Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Demonata Blood Beast by Darren Shan

The Demonata Blood Beast is about Grubbs Grady, a ttenager who has battled demons to save his half-brother's life. Now, he is fighting for his own. When his Uncle Dervish goes away for a weekend, Grubbs throws a party. During this party, he begins to feel sick. This is just the beginning. When his uncle comes home, he doesn't tell Dervish his suspicions: that he is suffering from the family curse and will soon become a werewolf. So, he continues life as normal. He and his two friends, Bill-E and Loch start digging out in his backyard for the treasure that is said to be buried there. However, the next day, the hole is much deeper than when they left. Grubbs was responsible. For some reason overnight he had lost control to the werewolf growing in him and it had dug the hole very deep. Then, it collapses, opening up to an enormous cave. In it, Loch falls, hitting his head, and dies. Then, over the next few weeks, Bill-E, Grubbs, and Loch's sister, Reni, Grubbs's girlfriend, go to numerous sessions with their new counselor, Juni Swan, whom Grubbs had met months ago in the demon town Slawter. She helped them with their problems, and fell in love with Devish. Meanwhile, Dervish is doing his best to help Grubbs with his werewolf problems. However, not all is as it seems. Will Grubbs be able to hold of his inner werewolf? Read "The Demonata Blood Beast" to find out!

Although I haven't read any of the first four books in the Demonata series, I caught on quickly. The author does a very good job explaining past events in a short period of time. This book was a very good read. It was nonstop action, with Grubbs fighting his internal battle against the werewolf while simultaneously fighting battles, both emotional and physical, outside. All of the characters are unique, with interesting personalities. Although I even had trouble reading it at night with some of the more frightening parts, this was a great book. The Demonata Blood Beast gets a nine out of ten from me.

Some of the thoughts and nightmares of the character are quite frightening. Not a good idea for young readers.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, PA USA