Lord Loss
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This article is about the book. For the character of the same name, see Lord Loss (character)
 Lord Loss's original cover, featuring a werewolf. |
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| Author | Darren Shan |
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| Language | English |
| Series | The Demonata |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Fantasy |
| Publisher | Harper Collins Children's Books |
| Released | June 12th 2005 UK July 5th 2005 USA |
| Followed by | Demon Thief |
Lord Loss is the first book in The Demonata series book by best-selling teen author Darren Shan. It was originally published in the UK on June 6, 2005. Soon after, it appeared in Japan and America, where Shan's previous series, The Saga of Darren Shan, had sold especially well. It is told in 1st person through Grubbs Grady, and in present tense.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Lord Loss follows Grubbs Grady, a child who lives in a house where the playing of chess is enforced strictly by both of his parents.
When he hears his parents and sister talking behind his back and treating him differently, Grubbs gets suspicious that something is going on. One day, his parents bought ballet recital tickets and Grubbs didn't want to go so he went to spend a night with his aunt. Grubbs sneaks back to his house and sees his murdered parents and sister as well as the demon Lord Loss (character) and his minions, Artery and Vein. Grubbs is traumatized by this event, and is admitted to a mental hospital. The doctors try to calm him and convince Grubbs that what he saw was a hallucination, but Grubbs will not believe them. After a few months, his Uncle Dervish visits him at the institute and tells him that what he saw was real, and that he can explain to him the truth of it all.
Grubbs then, after being given permission to visit realtives, moves in with his Uncle in Carcery Vale,where he befriends a child in his new town called Bill-E who often spends time with Dervish. Bill-E thinks that he is actually Dervish's son and Grubbs' cousin.
Grubbs and Bill-E tour the house together and the come to a hall full of paintings, the paintings are of dead family members. Grubbs and Bill-E are suspicious that there are a large number of children and young adult paintings and Bill-E tells Grubbs of his suspiscions.
After looking through books and noting Dervish's behavior, Bill-E and Grubbs start suspecting that Dervish is a werewolf, but when the two of them follow him into the woods, Grubbs soon discovers that Bill-E is the actual werewolf. Dervish explains to Grubbs about their family past and how they have always had the lycanthropy curse (where family members turned in to werewolves). Dervish also reveals the nature of Lord Loss and explains that he is a Demon Master who has the power to revers the curse. Most Demon Masters are violent and brutal just like other Demons. But Lord Loss is different, he feeds of the suffering of people and enjoys chess. Dervish continues to explain that hundreds of years before, a family ancestor, known as Bartholomew Garadex, bargained with Lord Loss and in return for teaching [[Lord Loss] chess he would cure a family member. After a time {lord Loss] grew inpatient because Bartholomew would only play when he wanted a family member cured. After Bartholomew died if a family member needed curing then two members of the family would be chosen to face Lord Loss at a midway point betweenj the human universe and the demon universe. One would fight Lord Loss's familiars and the other would face Lord Loss in the best of five simultaneous games of chess. If they could win three of the games, the curse would be reversed, but the one who faced Lord Lossin chess would fight him alone in the demon universe. If they lost,then they would be killed. Grubbs and Dervish go to fight Lord Lossin the chess match. Before they go to fight, Dervish confides to Grubbs that Bill-E is not Grubbs' cousin, but actually his brother.
The battle against Lord Loss starts with playing chess with Dervish and Grubbs was fighting the familiers, where he discovers that he can harness some of his magical powers in the demon world. Half way through, Grubbs is strugeling and Lord Loss and sue to Lord Loss's fondness of Grubbs he decides to bend the rules this once and allows, Grubbs to swap places with Dervish.
At the start, Lord Loss beats Grubbs easily. But once Grubbs realizes that Lord Loss feeds off his discomfort, he loosens up and easily beats Lord Loss. Bill-E is cured and Dervish has to return to the demon universe to fight Lord Loss single handedly.
Dervish's body continues to function in the normal universe but with no discernable personality while his soul and mind is fighting in the demon one. When Bill-E comes to, Grubbs lies to Bill-E and tells him that they actually are cousins, and that Dervish has been cured of his werewolf curse but he was forced to cast a calming spell on Dervish as to account for his trancelike state. After many months, Grubbs wakes up to find red liquid lining the outside of his cheeks, dirt and what looks like hairs under his nails. He had been warned by Dervish before he stepped into Lord Loss's realm that he could change into a werewolf at any given time. Grubbs thinks twice about calling the Lambs, the 'family executionors' who kill people/werewolves, but his troubles are put aside when Dervish's voice sounds from the corner. Grubbs turns and sees his uncle holding a woolen scarf, ripped into tatters, a tin of red paint and a pot of soil, grinning at him and apparently well and unharmed.
[edit] The poem
Lord Loss was originally a poem written by Darren Shan, found in the front of the book. The poem is as follows:
- Lord Loss sows all the sorrows of the world,
- Lord Loss seeds the grief-starched trees.
- In the center of the web, lowly Lord Loss bows his head.
- Mangled hands, naked eyes,
- Fanged snakes his soul line,
- Curled inside like textured sin,
- Bloody, curdled sheets for skin.
- In the center of the web, vile Lord Loss torments the dead.
- Over strands of red, Lord Loss crawls,
- Dispensing pain, despising all,
- Shuns friends, nurtures foes,
- Ravages hope, breeds woe,
- Drinks moons, devours suns,
- Twirls his thumbs till the reaper comes.
- In the center of the web, lush Lord Loss is all thats left
[edit] Trivia
- Five of the characters in Lord Loss can be found in the second book, Demon Thief - Dervish Grady, Artery, Vein and Lord Loss and Sharmilia (the woman they were watching the documentary on, reavealed in Slawter). Four also appear in the third book, Slawter - Artery, Dervish Grady, Lord Loss and Sharmilia. (Along with (Of course) Grubbs Grady and Bill-E). However, only two (debatably 3) appeared in Bec, they were Lord Loss and Vein (it is debatable as a demon with the description of Artery (fire for eyes etc.) appeares in the tunnel before Bec is killed, however it is not named).
- The paperback edition has a glow in the dark cover
[edit] Release Dates
- Hardcover
- UK and IRELAND: June 12th 2005
- USA: July 5th 2005
- Paperback
- UK and IRELAND: January 3rd 2006
- Audio CD
- UK and IRELAND: January 3rd 2006
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Released Novels | Lord Loss · Demon Thief · Slawter · Bec |
| Upcoming Novels | Blood Beast · Demonata book 6 |
| Protagonists | Grubbs Grady · Kernel Fleck |
| Other Characters | Dervish Grady · Billy 'Bill-E' Spleen · List of characters from The Demonata |
| Demons | Lord Loss (character) · Artery (character) |
[[Category:Novels in The Demonata]
