Dark Lord: The Teenage Years

Dark Lord: The Teenage Years
Jamie Thomson
London, Orchard, 2011, 341p

It is not often I cannot finish a book, but I have given this one a few days and multiple attempts and still failed to get engaged. 

The story is about Dirk Lloyd / the Dark Lord, who has fallen through into our human universe and finds himself caged in the body of a teenage boy. Powerless and angry, he must negotiate this new existence and seek a way to dominate these strange people and find his way back home. 

When I embarked on the journey to read all the Bookbuzz selection, I actually started with this one, but got confused by the beginning so decided to read it later. But reading it now, my difficulty with it hasn't changed. The concept sounded great, but I expected it to be far more funny. And I felt the pace was too slow - I read almost half the novel but found myself waiting for something to happen whilst Dirk got to know the people and places around him.

To be honest, this is not a book I would have chosen to read as a teenager or now. Sometimes, I pick a book that I might not usually enjoy and find myself engrossed. This was not the case for the Dark Lord. I will be interested to chat to my students and see what they think of it.

Nevertheless, I have loved this years Bookbuzz selection: there was war and loss, love and friendship, hawks and dogs; there were adventures and romances, laughs and tears, drama and excitement. I am sorry that my mission to read them all has come to an end.