The Saga of Darren Shan (2) - The Vampire's Assistant
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Readers familiar with The Saga of Darren Shan will enjoy this second instalment on audio cassette. The Vampire's Assistant is read gleefully and yet touchingly by Alan Cumming. Darren is now living with Mr Crepsley, and struggling to be a "real" vampire, but his squeamishness about drinking human blood is becoming an obstacle to fully embracing the lifestyle. As he is still only half a vampire, and therefore partly a normal teenage boy, his wants and desires are hard to be satisfied by the ageing Mr Crepsley. Meeting Evra the snake boy when he and Mr Crepsley join the Cirque du Freak ensures he has a friend (however peculiar) his own age, as does meeting the more ordinary Sam, who is mesmerised by the Cirque du Freak.
Alan Cumming reads the story with sensitivity for Darren's loneliness and new life and yet with some enjoyment of the gruesomeness of drinking blood and bizarreness of some of the characters in the Cirque du Freak. The tale may not make very peaceful bedtime reading, but will definitely keep children with a thirst for shivers and sweats engrossed. The breaks in the readings are sometimes laboured, so that the next chapter feels anticlimactic, but also are timed so that before you realise it, you'll have listened to most of the tale, always wanting to have your suspicions of what happens next confirmed. Darren's adventures, and encounters with a variety of characters (whether part of the Cirque du Freak or not) are particularly enthralling with Cumming's different voices, so that it almost feels as if Mr Crepsley or Mr Tiny are really in the room with you. The ending explores from a very original angle the importance of friendship and such everyday themes as these ensure that it seems likely that any number of seemingly ordinary teenage boys could be part-time vampires. --Olivia Dickinson
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Vampire's Assistant is the second instalment in the saga of Darren Shan, which began with Cirque du Freak. Then, Darren made the difficult decision to become a half-vampire to save his best mate Steve Leopard's life. Now, he must leave his friends and family behind as he travels cross-country with the vampire Mr Crepsley and the Cirque du Freak. Early on, Darren dispels the vampire myth in his typically facetious fashion:
Crosses and holy water didn't hurt us. All garlic did was give us bad breath ... A stake through the heart would kill us, of course, but so would a bullet or a knife or electricity ... We were tougher to kill than normal people, but we weren't indestructible.However, despite Darren's seeming flippancy, The Vampire's Assistant is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted. How long can Darren go before he must drink human blood? How safe are Darren's new-found friends? Why don't the mysterious, blue-hooded dwarves speak or cry out in pain? And does their master Mr Des Tiny really feed on little children? No one is safe in this gruesome, macabre tale--more a who's-going-to-do-what than a who-dunnit:
And then the red monster was on him. Stanley opened his mouth to scream, but before he could, the monster's hands--claws?--clamped over his mouth. There was a brief struggle, then Stanley was sliding to the floor, unconscious, unseeing, unknowing.Familiar characters include Mr Tall, the wolf-man and Evra, the snake boy, who are more fleshed out in this follow-up. New characters include Darren's new mate Sam and R G (Reggie Veggie), an ecowarrior. If book one whet your appetite, then The Vampire's Assistant will certainly leave you hungry for more. Watch out for the next fang-tastic sequel. --Nicola Perry --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is absolutely brilliant. I'm waiting and waiting for the bookshop to get me Tunnels of Blood, but I'm rereading this book now. I just got to the mega creepy gory bit - you know what I mean - and I practically fainted. I don't like blood... But honestly, this book is the best I've read since Harry Potter, and Harry Potter hasn't even TOUCHED the feelings I get when I read this book - a shiver right down my spine
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the second in the series. Before this you should read "Cirque Du Freak"... now that's over with we'll get on with the review!
This book picks up a couple of months after that the first one finished. Darren has been travelling with Mr Crepsley... but is longing for friends his own age... people who will accept him for what he now is. Mr Crepsley agrees to take Darren to the Cirque Du Freak.
Back at the Cirque Du Freak Darren makes friends, both with the performers, members of an Eco warriors group and a local boy called Sam. Unfortunately these friendships ultimately lead to a heart rendering tragedy.
Darren faces another challenge... he won't drink human blood. If he does he feels his humanity will die... if he doesn't he really will die.
Splattered with enough gore and humour this novel will keep anybody entertained... and the ending will stay with long after the final page has been turned.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I recommend this book to anyone who likes scary stories with a touch of humor. It is an amazing book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I obviously don't get "it"
I enjoyed this much more than the first, but I still didn't like it. I found it boring nearly all the way through and the way the chapters kept ending with a very ominous warning... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Louise Johnston
AMAZING!
THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN: THE VAMPIRES ASSISTANT is just as funny, scary, intelligant and well-written as CIRQUE DU FREAK. Read more
Published 11 months ago by G. Stephenson
SUPERB & ENTERTAINING SERIES!
This is the second book in the Darren Shan 'Saga' - and these are belting little books!
I was lucky enough to obtain a signed copy of this one by the Author! Read more
I was lucky enough to obtain a signed copy of this one by the Author! Read more
Published 13 months ago by FAMOUS NAME
Vampires Assistant
The Vampires Assistant is the 2nd book in the Cirque du Freak series. I bought it for my 9 year old son and he loved it and couldn't wait to tell me what happens to the characters... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Trackerlou
a page turner not just for kids
Sequel to the soul- stopping 'Cirque du Freak' which talks about Darren's life with the cirque as a half -vampire and a gut churning encounter with the wolf man sends your thaughts... Read more
Published on 23 May 2010 by Rebecca
The Vampires Assistant
A story that I am sure is aimed at children but adults will love it too. Well read and keeps you wanting to hear more. Loved it
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by Mrs. D. M. Poat
Vampires Assistant
Well worth it - the book was fantastic and the Cd really brings it to life, (rather ironic for a story about dead people! Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by Peggie
a good dramatic sequel about becoming a vampire
In the sequel to Cirque Du Freak, Darren Shan is struggling to adjust to life as a vampire's assistant. Not only is he alone, but he faces death if he doesn't drink human blood. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2008 by Stampy
Thrilling sequal
I enjoyed this book because its different to many vampire books, this is because it reflects real life in a way. Darren adventures into the world of vampireism from humanity. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2006 by livierox4lyf
Thrillig Sequal
After his life turning upside down, Darren Shan lifes changes forever. Follow Darren as he encounters numerous hurdles that life throws at him has he journeys from humanity to half... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2006 by Livrox4lyf
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