2024 Reread:

Still holds up - a real fun and easy read.

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Resist the urge Darren, do not succumb to the dark side.
I kid, you're a vampire's assistant now boy - go do the thing where the thing needs doing.

These books were amazing as a kid, I'm not going to tarnish my joyful memory of these books by rereading them - but alas, I just love the evil.

Muahahahaha - insert diabolical laughter echo here.

I really had to think about my rating for this one for quite a while. I waffled between 3 and 4 stars for a few days because of one thing: the heavy-handed foreshadowing.

The more I thought about it though, and especially after finishing the book, I realized one really important thing: these books are not written for people my age. Without the foreshadowing and the constant mentioning that bad things are coming, I honestly think that what happens could be severely traumatic, upsetting, and disturbing for a child to read (and this is set at 12 and up, so if you're a parent I'd suggest reading these first before handing them off to your kids.) I'm being very serious when I say that this could be nightmare material. The foreshadowing is therefor quite necessary because it prepares the reader for the very awful things that happen.

And even then, with the foreshadowing and warnings, I still wasn't prepared for the ending; it still left me shaken and upset and even surprised at how wrong things went. I was almost left with my mouth hanging open (and a few tears in my eyes) when the shit hit the fan. It was intense and scary and pretty much everything you'd want in this type of book.

Cirque du Freak is turning into a great, and well, I don't want to say fun series because it's horror and that's not really fun, you know? But it's entertaining and kept me on the edge of my seat and I read the third book the very next night in one sitting. The characters are well-written, the world is fascinating and strange and just terrifying enough for an adult, and the story is so different from any others I've encountered that I've actually continued reading the series instead of bouncing off to something else instead. I rarely continue on with a series but with this one I find myself opening up the next book as soon as I finish the last because I can't wait to see what will happen.

If you're looking for something gory, scary, and well-written, then grab this series and give it a chance. I can say I'm enjoying it immensely and will probably read the whole series in the next week or two.

The theme of this book is do what is good for you and people around you because in the book, Darren has to make decision on whether or not he should take blood from humans and not just animals. Darren chooses to drink the blood.

Well I just lost a night of sleep!

I wasn’t sure about listening to this next book after the first one but I’m very glad I did. It’s a very easy listen being aimed at young adults. However, it’s also very emotional and I got to the point where I listened to it all in one go and my alarm goes off for work in 45 minutes.

This may be a young adults book but believe me, it had me gripped. Darren Shan continues his reluctant journey into becoming a vampire’s assistant with shocking and quite heart breaking consequences.

I’m now off to find out how he is coping in book 3 given there is no point in going to sleep now.

نسبت به جلد اولش بهتر بود و لااقل یه اتفاق هیجان انگیز توش رخ داد

I definitely need a break after tolerating this amount of stupidity!!!
But I can't leave the story. I'll start the series again some other time.

4/5 ⭐

This series is the only thing saving me from absolute boredom during form. This book was just a really good book but it probably doesn't hit as being like my FAVV. But still, there are 10 more books to go

Nice sequel to the first book - it really showed Darrens struggle with his conscience!

In this second book, Darren is learning the ropes in his new life. He is ambivalent and doesn't want to accept what he is now. There is some gore and violence, of course, but I hope sensitive readers who don't enjoy that sort of thing wouldn't have made it past book 1.

Mart ayını tek bir kitapla kapatmak istemedim. Bu yüzden oldukça akıcı bir okuma olduğu için Vampirin Asistanı'nı seçtim. Bazı yerlere hem Darren'a hem de olan olaylara sinirlendiğim veya "Ne oluyor be?" dediğim yerler oldu. Çok şey beklemiyordum zaten. Yine de keyifli bir okuma oldu. Üçüncü kitap Kan Tünelleri'ni hemen sonra okudum.

An audiobook from the library

You know you're a adult, when you now take Larten Crepsley's side rather than Darren's.

Still a good book, but again the way be ends chapters kind of annoys me but it is written for kids. I also forgot about Mr Tiny, so its nice to revist characters like this.