book with my
friends and
speculating as
to what things
mean, and what
is to come.
I finished
Blood Beast
about a month
ago, and was
annoyed by the
“to be
continued…”
ending, as I
generally have a
hatred of those
(I don’t like
cliffhangers!).
I spent some
time speculating
what would
happen in book
6, which was due
to come out
October 1st and
is shown above
in the picture.
Darren Shan went
to great lengths
to hide the
cover, the
title, and
anything about
book 6, which I
liked, because I
enjoyed the
speculation and
the wild
possibilities
that we could
come up with
that might
happen in the
book.
The title and
cover were
released on
September 29th.
I was a bit
confused by the
title, and
intrigued by the
cover, the
artwork has
always amazed
me. I
pre-ordered the
book that same
day, in the hope
that it would
arrive in time
for me to read.
Unfortunately
the book didn’t
arrive at all,
and I ended up
going out and
buying it in
person so I
could read it
yesterday
(anyone want the
spare one when
it arrives?).
And I was
amazed. I
thought the
first 5 books
were good, but
this one blew me
away entirely.
It was just so
beautifully
done, the
writing and the
plots were
carried out
impeccably. Just
when I thought
it was about to
end, something
changed. And it
answered so many
questions, and a
lot of the
things that I
wanted to happen
came to be,
along with a few
things I wasn’t
expecting but
were necessary
to the series.
I’m looking
extremely
forward to book
7, as I have
some idea of
what the main
area of the
storyline will
be, but most of
all I’m looking
forward to
spending time
speculating with
my friends and
re-reading to
pull out all the
information I
may have missed
in the first
read.
I highly
recommend these
books if you
like
horror/thrillers.
They may say
they are
children’s
books, but I’d
say they are
teenager’s books
at the least.
The writing is
brilliant and
each book is
unputdownable
until the end,
and then you
just want to
pick up the next
book and
continue. They
draw you into
their world, and
it feels like
you are
experiencing it
yourself. After
reading Demon
Apocalypse I had
to take my
brother to his
course, and
whilst driving I
kept expecting
demons to leap
at the car!
If you are
like me and have
read all of the
Saga along with
The Demonata
books so far,
there is another
book, a short,
called Koyasan.
You can easily
find it on
Amazon, and it
is another book
I thoroughly
enjoyed,
although it only
took around an
hour to read!
http://hauntedwhispers.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/darren-shan-books-demonata-and-the-darren-shan-saga/ |
