The Readers Guide

In a move to take a step away from the fantastic Skulduggery Pleasant series and from children’s fiction all together, last year, Landy released his first ever YA novel in Demon Road.

Moving away from Ireland, Demon Road is based in the vast world of America, and as ever is grounded in the real world with a touch of magic.

This open to the series however is not the explosion that readers may have hoped for. In this novel Landy disappoints with a difficult main character in Amber, who is hard, at best, to like, even when she’s kicking-butt.

Amber is sixteen-years old, and she is smart but insecure. She spends the majority of her time online where she can escape her beautiful, aloof, parents and their strange friends.

But when a shock encounter reveals a family secret that scares Amber to the bone she is forced to go on the run. Amber hurtles from one threat to the next, facing killer cars, vampires, serial killers who should really be dead and red-skinned demons.

As her parents hunt her down, Ambers only chance of survival rest with fellow travellers who are not all that they seem to be.

Although this novel ticks all the boxes for horror, humour, adventure, surprise and fear that we go in for with Landy it feels drawn out, and comes to a conclusion sooner than expected.

There is hope left however of the series growing and thriving as it continues.