Darren Shan says racism is ‘real life horror’

Sharjah: Racism and extremism is the horror of the real world, popular Irish horror writer Darren Shan told his fans at the Sharjah International Book Fair on Thursday.

Shan, 43, said the traits represented “real life horror”, which he tries to draw attention to in his work. B, the main character in his book series Zom-B, is abused by his racist father, for instance.

“It’s a story about redemption. B eventually stands up to him,” Shan said.

In an interview with Gulf News before his Thursday night talk, Shan revealed that his Zom-B books were written “in response to the rise of racism in the UK following the bombings in London ten years ago”.

One of the bombs had gone off in London’s East End, where Shan had a flat.

“I noticed a change in the atmosphere after the bombings. People were scared and angry, and certain political groups began preying on those people, trying to turn them against their friends and neighbours, purely on the basis of their religious beliefs and skin colour,” Shan said.

“I felt I needed to write something that highlights the perils of allowing such groups to thrive and prosper, that warns young readers of the dangers of not taking a stand against racists and people who would try to abuse their positions of power.

“I didn’t want to write about that in a preachy way, since that’s not my style, and also I think messages comes through more clearly and find a wider audience if they’re embedded in an exciting, thrilling story — that’s how old myths and legends used to work long ago. So I threw a zombie apocalypse into the mix and took things from there.”

Shan, who is also a fantasy writer, said the horror genre “lets us look at the world from a different perspective, allowing us to use dark fiction to explore the darkness of the human psyche and soul”.

Shan writes mainly for teens, and pointed out there were underlying messages about youth empowerment in his work.

“It’s important to instil optimism in the young, and a sense that they can change the world for the better, and that’s really what my books are about,” he said.

“The monsters and scares and gore are all just window dressing, designed to entice readers and entertain them, while underneath the message coming through the whole time is that you have the power to overcome any obstacle, to change your society if you think it needs changing and make the world a better place.”