Darren Shan is undoubtedly my favorite authors of all time.The action mixed in with the tidbits of psychological horror, the smooth flowing story and proper character development really allows for his stories to come alive.
From his popular Cirque De Freak series (5+ years ago!) to his Demonata series and now his Zom-B series, Darren Shan is the only author who has maintained his style and his attention to detail throughout his publications.
Zom-B is a slight shift as it follows a young adult living in Britain who's father is racist and abusive a midst a zombie outbreak (which he and his friends deem to be conspiracy laced and a complete hoax). What I really like about this book is that the main character, right from the beginning is suffering an internal conflict, should he side with his dad completely succumbing himself to his twisted ideologies, or should he fight his dad for what he thinks is right? But.. what exactly is right or wrong?
The story unfolds following a young child in a remote city in the UK who has just seen his mother eat the brains from his father's shattered skull. He's running around the city, trying to find anyone who doesn't seem to have gone crazy. Screaming and the smell of blood and decaying bodies fills the air around him, buildings are on fire, the crazies are chasing something. The child spots someone, clean clothed, all body parts intact, no visible blood, tall, wide eyed. He walks up to the man and asks him to save him from the things, one of which begins to move at them. The tall man looks at the zombie and it stops, the child doesn't notice and grabs the man by his leg, begging and pleading to make things better.
The tall man looks at the child, puts a hand on his neck and snaps it.
Currently, the protagonist B. Smith, has yet to encounter zombies, but the real twist occurs when he meets a tall, wide eyed man who, in the previous chapter, seems to kill a child with his bear hands. This tall man seems to be friends with B's father, and claims to have met B before, although B has no recollection of him at all.
B, tired from the bizzare day of zombie conspiracy, goes up to his room to get some sleep but awakes to see the tall man standing in his room, almost observing him. Thoroughly creeped out, B loses all trust and begins to seriously question the last time he saw the tall man.
This was wonderful to read, as well as being thorough and explicit and creative and full of vivid imagery. Your love for this book has inspired me to want to read it. You covered every detail and answered every questions that I might have. Good job! How much of the book did you read? Maybe providing a summary would help the reader to understand with more ease the context of the situation which you are describing. Perhaps you might consider adding a few quotes so that the reader might attain a grasp of what you are describing of Darren Shan’s wonderful writing style. What was your favourite part of the book and why was it so? I loved reading your report as it was a rather comprehensive analysis of your thoughts on the book, which encompassed many aspects of reading the book, including the author’s style and syntax, the plotline, and multiple interesting details and tidbits. I would be interested in seeing more of your connections to his other books which you mentioned. The title of the book is quite interesting and I do want to find out more about the unusual spelling of “zombie” and how if becomes “Zom-b”. What was your impression of the book as you read it? How did it differ from the author’s previous works? Moreover, I would love to hear more about these bits of action and psychological horror, they sound wonderful the way you describe them! Your summary of the book, especially the beginning, is vivid and a pleasure to read. I may just check out this book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your constructive criticism!
ReplyDeleteI will add quotes next time for readers to get a better sense of Darren Shan's writing style!
Both our characters are experiencing an internal conflict: my character is a young girl suffering from Asperger’s syndrome who seeks closure when her brother is killed in a school shooting. She has trouble understanding the responses of those around her. Your character seems to have a similar struggle with his father. It is difficult to understand someone if you are unable to see from their perspective.
ReplyDeleteYour rhetorical question that finished your third paragraph drew me in. With your character so vulnerable to death (in this case, being eaten alive by zombies), the answers to such questions become murky. It reminds me of the motivation unit we are on in psychology. Our needs can change drastically depending on our predicament. As you continue reading, pay close attention to how the character’s needs and desires change. This can uncover a lot about one’s true personality.
I might include more on how the style of writing that this author consistently uses shapes the character and the setting in which the book takes place. This will allow the reader of your blog a better understanding of the character development you allude to in your first paragraph. Was the reference to the young child used only to show how gruesome this tall man is? Did the main character, B, witness the man do this? How would you have reacted in that situation?
I agree with L's comment above. Including quotes will provide the reader more context and a better understanding of the story and the author's style of writing. You payed excellent attention to detail and it showed in your post.
Good job!
Darren Shan huh? I remember reading the Cirque De Freak series, I thought it was an amazing series but i never got the opportunity to finish it myself. The way you summarize this new series makes it seem like it would be a worthwhile read. it also seems like it has a little dark side to it, with that little kid begging for help and getting his neck snapped, definitely not a book for kids. Like it was said above, I would love to know why they called it Zom B, maybe the author thought it would be a clever title, maybe you'll figure it out once you finish the book if you hadn't already. B’s kind of like the main character in the book i’m reading Cooper, in the fact that he loses all trust in everything and begins to second guess himself after every decision he makes. Knowing Darren Shan maybe that tall man is B’s father and the person who was supposedly his dad that dies wasn’t? I think that would be an very interesting twist. another thing i think the tall man that killed that little kid wasn’t necessarily bad the kid did ask to make things better, and the tall man did exactly that. probably knowing nothing will ever get better, he put the little kid out of his misery, so the kid wouldn't have to grow up in a zombie apocalyptic world. Just my two cents though, that’s what i think he did.
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