Demonata Books In Order

Publication Order of The Demonata Books

Chronological Order of The Demonata Books

Demonata is the name of a series of novels written by Darren Shan, a bestselling author. As opposed to Darren’s previous vampire oriented series, Demonata explores demons. There are ten books in the series.

+The Story

The Demonata series follows three different protagonists namely: Kernel Fleck, Grubby Grady, and Bec MacConn, with the narration of the story shifting between these three throughout the different books.

While the characters do meet at various points in the story, they all originate from different times. While Grubbs lives in the present, Kernel comes from the 1970s, Bec having lived around 450AD.

The story pits the three protagonists against Lord Loss, a powerful demon, his numerous demon familiars and a mysterious shadow determined to bring the human universe to an end. The protagonists make an effort to stop Lord Loss and his plans of destruction.

Lord Loss, one of the primary antagonists of the story, actually begun as a poem that Darren Shan wrote, the story of the Demonata unfolding to the author while he worked on his vampire series ‘The Saga’.

While he penned the first novel in the Demonata series earlier on, he chose to discard it temporarily, focusing his efforts upon finishing the Saga. He had no plans to turn the novel into a series, not until he wrote ‘Bec’, ‘Demon Apocalypse’ and the various other novels that followed.

The series begins with Lord Loss, during which Grubitsch Grady struggles to come to terms with the slaughter of his family at the hands of the demonic Lord Loss, the young man eventually learning about his magical powers from his uncle and facing Lord Loss in a battle of wits.

Demon Thief introduces Cornelius Fleck, a boy that can see invisible patches of light and who later learns to open windows into other realms. Bec doesn’t appear until ‘Bec’, the fourth novel in the series, the three protagonists slowly coming together in the novels that follow.

+The Author

Darren Shan is an Irish Author born in 1972. Shan acquired his first typewriter at 14. With it he wrote many books and comic scripts, most of which he never finished.

Success came to the author at the tender age of 15. Shan was a runner-up for RTE’s TV script-writing competition for his dark comedy ‘A Day in the Morgue’.

He eventually finished his first novel at 17, though ‘Mute Pursuit’ was never published. This failure didn’t deter him from the experience, Shan finding that he loved the writing experience.

Following his graduation from university, Shan spent some time working at a Television cable company, eventually becoming a full-time writer at 23 years old.

His first real success, Ayuamarca, was published in 1999 under his real name though it didn’t sell particularly well. Hell’s Horizon, its sequel, while garnering more interest, sold even fewer copies. It wasn’t until Cirque du Freak, the first novel in The Saga series, that Darren Shan experienced real success.

Darren is a collector of films and original artwork. He has a passion for reading novels and comic books, this along with watching football and listening to music.

+Lord Loss

Grubbs Grady is a red haired boy that is a little too big for his age. This allows him to get into R-rated movies. He has little love for history, cannot get enough of bacon and enjoys playing tricks on his squeamish sister.

When he chooses to opt out of a family weekend trip, he cannot imagine the dark journey that awaits him as a result.

Lord Loss is an adventurous read. The first few chapters are quite shocking and will immediately hook even the most disinterested reader, especially as the mundane elements of Grubbs’ life take a nightmarish turn.

Lord Loss is, to an extent, quite grim, though Darren Shan makes an effort to keep the subject matter interesting, injecting various elements of humor into his story.

Some readers might find Lord Loss a little jarring because it is written in present tense; though, as disconcerting as it might be, the approach somewhat magnifies the action, inserting readers into the front seat and rushing them headlong through Darren Shan’s nightmarish novel.

Unlike predecessors like Cirque du Freak, Lord Loss is clearly a young adult novel written with older teens in mind. The tragedy and violent kills should intrigue adult readers as well.

Grubbs works well enough as a protagonist, not too obnoxious. The cast that surrounds him keeps things interesting, especially his uncle and the new friends he makes along the way. The ending is more like the calm before the storm that is waiting to break in the Lord Loss’ sequels.

+Demon Thief

Kernel Fleck is weird, and even he knows. He can see invisible colored patches of light swirling through the air. It isn’t until he uses these lights to rip a window into a demon world that Kernel learns of his incredible powers.

Demon Thief continues the demented rollercoaster ride that began in Lord Loss. Demon Thief is just as complex as its predecessor, at least as far as the imaginative world of the Demonata is concerned.

Kernel is an interesting protagonist, a lonely young man whose personal demons compel him to take actions with destructive consequences. The magic in Demon Thief is surprisingly imaginative, Darren Shan making an effort to explore the different types and brands.

Demon Thief isn’t without its twists and surprises, especially with regards to the identity of the demon thief and the manner in which it transforms Kernel’s life.

Demon Thief, more than simply telling another entertaining story in the Demonata series, also makes an effort to expand the world that was first introduced in Lord Loss.

Lord Loss continues to play the enigmatic villain, as eerie as ever. The horrors of his castle are a sight to behold. Admittedly, Demon Thief raised more questions than answers about the world of the Demonata.

However, the author couldn’t have been expected to answer every question in just one book, the other stories in the series elaborating on concepts introduced in Demon Thief.

Demon Thief is a great sequel, effortlessly improving upon its predecessor and expanding the world that readers will have been dying to explore ever since Lord Loss.