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AMAZON UK -
reviewed by
Amanda Craig |
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I made the
mistake of
telling my kids
(fans of Shan)
the plot of this
novel on a long
boring car
journey and it
freaked them out
so much they had
nightmares. This
is defintely for
teenagers, and
ones with strong
stomachs,
because it's
about a stroppy
boy, Grubbs, who
comes home
unexpectedly and
finds he has
opened the door
to Hell, where
three horrific
demons have
killed his
parents and big
sister in a
welter of blood
and nastiness.
Grubb escapes,
and pf course
when he gets to
the police
everyone
believes he's
insane, and that
Lord Loss and
his sidekicks
Artery and Vein,
are projections
of his
imagination.
Only when his
uncle Dervish
visits him in
the asylum and
shows him a
drawing of Lord
Loss does Grubb
begin to
understand why
his family were
so obsessed with
playing chess,
and the curse
which lies on
them all -
including his
new friend and
half-brother.
Like a
first-rate
slasher movie,
this is a book
you can't tear
your eyes away
from. It's got a
cracking plot,
and cinematic
pace and a prose
style that would
be swarming with
flies if it were
a piece of meat.
I was one of
Shan's earliest
fans, but this
is even better
than his vampire
opera. |
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