After 9 previous installments in the Saga of Darren Shan, this one takes a weird tangent akin to a Dungeons & Dragons quest (to include dragons) that foregoes the Cirque du Freak, the War of Scars and even the hunt for the Lord of the Vampaneze.

I can barely trudge through the actually storyline, although I am determined to finish at least this saga- for certain that I will never touch the Saga of Larten Crepsley (or any other Shan tripe). Given that Larten died in the last book (get over any spoiler-rage since these books are nearly 20 years old and if you are reading this sequential review, you should already know from reading the last one what happened (who starts at book 10 in a series? nevermind)), we spend too small a portion of time dealing with death, a brief passing visit with the Cirque, then jump through a time portal to quest for a friend's previous soul?!? And this is a young adult reader??

This D&D side quest eats up a mind boggling 3 month for the most basic of items, never really pays off the investment of time reading, incites more mundane questions than answers, and ends with the same people with the same problems doing the same pattern of stupidity. Should I mention that other non-vamps who chose to provide Darren help in the beginning of the story are left to seek out vampires with a detailed map of sorts to Vampire Mountain on their own? Or that Mr. Des Tiny already knows the outcome of said quest, to the point of placing the primary plot on literal hold? or creating the scenario in the first place where the quest items only serve the aforementioned quest - and not the greater story? or that Evanna can intercede despite Tiny's say so, since it isn't relevant to the primary mission? All of this to ask why the hell are we reading this poor excuse for a sideshow haunted attraction aka filler garbage?

Once the implausibility subsides, and the reader "gets" the setup of, and anagram for, who Harkat really is, most like I will be left asking "Who Cares?" And why the inclusion of the so-called pirate Dan "Spits" Abram (lame pirate speak included), his supposedly "shocking" cooking preferences/methods, and final actions...only for Tiny to freeze the action like a lame VCR?

All that was missing was the tavern at the beginning for the adventurers as a meeting place, and a qualified Dungeon Master to lead them as Shan does a poor, transparent job across the board, leaving little to surmise as to which path to actually choose and little chance of failure for the hero.

If you have gotten this far in the Shan saga, then my apologies as I feel your pain.

Thanks for reading.

Another great book in the series, although this one is unusual since it takes a breather from the main storyline and focuses on a mini-story: Harkat's background and who he really is.

A small section of the first part shows a realistic grieving for Darren, which I found depressing but needed to be convincing and respectful to a fallen character. After a surprising reveal by two return characters (yay), Darren accompanies his friend Harkat in his journey.

A break from the vampire war was inevitable but the author kept it interesting by introducing a gritty, surreal world. There is a new character who stands out as quirky but psychologically twisted, which intrigued me. New creatures, difficult obstacles, and a mystery to boot. Who Harkat turns out to be? A surprise that I liked.

It veers slightly off course but this is needed and ties in it’s ways into the main storyline in the end. By this point Darren has grown into a stronger character, and Harkat fighting his personal demons is enjoyable since I’ve come to know the character over several books now.

There is a void where a character has been lost, so I think the placement of this one – two off by themselves in a different direction – was needed to let the reader absorb and not jumble the main storyline.

Again Shan impresses with the complexity of the created world, rich in fantasy and imagination.

Wow! What a great ending.

So we left the other book after the vampaneze knockout Darren but not before Steve told Darren a secret Darren Wakes up about 3 hours later and explain to the other Prince and the little person that's Steve is the one they need to kill I just knew this was going to happen I knew he was the one they needed to kill because otherwise they wouldn't have been fighting so much to keep him alive in the last book Mr Crepsley death was for nothing and I wish he didn't have to go out like that he was one of my favourite characters and yeah I cried a bit when he died I just wish he was still in the books so they met back up with the psychic I guess you could call her or which and they said they didn't have to go looking for the vampaneze for a while because their fight wasn't going to happen for a bit yet so the vampire prince went back to vampire mountain and Darren and little person decided to go to the Cirque du Freak because wherever Darren goes the little person goes with him and Debbie and the police officer went back to their normal lives so we thought they caught up with Darren and the little person at the Cirque du Freak a few chapters later and Darren was torn he could either go with his friend to find out who he was in his past life or go with Debbie and the police officer to vampire mountain to tell the vampires. Humans needed to fight Darren went off with Debbie and the police officer but later ran back to go to soul Lake with the little person because he had done so much for him and they are best friends so if you want to find out what else happens in this but you're just going to have to read it I did really enjoy this book I just wish Mr Crepsley was still there even in Death may we triumph

این تا اینجا سم ترین و "گروتسک"ترین چیزی بود که از دارن شان خوندم. ولی احساس میکنم یکی از کتاب‌های مورد علاقم از این مجموعه شد...

خلاصه بگم که برگااااااااااام

This book answers numerous questions whilst also throwing many more out there to be answered in the final two books.

The main purpose of this book is to help us get answers as to who Harkat really is. Taking place in an unknown location (until later in the book) the characters work through tasks to find out more about Harkat. Whilst it is the longest book in the series it does address many things, giving the reader numerous answers to questions that have been asked in the past.

This book definitely didn't hit my recollection at all! I had no memories of this, apart from Evanna and the big toad! That whole culty thing seemed insane, finding out who Harkat was also shook me! And I knew something fishy was up with Spits!

The only reason I am not giving this five stars is...well, I don't particularly know myself. It was an amazing entry to the series. Not as good as 'The Vampire Prince', though. That was my favorite.
Darren Shan is one of my favorite authors because of this series. I saw a book at the bookstore yesterday and, heh, his name caught my eye.
Well, let's get started with the review.
Things I liked about this book:
Darren.
Harkat/youhavetoreadthebooktofindout.
Mr. Tiny.
Evanna.
Things that were weird, but gave this book character:
The guy. If you've read the book, you know who I'm talking about. And I'm not saying his name because 1, I can't seem to recall it at the time, and 2, I don't want to spoil it for any new readers.
Dragons.
HARKAT AND HIS SOUL.
And the plot twist at the end. Like, oh my lord. So amazing.
I didn't like that there wasn't any Steve, and that they stayed in /that/ place 7/8ths of the book. It was compelling, but it was a very long period of time.
There wasn't a lot of Evanna, who is my second favorite character, next to Harkat.
So, if you're pondering to finish the Cirque du Freak series, or starting it, or just wanting to read the next book;
Read it. Read it now, because it's beautiful and stunning and amazing.
/Goodbye./

This is book 10 of the Cirque Du Freak series. In this book Harkat, a Little Person created by a dead soul by Mr. Tiny, is trying to figuire out who he really is. He protected Darren in all his adventures no its Harkat's turn to have one. Mr. Tiny visits the Cirque Du Freak taking Harkat with him to find his real soul. Darren jumps in with Harkat when he was not supposed to but Mr. Tiny allows it anyways. Mr. Tiny sent Harkat and Darren to a harsh desert. After enduring a very long journey thru the desert they have to slay a panther in a jungle, will they make it and find Harkat's soul? Or will they die trying?
I can make a text to text connection. I can connect this to Copper Sun. Harkat is trying really hard to achieve something he wants, and in this case it's his soul. In Copper Sun, Polly tried really hard to make friends with Amari even if it was hard, and from there they both tried really hard to escape to freedom.
I rate this book 5 stars because Darren Shan books never seem to bore me, and I think he is really creative on how he created his own world. Also, since it is near the end of the series I think he did a pretty good job wrapping up and closeing loose ends.

What a wild ride. This was so strange and comforting at the same time.

This was probably my least favorite book in the series, taking some fantastical turns far outside the vampire world. The story was eventful, but dragged on. Two stars rounded up for the ending I did not see coming. I do like the way this series ties in old characters!

This is the last of the books that I know I've read before, but I honestly didn't remember any of it, other than Harkat's true identity.

I really have no idea how this book ties into the War of Scars and defeating the Vampaneze Lord. But it was still a fun addition. This story is like a basic quest. Darren and Harkat have to overcome obstacles (the panther, the Temple, the dragons) to get their reward (find out Harkat's identity).

Its pretty creepy. The action rivals the more exciting books of the series. But It makes me wonder how the books will end. Most of the other sets of 3 in the series had an over-arcing plot. This book doesn't connect to the rest of the war. It sort of feels like an intermission!