Group Photo!

I'd like to start off by saying that

I'm looking to see this movie independent of the book,

and to just enjoy it as a normal film.

That said, I still want to compare the two.

So to start off, let's go to a picture.

Now, let's talk about casting choices

and how they want characters to seem.

Starting from the left,

Evra Von.

To me, he seemed a little more kiddish in the book at first,

and less of a skater teen.

But I love the make-up/effects for his skin!

Darren Shan.

Again, the age issue. This kid is 12 in the books.

Regardless of the actor's true age,

he is very much older than 12 here.

From what is shown in the trailer,

I'm happy with how he's handling his character.

Lastly, Rebecca.

She is the new love interest for Darren,

NOT Debbie Hemlock with a different name.

Since this is a brand new character

who doesn't appear in the books,

I guess I'll just say I like her clothing.

It compliments Evra's skin.

She wasn't in the trailer, so I'm interested to see

what she does to perform at the Cirque!

Overall, the characters

are not holding to the books very well,

but again, I don't care that much!

I'm looking to enjoy a general plot about vampires.

New Trailer!!!!

Okay, I finally got the trailer up!

So I want to talk about the trailer for a bit.

I think the preview does a really good job of getting you excited for the movie,

rather than just showing what it was about.

This said, it also gives a very clear idea of what to expect,

such as more comedy than the books, while still retaining the excitement.

I really enjoy the final collection of clips during the last 20 seconds,

because those of us who've read the books already understand what they are.

Speak of which, the on frame of Madam Octa (the colorful spider) is SO GREAT!

I was really hoping that they wouldn't make her boring and forget her color.

On this note, I will take my leave. I still have some photos to put up, so keep checking back!

Feel free to make comments below with your thoughts on the trailer!

Gavner Purl Picture

Here we see Willem Dafoe as Gavner Purl. In recent years, Dafoe may be known best for his role as the Green Goblin in Spiderman.

Is the picture above possibly when Gavner first tells Mr. Crepsly about Murlough? That scene is the first time Gavner appears in the books, but who knows what he's here for in the movie? Comment below with your ideas!

Graveyard Picture

Here is the famous graveyard scene after Darren "dies." In the new trailer, they show Darren playing video games in his coffin. I'm glad that the makers aren't making the series too serious, and are having fun with it.

Maybe during this scene, Darren will run into his old friend Steve like it happens in the book, or maybe something new will unfold...

Movie Poster

Here it is: The Vampire's Assistant movie poster:

The poster says the release is 10/23/09.

That means only a couple more months!

Comment below with what you want to see in the movie!

Cast List

Here's the cast list for the first movie,

The Vampire's Assistant, grouped by role:

Family and Friends of Darren:

Chris Massoglia will play Darren Shan

Morgan Saylor will play Annie

Don McManus will be Mr. Shan

Colleen Camp will be Mrs. Shan

Josh Hutcherson will be Steve Leonard

Jessica Carlson will be Rebecca (Brand new character, Darren's love interest)

Members of the Cirque:

John C. Riley will play Mr. Crepsly

Patrick Fugit will be Evra Von

Ken Watanabe will be Mr. Tall

Kristen Schaal => Gertha Teeth

Jane Krakowski => Corma(c) Limbs

Salma Hayek => Madam Truska

Orlando Jones => Alexander Ribs

Frankie Faison => Rhamus Twobellies

Jonathan Nosan => Hans Hands

Vampires, Vampaneze and Other Characters:

Michael Cerveris will be Mr. Tiny

Willem Dafoe will be Gavner Purl

Ray Stevenson will be Murlough

ANNOUNCEMENT 8/6/09

Okay guys, I know I'm a little bit late getting started, but I'm going to catch you up to speed on EVERYTHING that has happened so far with the Cirque du Freak movie, now titled The Vampire's Assistant. So check back every day for new material, and in the mean time, check out the summaries for the first six books so you can refresh your memory on everything Darren Shan!

Sixth Book Summary - The Vampire Prince

Book number six begins with the cliffhanger left at the end of the fifth book. Darren Shan, a half-vampire on the run from a death sentence, has just fallen into a treacherous river while running, and passed up a hand to safety from Kurda Smahlt, a traitor to the clan, to protect his honor. The current of the big stream sweeps him down and out of the cavern, into the tunnels of Vampire Mountain.

Darren describes being thrown about by the current, and still sore from his journeys beforehand, he is greatly damaged by this wild ride.

To the great surprise of Darren, he makes it out alive! Though he can barely move, due to his seriously damaged arms and legs, he manages to climb out of the water at the end of the ride. Darren attempts to trudge through the snow to a forest, with nothing for drive but the thought of warmth and safety, but collapses just a hundred yards shy of the forest. As Darren is about to give up, a familiar creature suddenly approaches him; Rudi, a wolf cub who Darren traveled with to Vampire Mountain, has found Darren and wants to help him survive.

Streak, a larger wolf who also accompanied Darren, soon joins them and helps Rudi to rally Darren to continue on to the forest. When they do arrive to the forest's edge, they enter a glade where some two-dozen wolves are gathered around each other. Darren is ushered into the pack and is made to drink milk from a mother wolf. Though at first reluctant, Darren finds himself grateful for the nourishment.

Darren becomes a regular part of the pack, healing quickly. Once able to stand and move about, he helps the group during hunts and plays with the little cubs. During one particular hunt with Streak, however, Darren witnesses a group of vampires walking through the area, among them his mentor, Mr. Crepsly.

Darren wants to run up to them and show them he was alive, but Streak keeps him back, and as the group gets closer Darren sees why. Leading the brigade is the vampire traitor who is responsible for Darren's predicament, Kurda Smahlt, armed with a sword.

By eavesdropping on their conversation, Darren finds that they are set out to locate him, or his body, so that he may be cremated. He also listens as they talk of Gavner Purl, who they know to be dead, by his lack of mental signals. The group, save for Kurda, does not yet know that Kurda himself killed Gavner, to protect the vampaneze he was harboring inside the mountain. They also bring up the subject of Kurda's investiture to becoming a Vampire Prince.

Darren realizes what Kurda must be planning. Once he becomes a Prince, not only will others have to obey him, but he will also have access to the Stone of Blood and could overthrow the entire clan. Darren now tells the wolves of his intention to leave for Vampire Mountain. Streak introduces Darren to a she-wolf, whom he names Magda, who knows not only how to get to Vampire Mountain, but also how to enter it.

 Magda, Darren, Streak and a couple other wolves begin the journey, reaching the base of mountain without too much trouble, though Magda is close to death. They begin the ascent and along the way reach a cavern where the wolves start barking. A Guardian of the Blood signals that they should stop and hides Darren as vampaneze pass through the room.

After they pass, Darren hurries the wolves and they begin to make their way to the Halls themselves. Magda stops and lies down to die. Darren tries to rouse her, but she is intent that she is finished. Making one last motion to a tunnel up ahead, she closes her eyes and drifts off. Darren and the rest of the group climb up the last tunnel and into a small cavern. Darren peeks through one side of the wall, easy enough to smash through, to find that he is directly outside of the Hall of Princes. This is a shock, as there is supposed to be only one way into the Hall.

Darren decides that he must confide in another vampire before making his stand, so that if he is shot on sight that his message will not be lost. He settles on the quartermaster, Seba Nile, as the ideal person to trust. So he backtracks through the underground tunnels to the storerooms and from there, sneaks to Seba's room. The quartermaster listens to Darren's story and says that he will help him.

The time of Kurda's investiture arrives, and Darren is in place to intercept the vampire's entrance to the Hall of Princes. He breaks through the thin wall, and halts the ceremony loudly screaming, "STOP!" The Princes, along with the rest of the clan, are ready to write him off and not listen to what he has to say, but when Seba speaks up for Darren, and tells the Princes that they should listen, they do.

Darren tells his story: how Kurda killed Gavner Purl after leading the vampaneze to the Mountain, along with his own theory about seizing control of the Stone of Blood. The Princes believe him, and Kurda does not deny any of these accusations. All of the vampires, save for Darren, the Princes, Seba, Arra and Mr. Crepsly are sent from the Hall of Princes, as they formulate a plan to eradicate their vampaneze visitors.

Interrupting the planning session, Seba points out Darren's state of hunger and exhaustion, and is allowed to take him to eat. While eating, Harkat arrives and fills Darren in on what happened while he was away. They discuss how Darren has made it this far, and about fate versus luck. Harkat, at one point says: "The hands of fate keep time on a heart-shaped watch," assumedly a reference to Mr. Des Tiny.

At last, a tracking squad locates the vampaneze, and Darren has a rush of inspiration as "Operation Arachnid" is underway. The plan is that Darren, Mr. Crepsly and Seba will each control an army of spiders, through mental communication, and lead them to disorient the vampaneze before the vampires step in to attack.

The plan works perfectly, as Darren's spiders arrive in first from the outside entrance, then Mr. Crepsly's from the inside entrance, and finally Seba's team, which enters through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. The vampaneze are very much surprised and the fights start.

The battle is a fearsome brawl. The vampires enter the cave and immediately assault the vampaneze, who are totally caught off guard. Everyone, including Darren, joins in the fight. Vampires and vampaneze alike are slain at each other's hands. The gamekeeper Vanez Blane loses his second eyes to a painful stab, rendering him totally blind. Arra Sails, in particular, is a major combatant during the battle. It is not until she fights against Glalda, a vampaneze close to Kurda, that she finds her defeat. He stabs her deep in the belly and kills the vampiress.

The rest of the vampaneze are taken care of and killed off, and post-conflict, the only person on Darren's and Mr. Crepsly's mind is Arra. Arra used to be Mr. Crepsly's mate, which is a sort of temporary marriage. They were still in love, and may have mated again, though that possibility is now extinguished. Because of this, Mr. Crepsly becomes very depressed.

But business has to move on, and so Kurda's trial is next on the agenda. Through questioning, Kurda reveals the full complexity of his plan. He was going to wait until the Ceremony of Conclusion, where he would present the three Princes with poisoned drinks to kill them. Then he would dominate the now empty Hall of Princes and take control of the Stone of Blood with his vampaneze army at his disposal.

Kurda's motives are questioned, and he explains how the Vampaneze Lord has been found and, though not yet blooded, will lead the vampaneze to war with the vampires and win. Kurda's was a preemptive, less painful attempt to unite the two clans of the night, and though by force, would result in fewer casualties.

He also tells the clan of the Coffin of Fire, which revealed the Vampaneze Lord to his clan. It is a coffin in which anyone can lay, though when the lid closes, a fire will rush through it and only the Vampaneze Lord can exit it unscathed and alive. This person has been found and is with the vampaneze.

After he says his share, Kurda is, as expected, sent to the Hall of Death for execution, though the rest of the clan now understands him, and his intentions are known to have been good.

Next up are the cremations of vampires lost in battle. Gavner's is first, and the cremation turns out to be much more pleasant than Darren expected. The body is laid on a bed of flammable twigs, a few words are said about his soul and Paradise, and then the twigs are set afire and the body is engulfed in flames. After three other cremations, Arra Sails' body is burned in the same fashion.

Darren's trial arrives, and though the Princes have never revoked a death sentence before, many are hopeful that Darren may be pardoned. The Princes maintain that they could not bring themselves to break any laws, meaning that they would not let Darren "escape" a second time, nor would they simply pardon him. Instead, they would have to put him above the laws, and make him a Vampire Prince!

The lengthy ceremony for Darren's investiture is put on hold under the circumstances, and instead he is brought up to the Stone of Blood right then and there to become a Prince. After a quick exchange of blood to affirm his status and give him control of the doors to the Hall of Princes, Darren is hailed by his people as their prince and ruler.

LOOK FOR BOOK VII => HUNTERS OF THE DUSK

Fifth Book Summary - Trials of Death

The fifth book of the series picks up right where the last left off: half-vampire Darren Shan has just found out that he must pass the Trials of Death in order to become a true part of the vampire clan. The catch? If he fails, he must be executed.

It is only now that Darren learns about the trials themselves. An ancient vampiric tradition, any vampire wishing to become a Vampire General had to pass five of these Trials. They range from "fighting wild boars to climbing perilous mountains to crawling through a pit filled with snakes."

There is allowed only one day of rest and one day of preparation between each trial, but Darren's timing is lucky, as a festival will fall right in the middle of his trials, meaning that they will have to be put on hold and he will have more time to rest.

Darren reports to the Hall of Princes and is presented with his first Trial: The Aquatic Maze. This maze is composed of a stone labyrinth with a low ceiling and only four exits. Only two catches: first, a rock of half the weight of the participant has to be tied around his or her ankle. The second condition is that, from the time the Trial starts, water is continually pumped into the maze, filling it in exactly seventeen minutes. The vampire is led to the middle of the maze and the timer is started. To get out, he or she must navigate through the tunnels to one of the exits, carrying the rock, while the maze is filling with water.

Vanez Blane, the Vampire Mountain gamekeeper, leads Darren in preparing for his trials. He teaches Darren to make a mental map of the maze in his head, and most importantly - not to panic.

When the day of the first trial has arrives, Darren is brought to the Hall of Princes. From there, he is taken on a stretcher to the center of the stone labyrinth. The Trial begins and Darren starts to go through what he had practiced.

After a bit of struggle, and almost not making it in time, Darren reaches an exit and completes the trial, hitting the marker at the last moment of consciousness. Awaking fifteen hours later, Darren is ecstatic with his victory, but the celebration is short lived as other news reaches him.

The final group vampires traveling to Vampire Mountain had arrived the night before bearing ominous news; they had found vampaneze tracks themselves, along an entirely different route. This, when matched with the first vampaneze trail that Darren's group had found on their way up, make for a very dark sign which cannot be coincidence.

But Darren's Trials cannot be forgotten and so he again appears before the Princes. His second Trial is thus drawn: The Path of Needles, which is supposedly easier than the first.

The Path of Needles consists of a deep tunnel, sometimes tall but more often cramped, covered completely on the bottom and top with spikes: stalactites and stalagmites, each sharp as a needle. Darren must pass through this cave and emerge alive at the other end; that's all!

The Trials turns out to be trickier than it seems at first, but still easier than the maze. The stalagmites are very slippery and cannot trusted for a grip. Also, stalactites may fall from the ceiling if disturbed, meaning that silence and stealth are necessary. But after more training, this time with Arra Sails and Vanez, Darren is ready to take on the Trial.

Dealing with the vampaneze crisis, no Princes are able to preside over the Trial, but Darren continues anyway, and after only one near-death, he emerges at the other end of the cave tunnel with nothing too dire occurring. Two trials down.

Just as expected, the Festival of the Undead arrives, putting a halt to any and all official business, including Darren's trials. He takes this opportunity to rest and have fun, as do all of the other vampires. The most notable event is the match on the bars (as mentioned in book IV) between none other than Kurda Smahlt, the pacifist, and Arra Sails, one of the more skilled vampires in the mountain. After being roped into competing against her, Kurda actually beats the vampiress at her own game and sends her down to her first defeat in eleven years.

Darren breaks away from the fun to find Seba Nile, the quartermaster of the mountain who said that he had something to help Darren's itching from the Path of Needles. Seba takes Darren, along with Kurda and Gavner Purl, down into the tunnels of the mountain. Kurda comes along because he has been making the first ever map set of the tunnels under Vampire Mountain, and takes every opportunity to go down.

The four vampires arrive in a glowing cavern, lit by special moss. Living in this cavern crawl hundred of thousands of spiders, each yellow and furry. Their spider webs, as Seba demonstrates, have a major healing effect, especially against itching, but the quartermaster asks for the group's confidence so the caverns do not become overrun and the spiders driven out. The webs work very well for Darren, and his itching ceases dramatically.

While down in the tunnels, Darren asks to visit some of the other areas he has heard about. The group thus visits the Hall of Final Voyage, which is composed of a big room with a big stream in the middle of it. It is, or was, used for sending off dead bodies in a funeral ceremony, but is rarely in use now, due to inconveniences brought about by the tunnels.

Kurda now explains to Darren about how they get so much blood for the mountain, as well as what happens to dead vampires' bodies. The Guardians of the Blood live in Vampire Mountain as well, though unnoticed and separate from the vampire clan. They have their own culture, including customs and language, and by nature are saprotroughs. Kurda explains that a saprotrough is anything that feeds on the waste or bodies of dead organisms. The Guardians of the Blood are given all of the dead vampires' organs to eat, and in return, give their blood to be drunk by the living vampires. Though this seems morally objectionable to Darren, Seba insists that they are a peaceful culture, mean no harm, and are in fact vital to the vampire's society.

The Festival of the Undead eventually ends and Darren's next trial is drawn: The Hall of Flames. This is recognized as one of the hardest trials in the set, and so Vanez will have to have Arra help him teach Darren how to survive. The Hall itself is an enclosed room with pipes opening up to the floor, ceiling and all four walls. These pipes are controlled by outside vampires during the Trial, who pump flames into the room at random intervals, becoming more frequent over time. To pass the Trial, he must survive for fifteen minutes.

With little time for preparation, Darren is soon thrust into his trial. Having to dip and dodge around the flames, he becomes badly burned and almost unconscious, but makes it through the fifteen minutes alive. Darren drifts in and out of consciousness, alternating between nightmares of fire and delirious reality. Finally, he wakes up and comes to his senses.

Immediately upon awaking, Darren must appear before the Princes for his next Trial. Kurda says that he has a plan to buy time, but Darren must pretend to be all right. Darren does so, and picks the Blooded Boars. The Princes now "realize" that none of them can attend the Trial, being too busy. Having already missed one of Darren's Trials, they are made to postpone the Blooded Boars Trial three days until a Prince can attend.

Darren's extra time is spent resting. He must heal, at least partially, from his burns and wounds from the Hall of Flames, and because no practice is needed for the coming Trial, it is best that he stay in bed. The Blooded Boars is held in an arena, like a coliseum, with the Trial taker in the middle, paired with two boars infected with vampire blood, driving them insane. The combatant must simply kill the two boars by himself to complete the Trial.

The day of the fourth Trial arrives and Darren is led into the center ring of the arena. The battle commences and Darren, armed only with a club and a spear, faces off against the boars. They battle back and forth, advancing and retreating, until Darren manages to blind one. Unfortunately, it topples onto him, leaving him an easy target for the second boar, which begins to charge at Darren.

At the last moment, a blurred figure rushes from the stands and fights off the oncoming boar. The boar is shoved back and its head bashed in. It is only after the animal is dead that the figure appears as the Little Person, Harkat Mulds. Pandemonium breaks loose in the cavern as vampires shout for judgment; Darren and Harkat have broken the rules! Mika, the Prince presiding over the Trial, calls for order and dismisses everybody so that he and the other Princes may give a verdict later.

Waiting in his room for the verdict to reach him, Darren is miserable. Kurda comes to visit, and reasons with Darren, eventually convincing him to go against vampiric traditions of pride and to attempt an escape. Kurda takes Darren down into secret tunnels under the mountain, and Gavner, who followed their trail and wanted to help them, joins them. They come to a pass, and after a disagreement over which path is best to escape the mountain, Gavner's way is chosen and Kurda becomes uneasy. As they file into the next passage, Gavner hears a cough. He investigates and finds that the next cavern over has twenty or thirty of the red-faced vampaneze hiding there!

The three vampires, unnoticed by their red counterparts, make a break for the surface to report what they have seen, but Gavner and Kurda lag behind, anticipating a fight. Darren is told to continue forward, but turns back to find that Gavner and Kurda are locked in an engagement with the vampaneze. Darren continues to watch the pair fighting as Kurda makes a fatal stab, right into the chest of Gavner Purl!

Darren continues to watch as Gavner collapses and the other combatants cease their charade. Kurda notices Darren and tries to calm him, but to no avail. Darren soon begins running away, sprinting as fast as his wounded legs can take him, up tunnels and winding around until he reaches the Hall of Final Voyage. Darren tries to jump across the wide stream to the other side, but doesn't quite make it, due to his injuries. He is only able to keep hold on a rock to avoid falling down the rushing stream. Kurda makes the jump without any problems, and offers Darren a hand up, still trying to convince Darren of his innocence. Darren turns his nose up at Kurda, a traitor, and instead lets go and submits himself to the cold current of the stream.

CONTINUE TO BOOK VI  = >  THE VAMPIRE PRINCE

Fourth Book Summary - Vampire Mountain

Book number four begin by long-time vampire Mr. Crepsly telling his half-vampire assistant Darren Shan that they must make the trek to Vampire Mountain, to present Darren to the Council. The council, a big reunion of vampires, is held once every twelve years, and they must attend this one to initiate Darren into the clan.

Before they are able to leave, however, the horrible and evil Mr. Desmond Tiny insists that they take along two of his Little People, including the one with the limp, who Darren has nicknamed “Lefty.” The pair of vampires grudgingly accepts, unable to argue with Mr. Destiny.

They begin the journey, sleeping outside and in the occasional way station, a type of rest stop for those traveling to Vampire Mountain. Along the way, Darren and Mr. Crepsly meet back up with Gavner Purl, a Vampire General and old friend of Mr. Crepsly, who joins them on the rest of their trip to the Council. Darren also makes friends with a pack of wolves, learning that they are cousins to vampires and very friendly with them.

The group stumbles across a destroyed way station, in which they find a slaughtered vampire, still in his coffin. They do not know whether the killer is a vampaneze or just a human vampire hunter, but they continue with great care. A few days later, they find another dead body: that of a vampaneze, buried in a briar patch. But it had buried, not just left to die, meaning that the creature was traveling with someone, or something, else.

After another week or so of traveling, a gigantic bear confronts Darren. With help from the wolves, but ultimately the Little People, the bear is defeated, but not without casualty. Lefty is fine, but his companion, the other Little Person, is crushed by the bear and dies. At the end of this conflict, Lefty lifts up his mask and speaks for the first time: “Name…not Lefty. Name…Harkat…Harkat Mulds.”

It is found that the bear was infected with vampaneze blood, driving him insane and causing him to attack. As for Harkat, now that he can communicate with the group of vampires, he is interrogated. He tells the trio that his soul was trapped on Earth until Mr. Tiny made a deal with him, which allowed him to return to Earth, but without any memory, not even of the deal he made with Mr. Tiny.

In regard to Harkat’s ability to speak, he was granted the power of speech in his deal with Mr. Tiny, because he is supposed to bring a secret message to the Vampire Princes. But with a little persuasion, Harkat reveals his message: “The night of the Vampaneze Lord is at hand.” Though this doesn’t mean anything to Darren, Gavner Purl and Mr. Crepsly are greatly disturbed by this, for reasons unknown to Darren.

Without more time to ponder the strange telegram, the group arrives at the very big Vampire Mountain, whose entrance is a maze of tunnels, which have never been mapped. Luckily, Mr. Crepsly guides them through and they enter the Halls, finally completing their journey.

Once in the Halls, Mr. Crepsly reunites with a very good friend of his, and his old mentor, Seba Nile, the second oldest living vampire, and quartermaster for the Halls of Vampire Mountain. After a good night’s rest, Harkat was brought before the Princes and immediately, word spread of his message, causing uproar. Soon, Darren meets another character of a vampire: Kurda Smahlt. He is going to be made a prince, and takes a far liberal view on the vampaneze issues. He believes in settling differences and reuniting the clans before the split becomes too great and war breaks out. Because of this, he is not as fond of the vampiric tradition of pride and strength as others.

Later on, while on a tour of the Halls with Kurda, Darren encounters the Hall of Death, where vampires who are too old, sick, evil or insane, are killed. It consists of a pit of stakes below a big cage on a pulley. The vampire would be dropped from a high height in the cage and impaled to death upon the stakes below.

After visiting such a depressing room, Darren is relieved to visit the Halls of Sport, a place for athletic games and sports for vampires. Darren meets Vanez Blane, the gamekeeper of Vampire Mountain and personal trainer in combat. He also meets one of the few vampiresses of the clan: Arra Sails, a hard-hearted warrior. Upon greeting, she only shakes hands of those she respects, excluding those such as Kurda, for his pacifistic ways.

Arra’s specialty sport is one played on the bars. A type of staff is used to try and knock one’s opponents off of thin planks, which run in a grid pattern over a small area. She has not been defeated for eleven years, and so when Darren is offered the opportunity to fight her, he’s a little apprehensive, but under some cajoling from Vanez, agrees to give it a shot. He almost beats her too, making it a very close and fair fight. In the end, Darren earns Arra’s respect and her handshake, making it a personal victory for him.

Within the week, Darren and Mr. Crepsly are called to the Hall of Princes for their meeting with the three Princes attending the current Council (one always skips “in case something should happen”). The Princes’ thrones lie inside of a magical impenetrable dome, a gift from Mr. Tiny seven hundred years ago. Along with the dome, he gifted to the vampire clan the “Stone of Blood,” which, among other uses, can track any vampire anywhere. The biggest power that the Stone holds, however, is the ability to revive the vampire clan if and when the Vampaneze Lord arises and kills all of the vampires, though through unknown methods.

Finally, the duo is admitted into the dome where the Princes sat waiting for them. Paris Skyle, Mika Ver Leth and Arrow are present, while the fourth prince, Vancha March, chose to skip the present Council. They ask Mr. Crepsly, perplexed, why he chose to blood such a young human. Though he could make any excuse and be forgiven, he chooses to tell the honest truth which is that he acted on a whim, which he himself cannot explain, and that he recognizes that his actions are unacceptable. The final verdict, only because Mr. Crepsly used to be a General, and thus has a high standing among the Clan, is to put Darren to test through eh Trials of Death. If he fails the Trials, then he must be executed in the aforementioned Hall of Death, and be impaled on stakes until he dies.

CONTINUE TO BOOK V => TRIALS OF DEATH

Third Book Summary - Tunnels of Blood

Book three starts with half-vampire Darren Shan and his vampire mentor Mr. Crepsly, continuing their life with the traveling Cirque du Freak. Mr. Crepsly meets an old acquaintance, Gavner Purl, a Vampire General, who passes on distressing information to Mr. Crepsly, the details of which are kept hidden from Darren.

Darren, Evra Von, Darren’s half-snake, half-boy friend, and Mr. Crepsly all depart from the Cirque du Freak, supposedly to pursue the subject of Gavner Purl’s news, and head for a big city. They arrive at the hotel, and Darren enjoys relaxing like he used to as a human again. Mr. Crepsly goes out every night, coming back in the morning without saying a word. A routine develops, until Darren, while out shopping, meets a beautiful girl named Debbie Hemlock. She lives across from Darren’s hotel, so she has seen him before. The couple hits it off, and goes on a movie date, which ends in Darren meeting Debbie’s parents, Jesse and Donna, who are very nice.

Darren returns from his date to find Evra frozen on the couch. A news program is on, showing a story on six corpses, found in a warehouse, all drained of their blood. Darren assumes the worst: that the cold-hearted killer is none other than his mentor, Mr. Crepsly. Evra, however, is not so quick to judge, maintaining that it may be someone else, or that the killing was justified.

To find out the truth, Darren and Evra begin trailing Mr. Crepsly when he goes out at night, following him wherever he goes. Only after a long time of seeming to walk in circles, does Mr. Crepsly zoom in on his target: “the fat man.” This man becomes the object of Mr. Crepsly’s trailing for many nights. One night, as the fat man goes to work at the slaughterhouse where he is employed, Mr. Crepsly follows him in. Darren and Evra spring into action, and Darren enters the building as well, keeping up with his mentor.

Darren still refuses to believe that his mentor is the killer, but as Mr. Crepsly raises a knife, to stab the fat man, Darren lashes out, determined to stop him. Darren is surprised when another form falls from the ceiling instead, and Darren looks into the eyes of a plump man with bright red eyes, skin and hair. Mr. Crepsly, very upset with the red man’s escape, yells profusely at Darren, telling him that the red man was the murderer.

Darren now learns about the vampaneze, a race that split from the vampires years ago, who believe in fully draining the humans they feed on, instead of just taking little bits. They are thought evil by most, but Mr. Crepsly seems to have a liberal view on the issue, only seeing them as having different beliefs. The vampaneze at the slaughterhouse though, named Murlough, is insane. That is why he kills so much, and why Mr. Crepsly is hunting him.

As they return to the hotel, feeling defeated at the escape of Murlough, they realize that Evra is gone from the roof. Murlough has kidnapped him. The next day, Darren is greeted by the vampaneze from the underside of a sewer grate. They discuss deals to make, involving trading Mr. Crepsly for Evra, but Darren refuses, remembering his mutual promise to Mr. Crepsly about trust. Murlough ends in threatening to eat Evra on Christmas Day, only a few days off, if Darren does not bring Mr. Crepsly to him. Darren says to Mr. Crepsly later that he has a plan.

It’s now Christmas Eve, and Darren is at the Hemlock’s to help decorate the house. He has a good time and they drink wine together.

Later the same night, Darren and Mr. Crepsly are down in the sewage tunnels, searching for Murlough. They’re relying on flashlights for sight and only have the two between them. Suddenly, they get into an argument when Darren drops and breaks his flashlight. The other one becomes broken as well as they fall into darkness. Still mad at his teacher, Darren goes off on his own, in the pitch black, to find Evra, and is separated from Mr. Crepsly.

Unsurprisingly, Darren is found by Murlough and wakes up later to find that he’s been trapped just as Evra has. Here, Darren speaks with Murlough and reveals his trap: Darren is a half-vampire, and since Murlough has kidnapped him, he has violated the treaty of the vampires and the vampaneze. The Vampire Generals are now allowed to find him and kill him. In order to avoid this, Darren offers up Debbie as a meal for Murlough, in trade for Evra’s being set free. At this, Evra becomes upset, but Darren ignores him.

So Darren leads Murlough up to Debbie’s house and into her room, where Murlough smells her blood and pounces on the body in the bed. Except the body in Debbie’s bed is a goat, and as Murlough realizes this, Mr. Crepsly jumps out of the closet and fights to the death with Murlough, coming out on top and killing the insane vampaneze.

CONTINUE TO BOOK IV => VAMPIRE MOUNTAIN

Second Book Summary - The Vampire's Assistant

Darren Shan, the newly turned half-vampire, and his mentor, Mr. Crepsly, hunt for their dinner at the beginning of the second book: fresh blood. But Darren professes that he will never lower himself to the ways of an animal, that he will never drink human blood, and so he passes up this meal.

They had been traveling for two months about cities and towns, living in hotels. Darren has a run in with other kids during a game of hockey. With his newfound strength, he accidentally breaks the legs off of one of his competitors. This brings Darren to the realization that he cannot have any "true" friends, due to his powers, which depresses him very much.

It is decided that they should rejoin the Cirque du Freak, so that Darren may become friends with people who can understand him. They arrive at the Cirque, after Mr. Crepsly locates Mr. Tall's "aura," as he calls it. Darren doesn't find anything as scary, and finds that Mr. Tall and Mr. Crepsly are good friends.

Darren is paired with the snake-boy, named Evra Von, and they become fast friends, while Darren helps him out around the camp. It's not long before they meet a local boy peering in on the Cirque, and after a couple practical jokes, he becomes a good friend too. His name is Sam Uley, is younger than both of the other boys, and is very intellectual, though something of a know-it-all. Sam shows an interest in joining the show, but he lets it drop.

A few days later, a group of a dozen people arrive. They are all dressed in hooded darker blue robes, and quite short. Later, Evra describes the time he saw one of these "Little People’s hoods slip, talking about a gray, stitched up face with big green globes as eyes.

A man, with white hair, and wearing a bright yellow suit and boots is leading them. At the mere sight of this man, Evra freezes up out of fear. He tells Darren that the man's name is Mr. Tiny. Mr. Desmond Tiny, also known as Mr. Destiny. Darren soon finds out what Evra feels, because he meets Mr. Tiny in Mr. Tall's trailer, observing that He was evil: "Not just bad or nasty, but pure demonic evil." Mr. Tiny doles out the responsibility of feeding the Little People, requiring daily hunting for the two boys.

Sam takes Darren and Evra down to one of his favorite hangouts: an old train depot. There they run into an Eco-Warrior named RV (short for Reggie Veggie), who preaches environmental problems to Darren and his friends.

Soon, Mr. Tall decides that the show has been idle for too long, and announces a performance, producing two extra tickets for Darren, to give to Sam and RV. Darren ends up performing with Mr. Crepsly, helping him with Madam Octa, and thinks about pretending to slip up, to kill the vampire who blooded him.

Afterward, Darren finds out that the act was a test to see if he could be trusted, which makes him more upset. He is now greatly feeling the effects of the lack of human blood in his system, feeling sick and tired, but still refusing to drink human blood.

While playing around at the train depot, Darren slips because of his drowsiness from rafters and falls, saved at the last minute by Sam, to whom Darren now owes his life.

RV comes around again, upset by the treatment of some members of the Cirque, namely the wolf-man, and informs Darren that he will be around to "investigate." While hunting for the Little People, Darren is caught stealing a sheep form a local farm by RV, who yells at Darren and threatens calling the police and health department. Darren puts on an act to scare RV, and it works as RV runs off.

Darren returns to camp and informs Mr. Tall of RV's intentions, and the ringmaster reacts by announcing that the Cirque will move on by dawn, so as to escape the health inspectors.

But at that final night's performance, Darren hears a sound, and when looking for the source, finds RV trying to free the wolf-man from his cage. Darren tries to stop him, but RV yells, causing the wolf-man to bite both of his forearms off. The eco-warrior runs off screaming about his hands, while the wolf-man escapes, Darren unable to stop him.

Darren realizes when chasing after him, that the wolf-man is hunting down Sam. He follows them to the train depot, where the boys meet up and make a break for safety. It fails, and Sam gets dragged to the ground and killed, Darren knocked unconscious and unable to help him friend. Darren awakes to Cirque members arriving to his rescue, but Sam dying quickly, He is finally convinced to preserve Sam's spirit by drinking his blood.

As the book closes, the Cirque du Freak moves on toward their next destination.

CONTINUE TO BOOK III => TUNNELS OF BLOOD

First Book Summary

The first book in this fast-paced, page-turning series starts off with: "I've always been fascinated by spiders." These are the words of Darren Shan, an average 12-year-old boy, who goes to school with his best friend Steve Leonard (nicknamed Steve Leopard).

Their friend Alan arrives to school one morning with an interesting flyer advertising an illegal and mysterious traveling freak show: Cirque du Freak, which has just arrived in town. Darren and his friends pool their money together, but only end up being able to get two tickets, due to the circus policy. Steve gets one ticket, and by luck, chance, and destiny, Darren ends up with the second ticket.

They attend the Cirque, and see acts from contortionists to snake-boys, but one catches both boys' attentions: Mr. Larton Crepsly and his performing tarantula Madam Octa. Using a tin flute, the old, orange haired man can command the spider to do close to anything, including killing a goat in front of the live audience.

After the show, Steve lags behind, telling Darren to meet up later, but Darren waits and watches as Steve confront Mr. Crepsly. "I know who you are,” he says, "You're Vur Horston. You're a vampire."

So Steve convinces Mr. Crepsly/Vur Horston to turn him into a vampire's assistant, but after a blood check, Steve is pronounced evil blooded, and cannot become a vampire. With this news, Steve swears himself to the life of a vampire hunter and runs off.

Darren, infatuated with Madam Octa, formulates a plan to steal her, and does, making sure include a note of blackmail to the vampire. Things go well as Darren commands Madam Octa to perform similar novelty tricks, until his sister Annie bursts into the room, causing the spider to bite Steve, sending him into paralysis.

Darren searches out Mr. Crepsly, who stayed behind after the Cirque left, and finds him in the same abandoned theater. After some convincing, Mr. Crepsly agrees to give Steve the antidote for the bite, if Darren becomes his assistant. The deal is grudgingly agreed upon, and Darren is "blooded," by trading blood from the vampire to the human through fingertips.

Steve is administered the antidote and makes a full recovery, while Darren tries to outrun his fate as a half-vampire. After accidentally sucking the blood from his friend's sports injury (passing it off with a showy vampire joke) and almost biting his sister, Darren accepts his fate and goes back to Mr. Crepsly, who is once again waiting for him in the theater.

They make a plan to elaborately fake Darren's death, including the breaking of Darren's neck. This scheme goes without flaws, save for a mysterious visit during the viewing, where pictures are taken of Darren's fingertips. After many tearful goodbyes, Darren is buried in his coffin, only to be dug up soon after by Mr. Crepsly, completing their plan.

Directly after his being dug up however, Darren runs into his friend Steve again, who threatens Darren's life: "I'll grow. I'll get older and stronger and braver. I'm going to devote my entire life to developing my body and my mind, and when the day comes...when I'm ready...when I'm fully equipped and properly prepared...I'm going to hunt you down and kill you"

So ends their encounter and Darren leaves his home, with his new master Mr. Crepsly.

CONTINUE TO BOOK II => THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT