I can tell there are complicated intricacies waiting in further sequels. This one kept it a little simple for effect and establishing structure. There were twists and surprises as they are slowly unveiled, but nothing too stunning. I finally figured out where the chess came into play - interesting stuff. I dug the idea of the family curse, the magic use, and the ties with the demon master Lord Loss. The Demonata series has a great plot with memorable characters and surprising twists along the way. I don't know what's going on, but now that I know I'm not set to go toes-up, I'm determined to see it through with them. I don't care what sort of a mess they're in. I won't let Mum, Dad and Gret freeze me out, no matter how bad it is. We're a family. We should face things together. That's what Mum and Dad always taught me.

Seriously, jokes aside, I'm frightened. They're sharing a secret, something bad, and keeping me out of it. Why? Is it to do with me? Do they know something that I don't? Like maybe... maybe... Stupid? An overreaction? Reading too much into it? Perhaps. But they cut short my punishment. Gret gave me a present. They look like they're about to burst into tears at any given minute. I would have loved this story if it had been rewritten with a more even hand. The plot had a great premise, and Shan shows loads of creatively. As the story currently stands, the characters' behavior is too frustrating for me to enjoy. Mum and Dad are by the sink, discussing the day ahead. They go stiff when they hear the screams, then dash towards the stairs, which I can see from where I'm sitting. I love all the books in this series, so much that I have rushed out and bought each book the minute I finished with the last. I loved the series so much that I pushed it onto all of my friends to read it (half of them didn’t bother, their loss).

See a Problem?

In terms of the Demonata realm and the magic system, I found those elements to be super far fetched for me and although their existence was a big part of the plot I just think it was a little too crazy, especially the magic system. It's just my preference when magic has limitations and this book didn't have many of those, so made me laugh at the ridiculous nature of certain parts.

Grubbs Grady lives with his chess-obsessed parents and sister, Gret. After pulling a prank on her, he's grounded. But after a while, his parents end his grounding early, and he gets treated special. When his parents and Gret go out, he's knows something's going on. He sneaks out of his aunt's house, goes home and finds his parents and sister dead, horribly and gruesomely murdered. The killers? Demons. When I handed over my story to some of my relatives their reaction was not exactly of horror and panic. In my mind while writing it, I was expecting something like this: The head's office. Me, Mum and Mr. Donnellan. Mum's ranting and raving about cigarettes. I've been seen smoking behind the bike shed (the oldest clich�� in the book!). She wants to know if the head's aware of this, of what the pupils in his school are getting up to. Your loss." Dad clears his throat. "The ballet's out of town and finishes quite late. It will be easier for us to stay in a hotel overnight."

Plot Outline:

There are some disturbing/violent scenes throughout which are described in great detail so if you really hate gore I'd suggest skipping, but if you don't particularly mind gore I'd give it a go as it does feature a good story. Mum hugs me, then kisses me. I can't remember the last time she kissed me. There's something desperate about it.

Darren Shan is a genius. For a young writer he has accomplished so much. In some way I like his Demonata series better than his Cirque du Freak series. The universe he creates is brilliant, the gloomy feel his books leave behind is amazing, and I truly adore his characters. I mean, they all have such a good heart, and have to go through such hardship you can't but feel for them. I want them to finally get their happy ending. A bitter sweet kind of happy ending. Like one that makes you cry but deep down you know that this was how it supposed to turn out.

I stop laughing instantly - a mouthful of rotten rat guts wasn't part of the grand ��ber-joke! "Get off!" I roar, lashing out wildly. Mum and Dad suddenly recover and shout at exactly the same time. I believe that if i start saying a little bit more about this book i will spoil all the surprises, because from the beginning it starts with some weird things happening that let you guessing what is going on, and you start discovering what it is all about, what is the truth that lies behind, and why some things happened, and it all starts from the very beginning. So for your own enjoyment if you're considering to read this, i won't say anything about the plot. Lord Loss is the first novel in the Demonata series written by best-selling teenage horror author Darren Shan. [1] It was originally published in the UK on 6 June 2005. Soon after, it appeared in Japan and America, where Shan's previous series, The Saga of Darren Shan, had sold millions. [2] The novel is set in Ireland and is told in present tense first person through Grubbs Grady, a child whose family are all chess players.