Name: American Monsters
ISBN: 9780008157104

Derek Landy

American Monsters

Anastaciya

so Derek Landy decided to kill all the questions and maybe-s. Okay... by this third book I've had enough of his writing for a while. I'm glad it's over, and I doubt I'll be rereading the trilogy. SP was better.

Kireth Sandhu

WHY: Having read Demon Road back in 2019, I saw both books 2 and 3 from the trilogy in my library a few weeks ago and decided to pick them up and complete the trilogy.
STORY: No longer on the run, it is now Amber who is hunting her demonic parents as the representative of and service-bound to Astaeroth. Initially, this seemed to be an exciting premise but not much is done with the role except for increasing hallucinations, which give way to an interesting family (dead siblings) backstory. The plot really picks up when nearly halfway through the book Amber is rushed into trying to break her contract and escape Hell's clutches. There are some interesting foes along the way, including a dangerous Trucker who is a representative of Demorial (like Milo and his Charger once were) and various creatures in the Blood-Dimmed King's castle.
WRITING: Whilst Landy retains his signature 'snarky or scared' dialogue style, it is less prevalent in this entry simply because of how concise this page-count is, which is appreciated. Interestingly, there is a mix of 'normal' and dark settings here, including a funny Dark Places author/ TV cast convention, and Amber's dangerous adventures increasingly blur the lines between these realities. This was much more exciting than the previous entry's decision to stay in Desolation, but comes at the cost of actually fleshing out the world and overall story - places are jumped to and from so quickly with threats not clearly being established that it's hard to say you are left with a strong impression of this trilogy's setting.
WHO: Whilst still an entertaining read, and one that Landy himself stated was meant to be a fun side-thing, it's hard not to wish for more development after what was a really great setup and first book in the trilogy. As a conclusion this works, bringing back fan-favourite characters and doing more of the right things than less interesting ones from the series, but it will ultimately be forgotten unless you really enjoy demonic horror YA fiction.