Books of Amber | 06 September 2012 | Amber

Full disclosure: I'm a HUGE Darren Shan fan (and a poet, apparently). I've been a fan ever since the final book in The Saga of Darren Shan book was published and I read them all in one go. That's twelve books, people. So my review may be SLIGHTLY biased, because I love all his books.

 

Also, I'm not going to write an 'in-depth' review, because it'll be hard not to spoil the mind blowing twist that happens towards the end. And Darren included a note and asked people not to mention that the main character is actually in a coma and he's dreaming the whole thing. Wait... what?

 

Haha, just kidding, but my previous statement still stands. I'm not going into too much detail with this review.

 

I think before reading this book, you should be aware that there's a lot of racism and parental abuse. B's father is extremely racist, and he's raised B to be just like him. B is slightly conflicted, but for the most part he's racist as well. It's all very uncomfortable, and I think some people will be put off by it, and understandably so. Nevertheless, it is a character flaw and it's important, so don't worry about it being there just for the sake of it.

 

It's VERY hard to like B. However, I do hope that as the series progresses we'll see B grow as a person.

 

There are two twists in this novel, the one towards the end being the most shocking. The twist/outcome of the novel at the very end wasn't expected either, and it really makes you wonder what's going to happen next because there are eleven more books to go and... yeah. But the first twist - the extremely shocking one - makes you rethink everything you've just read. I sat there blinking at the page for at least ten minutes, trying to figure out what had just been said.

 

Overall, this is a fantastic book. It's action packed and awesome, although there aren't as many zombies as I would have hoped. But the ending was AMAZING.
 

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