The Demonata

The Demonata

Lord Loss, book 1 of the series
Lord Loss Demon Thief Slawter Bec Blood Beast Demon Apocalypse Death's Shadow Wolf Island Dark Calling Hell's Heroes
Author	Darren Shan
Language	English
Genre	Horror and fantasy
Publisher	HarperCollins
Published	2005–2010

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 extensive graphic violence, despite being aimed towards children.

Works

Publishing order

Cover illustration copyright Melvyn Grant

1. Lord Loss – 6 June 2005 (5 October 2005 in the US)
2. Demon Thief – 5 October 2005 (7 June 2006 in the US)
3. Slawter – 1 June 2006 (1 November 2006 in the US)
4. Bec – 2 October 2006 (1 May 2007 in the US)
5. Blood Beast – June, 2007 (1 November 2007 in the US)
6. Demon Apocalypse – October, 2007 (1 May 2008 in the US)
7. Death's Shadow – May, 2008 (1 November 2008 in the US)
8. Wolf Island – 1 October 2008 (1 May 2009 in the US)
9. Dark Calling – 1 May 2009 (October 2009 in US)
10. Hell's Heroes – 1 October 2009 (May 2010 in the US)

Storyline order

• Bec (Between 351 AD and 400 AD, during ancient Ireland's conversion from Paganism to Christianity, about 1600 years before Demon Thief)
• Demon Thief (Mid 1970s, about 30 years before Lord Loss)
• Lord Loss (Early 21st century)
• Slawter (Fourteen months after the end of Lord Loss)
• Blood Beast (About a year after Slawter)
• Demon Apocalypse (Directly following Blood Beast)
• Death's Shadow (Six months after Demon Apocalypse and roughly parallel to Wolf Island and Dark Calling)
• Wolf Island (Roughly parallel to Dark Calling)
• Dark Calling (Roughly parallel to Wolf Island)
• Hell's Heroes (Directly following Dark Calling)

Narrators

The narrator of each book in the Demonata series shifts between the three protagonists of the series; Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck and Bec MacConn.

Name of Book	Narrator
Lord Loss	Grubbs
Demon Thief	Kernel
Slawter	Grubbs
Bec	Bec
Blood Beast	Grubbs
Demon Apocalypse	Grubbs
Death's Shadow	Bec
Wolf Island	Grubbs
Dark Calling	Kernel
Hell's Heroes	Grubbs

Plot

The series centers around three protagonists: Grubitsch "Grubbs" Grady, Cornelius "Kernel" Fleck and Bec MacConn. Although they meet each other at various points, they are from separate times; Grubbs lives in the present day, Kernel in the 1970s and Bec in around 450AD. The books detail their fight against the demon master Lord Loss, his many demon familiars and the mysterious Shadow, who promises to destroy the human universe and to even stop death. Together with The Disciples, the main characters attempt to thwart the Demonata from destroying the world.

Characters

Grady-MacGrigor family tree

The MacGrigor Clan

Struan

Aednat

Aideen

Bec MacConn

Many Generations

The Garadex Family

Bartholomew Garadex

Urszula Garadex

The Moore Family

Forty Years Later

Abraham Garadex

Many Generations

Juni Swan/ Nadia Moore

Davey McKay

The Grady Family

Five Children

Caspar Grady

Augustine Grady

Unknown Grady

Emily Spleen

Cal Grady

Sharon

Dervish Grady

Billy "Bill-E" Spleen

Gretelda "Gret" Grady

Grubitsch "Grubbs" Grady

Overview

Character		The Demonata
		Book 1	Book 2	Book 3	Book 4	Book 5	Book 6	Book 7	Book 8	Book 9	Book 10
Main characters
Lord Loss		Main			Recurring	Guest		Voice	Mentioned	Guest	Main
Dervish Grady		Main	Guest	Main	Does not appear	Main					Guest
Grubbs Grady	The Trigger	Main	Does not appear	Main	Does not appear	Main		Guest	Main
Bill-E Spleen		Main	Does not appear	Main	Does not appear	Main		Mentioned
Artery	Art Fleck	Main		Guest				Does not appear		Old One	Does not appear
Sharmila Mukherji		Guest	Main	Guest	Does not appear		Guest	Recurring	Does not appear
Nadia Moore	Juni Swan	Does not appear	Main		Does not appear	Main					Mentioned
Beranabus	Bran	Does not appear	Main	Mentioned	Main	Guest	Main		Mentioned
Kernel Fleck	The Eye	Does not appear	Main		Does not appear		Main	Recurring		Main
Davida Haym		Does not appear		Main	Does not appear
Bec MacConn	The Memory	Does not appear			Main	Guest		Main	Recurring	Main
Drust		Does not appear			Main	Does not appear					Skeleton
Recurring characters
Meera Flame		Recurring	Does not appear	Recurring	Does not appear	Recurring					Does not appear
Shark		Does not appear	Recurring	Guest	Does not appear		Recurring
Cadaver		Does not appear	Recurring	Guest	Does not appear			Recurring	Does not appear
Raz Warlo		Does not appear	Recurring	Does not appear						Old One
Loch Gossel		Does not appear		Recurring	Does not appear	Recurring	Mentioned		Does not appear
Prae Athim		Does not appear		Guest	Does not appear			Recurring	Does not appear		Recurring
The Old Ones		Does not appear	Mentioned	Does not appear	Recurring	Mentioned		Recurring
Kirilli Kovacs		Does not appear						Recurring
Timas Brauss		Does not appear							Recurring

Main characters

Book 1 – Lord Loss

• Lord Loss – An eight-armed pale-red demon, with an open gap where his heart is supposed to go that is filled with what bears close resemblance to little green snakes. Instead of legs he has scraps of flesh that hang while he hovers above the ground. The physical manifestation of loss, given sentience by a person having gotten over someone they had lost, he is known to greatly enjoy chess, offering to cure each generation of the Grady family of their inherent lycanthropy in Book 1 if they can beat him in eight games in a time bubble while another fights his subordinates. In Book 2, set in the 1970s, Lord Loss seeks out his missing subordinate Artery while pursued by Bernabarus and his Disciples. In Book 3, Loss seeks revenge on Grubbs Grady for "ruining" chess for him, while in Book 4, set several centuries earlier, Loss appears as the original host of a piece of the Kah-Gash, which he inadvertently passes on to Bec MacConn, from whose master Drust he learns of chess, helping the pair stop a demon invasion intended to wipe out humanity, due to the fact that living human emotion was where he got his power from. Throughout the series, Loss develops human emotion and a romantic relationship with Nadia Moore / Juni Swan, who becomes pregnant with his child. Through Book 5 to Book 8, Loss is forced to serve at the whims of the Shadow, a physical manifestation of Death given sentience (by the act of Bec's Kah-Gash-infused spirit returning to life) who seeks to wipe out all life in the universe. After Juni's death, Loss allies himself with Bec and her segment of the Kah-Gash in order to destroy Death, ultimately becoming the new Devil upon the recreation of the universe.
• Grubitsch "Grubbs" Grady – An initially 13-year-old British boy struggling with PTSD after his parents and sister are killed by the subordinates of Lord Loss, after his parents had lost a game of chess against Loss intended to cure Grubbs' sister's lycanthropy. In Book 1, Grubbs challenges Lord Loss to another game of chess to cure his half-brother Bill-E's lycanthropy, winning at the expense of "ruining" the game for Loss, leading him to seek vengeance on him. In Book 3, Grubbs is invited to the set of the film Slawter where he once again faces Loss, summoned by the film's director to provide added realism in exchange for a chance to kill Grubbs. During their second confrontation, Grubbs manifests a form of magic beyond that of the Demonata, which he hides from his uncle Dervish. In Book 5, Grubbs begins to manifest signs of lycanthropy, entering the world of the Demonata. In Book 6, Grubbs is forced to sacrifice Bill-E to prevent another demon invasion of Earth. After making a cameo appearance in Book 7, Grubbs embraces his lycanthropy in Book 8, finding a middle-ground between human and wolf. In Book 9, Grubbs is revealed to be the Trigger of the Kah-Gash, a mythical "weapon" serving as the foundation of the universe, leading to him becoming its new primary creator at the conclusion of Book 10.
• Dervish Grady – Grubbs' uncle, a magician who adopts him following his family's death in Book 1. A former Disciple of Beranabus and hunter of the Demonata, Dervish assists Grubbs in facing Lord Loss to cure Grubbs half-brother Bill-E (who believes Dervish to be his father) of his lycanthropy, leading to his mind being trapped in the world of the Demonata for a year. In Book 2, a young Dervish appears as a punk who meets Kernel Fleck while trying to stop another magician from summoning a demon. In Book 4 Dervish is plagued by nightmares as a result of his experiences and is persuaded to accept a job on the film set of Slawter by its director as a demon consultant, where he becomes romantically involved with Juni Swan. In Book 5, Dervish helps Grubbs fight his lycanthrophy, while meeting Juni once again. In Book 6, after Juni betrays both Dervish and Grubbs and tricks Grubbs into thinking his uncle had betrayed him to werewolf-hunting organisation "The Lambs", Dervish is left broken after the death of Bill-E. Resuming his on-and-off relationship with fellow magician Meera Flame by Book 7, set six months later, Dervish initially uses Bec MacConn's occupation of Bill-E's corpse to avoid confronting his death, apologising to her for his actions after being told of what Bill-E was thinking before he died. in Book 8, Dervish suffers a fatal heart attack, leading him to enter the world of the Demonata to preserve his life, accompanying Grubbs to destroy the body of the Shadow and free Bill-E's soul. After returning to Earth, Dervish feels himself dying, and asks Grubbs to accompany him outside to die. Before dying in Book 10 and being buried in the desert, Dervish warns Grubbs not to lose sight of his human side. Following the recreation of the universe, Grubbs arranges for the new Dervish to be born without heart problems, allowing him to live a full and productive life.
• William "Bill-E" Spleen – Grubbs' younger half-brother, who initially believes Dervish to be his father. In Book 1, Bill-E is revealed to be infected with the Grady family curse of lycanthropy, although remaining ignorant of his transformations, before he is cured by Lord Loss, learning of his former state in Book 4. In Book 5, Bill-E is often teased by Grubbs' best friend Loch Gossel, while his grandparents are murdered by Juni Swan. In Book 6, after learning of his true lineage, Bill-E reveals too have accidentally killed Loch by pranking him while the pair were rock-climbing, leading to Bill-E activating an ancient portal to the world of the Demonata. Subsequently, Grubbs is forced to sacrifice Bill-E to close the portal, stopping his heart with his blessing, and Bec MacConn possesses Bill-E's body, reshaping it into her own. In Book 8, Bill-E's soul is revealed to be among those comprising the physical form of the Shadow, and he is freed to proceed to the afterlife following its destruction. In Book 10, after erecting a memorial for Bill-E and recreating the universe, Grubbs arranged for the new Bill-E to live his life to its natural end.

Book 2 – Demon Thief

• Cornelius "Kernel" Fleck – A young African-American bald boy born with a "sight" allowing him to see strange patches of light around him which he could seemingly manipulate through the power of his mind and the motion of his hands into the shape of windows, one of which he had disappeared through for three days as a younger child while his parents were mourn in the death of his younger sister. After Kernel's school class is massacred by a demon who captures his younger brother Art, who enters his world through a similar window to his own, Kernel follows a group of demon-hunters known as the Disciples (led by Bernabarus) into the realm of the Demonata to save him. After saving his brother, Kernel learns that Art is in actuality a demon known as Artery whom Kernel had brought to Earth when he was younger and shaped into human form, whom his parents had then adopted. Defeated, and learning that six years have passed on Earth due to time dilation, Kernel agrees to return to Earth, informing his parents as to what had occurred. The following year, after deciding that his parents would be better off without him, Kernel returns to the world of the Demonata with Beranabus, informing him that Kernel himself is one of the Kah-Gash pieces Beranabus had been looking for, a mythical "weapon" serving as the foundation of the universe. In Book 6, set 30 years later, Kernel and Beranabus take in Grubbs Grady after he enters the world of the Demonata, before they are tricked into missing the demon invasion of Earth due to time dilation. Having become a warrior, Kernel hides his shattered emotions behind a seemingly cold and dead exterior, before he is blinded by a demon before the portal to the world of the Demonata after returning to Earth. Forming the Kah-Gash with Grubbs and Bec MacConn before the portal, Kernel reverses time to before the invasion takes place, allowing them to prevent it. After appearing in a minor capacity in Book 7 and Book 8, growing new eyes in the world of the Demonata, Kernel discovers in Book 9 that he is specifically the Eye of the Kah-Gash, with the Old Ones tasking him with leaving Earth to oversee an ark containing the survivors of the universe, allowing them to live free of the Demonata and Death. However, before Kernel can leave, he is blinded again by Grubbs, who intends to instead hold a last stand against Death despite recognising the battle as unwinnable. In Book 10, Kernel attempts to escape from Grubbs' custody, before becoming convinced that Bec has betrayed them for the forces of Death, facing her alongside Grubbs after rebuilding his eyes, before she steals his "sight".
• Beranabus – A magician and founder of the Disciples, a group who hunt the Demonata. In Book 2, Beranabus reluctantly allows Kernel Fleck to accompany him and his party in hunting down the demon Cadaver. In Book 3, a younger Beranabus appears as a fast-running teenager known as Bran who falls in love with Bec MacConn. In Book 5, Beranabus returns after Grubbs Grady and his friends unearth a portal to the world of the Demonata, and encounter the spirit of Bec. After rescuing Grubbs from Lord Loss, Beranabus returns to the world of the Demonata to continue the fight, later witnessing the formation of the Kah-Gash and resurrection of Bec, who greets him as Bran. In Book 6, Beranabus' origins are explored; born the half-demon son of a woman called Brigitta sent to die in King Minos's labyrinth, and raised by the Minotaur, Beranabus began wandering the world following his adoptive father's death at the hands of Theseus, discovering his innate gift of speed. After switching between observing the worlds of the Demonata and Earth over the centuries, Beranabus (dubbed Bran by other humans due too being unable to fully pronounce his own name) desperately attempts to retrieve Bec's body following her death in Book 4, having learned to speak to hoor her, he is selected by the Old Ones to hunt the Demonata. In Book 7, Beranabus is killed by Death after taking on his demon form to protect the Kah-Gash; later, his soul appears trapped as a part of Death's Shadow form, informing Kernel, Grubbs and Bec of how to release trapped souls and temporarily incapacitate Death.
• Nadia Moore – Beranabus' assistant, an Indian woman with the ability to read the future. In Book 2, Nadia fakes her death in order to leave the Disciples, a fact she gets Kernel to conceal from Beranabus. In Book 6, Nadia is revealed to have become Juni Swan, Loss' lover and compatriot, previously featured in Book 3 and Book 5 as a budding magician apparently romantically interested in Dervish Grady, before she is impaled on a stalagmite by Dervish while trying to open a gateway to the world of the Demonata. In Book 7, Juni returns in a revenant state, pregnant with Loss' child, having been saved by Death. In Book 8, Juni enters into a savage fight with Grubbs, almost killing him before having a vision of him destroying the universe and deciding to leave him alive to do so. In Book 9, Juni engages a badly wounded Meera Flame in a vicious fight, ending when Meera explodes while clutching Juni tightly, killing Meera and leaving Juni to die in Lord Loss' arms, who mourns her death, finally experiencing loss himself.
• Sharmila Mukherji – An elderly Disciple, an Indian woman first seen in Book 1 in a documentary watched by Grubbs and Dervish. In Book 2, she is present as one of Kernel's companions, using her fire abilities to face various demons in pursuit of the Cadaver. A dream-simulated Sharmila briefly appears in Book 3, while the real Sharmilla appears in Book 6, firstly trying to contact Beranabus, and then helping him close the tunnel to the wold of the Demonata. In Book 7, Sharmilla loses her legs below her thighs in a fight, with Beranabuus creating magical legs to replace them which will disintegrate without magic, making travelling into the human world impossible. Sharmilla subsequently allows Bec and Dervish to kill her in order to escape a trap of magical energy sprung upon them by Lord Loss.

Book 3 – Slawter

• Davida Haym – A popular horror film director operating under the pseudonym "David A. Haym", who offers Dervish a job on the set of her new demon-focused film Slawter as a consultant. Ultimately, Davida is revealed to have made a deal with Lord Loss (after accidentally summoning him during her research for the film) to allow her to film actual demons killing the film's cast in exchange for having the Grady family be present, only for Loss' forces to kill everyone, including her camera crew.
• Juni Swan – A child psychologist apparently romantically interested in Dervish. In Book 6, Juni is revealed to be Nadia Swan, a former Disciple of Beranabus who faked her death.

Book 4 – Bec

• Bec MacConn – A trainee-priestess and member of the MacGrigor clan raised by the McConn clan, known for her eidetic memory. Upon learning of Drust's plan to close the tunnel to the world of the Demonata, Bec joins Drust among a group of several other warriors, training under him as a druid, or "magician". After unknowingly merging with Lord Loss' portion of the Kah-Gash after befriending him, Bec manages to close the tunnel, dying in the process. In Book 5, Bec's spirit, bound to the tunnel walls, attempts to warn Grubbs Grady of the tunnel being on the verge of opening again. In Book 6, Bec joins with Grubbs and Kernel Fleck in order to reverse time to close the tunnel. After Grubbs and Kernel are able to prevent the tunnel from being opened at the cost of Bill-E Spleen's death, Bec possesses his body, reshaping it into a replica of her own, resurrecting her. In Book 7, now able to recall all of Bill-E's memories and emotions, Bec takes up residence in Carcey Vale with Dervish Grady, posing as his niece Rebecca Kinga, where she forms a friendship with Meera Flame. Joining both in the fight against the Shadow, during which point Beranabus is killed, Bec realises that the Shadow is the personification of Death, given physical form by Bec's spirit merging with the tunnel and becoming the first ghost, cheating death. Throughout Book 8 and Book 9, Bec privately converses with Beranabus' soul and secretly allies herself with Lord Loss, becoming the "mother" of Death, using their power in conjunction with the Kah-Gash to destroy the universe, using her position as the Memory of the Kah-Gash to recreate it without sentient Demonata, with the exception of Lord Loss, whom she agreed to spare. Bec then guides Grubbs and Kernel in creating new life.
• Drust – A druid who seeks to close the tunnel to the world of the Demonata, opened by his twin brother Brude several years prior, who sought to end the world after people. Training Bec in the ways of magic so that she can help him close the tunnel, Drust has Bec use him as the ritual sacrifice to close the tunnel after being mortally wounded by Bran after he had learned Drust had planned to use Bec as the sacrifice. Drust additionally introduces Lord Loss to the game of chess, played upon a replica of the "Origin Board" of the universe.
• Bran – An unnaturally fast-running and apparently mute teenager who falls in love with Bec, who teaches him how to speak. In Book 6, Bran is revealed to have been a young Beranabus.

Recurring characters

• Meera Flame – A magician who wears leather clothing, who has an on-again-off-again relationship with Dervish Grady. In Book 7, she befriends the resurrected Bec MacConn, who reads her mind to identify that she is in fact in love with Dervish, although she hasn't informed his as such; despite this, she kisses Timas Brauss in Book 8. In Book 9, while fighting Lord Loss, Juni Swan, and the army of Death, Meera is greatly injured but saves Dervish by fighting to the death with Juni. Because Death had been momentarily defeated, and they would both die permanently if they were to die at that moment, Meera suicidally explodes, taking Juni with her, while Dervish mourns her death.
• Cadaver – A gangly, hairy demon with prehensile hair, who seeks shelter with Lord Loss in Book 2 to prevent capture from Beranabus in exchange for retrieving his subordinate Artery. Cadaver makes a cameo appearance in Book 3, killing Emmet Eijit, and is seen again in Book 7, serving as the mouthpiece for Lord Loss to communicate with Bec, before exploding his head.
• Shark – A Disciple and friend of Dervish. A former soldier who first discovered his magical capability when demons attacked his army base, he is always seen wearing an army uniform to commemorate his fallen friends, having the word "SHARK" tattooed on his knuckles. After appearing in a hallucination in Book 3, Shark reappears from Book 6 to Book 9 as an ally of Grubbs and member of the "Dirty Dozen" of demon-hunters, losing several fingers and an ear while fighting a werewolf bare-handed. In Book 10, Shark convinces Grubbs to locate and reclaim Bec before being melted by a demon master in the final battle. Shark is also among those who Grubbs, Kernel and Bec vow to save from his fate as the Kah-Gash.
• Raz Warlo – An African disciple who travels with Beranabus throughout Book 2, capable of disappearing into shadow. After sacrificing himself to save Kernel, an Old One adopts his appearance in Book 9 and Book 10, instructing Kernel in the ways of the Kah-Gash.
• Loch Gossel – One of Grubb's best friends, introduced in Book 3, who is accidentally killed by Bill-E in Book 5, serving as the ritual sacrifice to bring about a demon invasion of Earth.
• Prae Athim – The leader of the Lambs, a group investigating werewolves, first mentioned and impersonated in hallucinatory form in Book 3. In Book 7, Prae is framed for stealing werewolves by Antoine Horwitzer, deciding to stay on Wolf Island to right her wrongs following his death. By Book 10, Prae has joined the Disciples, dying whilst trying to protect a wounded werewolf.
• Kirilli Kovacs – A Disciple posing as a stage magician introduced in Book 7, and a member of the "Dirty Dozen".
• The Old Ones – A group of benevolent, god-like entities who first appear in Book 4 after being mentioned in Book 2. Responsible for the development of sentience among all beings of this universe (including humans), but believing firmly in allowing all beings to choose their own path, they interfere as little as possible once any species moves beyond a certain point in development. Appearing as floating spheres of light, they form a hivemind whilst in close proximity to one another. Every word which they speak is capitalised, regardless of its position in the sentence, or whether it is a proper noun.
• The Shadow – The main entity controlling the Demonata and the sentient physical embodiment of Death, given sentience by the Bec MacConn becoming the first ghost in Book 3, growing in power over the coming centuries before revealing themselves in Book 6. In Book 10, Bec serves as the new host and "mother" of Death's physical form, which she uses to destroy and recreate the universe, stripping Death of their sentience.

External links

• Author's official website