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Author (Platform): Darren Shan (Kindle)
Publisher (Release): HarperCollins (2006)
Length: 272 pages
Genres: Young Adult; Horror; Fantasy; Action
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
moderate descriptions of blood, gore, and violent imagery
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: must read
👍 Pros 👍
Mixes historical, fantasy, and horror fiction with envious ease
Rich plotting and balanced pacing
Strong, developed characters that act and react like living beings
👎 Cons 👎
Its position as the fourth entry during a drastically different time can be quite jarring in the overall series
👀 Synopsis 👀
As demonic Fomorii ravage their land, Bec and a band of warrior companions leave their devastated home to answer a plea for help. An orphaned priestess-in-training, Bec hopes the journey will help her solve the mysteries of her birth…
…but fighting demons has a steep price…
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
When I say that Bec, if forced to choose, is my least favourite in Darren Shan’s frightening fantasy saga, it’s by a margin of basically nothing. Its order in the series just drives me insane. With Grubbs being introduced in book one (Lord Loss), Kernel being debuted in book two (Demon Thief), my mind desperately wants to place Bec’s birth third to complete the trio.
Instead, book three (Slawter) returns to Grubbs, pushing forward with one of my favourite stories that, sadly, puts a large dent in the series’s flow.
That said, Bec is a rich entry that combines an old-world Ireland with Shan’s haunting horror, astounding with magic, origins, and bloody revelations.
🧩 Plots 🧩
Bec, following in its predecessors’ style of being in first person and the breakneck pace of present tense, builds a grand adventure through ancient times and customs. Impeccably paced, action accompanies drama and telegraphed twists are expertly used to hide world-shattering surprises. Unapologetically bloody, horror fans will get a deep sense of satisfaction from Shan’s delicious blend of hope and unforgiving reality.
Bec takes us back to simpler but even more deceptively deadly times…
Undeniably, Bec provides, so far, the most world building in the series, answering some questions posed previously while laying seeds for what’s to come. Its lore demands attention and its intense finale guarantees that the sequel will rise to the top of your wishlist.
‘…delicious blend of hope and unforgiving reality.’
🎭 Characters 🎭
The titular character, Bec is our eyes into the old world and realities she inhabits. Like flawed steel, she provides the human core to a story that could very quickly turn depressing. The challenges she faces, how they shape her, strengthen her, weaken her, are tantalising to experience and anchored by the very real question that faces us all regardless of age: what is my purpose? What do I want my purpose to be?
Do we fight and die? Or do we just die?
Supporting cast members provide signature colour and ensure the dynamics are thick with emotion, conflict, and celebration. Not ones to be left behind, this young-adult horror leaves its mark on all, shaping its characters as much as it shapes Bec, filling a full world with full voices.
‘…tantalising to experience…’
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Bec should be, in my pointless opinion, entry number three in Shan’s Demonata series, and its fourth placement irks me to no end. Regardless, Shan’s devilishly delicious standard of rich world building, enticing fantasy, and colourful casting is a force to be reckoned with. A period piece that expertly merges with horror, Bec hints at big things to come with bloody repercussions, promising a rollercoaster of emotions for a reader helpless to stop.
The Phoenix Project 
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