Bec (Book 4 in the Demonata series), by Darren Shan
Shan, Darren (2006, 2007 [US]). Bec (Book 4 in the Demonata series). NY: Little, Brown. 235 pages.
If you’re going to read a series out of order, progressing from Book 2 to Book 4 in Shan’s Demonata series is the way to go. Book 4, Bec, takes us back in time to the first emergence of the demons of the Demonata, way back in very early Christian Europe. Told from the point of view of Bec, a young priestess foundling living in a primitive rath, the story follows her on a journey to close the gate opened between the human and demon worlds. After a mysterious and seemingly simple boy visits Bec’s rath, Bec joins a small band of her people as they follow him in hopes of joining force with another small clan and to beat the demons who terrorize their homes every night. Along the way, the band meets a druid who encourages them to follow him to the gate between worlds, where the group may be able to close the gate and die heroes.
The story unfolds at the fast clip characteristic of Shan’s work and is full of the usual blood and gore. Steaming entrails aside, the historical story held greater appeal than the contemporary installments of the this series; I had long been curious about the emergence of the demons and found the pre-pre-modern setting of this volume intriguingly described. During Bec’s travels, she and the group witness the druid’s play with a primitive chessboard, a set piece that should figure prominently in later installments. While this series is not as much about character development as it is about telling a swift but powerful (and gorey) tale, I’ve found the installments that I read satisfying in themselves and effectively suspenseful. An appearance of Lord Loss, a demon leader whose power and general evilness has been well established in earlier books, was just the icing on the cake. Of course I’m going to read the next one and maybe even backtrack to book 3. After all this investment, how could I not?