Return to Daemon Hall: Evil Roots

Daemon Hall #2

by Andrew Nance, Coleman Polhemus (Illustrator)

A year has passed since that fateful night in Daemon Hall's house of horrors. Bestselling macabre author Ian Tremblin decides to hold another writer's contest but this time in the safety of his own home. Tremblin is excited to share with contestants a very old book he has recently acquired that once belonged to Rudolph Daemon, the millionaire builder of Daemon Hall who later went mad and killed his family. But the book, like the mansion, is powerfully evil and soon transports the group to the burned out shell of the haunted mansion. Flesh eaters, voodoo, a proficient sociopath, and the root of the house's malevolence are all part of the mix. Who will get out alive?

Genres: Horror, Young Adult

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2011

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it qualifies as a horror book this book is not as scary as I thought it would be. At least not for me. But that doesn't mean that this book wasn't good. In fact, it was almost as good as the first one and that's saying something because Daemon Hall is one of my favorite books to read. In fact, I got the first book in 2009 and have read it every year since. Naturally, when I found the second one I was excited and hoped that it would be great. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed.
While the first book is about how haunted Daemon Hall is, the second book focuses more on the history of the place. A lot of questions from the first book are answered. Though if you haven't read the first book you won't miss out much. Nance does a fine job of filling the reader in on anything important.
What I liked best was the anticipation. There were no surprises, at least not for me. I picked up the foreshadowing instantly and pretty much knew what was going to happen. But does that make the book any less awesome? Hell no! In fact, I like to feel anticipation more than surprise because it builds up. With anticipation, you get more into the story and Nance wrote that part perfectly.
The ending was definitely open. I'm sure that there will be a third one and I can't wait to read it.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting sequel to Daemon Hall, however, it was very similar...with the teens telling stories in between horrific happenings that increased in ghoulishness as the night(s) progressed. However, this book does not really have a true ending and is ripe for the third book in what must be a series.

[Joann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even creepier than book 1. Can't wait for it to hit the bookstores!!!

[ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still stand with my initial opinion that probably no one under the age of 17 should read this. The first one is PG-13ish enough, but this one is definitely a soft R rating. I enjoyed it more than the first one though, which is pretty rare for sequels (I think). I think this one could have a fun movie adaptation. Also, I feel like the whole "destroying the book so the evil thing will go away" is definitely reminiscent of the horcruxes. Considering those were mentioned in the Chamber of Secrets - written in 1998 - and this was written in 2011, there's definitely at least some inspiration there.All in all I'd recommend this book more than the first one, but you'd wanna read the first one first so you understand the second book.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate it when evil wins at the end of a book, especially the end of a series. This one is dark and does end in a super dark fashion. I was upset by the ending of the previous book in the series but this ending devastated me because I really thought they had vanquished the demon. There was one sentence that made me snort..."Something cut through her sweet smell and assualted his nose like a fart in church." The rest of the book is decent writing so that particular line really stuck out!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book I got from the "free" bin at a used book store, and I haven't read Daemon Hall. I had no expectations going into this book because of that. Luckily, there were enough context clues and backstory that I could follow along no problem. I gave it 3 stars because there are a few plot lines that weren't explained, but it was really closer to 3.5. I want to read Daemon Hall now.

[Manisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice! Creepy... it’s the kind of book that you read at night... and suffer the consequences!!! But you can finish it really quick, it’s so good! ANDREW NANCE HAS not FAILED ME! Yay! 📖

[Nicole Hopkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / If you want a horror book, that's a lighter horror read, this is my recommendation. I read the second without reading the first and still could follow along.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The previous year Wade and four others were the finalists in the writing contest held by the well-known horror author, Ian Tremblin. The contest was held in the supposedly haunted Daemon Hall. They found out it was haunted, and dangerous.

A year has passed and Ian Tremblin wants to hold another contest, but this time it will be in the safety of his own home. Wade and Demarius were asked by Ian Tremblin to come back as judges of the three finalists for this contest.

They feel they have nothing to worry about this time since they aren't in Daemon Hall, but it seems the author has found the book of Daemon Hall and has it in his collection. It's a strange book; there are only five titles, but no stories.

Once everyone is there, they have eaten dinner and settled down for the story to begin. Everything is normal until the first story is finished and they realize they are no longer in Ian Tremblin's home.

I read Daemon Hall in 2012 and thought it was a great, suspenseful book. I'm glad to finally read the second book and it didn't disappoint. It's still suspenseful, it has new stories and some new characters. This time, however, it doesn't just focus on the hauntings of Daemon Hall, its history is revealed as well.

And Daemon Hall has quite a history. I thought all the stories in this one was good, but I think my favorite was the first.

I really liked the first book and thought it was creepy. This one was too, but there was a lot of focus on the history of Daemon Hall and I liked that because it was very interesting. It has a long, terrible history.

And the ending was left open, I'm wondering if there will be a third book. I really hope so. And I'm hoping if there is, they will beat Daemon Hall once and for all.

[Victoria Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm doing my review for both Daemon Hall and Return to Daemon hall all in one because I read them both in two days and my mind is sort of filled to the brim with thoughts of Daemon Hall. You see, I own the second book but not the first so I borrowed the first one. And at first I wasn't sure I would be returning to the series but with the addition of the sequel( and promise of a third book)I fell in love. But it brings to mind a comparison.
This book (series) was everything Welcome To Dark House wasn't. It had characters I could love, horror that was truly scary and not just gore, and lore that makes it all worth it. This story was like Rose Red for teens.
I loved the idea of a compition for horror writers. I like that they threw a bunch of teens who were smart enough to get out into this situation, not just a random group of people that stopped caring about each other the second their lives were at stake. I would love to see this as a movie, and think the structure of the novel itself, with the short stories influencing the novel so greatly, pushed the plot along instead of hurting it. It could have come off as gimiky, and instead it flourished.

[Neel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very well written sequel to the magnificent Daemon Hall, which was the basis of this book. Daemon Hall appeared much more psychotic but this is because I had read that book at such a young age. However, this book delivered a more fictional horror than a real horror. It was interesting to read because of the developments of the characters in previous years. The woman who is illustrated on the cover was the "goth" girl who had died in the first book. If you did not know that, you might want to go read the book again or read it the first time or you will have no true premise or idea of the book. I thought it was clever to bring the theme back to the mansion but it would have been interesting to see the "house" follow the teens.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ian Tremblin hosted a writer's contest last year and it didn't go well. At all. This is the second book in the series and he's trying it again. But instead of having the writing contest in a mansion with a bad history he is going to host it in his home. Nothing scary about that, right? Well, things don't really go as planned.

This book stands alone. There are enough references to what went on the first book that you can start with this one, as I did. It's suspenseful but isn't terrifying, filled with ghost stories and stories of suspense. It's a good book for those who want to be scared, but not terrified. If you read horror books all the time, it'll probably be too tame.

[Deanna Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe that this book could have been a lot better. The first book was much more enjoyable. The stories in this book lacked the creepiness that the previous stories had. The main narrative also felt different, and was enjoyable in some areas but then not very descriptive in others. The ending was also somewhat predictable and rather unsatisfactory. It was good in some aspects, such as character personalities, but it lacked character development this time. I might suggest this book to others, but warn them that it was not as good as the first book.

[Rhiannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!! I wonder if there'll be a third! That would be awesome, but just drawing out the series, a bit.

[Michael Lanzett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg! Im still shocked at the ending !

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate horror stories (my imagination scares me quite enough without any extra inspiration), but I found myself surprisingly unaffected by this. Maybe teens would find the stories more terrifying?

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I didn't think andrew nance could write a book that was this creepy.

[Chicken Wings]

I think this book is really good because it is scary and really interesting and thrilling

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as good as the first book but it was definitely a good read. I just didn't like the ending and hope there is a third book

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might have been better than the first one!
Look at my review on the first book for more details.