Demon Apocalypse

The series continues strong. Again through the point of view of my favorite, Grubbs, it shows the continuation from the cliffhanger left from Blood Beast, where all seems lost as Grubbs discovers a huge betrayal and finds himself with no escape on a plane with Lord Loss and his hellious sidekicks. These monsters bring the stories up to adult level when it comes to violence, gore, and shock effect - from the opening paragraph where the scorpion familiar dives into a person's face to pop out their eyes with it's tail and then implant maggots to eat through the brain (yes, really), the another familiar turning around and killing a baby - these young adults are not for the light at heart of the young.

This is the book that serves as a show more bridgeway to finally connect so many stray characters. Kernel from the second book, Demon Thief, makes several appearances and we see what's happened with him. Dervish, a series regular, stays around with the beloved Bill-E from previous books. Bec, the random girl set back in time for book four, gets a strong mention and nod. We also see random, stray Demonata that joined before with a certain leader. This is a book fans of the series definitely shouldn't miss since it ties so many dangling threads together.

There is a sad ending in this one, which Shan doesn't shy from - I still remembering sobbing at a major character death in his Cirque Du Freak series. I had a spoiler about this death coming, so it softened the blow a bit, but the way it was handled made sense and a type of peace even though it was tragic and that character will remain missed.

The stakes in this book are literally apocalyptic, and the story not only remains tense and interesting, but makes a big step in the future of Grubbs and the rest of the gang. We learn a few secrets about familiar characters as well.

With creative plot maneuvering, tense action scenes, and a return to all the series favorites, this may be the best of the bunch so far. Here's hoping that it just keeps getting stronger. show less

Demonata fans, strap yourselves in. Demon Apocalypse, the sixth instalment in Darren Shan's latest children's horror saga, is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride that will not disappoint. There may be four books still to come, but Demon Apocalypse still reads like the last book in a series. Shan has pulled out all the stops to deliver a novel filled with everything that fans have come to love about his writing. Newcomers will be absorbed by the frenetic pace and blood-and-guts mayhem, while veterans will appreciate Shan's familiar emotional themes, and the drawing together of his surprising and many-stranded plot.

Demon Apocalypse is perhaps Shan's fastest book yet. It seems to jump straight from one riveting action scene to another show more – and yet, its storyline works remarkably well. The realism is brutal – Shan is not one for rescuing his characters when death seems inevitable! – but the setting and premises are utterly fantastic. Add Shan's punchy, fluid writing into the mix, and you've got a frenetic, high-stakes roller coaster where readers are never quite sure what will happen next.

Parents who flip through the first few pages are likely to be shocked at the blood and gore they find there – but those who read more thoroughly will realise that it is not the physical guts, but the emotional guts that distinguish Demon Apocalypse from its peers. Heroism, Shan insists, has a terrible price, and no hero walks away from battle unscathed. His latest instalment focuses on difficult choices – situations where life seems brutally unfair, and the right thing to do is also the hardest thing. Even as the plot rushes towards its climax, the true focus of the novel becomes more and more introspective; a technique reminiscent of the tragedies of Shakespeare. Forget charming princes or teenage wizards – Shan's tortured protagonists are infinitely more engrossing, and demonstrate a powerful maturity that most children's books steer well clear of.

Demon Apocalypse is a rarity among fiction – a children's horror story that will entice reluctant readers without sacrificing depth and quality. In this, it is matched only by its prequels. Highly recommended. show less

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Grubbs Grady is back, and he wishes he wasn't.

There are two things that Grubbs regrets the most: letting his transformation take away the lives of the ones he loved, and trusting Juni. When we last left him, Grubbs was on a plane ride with Juni, who promised to take care of him and love him. But while on board, Juni's true colors appeared, and they weren't so pretty.

Turns out she had been working for Lord Loss and had used Grubbs' secrets and trust against him, lying to not only him but also to Dervish, who had fallen for her as well.

Now Grubbs is trying to fend for himself, which isn't looking so bright since Lord Loss' little helpers are happily feeding on the show more passengers on the plane, while Lord Loss himself is trying to take Grubbs into his realm. Of course, Grubbs would rather die than to have to go with Lord Loss. But there isn't much he can do since no one is there to help him fight off all of the demons.

Then an unlikely hero comes and saves Grubbs. Yet Grubbs knows that this isn't the end of Lord Loss, who is furious at him for ruining his game of chess. He knows that Lord Loss will not let anything stand in his way while trying to take revenge, but Grubbs isn't giving up without a fight. He survived more than once. He can surely survive again, right?

Edgy, intense, and more gruesome than the other novels in THE DEMONATA series, Darren Shan does it again with DEMON APOCALYPSE, creating a captivating novel that will leave you speechless. Darker than ever, we are just glad to see Grubbs be the one to save the world, because without him, who can? show less

Demons are running the city. Some one opened a portal to the Demon world without the disciples knowing. Grubbs finally meets some disciples. They sort of help him with his power. But they won't help him fight the demons in Carcery Vale. Dervish and Bill-E might be dead. On top of that Grubbs killed Bill-E's grandparents. Now what will he do? This was a very interesting book. So much twisting in the book it's like a roller coaster.

Demon Apocalypse was a spectacular continuation of the demonata series. Packed with action and twists, this book never had a dull or slow moment. I was amazed to find myself turning the last page after what seemed like only a half hour of entranced reading. I was even more surprised when I looked at the clock and found that two hours had passed. Now I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

The latest, appreciably gory, book in the Demonata series works to finally bring all the previous disperate plot lines together as Grubbs meets, amongst others, Kernal and Bec.

This book is good and cool