Demon Road by Derek Landy Series: Demon Road #1
Published by HarperCollins Australia on August 27, 2015
Source: Publisher
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson
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Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers: they’re all here. And the demons? Well, that’s where Amber comes in...Sixteen years old, smart and spirited, she’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves.
Forced to go on the run, she hurtles from one threat to another, revealing 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…
I’m conflicted about Demon Road. On one hand, I really liked the supernatural creatures and the anti-hero main character, on the other, the characters really annoyed me which resulted in my struggling to finish the book. Therefore, this is going to be a tough review.
What I liked
- Supernatural setting. When I first read the blurb, I thought it was exactly like my favourite show, but it added so much more to the plot. Although finding someone for the crossroads demon is the main goal of the book, Amber and Milo made multiple stopovers along the way which lead to different supernatural encounters. A sinister serial killer, vampires, demons and hexes which made it so exciting! I loved the variety and the depth in Demon Road.
- The anti-hero demon. Amber is the demonic spawn of her monster parents and she’s running away from her parents who want to eat her to gain more power. But as a demon herself, Amber kills people and does demonic things from time to time. I loved how the lines of good and evil were blurred here, Amber isn’t really the picture perfect heroine.
- Hilarious witty dialogue. Each of the characters are zany, with Amber’s naivety, Glen’s blubbering self and Milo the mysterious protector. They engage in some hilarious dialogue with each other that was really entertaining.
- The blood and gore. If you haven’t picked up already, there is a lot of blood and gore in Demon Road which leads to exciting action scenes and demonic moments.
What I disliked
- Amber’s naivety and stupidity. I mean she’s a BADASS DEMON for god’s sake, who could have gotten herself out of any situation. But 80% of the situations in here could have been prevented, where she trusts someone, believes their lies or does something completely stupid. For example, she wants to admire her demonic form, and changes IN A TRUCK STOP REST ROOM! Where anyone could walk in! She believes the lies of a tricky serial killer and gets herself trapped in a dollhouse! There were so many situations here where I wanted to reach in and slap Amber silly.
- Glen’s annoying clingy self. This guy has the gift of the gab and babbles incessantly throughout the book which annoyed the crap out of me. Doesn’t matter what situation it is, he’ll garble on throughout the road trip, dangerous situations and even when there are people dying or being killed. Glen just won’t shut up or go away because he thinks Amber and Milo are friends with him.
- The weird, random slights at Amber’s looks. There were multiple times during the book where random people would pop up and point out just how ugly (not even plain) Amber was as a human. I believe the words, troll-like and fugly were used. What the hell? After the 4th time I was sick of it. Yes she’s incredibly stacked and beautiful as a demon, but what was the point of telling us over and over again just how ugly Amber was as a human?
- The amount of times Amber randomly fell asleep. I’m just being picky now, but throughout multiple exciting action scenes in the book, where Glen gets taken away or where they’re investigating someone, Amber falls asleep. Whhhat? I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep with all of that happening! But somehow Amber is able to do that easily.
Filled with wit, action and gore, Demon Road was an fun and exciting supernatural adventure featuring the antics of an anti-hero demon, a cursed Irishman and a mysterious older protector. It’s characters were vibrant and filled with personality, however some of these polarising personalities grated for me. It’s my first Derek Landy and I love how snark and witty the writing is, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
But seriously, what’s with that cover. It’s more offputting than anything.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for sending me this review copy.
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honestly annoying characters are the worst 🙁 i hate when characters lack common sense, it makes me really moany about the book even if the rest of the book was good.
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Hmmmm, when characters just end up being annoying even while you like some of their traits, it's a bit complicated how to rate a book! I'm glad that despite it all, you enjoyed it quite a lot!
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I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this one, eventually. I don't mind the cover, but then again, I'm all for a bit of cheesy horror schtick and it pretty much fits that lol
I'm glad to hear you were able to enjoy it, despite its flaws!
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I'm definitely not the biggest fan of the cover, but I won a copy in a giveaway so I can't wait to read it when it arrives, overall it sounds pretty good based on most of the reviews that I've read and I really do feel like a witty read!
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Ohhhh congrats on winning the giveaway! I hope you'll enjoy it Lara 🙂
Ohhhhh. I am kind of glad I didn't request this one now. I mean, on the one hand I love the fact that it seems super snarky and whatnot, and that the main character is a morally grey demon who KILLS PEOPLE. But all the negative things you pointed out would have turned me off this book completely. Especially the thing about her looks. I mean, as if women aren't objectified enough, now we have to read about how ugly we are as humans (in a book written by, OH WAIT FOR IT, a male). I'd prefer that bull to be kept out of the books I'm reading, thanks.
Lovely review, and thank you for the head's up about this one. I won't be picking it up! <3
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I'm so glad you said it Chiara, about the weird slights/male author because that's exactly what I was thinking. I totally agree, I don't think you'd enjoy this one at all because of that. But yes, the gray area here was what I liked about it. Thanks hun <3
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Were your dislikes really bothersome? 😀
I ask again because this sounds awesome! And parents who wants to eat her? LMAO! I don't like the ugly talk though, in Patricia Briggs, she always comments that Mercy is regular looking and not exeptionally pretty. Ugly is just on a different level.
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Yeah, I mean I REALLY enjoyed the book at the start, then the characters grated after a while, making me really annoyed while I was reading it.
Hmmm… this actually sounds really interesting. Not like what I would normally pick up, but I think that's what has me so curious. Great review, Jeann! 🙂
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Yeah, it was a really unique and refreshing read Lisa! Thank you 🙂
I was laughing about your dislikes until I got to the one about her looks. That's unfortunate. All the reasons you liked it are total pluses, though. I may try this when my review books slow down.
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Lol yeah some of those characters were quite quirky, but yeah the looks thing was so weird and random, like what the heck?
It's so hard to review a book when you really loved some aspects but really didn't love others. You did such a great job of setting out all your thoughts. I'll probably pass on this, but enjoyed reading your review!
Jen @ YA Romantics
Thank you so much Jen, it was challenging but I think I got the point across!
I definitely had problems with Demon Road too, but I think they bothered me less than they did you. I agree a lot with what you said, and I sort of forgave Amber a lot of her issues because she was young and naive and needed to learn, and I wonder if she has now, you know? Definitely interested in where the series will go. YOU NEED TO READ SKULLY.
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Yeah, there was so many annoying things to it but it was fun. Amber was just TOO annoying I'm like come on girl! You can take them! Anyway, I've heard so many great things about SD!
That cover is soo bad it is almost good. Almost. I love snarky witty bit but grating characters. Ugh. Glad you enjoyed the book despite that!
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LOL I think they ARE going for the B grade look to it. Thanks Grace!
Good review. Seems like an interesting story. I like imperfect characters, but those things would annoy me too. Still, thanks for your honesty and glad you liked it for the most part.
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Thanks Shane, it was kind of annoying for me but other people loved it!
HAHA, yeah, not such a huuuuuge fan of the cover. BUT I LOVED GLEN, OH MY GOODNESS. Which is weird, because I'd normally hate a character like him, but he was adorable <3
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Neither am I, but it looks better shiny in stores! Lol Glen was funny at the start, but then he wore thin.
That looks like the poster for a bad B-movie xDD It sounds pretty good though.
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I knowww, gosh the earlier versions are even worse, so at least they improved it.
Sounds interesting. I'm gonna go ahead and add it to my TBR
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂