THIN EXECUTIONER PB - Softcover

Darren Shan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007315848 ISBN 13: 9780007315840

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limit, 2010

Synopsis

Book Description A brilliant and brand new story of swords, sand and sorcery from the endless imagination that brought you The Saga of Darren Shan and the Demonata. New characters -- same excitement, action and terror! In a harsh, unforgiving world of slavery and glorified executions, one boy's humiliation leads him to embark on a perilous quest to the faraway lair of a mysterious god. It is a dark, brutal, nightmarish journey which few have ever survived. But to Jebel Rum, the risk is worth it! to retrieve his honour! to win the hand of the girl he loves! to wield unimaginable power! and to become! THE THIN EXECUTIONER

About this title

About the Author

Darren Shan is the number-one best-selling author of the series THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN, the DEMONATA and more recently the SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY and ZOM-B. His books have been read by millions of people around the world and translated into more than 25 languages. Darren lives in seclusion in the depths of Ireland. He is a big film buff, and also loves theatre, comics and books, and collecting art. He loves dreaming up new ways to terrify his readers, but never drinks blood. Or so he claims.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up Shan's latest fantasy marks something of a departure from his gory, demon-infested Demonata and Cirque du Freak series (both Little, Brown). Based loosely on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it takes readers on a hero's journey through a harsh world filled with ignorant, brutal people, competing pagan religions, and the occasional supernatural being. Like Huck, Jebel Rum undertakes a dangerous journey accompanied by a slave. And just like Finn, his long-held beliefs are challenged by his experience with the lesser man. He and his slave, Tel Hasani, also suffer at the hands of con men posing as royalty. But this story is merely a pale shadow of Twain's classic. Jebel Rum sets out not to free his slave but to sacrifice him at the altar of one of his gods in exchange for invincibility. His goal is to compete for the right to replace his father as his city's executioner. Shan's characterizations and dialogue are weak at best, and Jebel's conversion is predictable and artless. The overriding message is heavy-handed and unsatisfying. Despite all of that, readers who cut their teeth on Cirque du Freak and moved on to the Demonata will most likely gobble up this lengthier, slightly more cerebral novel. There is just enough brutality to keep the pages turning. Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School, CA
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Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limit
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007315848
• ISBN 13: 9780007315840
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 483