''Blood Beast'' is the fifth book in

Darren Shan Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...

's ''

The Demonata ''The Demonata'' is a young adult horror/fantasy series by author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons. The series is told by three different protagonists: Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn. The series is notable for its e ...

'' series and was released 4 June 2007. It is narrated by

Grubbs Grady ''The Demonata'' is a young adult horror/fantasy series by author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons. The series is told by three different protagonists: Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn. The series is notable for its ...

, the narrator of ''

Lord Loss ''Lord Loss'' is the first novel in the '' Demonata'' series written by best-selling teenage horror author Darren Shan. It was originally published in the UK on 6 June 2005. Soon after, it appeared in Japan and America, where Shan's previous serie ...

'' and ''

Slawter Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...

''. The plot is part of a two-part story, which continues in book six. Though the previous four books have not been in chronological order, this book is the furthest book into the future. It mainly deals with whether or not Grubbs Grady will be struck with lycanthropy and how he will deal with it. This book has been nominated for several prizes. The title was originally announced at the

Edinburgh Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as ''The largest festival of its k ...

. In 2007, Blood Beast was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award in the UK, but lost to ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the main ''Harry Potter'' series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publi ...

'' by

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

Plot summary

''Blood Beast'' takes place about a year after the events recounted in ''Slawter''. Grubbs Grady is back in Carcery Vale. His life seems to have settled down at last. He's getting on well with Dervish. Grubbs has been struggling to contain the magical talent he discovered in the town of Slawter. He doesn't want to become a Disciple and he hopes his abilities will fade if he hides them long enough. His magician's prowess is growing all the time. He is having dreadful nightmares and suspects he might be turning into a werewolf.''Blood Beast'' - plot outline
/ref> Things come to a head when Grubbs and his friends, Loch and Bill-E decide to go on a treasure hunt. While exploring a tunnel that leads to a cave, Grubbs hears a scream behind him and turns to find Loch's lifeless body on the floor, blood seeping from his head. Bill-E leaves to get help, and Grubbs attempts unsuccessfully to resuscitate Loch, whose heart has stopped. Dervish returns with Bill-E and they dispose of Loch's body in a nearby quarry. Dervish explains that the cave is a potential doorway for demons to enter the human world and it is his responsibility to safeguard it. Grubbs returns to school, and meets with the new psychologist, Juni Swan, whom he had previously met in ''

''. Juni also has a gift for magic. She becomes romantically involved with Dervish who teaches her more spells. For several nights around the time of the full moon, Grubbs has a difficult time and is in extreme pain. Juni suggests that they should meet at the cave. Grubbs runs to the cave, where he turns into a werewolf. When he returns to a human state, he finds that he has killed Bill-E's grandparents and legal guardians. Not wanting to kill again, he and Juni decide to run away. They board a plane and Grubbs falls asleep. When he awakes, the cockpit opens and demons appear on the plane, and then begin attacking the passengers. Is Juni a friend or foe?

Footnotes

External links

Official Darren Shan Site
{{demonata 2007 Irish novels The Demonata novels Demon novels HarperCollins books Werewolf written fiction