This is the beginning of another series for Darren Shan. As you may or may not know, we here at gothicrevue central love Mr. Shan's other series (of the Vampaneze type). Whereas the tales of Darren Shan are about vampires and freak show people, this one is about demons who actually live in this world contrary to what everyone thinks. Grubbs Grady is the main character and he has very smart parents who teach him all about chess (which he thinks is "just a game").He comes home one day to find his parents and sister dead and there is when the story of chess-loving-demons begins. Same type of characters, same plot rollercoasters of Darren Shan's other books, but with demons. I'm eagerly awaiting the second book of this series "The Demon Thief" when it comes out in April of 2006 as much as the 11th book in the "Darren Shan" series.Our rating (10) specifically not JUST for kids, we all love these books!