Death Shadow is really different from the previous Demonata novels. Unlike the previous novels, Darren Shan, the author, says that this book is like a play. Why? Because the book is divided into three parts - or acts like in a play - and each part happens in three different places. Dervish's house, the hospital and then on the cruise ship. The original title that Shan wanted to give this novel was actually SS Demonic because it ends at a cruise ship but his editor didn't like it so he didn't name it SS Demonic. So, he names the novel the same way he named the last book of the Saga of Darren Shan. The title has a double meaning. What is it? I won't tell you and if you really want to know, you'll just have to flick to the last page of the book to find out.

So, in Demon Apocalypse, we've read about the apocalypse on Earth. It passed and humanity survived but from that survival came another threat to humanity, a far greater threat than Lord Loss. Beranabus calls it the Shadow because it is as sneaky as one. The Shadow has sneaked out of the world with Bec McCon, who now posses Bill-E's body. But before Bec and the others fight the Shadow, she had other problems to deal with. Dervish is in grief with Bill-E's death and is using Bec as a communicator becasue apparently, Bec can remember all of Bill-E's past. And as if that isn't bad enough, she discovers that she has a most interesting talent. She can soak up memories of others. But can she control the power?

As always, Darren Shan does a good job on his Demonata books. He makes the plot about this thing at first but then in the middle we actually realize it's the other thing that's the plot about. He likes to twist thing but unlike other authors, he's good at it. His twists are very different from the other authors. Some author may put in two or three twist but with Shan, wow! The twists never stop coming!

One other thing I liked about this novel was that he added a chapter about the mysterious magician, Beranabus at the start of every part and I liked that. His history is very interesting. But why didn't he just make a seperate book for Beranabus like he's doing with Mr. Crepsley in the Saga of Darren Shan? If you've read the novel, you'll understand more. It makes things harder for us to read and makes tears drop don't it? We just knew his history and then suddenly we know of his fate at the end of the novel, which makes us really, really sad. That should be a clue already about Beranabus's fate at the end. So this decision to add a story about Beranabus' past at the start of every part is very, very strategical. It makes us love the Demonata series even more.

This installment of the Demonata series is really, really great. The beginning is interesting, the middle is heart-beating and the end is mind-blowing and makes us want to know more. Exacaty like a play!

RATING: 8 / 10