Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books: Derek Landy - Demon Road - Book Review

I've taken that path down the Demon Road.... 

Do you dare? 

The reader will hurtle along on a five star horror experience across the supernatural highways and the black roads of America with this book. It all kicks off when Amber Lamont's parents tried to kill her. Yep, the first page begins with them wanting to eat her. Derek Landy grabs you and slowly pulls you by the scruff of your literary neck down the path of the deepest and darkest parts of hell. He never lets the tempo fall; it's a gratuitous adult young horror shocker that will punch you in the fantasy gut. 

You will plunge across the brooding dark landscape of America on an epic road-trip that will captivate you. The imaginative story is filled with the baddest things imaginable: killer cars straight out of a Stephen King novel, vampires that have a sense of humour and undead serial killers that will haunt you to the bone. Then there is the ruthless family of DEMONS that have made a deal with the Shining Demon and so much more. You really need to read this jam packed book running over 500 pages long. 

Everything this plot has to offer is very bold in comparison to the Skulduggery Pleasant series. I feel that this book has actually taken the author out of his comfy writer's pants as everything needed to be worked out from scratch. In doing so, this book has put the writer back on the horror fantasy map. It's full of wit, action and, best of all, dagger sharp dialogue that oozes from the pores of the main characters.

The story is told from the perspective of Amber who is sixteen years old, smart and spirited. She’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves in more ways than one. Amber is forced to go on the run, hurtling from one threat to another as she reveals a tapestry of terror woven into the very fabric of her life. Her only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be… can they be trusted?

Milo is very mysterious and brings a big dollop of back story with him, which I really loved. Glen is very amusing and brought a light-hearted side to the story. He is very likeable and yet, at the same time, both annoying and very reckless. He made me smile on a number of occasions with his advances towards Amber - they were very laughable. I'm still grinning thinking about some of the moments in the story. This is a side of the story that teenagers will connect to as it brought a sense of realism to a crazy mixed up world.

The idea is very bullish in my opinion. The action scenes are written exquisitely; full of inventive imagination that is sadly missed in a lot of older reads. The only gripe that I have is that it felt a little predictable in places for me but, nevertheless, it's only a small gripe. 

My favourite part of the book was meeting Dacre Shanks who sounds more like a toilet seat then a serial killer. He is so creepy and delicious to read about. The atmosphere surrounding the dolls house and the shrunken people was really eery and chilling. It will hook you like a prize fighter on the ropes.

This is definitely an amazing start to a trilogy. It is a fresh new world for the author to play with. The backyard has been set and the expectations on the next book have rocketed with this opener. This is easily one of my favourite action horror YA reads this year; fantastic stuff Mr Landy, I look forward to much more.....

  

Tom Becker - Interview/Q&A - Dark Room (Red Eye)

Book Synopsis: The camera never lies…Darla and her dad are looking for a fresh start. But when they wind up in affluent Saffron Hills, Darla stands no chance of fitting in with the beautiful, selfie-obsessed teens at her new school. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she starts having visions. The gruesome snapshots flashing into Darla’s mind seem to suggest she’s going crazy…until she realizes they’re actually a horrifying glimpse into the future. With a killer on the loose, can she make sense of what she’s seeing before it’s too late?

After reading Dark Room, I thought that it was one of the best YA horror thrillers that I've read this year. Here is my review, so that you can find out WHY. 

At the same time, I took the fantastic opportunity to ask Tom some personal questions about Dark Room and his writing career. Welcome Tom, to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books, and thanks for taking the time out as I know that you are very busy at the moment. Below are the outcomes of the questions......

What was your inspiration for Dark Room?

Unlike my previous books, I didn't do any reading or research for Dark Room. I just started writing, beginning in Darla and Hopper's trailer, and a bang on the door in the middle of the night. My influences were on the screen rather than the page – US TV dramas such as True Detective and the work of the film director David Lynch, who explores small-town secrets in the most surreal and unsettling ways.

Why do you like writing in the horror genre?

It's all about atmosphere, trying to cast a shadow over the page. Fear is such a personal thing, what scares one person will leave the next utterly unmoved. It's a real challenge for a writer – it demands a delicate touch in some places and a firm (and often blood-drenched) hand in others.

How do you come up with the characters?

I don't have a hard and fast approach, it varies from book to book. Sometimes I'll spend a long time sketching out characters before I begin, but when I sat down and wrote the first chapter of Dark Room I felt Darla and Hopper come together quite naturally. And Sasha Haas elbowed her way straight on to the page with a dismissive snort, daring me to try and tell her what to do.

Is there a message in your book?

Primarily I'm interested in telling stories – if readers are engrossed and keep turning the pages until the end, then that's enough for me. But Dark Room does touch on issues of self-esteem and body image, especially for young women. It's dedicated to Plain Girls (and Boys) everywhere.

What do you think makes a good story?

A little bit of craft and a lot of heart. A writer who is willing to risk a failure in order to show the reader something they haven't seen before.

What helps you be more creative?

Other people being creative – whether it's great writers, filmmakers, artists or musicians. Increasingly I find inspiration in the pages of history books. One of my previous books The Traitors sprang from World War Two POW stories, and While The Others Sleep was informed by histories of the Raj in India.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just to see where an idea takes you?

Usually an idea has to sit in my head for a long time before I get the chance to write it, and I like to plot it out pretty thoroughly before I start typing. That said Dark Room came much organically – I wrote the first chapter with Darla and Hopper in the trailer and let the story take me from there. It made for a fun change, although there were moments when I missed the safety net of a firmer plan.

Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in a shed)?

Funnily enough I was asked this same question the other day, and I'm starting to feel a bit self-conscious about my lack of quirky writing habits! I tend to save my strangeness for the page.

What else are you working on now?

I'm working on a manuscript for an epic historical fantasy that I am VERY excited about, and very much hope will make it to the bookshelves. There's also a hush-hush project that is rather cool but I can't talk about yet – hopefully further down the line. And if Dark Room proves popular, maybe I'll get the chance to write some more YA horror. I think I've got some more murders in me...