Publication Date: November 1, 2007 | Series: Demonata (Book 5)
"Locked inside Dervish's study. Breath coming quickly, raggedly. Trembling wildly. I still feel sick and dizzy, but maybe that's fear. I force myself to breathe normally, evenly. When I'm in control, I study my reflection, looking for telltale signs. Am I turning into a werewolf? I don't know..."
Grubbs Grady has so far escaped the family curse, but when he begins to experience alarming symptoms at the onset of the full moon, he is scared that the jaws of fate are opening and about to swallow him whole.
He has cheated death, defeated demons, moved on with his life. But Grubbs is torn between the world of magic and his wolfen genes. Can he fight the beast inside or will he fall victim to his tainted blood?
Praise for BLOOD BEAST‘As always, he’s a joy to read.. he continues to impress.’ The Independent"One of his best yet."Cork Evening EchoPraise for BEC"All the spells, severed body parts and horror you expect from Shan, with a nail-biting and shocking finish." Waterstone's Books Quarterly"To my shame, this is the first of Shan's books I have read; I now understand why they are so popular… Very enjoyable." Books for KeepsPraise for LORD LOSS“Utterly unputdownable.” The Times“The plot twists and turns like a sharp descent down a dark flume” TES
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
About the Author
"I was born in London in 1972 and moved to Ireland when I was 6 years old, where I've lived ever since. I always wanted to be a writer - I've loved telling stories since I was a child. I started out writing books for adults, and managed to get a couple published. One day, on a whim, I decided to try a book for children. The result was Cirque Du Freak. Much to my surprise, it took off, and I became a de facto children's author! Since then I've used my ill-gotten gains to buy lots of comic-strip art and travel the world. When I'm not working or traveling, I like watching movies. I've even been known to read the odd book or two."
Darren is currently working on his sixth novel in the bone-chilling Demonata series, coming in May 2008.
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (November 1, 2007)
Darren Shan's real name is Darren O'Shaughnessy (pronounced O-Shock-Nessy, though it can also be pronounced O-Shawn-Essy_. Although he is Irish, he was born on July 2, 1972, in St. Thomas' Hospital, London -- directly across the river from the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, which may explain his fascination with evil bloodsuckers! He lived in South East London, near the Elephant & Castle. He started school at the early age of three (he was such a wild child, no pre-school facility would have him!), in English Martyrs. At the age of six, he moved to Limerick in Ireland, with his parents and younger brother, and has lived there ever since.
Shan went to primary school in Askeaton, where his mother was a teacher, then to secondary school in Copsewood College in Pallaskenry. Later, he went back to London to study Sociology and English at Roehampton University. He then worked for a cable television company in Limerick for a couple of years, before setting up as a full-time writer at the age of 23.
Although Shan always wanted to be a writer, it was only in his teenage years that he began writing in his spare time for fun (before that, he only wrote stories if they were for homework). He bought his first typewriter when he was 14, and never looked back, knocking out loads of short stories and comic scripts, and making false starts on several books, which he never completed. He enjoyed his first taste of literary success at age 15, as a runner-up in a television script-writing competition for RTE in Ireland, with a dark comedy script titled A Day in the Morgue (he was morbid even then!).
Shan was 17 when he finished his first novel. Although it was never published, he relished the writing experience, and found himself focusing more on novels in the coming years, leaving behind the short-story format. For the next several years, sandwiched between university and work, he wrote an average of one book a year, experimenting with different ideas, genres, lengths and styles. When he started writing full-time, his output shot up to 5 to 6 books per year! But that has dropped back to 2 to 3 recently, due to all the travelling around he's been doing to promote sales of his books.
All of these early books were adult-oriented. Although Shan quite liked the idea of writing a children's book one day, he considered himself an adult writer first and foremost. In fact, Shan's initial breakthrough was with an adult book, in 1999, titled Ayuamarca (since re-released in the UK as Procession Of The Dead, and coming to the USA in 2010).
In January 2000, his first children's book, Cirque du Freak, which he'd written as a fun side-project, was published. The first book in a series titled The Saga of Darren Shan (or Cirque du Freak, as it's known in America), it attracted rave reviews and an ever-growing army of fans hungry to learn more about vampires which were quite unlike any that anyone had ever seen before!
Shan loved writing for children so much, that for the next several years he focused exclusively on his books for younger readers. First, he wrote a total of 12 books about vampires. He quickly followed up his vampiric saga with The Demonata, a series about demons. Running to ten books in total, The Demonata cemented Shan's place in the UK as the Master Of Children's Horror, and saw him score his first UK #1 bestseller. He also wrote a one-off short book, called Koyasan, for Wold Book Day in the UK.
There was a very successful manga adaptation of Shan's vampire series, drawn by the Japanese artist, Takahiro Arai. It was originally serialized in Japan, but collected volumes are now on sale in the USA, UK and other countries.
In addition to writing for children, Shan has now returned to his first love and is once again writing for adults as well. He has had two adult books published in the UK, Procession Of The Dead and Hell's Horizon. They have been released in a number of other countries too, and are due to hit the USA in 2010. A third, City of the Snakes, goes on sale in the UK in March 2010. His first adult books were released under the name of D B Shan, but they are being reprinted under the name of Darren Shan in March 2010, and City of the Snakes will be released under the Darren Shan name.
By the start of 2010, Shan's books were on sale in every continent, in 39 countries, in 31 languages, and have been children's bestsellers in America, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and other countries. The books have topped adult bestseller charts in Hungary, Japan and Taiwan. In total, Shan's books have sold close to 15 million copies worldwide!!!!
The movie rights to Cirque Du Freak were bought by Universal, and the first movie (which combines elements from the first three books in the series) was released on October 23rd, 2009, starring newcomer Chris Massoglia as Darren Shan, along with a wide array of established stars such as Josh Hutcherson, John C Reilly, Salma Hayek, Willem Defoe and Ken Watanabe. The movie was called Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in February 2010.
A big film buff, with a collection of more than four thousand movies at home, Shan also reads lots of comics and books, and likes to study and collect original artwork, especially comic art and impressionist and post-impressionist art. He has recently started adding sculptures to his collection, making use of the large, empty field outside his back door. Other interests include long walks, watching football (he's a Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland fan), listening to pop and rock music, theatre, worldwide travel, sampling the delights of both gourmet cuisine and finger-licking junk food, and dreaming up new ways to terrify his readers!!!
Shan spends most of his time in Limerick, Ireland, with his girlfriend Bas. He has no pets, but a neighbourhood dog called Goldie joins him on his walks most days. He also feeds a variety of wild birds, and spots the occasional hare and pheasant strolling through his back yard. In addition to his main home in Ireland, Shan has an apartment in London, to which he escapes for a burst of high-speed living every so often, when he feels the need to get his juices flowing!! Shan rarely writes when in London or on the road, preferring to tie himself to his computer when at home in Limerick, where he can work away solidly without any distractions in the peace and quiet of the Irish countryside.
I thought that Blood Beat was an improvement on Bec, but didn't enjoy it as much as Lord Loss, Demon Thief and Slawter.
This book returns to the character of Grubbs Grady (along with Dervish, Bill-E and Juni). Grubbs has been getting ill and feeling an odd change beginning to occur around a full moon...will he fall prey to his werewolf genes or can Dervish and Juni save him from the curse before it is too late...?
Unlike the first three books in the series, this book is quite slow paced and takes a long time for the actions to begin. However, this is because the next book in the series continues directly after the cliffhanger ending of this one, do it is only really the first half of a book. The first three quarters are quite slow but it really picks up in the last 60 or 70 pages and the last chapter is amazing, its the best chapter from any Darren Shan book ever, its BRILLIANT and totally worth reading through the less-exciting chapters during the first part of the book.
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This review is from: The Demonata #5: Blood Beast (Hardcover)
After four thrilling novels featuring Grubbs Grady and his adventures with his crazy but caring uncle, his half-brother, Bill-E, and all the demons and monsters he's had to face (especially the one who took his parents away from him), Grubbs is back.
And this time he discovers that the only monster he has to face is himself.
Grubbs begins to have nightmares, ones with him covered in blood and being attacked by his late sister. But whenever he wakes up, he shrugs them aside, not thinking twice about them, most likely because he just doesn't want to know what they mean.
Aside from his sudden attraction to the moon and the need to howl, Grubbs has other problems on his mind. Like the differences between his new best friend, Loch, and his old good friend, now turned brother, Bill-E. Once Loch entered the picture, Grubbs just doesn't seem to have time for his first true friend and it's killing him inside, ironically. And the horrifying issues that attending school brings just don't make it any better.
Grubbs needs to get his priorities straight, especially the one dealing with him turning into a vicious monster, before it takes over and makes everything much worse.
With this fifth installment of THE DEMONATA series, fans will not be disappointed in this very thrilling, freaky, and funny novel about everyone's favorite character, Grubbs. With an ending that will drive you crazy, we can all say that Darren Shan has done it again!
Reviewed by: Randstostpher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
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This review is from: The Demonata #5: Blood Beast (Hardcover)
First off, I have a line of 7 students waiting for this book. The wait will be worth it!!! We're back to Grubbs, which is awesome...and he's enrolled in school, which adds a new dynamic. There are signs that point to the end, but who cares since it's such a fun read? The end is a total cliff-hanger (like always!), but there's no preview for the next book (sadness ensues...) Read, read this book. Darren Shan is the man!
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