Lord Loss (The Demonata, #1)

Apr 28, 2013 Nishanth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who like blood and gore

Recommended to Nishanth by: Numey!

Shelves: bloody-awesome

See... F-I-V-E Bloody stars!

My dad would have kicked Darren Shan for writing this book.

But I won't. XD

Trust me. It's gory and gross. I would never recommend this book to my lil bro. And I've hidden the ebook deep inside the PC so that dad doesn't accidentally find it or worse... read it.(view spoiler)

AND PLEASE DONT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE EXTRAORDINARY IMAGINATI...more

7 likes · like · see review

Oct 08, 2009 M— rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

I'm all for reading about DEATH MATCH CHESS, but even that cannot save this book for me. It seems poised to snag whatever parts of the YA demographic that have not been sucked into the Twilight vortex. ("Not interested in reading an epic romance about a sparkly vampire? Try this book about demons eating parents instead! now with copious amounts of blood!")

I liked how the hero, Grubbs Grady, gets a hard wake-up call to the realities of his world when his immediate family is slaughtered by demons,...more I'm all for reading about DEATH MATCH CHESS, but even that cannot save this book for me. It seems poised to snag whatever parts of the YA demographic that have not been sucked into the Twilight vortex. ("Not interested in reading an epic romance about a sparkly vampire? Try this book about demons eating parents instead! now with copious amounts of blood!")

I liked how the hero, Grubbs Grady, gets a hard wake-up call to the realities of his world when his immediate family is slaughtered by demons, and I thought the reveal of that scene and the aftermath with Grubbs stuck in a cycle of psychiatric observation was extremely well done. But shortly after Grubbs' sole surviving adult family member arranges for Grubbs' release from observation, the narrative completely stalls and my interest took a sharp nosedive. First, wouldn't you logically expect a young teenager – having directly witnessed demons eating his family and having spent weeks in an asylum desperately pretending this hasn't happened for fear that he'll prove himself to actually be crazy, but then discovering that his uncle is the one adult in his world who believes in the demons too and who then spirits him out of the asylum to safety – to maybe ask this uncle about these demons? Maybe even ask why this horrible thing has happened to him? You wanna know how long it takes Grubbs do to this? One. Hundred. Pages. I was getting to the point while reading this that I seriously wondered if I'd accidentally skipped over the paragraph that explained this.

It's as if the author was deliberately trying to slow the pace of this book, and I can't think of a single reason why he would want to do so. The beginning grips you instantly and the ending is really good, but the middle? Ugh – the story stops dead. Does Shan think teens can't handle reading a novel at breakneck speed and needed some sort of slow place where they could catch their breath? That teens would be unable to relate to a story entirely about a badass demon-fighting protagonist with a burning urge to stay alive and that it would be a better idea to tone it down for a few chapters to that teens could instead read about a protagonist doing exciting things like watch movies with a friend in his living room? Or did he just had a passing whim to switch the story's genre entirely from horror to light mystery but then changed his mind and switched it back to horror again at the end? It makes no sense. If you want to write a horror story, make it horror.

Then Grubbs himself suffers from this sequence of random competence switchovers. He starts at as a sadistically nasty little brother – rigging a shower to pour rotten, liquefied rat guts on your naked sister assuredly counts as sadistic behavior – but he quickly goes through that horrible opening event and starts behaving very believably within the confines of the story, but once he gets to his uncle's house he starts acting like a careless moron and jettisons any of the experience bonus points he would have gained earlier. But then, by the very end of the book, Grubbs has another great growth of maturity and becomes responsible and interesting again. I want to throttle the author. Pick a characterization already, Shan!

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.

ETA: I lent this book to my younger brother, who's very in to this sort of gorefest plotline. He friggin' loved the book, read it in the space of a week or two (books normally take him months to read), and approached me with a direct inquiry to see if I had any other titles in this series. (This never happens!) So Shan must be doing something right.(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2008 Don rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2008 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

OH MY GOD. This book scared the crap out of me, but I couldn't put it down. It's so vivid, it's like reading a really good comic book. There's never any doubt as to what's going on or what it looks like, which is both good and bad, as the first event in the book is the grisly deaths of the main character's entire family. There's one point at which a demon is using the main character's sister's skin as a puppet... ICK!ICK!ICK! But you definitely want the kid to win, and you want the bad guys to l...more

19 likes · like · see review

Dec 12, 2008 Yipyipyeti4783 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lord Loss was another great book which took you into the macabre mind of Darren Shan. The characters in this book are memorable and very distinct. The plot was that of one that I've never read before, and it was excellent. Shan is a wonderful horror writer and I would recommend this book to anyone into gruesome, plot heavy books. Shan keeps the chapters short and leaves you hanging at the end of each one. I read this in a few days because it's so hard to put down. If you've read the Cirque Du Fr...more

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2010 Angelic Zaizai rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, naga-monsters, ghost-djinn-witch-fairy-immortal-de

Sudah lama ngincer novel ini, tapi baru sekarang terbit :D

Gak mengecewakan ternyata, meskipun menurut gw lebih seru Darren Shan #1..
dari awal aja ada pembunuhan ups pembantaian, keluarga Grady cuma tinggal Grubbs seorang..

Setelah tinggal bersama Dervish, Grubbs tau sedikit demi sedikit rahasia keluarganya.. kenapa orangtuanya gila catur dan maksa banget agar dy belajar catur.. dan siapa Bill-E

Soal catur... hmmmm gw ga begitu ngerti catur, jadi pas ada duel catur sama Lord Loss, yah... i was kind...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 22, 2009 ØrionSof2014 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-ir-books-cricket

The main character of this book is named Grubbs Grady. He is a very bad kid and he plays pranks on his sister. One day his parents tell him to go his grandmas house. Grubbs is suspicious because his parents didn't tell him where they were going.
I can make a text to self connection to Grubbs. Grubbs doesn't always follow the rules and only does things to people if they did do something to him. He has also been left behind when his family leave. Grubbs is somewhat bad but somewhat good to. He is...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Gui rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was OK. The story is creative and very fast-paced. I was even scared at parts, the demons are really gruesome here.

I'll try reading more of this series since this is a very short book and there wasn't much character development but Lord Loss still managed to intrigue me.

3 to 3.5 out of 5 stars.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 04, 2009 Booker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: darren-shan

This book was fantastic, unless reading about dead people grosses you out. It was fast paced, and laugh-out-loud funny in some places. There was also many twist and turns in the plot. Another great series by a great author.

Summary:
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...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 17, 2013 Elijah Stanley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book does a wonderful job at drawing the reader in and keeping them locked into position, not wanting to put the book down. The atmosphere fits in perfectly with the story and each event will leave you wanting to know what comes next. As far as what could have been better, there really isn't much. The book does have some strangely structured sentences, but other than that there rally isn't much that I would want to change about this book.
This is a horror book, and keeps quite a fast pace th...more

like · see review

Mar 07, 2013 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mentioned Above

Recommended to Jerry by: Cirque Du Freak

The Demonata Book One, Lord Loss

I heard about this book after I quit reading Cirque Du Freak, realizing I wasn’t interested. I saw that Darren Shan wrote another series, so I promptly started it. The Demonata: Lord Loss is a book about a boy named Grubbs Grady, a troublesome kid who lives with his Mom, Dad, and Sister. After getting caught smoking and filling his sister’s towel with rat guts, he realizes how guilty he feels and wishes he could make up for it. But all of that change after his fam...more

like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I liked:
-Grubbs. He sounded like an authentic teenage boy, and I enjoyed being trapped in his warped, twisted mind. The way he saw the world was interesting and different. Once again, I’ve come to the realization that the only authors who should be writing from the point of view of teenage boys are people who have ever been a teenage boy, because only male authors seem to get the voice realistic.
-Gore. There is so much blood and gore in this series. It’s almost a gore overload, but it makes...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 22, 2013 Adam Ransom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lord Loss is a book filled with captivating action that will please all fantasy and horror buffs alike. Just part one of a series of ten books in the Demonata series, Lord Loss is filled with fast paced action that keeps readers begging for more with each sentence. The reader will look on in shock and suspense as the protagonist, Grubbs Grady, sees his worst nightmares come true in a flash. This book grabs at the emotions of the reader, provoking the reader to know exactly how Grubbs feels as hi

...more

Lord Loss is a book filled with captivating action that will please all fantasy and horror buffs alike. Just part one of a series of ten books in the Demonata series, Lord Loss is filled with fast paced action that keeps readers begging for more with each sentence. The reader will look on in shock and suspense as the protagonist, Grubbs Grady, sees his worst nightmares come true in a flash. This book grabs at the emotions of the reader, provoking the reader to know exactly how Grubbs feels as his life changes in a flash. This first in the series is filled with plot twists and betrayals alike, as the protagonist fights his newfound fantasy world with the skill that he knows best and learns more about his extended family in the process as his battle with Lord Loss, the antagonist, unfolds. This book has the necessary ingredients needed to entice readers into begging like dogs for the next book in the series.

Lord Loss is very well written. The text can be read easily by the reader, and offers an extended use of sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary that will impress readers alike. The author provides detailed descriptions of the experiences of the protagonist, Grubbs Grady. For example, Grubbs' nightmares become a reality when the author details his horrors happening in his own home "Blood everywhere. Nightmarish splashes and gory pools. Wild streaks across the floor and walls. Except the walls aren't walls. I'm surrounded on all four sides by webs. Millions of strands, thicker than my arm... Many of the strands are stained with blood." (Shan 22). The details Shan provides are intricate and leave the reader having an emotional connection with the book's characters that they all connect in a relateable way.

Shan's purpose in writing Lord Loss was to not only write a captivating story, but to also send a message to the readers. Even your worst nightmares can turn into a reality, and you have to find your way out of using the skills that you have best. For example, Grubbs loves to play chess, and he uses his skills to battle for his life: "Lord Loss surrounds my king on the middle board - checkmate. I giggled as my king melts. While it's still bubbling, I move a knight forward on the board to my right" (Shan 205). Lord Loss also offers hope from the most unlikely places, as the characters are able to save themselves from eternal doom from the living nightmare. No matter what happens, you never give up. There are many emotions that display in this book, from agony, to undeniable fear, and to happiness, the widespread of emotions at display help the book leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Lord Loss' greatest strength would have to be the non-stop action that takes place throughout the entire story. The descriptive writing of the book make you imagine that you're watching one of the best horror movies in your head, such as when Grubbs encounters a horrifying transformation "I stand rooted to the spot. Eyes wide. Staring at the beast as it rises to its feet and snarls. A contorted face. Yellow eyes. Sharp cheekbones. Dark shadows. Open mouth full of bared teeth. It raises a hand - dark skin, long nails, fingers curled into claws" (Shan 137). Although this is a fantasy book, it is written in a way where fantasy meets reality, just like in Shan's s other book series, Cirque Du Freak and shows like Teen Wolf and Angel, filled with plot twists and tender moments alike. The book's greatest weakness is that the book's decisive moments and outcomes are mostly the same throughout Grubbs' journey, offering both the good and the bad endings to his choices, typical.

Lord Loss is filled with plot-bending, fast-paced action that will leave readers begging for the next book. The book teaches us that we should never give up, even in the face of such a formidable enemy that has inhuman abilities. Reading this book would be like watching a horror movie flash between your eyes. The eye-popping details will leave your mind running like a film reel and have readers astonished by the detail put into the novel. I would definitely recommend this book and the entire Demonata series to a friend or other readers. The book will definitely have the same effect on others as it did on me, being able to make an emotional connection to the protagonists and more throughout the story.

(less)

like · see review

Jan 21, 2013 Inky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not usually a fan of gory horror stories, but this book made an exception.

Meet Lord Loss. A demon who feeds on the grief of others with his familiars, Vein and Artery (suitable names for bloodthirsty creatures). And when he kills the parents and sister of teenage boy Grubbs Grady, that's when our story begins. Grubbs stays with his uncle Deverish, who seems to be holding some secrets...

This book was an action-packed and frightening read. There were some nice twists, which I like in a book. I...more

like · see review

Jan 10, 2013 04zachn nelson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the book Lord Loss by Darren Shan the audience of this book is the reader. This book has 224 pages total, the main problem in this book is when grubs parent find out that his sister is a werewolf so they call in lord loss to cure her but befor that can happen they have to face eachother at chess. Grubs find out and goes to the nurses and then soon moves in with his uncle because he believes grubs about the demons, grubs meets billy and after they get to know eachother they become good close f...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Liam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, let me just start by saying this. I. Don’t. Like. Chess. Tried it a couple times, and honestly, I found it
1)Confusing as heck. Too many pieces!

And

2) Boring as heck. I think I may have fallen asleep the first few times I played it.

To me, a nice game of checkers would suffice. Less pieces, and you can even hop over other pieces! Now, that’s not to say I don’t have respect for Chess, I just think that if it was at a faster pace or something, it would be more enjoyable.
Well, my friends. Its a...more Okay, let me just start by saying this. I. Don’t. Like. Chess. Tried it a couple times, and honestly, I found it
1)Confusing as heck. Too many pieces!

And

2) Boring as heck. I think I may have fallen asleep the first few times I played it.

To me, a nice game of checkers would suffice. Less pieces, and you can even hop over other pieces! Now, that’s not to say I don’t have respect for Chess, I just think that if it was at a faster pace or something, it would be more enjoyable.
Well, my friends. Its as if book one of the Demonata Series, Lord Loss by Darren Shan stepped out of the crowd and yelled to me. “Hi Ho my dear boy! How does Death Chess mixed with demons, blood, and gore sound to you?!” Well, it sounded great. So I read it. And boy, did it live up to the excitement.
Grubbs Grady is a normal teenage boy. Correction, was a normal teenage boy. He would fight with his parents, and play tricks on his older sister. That all changed when…well, it’s a bit hard to describe. Basically, Grubbs’ family is keeping a secret from him, and naturally, he wants to know what it is. So when he is shipped off to his Aunt’s house, he decides to sneak out to see what was up with his family. We all know curiosity eventually ends up killing the cat, and well, even if it didn’t kill Grubs, it sure screwed him up. Grubbs walks into his house and immediately senses something that’s not right. Chess sets scattered, and it was oddly cold. Exploring the house, he stumbles upon something out of a nightmare, his family, dead, being used as puppets or being eaten. This is Grubbs’ first encounter with Lord Loss, the main enemy throughout the series. Grubbs reacts how anyone would if they just saw their families corpses being eaten by demons. He goes, basically insane. And who was he supposed to tell? Who would believe him that his family was killed by demons? After a few, not so good interactions with the family, Grubbs’ Uncle Dervish comes, and surprisingly knows all about what Grubbs is going through, and takes him with him. This opens up a whole new world for Grubbs, the world of the Demonata.
Overall, I gave this book 3 stars, not because it was bad writing. But because I sometimes felt like there was just random events thrown in, to just, to just happen. In Darren Shan’s previous series, Cirque De Freak, I felt engrossed, and captivated by the whole story and characters. Unfortunately, in the Demonata series, it did not have these qualities, and therefore left me a little disappointed.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 03, 2012 Federico rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Have you ever felt cheated by the book you were reading? That is how I felt reading “Lord Loss” by Darren Shaw. It is the first of ten books in the Demonata series. You may remember the author from the very popular “Cirque Du Freak” series of books.

Lord Loss was a chilling story of a boy who’s parents where killed by demons and his quest to find out why they were killed and how he would defeat them. While it seems cool it is actually very boring because the ultimate fight for the main character...more

like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Sinai Bardales rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is about a boy called Grubitsch Grady also known as (Grubs) and how he overcomes his fear towards demons. The reason he is scared of demons is because demons slaughtered his family. The name of these demons were Vien, Artery, and Lord Loss. While trying to tell people that his family was killed by his family he is called crazy and sent to a hospital for crazy people, where he meets his uncle Dervish. Dervish tells him that he knows that he is telling the truth and that he should just c...more

like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Daena Richardson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-favourites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read this when I was barely in my teens, and even then it did not affect me in a way that says; 'Hey! She shouldn't be allowed in public without a straight jacket and some chainmail!'
That doesn't mean to say it wasn't one of the best books in the series (that I totally don't own all of in a special shelf to make sure they don't get dusty...) what I meant by that was, I am sick and twisted individual.

Now, onto my real review.
This book is simply delicious. Shan has a writing style that connects...more I read this when I was barely in my teens, and even then it did not affect me in a way that says; 'Hey! She shouldn't be allowed in public without a straight jacket and some chainmail!'
That doesn't mean to say it wasn't one of the best books in the series (that I totally don't own all of in a special shelf to make sure they don't get dusty...) what I meant by that was, I am sick and twisted individual.

Now, onto my real review.
This book is simply delicious. Shan has a writing style that connects with the intended audience, which seems to be an older crowd - young adults maybe - as the content is inredibly gory and each of the books is filled with graphically decribed bloodshed.
The plot in this book begins with the life of Grubbs (Grubstich) Grady. He is a large boy with flame red hair who has an attitude - and a smoking - problem.
His sister turns him into his parents, blah blah blah... this all equates to a sucky teenage life where he ends up with a lengthy grounding that seems like house arrest.
Then comes the suspicious behaviour, i.e. his parents buying him gifts and kissing him goodbye - these things do not happen on a daily basis.
Then, after some time with his aunt and the like, he returns home to his headless father and his sister's dead body being puppeteered by an otherwordly creature.
Grubbs is incarcerated into a loony bin and the story truly begins there.

Now, having revealed the whole plot to you, I will get onto Darren Shan himself;
Let's admit it, he's an amazing author with an imagination that could put anyone to shame.
His writing style is aloof but fluent, making the book an easy enjoyable read.
He does not use terms that we do not understand and the images his plants into our tiny, impressionable minds stay with us on a permanent basis.
Still, to this very day, I still remember what Grubbs looks like, with his large frame and shock of red hair, and what Lord Loss looks like, with his cracked skin that seeps blood and the snakes that write in a hole in the demon lord's chest where his heart SHOULD be.
Okay.
Well, it seems we're done here.(less)

like · see review

Jun 17, 2012 Camryn Morrow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who loves scary books full of suspense

Recommended to Camryn by: the library

Grubitisch (Grubbs) Grady is like any normal teenage boy. He hates school, but loves to play tricks on his sister. His family is not like most families. His parents are chess fanatics. They have boards in each room, and play games every day. Grubbs doesn't care much for chess untill he opts out of a family outing to see a ballet recital. Grubbs later finds out that this trip had nothing to do with ballet. Grubbs worls turns dark, seeing demons take his family, put in a psychward, living with hi...more

like · see review

Jun 17, 2012 Kalilah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Supernatural stories

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

May 22, 2012 Ciaran Daunt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Imagine being a young teenage boy, coming home from your tedious and monotonous weekend with your aunt, to find yourself plunged into a world of darkness and terror. Upon entering his house, Grubitch “Grubbs” Grady was horrified to find his parents and sister all dead, brutally murdered. What’s worse, he discovers a horrific demon lord named Lord Loss awaiting him. Grubbs escapes and finds himself in a mental asylum trying to convince doctors that he did in fact see paranormal beings, but to no...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shannon Miranda
Horror Genre

This is the story of Grubistch “Grubbs” Grady. Who walks in on the murder of his family (parents & sister) by the hands of a demon named Lord Loss. Grubbs is so shocked and distraught by what he has seen that he winds up in a mental hospital. Grubbs gets a visit from an Uncle Dervish (who was estranged from Grubbs’ Dad) who explains that he is not crazy and takes him to live at his home. Grubbs finds out that the Grady family has a werewolf curse, and for centuries...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2011 Cybertron (michael) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lord Loss

'Lord

Loss' was written by Darren Shan, a quite popular horror stroy novelisst. It was published in 2006. The main character is Grubbs Grady, who is tall for his age, and loves using his 'grown up' looking self to get into places that he's not supposed to. But his life is to get a lot more complicated when Lord Loss enters his life.

The

book 'Lord Loss' is all about demons, werewolves, and magic. It is quite scary and you will quite definitley get nightmares if you read it. The reason t...more Lord Loss

'Lord

Loss' was written by Darren Shan, a quite popular horror stroy novelisst. It was published in 2006. The main character is Grubbs Grady, who is tall for his age, and loves using his 'grown up' looking self to get into places that he's not supposed to. But his life is to get a lot more complicated when Lord Loss enters his life.

The

book 'Lord Loss' is all about demons, werewolves, and magic. It is quite scary and you will quite definitley get nightmares if you read it. The reason to it scariness is how descriptive the authour's writing is. This causes all the scary bits to be VERY scary.

The

author's writing is ok, it definitely was a page turner, but it wasn't 5 star writing. Some things should've been changed, and at some parts of the book, it seemed like one of those horror books which are just filled with gore.

liked the book more than other horror books because it had aspects of a normal action book, and some aspects of a normal horror book. Overall the book was ok, so I think that 3 stars is a good score for this book.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

After really disliking Cirque du Freak I picked up a cool looking book called Lord Loss. Come to find out, they are written by the same person. I read the first few pages, and almost had to stop reading the book. Spoiled brat male teenager gets caught smoking at school, finds out his sister told on him, and decides to get back at her. Does he embarrass her in front of her friends? Does he go through her room? Maybe he writes on her with lipstick when she is sleeping? No! He pulls the guts out of...more After really disliking Cirque du Freak I picked up a cool looking book called Lord Loss. Come to find out, they are written by the same person. I read the first few pages, and almost had to stop reading the book. Spoiled brat male teenager gets caught smoking at school, finds out his sister told on him, and decides to get back at her. Does he embarrass her in front of her friends? Does he go through her room? Maybe he writes on her with lipstick when she is sleeping? No! He pulls the guts out of rats and sticks them in her bath towel! How mature. To top it off the male teenager says things like BAWring and there are exclamation points at the end of every other sentence. Everything I didn't like about Cirque du Freak all in the first few pages of Lord Loss.

So why the 3 star rating? Well, thankfully our immature teenager grows up very quickly after his stint in the loony bin. He is even using big words (which seems completely out of character). The story takes a different turn after the beginning and is actually pretty interesting. It could have been better if the main character learned some spells and spent his time doing something other than watching TV, but oh well. Also, I'm not a fan of the writing style. Most of it is short choppy sentences. There is no flow, which makes everything seem like a summary. Example: "Night. It's cold. I look out the window. Quiet. Back to bed. Morning. Eat breakfast. Watch tv." I understand that it is supposed to add a sense of danger and excitement, but I was more irritated that anything else. I would have enjoyed Lord Loss more if it wasn't told in first person, if the main character was a bit older, and there were more details. I think that younger readers would enjoy it because the main character wouldn't irritate them as much as he irritated me. It's not creepy or scary to me at all, but I guess I don't really scare easily. The initial description of Lord Loss was the freakiest thing in the novel, and probably the most enjoyable. A decent and easy read, but more cons than pros. (less)

like · see review

Dec 21, 2010 Dana Salman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: darren-shan

I don't know, I didn't find it as believable as The Cirque du Freak series, which I loved immensely. I never liked demons, because, since there aren't so many popular rules attatched to them, you can do anything you like with them when you include them in a story. So they can look like pretty much anything you can cook up in your mind. Which turns out to be what? A half-dog half-croc woman. Get real, Shan. I found Lord Loss a little hard to picture too. Infact, if it wasn't for the help of the c...more I don't know, I didn't find it as believable as The Cirque du Freak series, which I loved immensely. I never liked demons, because, since there aren't so many popular rules attatched to them, you can do anything you like with them when you include them in a story. So they can look like pretty much anything you can cook up in your mind. Which turns out to be what? A half-dog half-croc woman. Get real, Shan. I found Lord Loss a little hard to picture too. Infact, if it wasn't for the help of the cover illustration for one of the later books in the series (Demon Apocalypse, I think) I probably would've had a picture of Grubbs playing against a raw piece of meat in the chess battle.
Moreover, the story just plain bored me. I mean, it started out okay, but it slowed down after awhile once he moves in with his uncle. Plus, I think the narrative was a little fickle-Grubbs narrative in the first chapter differs alot from how he narrates the rest of the book, like he's gone through a personality change. Hell, I liked him as a badass kid in the beginning. I mean sure, the trauma would do those things to a kid, but suddenly he's all chummy later on, not an angry, disturbed delinquent. It's not that I want him to be a complete bastard, but I feel like Shan isn't very good with individualizing his heroes-so far, Darren (from the Cirque du Freak series, not the author), Jebel (The Thin Executioner), and now Grubbs, they all 'sound' like the same kid. And I'm sick of it. The hellish stuff doesn't always happen to just the noble, compassionate kids in the literate world. Can't they have their faults? Oh, but Shan answers that one: Yeah, Grubbs has his faults-he's plain rude. Well that's enough then, isn't it?
Overall, I'm not interested in reading the rest of these books. My brother adored this one, can't see why. It wasn't in any way scary, and if there was horror, it wasn't very creative or visual. Heck, there's a huge absence of horror in this book. I was hurrying through some of the middle chapters just to get on with the juicy stuff. Yeah, yeah, we want everything to be gradual, let Grubbs adapt to this new world of magic and demons, but Shan could've found a way for him to do that by experiencing it instead of being told about it. We don't have any proof about magical spells except for Dervish's word on it, and well, apparently that's good enough for Grubbs. Of course when Bill-E tells him about werewolves he gets second thoughts. I'd really like to know how this kid's head works. But not so much that I wanna read the rest of these books. It's all silly anyway.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 14, 2010 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lord Loss is a demon, everyone fears him. All except one. For once, someone has been able to conquer their feelings when Lord Loss has tormented him several times. Grubbs has accepted the truth, destiny is inevitable.

What would you do if suddenly one day, your family died a tragedy and found three demons lingering around in your parents’ room? Once again, Grubbs has suffered all this. After that, everyone around him looked devious, like there was a lifetime of secrets, waiting for him to discove...more Lord Loss is a demon, everyone fears him. All except one. For once, someone has been able to conquer their feelings when Lord Loss has tormented him several times. Grubbs has accepted the truth, destiny is inevitable.

What would you do if suddenly one day, your family died a tragedy and found three demons lingering around in your parents’ room? Once again, Grubbs has suffered all this. After that, everyone around him looked devious, like there was a lifetime of secrets, waiting for him to discover. Finally, he has found someone he can trust… perhaps the only one he can trust.

My favorite part is when Lord Loss kills Grubbs’s beloved family, and how Darren Shan describes how he felt and how his heart seemed to disappear. This is my favorite part is because I really felt like Grubbs myself, and I could feel his fears and woes inside my heart. The details in this book are heart-pounding, and they always make you hungry for more.

I personally think the main idea is about caring for others and being unselfish. I have read the whole series, so I think it’s obvious. It’s sort of easy to find. The books don’t say it directly, but it shows clues to make you realize what the book is really trying to tell you. I understand the moral because at the last book, magicians, werewolves, and immortals form a team, despite how the werewolves can be pretty demanding sometimes.

I think this book is brilliant. Perfect, almost. In my point of view, this book is fantastic, I read it several times already and still enjoyed it the same as the first. It’s fast-paced, but slows down on real dramatic parts, so you won’t feel bored or anything. Most of the people have a least favorite part in a book, but I don’t. I liked every sentence, every word. The word choice is fantastic, and you just want to look it up in the dictionary because you don’t dare skip a word, you’re afraid that you would not understand the story. The point is, the Demonata series includes some of the best books I’ve ever read.

I would recommend this book to people who like horror and action books. It includes werewolves, monsters, and those sort of things. They will gobble it up like demons gobble humans up.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 27, 2010 MarsianMan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grubitsch Grady is a pretty normal (if a little malicious as a prankster) who notices his family acting suspicious. After sneaking out on the baby sitter, he follows his parents back to their house. He arrives to find his family dead and monsters still playing with their corpses. He runs away and barely manages to escape the deadly pursuit. After describing the scene to the police and therapists they put him in a mental hospital. He stays there pleasantly until his nearly unknown Uncle Dervish c...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 30, 2010 Celine rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: horror fans

Shelves: young-adult, horror

I love Darren Shan. I loved his vampire series (although I read the last page first, and when I saw **spoiler** that he was dying **spoiler** I didn't dare to finish the book). Lord Loss is the first book in a new series about the Demonata. And I'm proud of Darren, because this is a completely new series. It doesn't feel like Cirque du Freak at all. The only similarity is the first person narration.

This book follows Grubbitsch Grady, who likes to be called Grubbs. I immediately fell in love with...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 23, 2010 Heather Shaw rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Darren Shan, fans juvenile horror/gory stories, those who like stories about fighting demons

Recommended to Heather by: no one

Shelves: demonata-series, ya-books, horror

I picked up this book/series almost a year ago because I absolutely loved the Cirque Du Freak series, but was a little leery of a horror novel, even done by an author that I really like, more over a horror novel with demons in it. (I'm not a horror fan at all, but of late, I'm noticing my tastes have been slowly expanding). I'm so glad that my reservations were unfounded. He is just as great a storyteller in this series as in the Cirque Du Freak series, and is a little bit more grown up. Cirque...more

1 like · like · see review

topics	posts	views	last activity
How Old is Grubbs Grady?	7	45	Apr 06, 2013 12:33pm
Who is your favourite character?	2	10	Dec 13, 2012 11:17am
Reading log # 8	1	10	Apr 22, 2012 06:15pm
Reading log # 5	1	9	Apr 14, 2012 10:18am

title link	preview: Lord Loss
avg rating	preview: Lord Loss Goodreads rating: 4.20 (8090 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1331644.Lord_Loss?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327887488l/1331644.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1331644.Lord_Loss?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Lord Loss by Darren Shan[/url]

Lord Loss (The Demonata #1)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (19)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Darren Shan

Books by Darren Shan

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Lord Loss

Quotes from Lord Loss