 Cover art of the trilogy | |
| Author | Derek Landy |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Alan Clarke |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | HarperCollins (English) Loewe Verlag (German) |
| Published |
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| Media type | Print (hardcover andpaperback),audiobook,e-book |
The Demon Road Trilogy, or simplyDemon Road, is ahorror-adventure-road triptrilogy of novels published byHarperCollins from 2015 to 2016.[2] Written byDerek Landy and illustrated by Alan Clarke, the novel follows the journey of 16-year-old curseddemongirl Amber Lamont and heramnesiac guide Milo Sebastian, fleeing a family who wishes her dead, as they and passerby Glen travel the titular "demon road", on which exists all manner ofsupernatural beings from whom allhorror fictionantagonist creators were subconsciously inspired by to create (primarily thevillains of the works ofStephen King and1980sslasher filmvillains in the first novel, from which Milo depicted as having been the "real" driver ofChristine, with the second and third novels expanding to introduce versions of theScooby-Doo gang,The Purge,The X-Files, andIt Follows' entity). It consists of the novelsThe Demon Road Trilogy: Demon Road (originally known simply asDemon Road, and internationally asThe Demon Road Trilogy: Hell and Highway),The Demon Road Trilogy: Desolation, andThe Demon Road Trilogy: American Monsters (known in some regions asThe Demon Road Trilogy: Infernal Finale).
Originally receiving a nine-book order fromHarperCollins, Landy elected to conclude the series after its first trilogy in 2016 withDesolation andAmerican Monsters, deciding to use the remaining six-book order to launch asequel series to his previous book series,Skulduggery Pleasant, established to be set in the samesharedfictionalmultiverse asDemon Road viaEaster eggs throughout the trilogy.Demon Road has received a mixed to positive critical reception.
Demon Road revolves around Amber, a seemingly ordinary 16-year-oldYAfangirl fromFlorida who, after a shocking encounter, discovers a dark and twisted family secret: that her parents, their friends, and she herself aredemons, out for her blood to fulfil a violent pact with a creature known as the Shining Demon. Forced to run for her life, Amber finds herself under the protection of Milo, a quiet, sarcastic and mysterious man driving aDodge Charger, which seems to be alive. Tagging along for the ride is Glen, an annoying road trip companion fromHell, who has come toAmerica fromIreland after being told he has forty days to live. Forced to flee across theUnited States of America via the eponymous Demon Road, from which allhorror fiction is derived, the trio find themselves facing demonic and otherworldly dangers as they search for a way to stop Amber's parents;undeadserial killers (Dacre Shanks, aparody/"real version" ofFreddy Krueger),vampires,servants of hell, and the ebony-horned and red-skinned demons relentlessly hunting the trio.[3]
InDesolation, Amber and Milo seek out sanctuary in theAlaskan town of Desolation Hill, a demon-free stop on the Demon Road where each yet the "real" version ofthe Purge takes place on its citizens being infused with demonic power; the Devil is also depicted as a monk in the likeness ofNeil Patrick Harris, who allows for Amber to escape Hell, with Amber also crossing paths with a van-travelling group of mystery investigators/monster hunters (a parody/"real version" of theScooby-Doo gang), forming a romance with one named Kelly (a parody/"real version" ofDaphne).
InAmerican Monsters, a selection ofmen in black (a parody/"real version" ofThe X-Files) founded by Amber's brother are revealed to be engaged incivil war.
In October 2015, ahead of theGerman language release ofDemon Road, Carsten Biernat of Unique Voodoo Studios revealed that the institution had been commissioned to create thecover of theGerman version of the novel, sharing concept sculptures of Amber in her demon form they had created on being asked to "bring the character to life".[4][5] In April 2016,Derek Landy and Unique Voodoo expressed interest in the concept models being produced asDemon Road collectable merchandise.[6]
PromotingDesolation, elaborating on the series' premise of travelling the titular "Demon Road" from which all "the shining stars ofhorror[fiction], both on the page and on the screen" is derived, as "the perfect opportunity to tip my hat toStephen King[,]Wes Craven[,] and a host of other creators",[7] Landy described the trilogy as "a love letter to American horror, books, TV, comics, movies [where] every few chapters there’s a new character with a new story and each one of these encounters is a different trope of American horror. It’sStephen King books, it’sWes Craven movies… [for example] the Dacre Shanks character is influenced byFreddy Krueger[…] It meant it could be a litany of horror tropes[…] Over the course of the three books, there’ll be aNightmare On Elm Street, there’ll beX-Files, there’ll beBuffy, there’ll be [more]Stephen King,Psycho… everything I loved as a horror fan is all in this series."[8]
Louisa Mellor ofDen of Geek praised readingDemon Road as "like binge-watching an excitingNetflix series", expressing interest in a potential future television adaptation of the series.[8]Track of Words describedDemon Road as "a classic young adult chase novel[...] great fun [which] demonstrates Landy’s skill with world building and storytelling".[9]
Angel Reads praised the "writing style [a]s easy to read and simple[...] nothing hard about it and even teens on the younger side will be able to readDemon Road. I loved the wit[…] the dialogue was sharp and hit you right in the chest, and it was different and fun", referring to "the characterisation of Landy characters [as] fun, different and bright", before concluding that "Demon Road was a fun, sassy and gruesome read [t]hat showed that sometimes the outside of people can be deceiving [and] that sometimes people can be good and evil all at the same time."[10]Heart Full of Books meanwhile calledDemon Road "the perfect mix ofPercy Jackson and the TV show‘Supernatural’[…] pacy and a little gory, [concluding] if you’re up for that, then I would definitely give it a go."[11]Paper Fury similarly comparedDemon Road toSupernatural, lauding its "snortingly good humour" and "fast moving wickedly captivating action scenes."[12]
I thought of a girl, a girl with murderous, monstrous parents, and her flight across America in the company of a mysterious man in his 1970Dodge Charger, and I realised what I was doing. I was writing horror.
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