LORD LOSS

Any kid who has teased younger siblings with chants of “greasy, grimy, gopher guts” will feel right at home in this horror tale. Shan, author of the successful Cirque du Freak series, introduces Grubitsch (“Call me Grubbs!”) Grady, a youngster who loses his immediate family to gruesome death at the hands of the demon Lord Loss and his two familiars, Vein and Artery. Pushed violently into a macabre world of multiple dimensions, Grubbs must struggle to deal with a new vision of reality and his own potential future trials at the hands of the demon lord. He is helped by his uncle Dervish, a magician, and his new best friend in the village, Bill-E. It is clear that the Grady family suffers from a long-term curse, one that has already struck down Grubbs’s parents and sister. Will he be next? Will Dervish? The pace is non-stop, keeping the reader turning pages at a breathtaking rate. Details tend to be graphic and gruesome, and not for the faint of heart. This volume is the first in a new series, The Demonata. (Fantasy. YA)