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As a fervent follower of Darren Shan's books, I felt truly let down by the seventh instalment of the Demonata series.
There was a distinct lack of the fast-paced, page-turning action and danger that the other six had so richly possessed and much of it was unfortunately slow, with a few brief exceptions. For the first time in all my years of reading Darren Shan novels, I had to make an effort to read what is usually 'unputdownable' work. It seemed like the whole book could have been easily condensed into a few chapters.
After the dramatic ending to the previous book, I was looking forward to following Grubbs's story and, despite the partially refreshing change of narration, I felt that Bec wasn't suited to narrating an entire story in a world that wasn't her own, without the flair that had been so good in the fourth book.
On the other hand, there were a few brilliant twists and the climax was satisfying in a way the rest of the book hadn't been. Despite the disappointment, I would still recommend all the previous books and hope that the next instalment displays the brilliance that I have come to expect.

If you have read all the darren shan books then you wil know that this is the worst one yet. i have loved all of his books so far(except blood beast) it isnt to bad but the plot is quite bad like when one of the characters randomly explodes for no reason. and Zombies... but i wont ruin the plot for everyone...

Barcode: 9780007260379

So, with Death's Shadow we see the return of Bec as narrator. Still coming to terms with the modern world and her own abilities, she isn't given much time to settle down before our heroes are already thrust back into danger. The pace, as always with Shan's books is slick, the countless Lost-esque mysteries playing through your mind again and again as you try and decipher what's going on. It's fascinating and you just love the series all the more for it.

Bec is a great character and there's a delightful scene between her and Meera near the beginning as she offloads her issues with Dervish neglecting her. It's testament to Shan's skill as a writer that he is able to do these touching, personal scenes as well as he does the action that forms the core of this book.

Featuring showdowns at Dervish's house and the rooftop of a hospital, Death's Shadow is all about sacrfice. I won't give away any spoilers but what i will say is that as ever with Shan's books, victory is never easy or assured and the cost of fighting is always high. I whipped through this book in a matter of days, a rollercoaster ride of thrilling action and emotions. In a word 'fantastic'!.

The dramatic conclusion of this book takes place on cruise liner out in the open ocean and as with previous book Demon Apocalypse there are some interesting parallels with Doctor Who. With Demon Apocalypse it was the episode 'Last of The Time Lords' what with its rolling back of time/negated timeline plot after the world was cast into oppresion.

In the case of Death's Shadow it's the Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned with the events taking place on a sinking ship and featuring a selfish only-really-out-for-himself character, in Shan's case taking the form of Disciple Kirilli. Two nice little touching points for fans of science-fiction and fantasy who like references between series like this.

On the whole though, what Shan once again proves is that he is a master at conveying just how epic the scale of the war with the Demonata is - it spans the globe as well as reaching back into the past for thousands of years. Which reminds me... we get some fascinating looks back into Beranabus's past in this book which only serves to make you admire his character all the more, he truly is the star of this book.

I can't wait for the next installment in the series - i've been a fan of Darren Shan right from the the beginnings of Cirque Du Freak and he's taken us fans through a twisted, frightening world of ideas. It's been fun, scary, magical, intense, but above all - completely and utterly amazing!

this book was great. i couldnt put it down. not the best book of the series though. still any darran shan fan should buy this. so many twists. MUST BUY!

GREAT READ

Couldnt put it down, 2nd fave so far , Slawter was the best, and then this one, then Demon Apolcolypse... i prefere Grubbs to bec and kernals point of view but this was bloody incredible , i think the next one is grubbs so im okay with that, you learn about Buranabus in this one which is awesome.."Run Fast" BUY THIS NOW, Cant Wait Come October :P