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    The Vampire's Assistant
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    The Vampire's Assistant
    Unavailable
    The Vampire's Assistant
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Vampire's Assistant

    Written by Darren Shan

    Narrated by Ralph Lister

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The nightmare continues for the new vampire’s assistant in the second installment of the New York Times bestselling Saga of Darren Shan.


    Darren Shan was just an ordinary schoolboy until his visit
    to the Cirque du Freak. Now, as he struggles with his new life as a vampire’s assistant,
    he tries desperately to resist the one temptation that sickens him, the one
    thing that can keep him alive. But destiny is calling. The Wolf Man is waiting.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBlackstone Audio
    Release dateOct 1, 2013
    ISBN9781482943900
    Unavailable
    The Vampire's Assistant
    Author

    Darren Shan

    Darren Shan is the number-one best-selling author of the series THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN, the DEMONATA and more recently the SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY and ZOM-B. His books have been read by millions of people around the world and translated into more than 25 languages. Darren lives in seclusion in the depths of Ireland. He is a big film buff, and also loves theatre, comics and books, and collecting art. He loves dreaming up new ways to terrify his readers, but never drinks blood. Or so he claims.

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    Reviews for The Vampire's Assistant

    4/5

    430 ratings23 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Compared to the first book this one wasn’t as seat gripping until the end. The first bit went a bit slowly, and while it was interesting, nothing was really scary or horrifying. The end though was the worst.During the last 30 or so pages I was crouched in my seat wide eyed reading the events. I knew what was going to happen but I didn’t want them to.What I like most about this young adult series is that it reminds you that the world isn’t perfect and it doesn’t always end happily. While I may be sad about what happened, I am glad that the ending wasn’t the perfect happy wrap up that many young adult books have. It was refreshing to see that a book targeted to a younger generation is blunt about the realities of the world.
    • 5/5
      Volume 2 of Cirque Du Freak is about Darren Shan and how he meets a boy named Sam who wants to go on the journey with Darren and Evra. What happens in this volume is very tragic and very mysterious. Darren and Evra have become best friends and When Sam comes along, they kinda become like the three musketeers. But when the wolf man is let out by a mysterious man, horror comes to Darren, Evra and Sam.I rate this book 5 stars because it was really good in the beginning but so sad at the end. I also likee it because there's more action in this volume than the last one.
    • 3/5
      The Vampire's Assistant is the second installation of a lengthy series written by the main character, Darren Shan. In the first book, Darren is turned into a half-vampire, after being bitten by the Vampire's tarantula. When he learns that his unique nature makes him unsuitable for middle school, he joins the circus--Cirque du Freak! He works there as the Vampire's assistant, but because he is only half-vampire, he is also half boy, and he misses his home, his family, and having friends.One of the dominant motifs in this second book is Darren's longing for normalcy, which in his mind includes friends. Fortunately, belonging to the Cirque gives him a true friend in Evra Von, the snake boy, who raises a large snake but is also part snake himself. Evra and Darren meet another boy, Sam, and the three of them find in each other the friendships they had been missing.A second motif is the issue of environmentalism. Darren meets R.V., a "tree hugger" who takes too much of an interest in the circus when he finds that some of the acts are kept in cages. Darren is interested in R.V.'s ideas, but also knows that some things are done because there is no alternative.The central conflict throughout the story is whether or not Darren will ever be able to bring himself to drink human blood, which is required for him to stay alive. He has been able to make do so far with animal blood, but his health is failing and he will have to make a decision soon.Although this book was a quick read for me, it was also a little gross. Of course, this makes it a perfect read for middle school boys!Suggested audience: 10-13 years, reluctant readers, boys
    • 3/5
      This was a very gory book towards the end. I like how this book gives me chills and is extremely readable. I feel like this book didn't really reflect off of the first book. The first book had so much great description and I feel like this one lacked description of action and emotion of characters. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book.
    • 5/5
      The Vampire's assistant is the second book of the Saga of Darren Shan. It is about a young boy who was blooded by a vampire called Mr Crepsely. He becomes the vampire's assistant and in this book he tries to adapt to life as a vampire ad overcome his fear of drinking human blood
    • 5/5
      Darren Shan is either a world-class eejit, or too clever for his own good - judging the author solely by the first book in the Darren Shan series, Cirque Du Freak, I would have given up on the whole saga. The writing was immature and patronising even to the intended YA demographic, never mind older readers like myself. I loved the characters, but couldn't stand all the exclamation marks and dumbed-down text. But hey, guess what - 'twas all a plot device! (Presumably to contrast Darren's innocent childhood with his half-life after Mr Crepsley gets his hands on him and makes him a vampire.) Once past the prologue in book two, normal service resumes, and Darren Shan's creative genius shines - his books are incredibly easy to read, not least because they usually only run to the 200 page mark, but also strangely addictive. The wicked combination of mocking parody - Shan dismisses most of the vampire tricks of the trade, including fangs - and traditional storytelling means that the books are almost open-genre and appealing to any age (bar the first title). If it hadn't been for the 2009 film adaptation that was slated by long-standing Shan fans, this junior vampire craze would have passed me by! I'm a sucker - pun intended - for paternal/mentor figures in fiction, and Mr Crepsley is up there with Atticus Finch and Nero Wolfe for me. I'm old enough to know better, but I've fallen for the gruff old vampire. A shame I'll probably rattle through the entire series in a week, but I'm glad I gave Mr Shan a second chance.
    • 5/5
      Straight in there for another fantastic page turning, dark, witty and grusome adventure with Darren & Mr Crepsley.
    • 5/5
      THIS IS THE BEST BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ IN THE WORLD!!!I LOVE THIS BOOK!IT IS THE FIRST BOOK OF A SERIES OF 12.
    • 5/5
      ** spoiler alert ** Since I loved the first book of this series, it was a no-brainer that I would be getting the second book, and I'm glad I did. This book picks up right where the first one left off and even has a quick re-cap of the main points of the first book in case you forgot or you are a person that wants to skip the first book. In this book you follow Darren & Mr Creepsley back to the Cirque Du Freak show, and learn more about each of the performers. Darren forms a great relationship with the snake-boy, ...more Since I loved the first book of this series, it was a no-brainer that I would be getting the second book, and I'm glad I did. This book picks up right where the first one left off and even has a quick re-cap of the main points of the first book in case you forgot or you are a person that wants to skip the first book. In this book you follow Darren & Mr Creepsley back to the Cirque Du Freak show, and learn more about each of the performers. Darren forms a great relationship with the snake-boy, and meets a few locals that add a lot of action and excitement to his advevntures. My favorite part was when R.V. (you will find out who he is when you read the book) is running around screaming "my hands! my hands!" lol, but there are many other fun parts of the book too. I definitely reccomend this book, and I can't wait to start on bokk three of the series.
    • 4/5
      I thought this one was just as good as the first one. It was a quick fast paced read and well written. I liked the descriptions of the "Little People" which reminded me of a real ugly twisted version of munchkins. What was also interesting was the relationship between Mr Crepsley and Darren. Although they dislike each other, they also both realize that they have to work together as well and it's those times when I think their relationship is great to see. Sometimes when I see them fighting, Darren just acts like as spoiled brat I'm surprise Mr Crepsley puts up with him upto now. Whether Darren has developed, I'm not sure. There are moments when he still acts like a child (which he is) and then there are times when he has moments of maturity I didn't like him very much in this novel because of his behavior it seemed almost quick and changeable in temperment. At times I liked him for his humor and ability to have fun despite his circumstances, and other times he just acted like a spoiled selfish brat who needed a good scolding. You don't really read much about the characters around him, as the book focused a lot more on Darren and his relationships with other characters. I wish I could have read more on Mr Tiny and his little people. They sounded really creepy and I wonder if they return anytime soon in the next novel.Also missing is Steve. He was such a central figure in the first one, yet not even mentioned in this book. Perhaps he'll be coming soon in the next few books? I hope so! their next meeting would really prove to be interesting. There were many unanswered questions for me but I realize this is a book with less than 200 pages and you can only fit as much information as you. Besides, it makes you want to carry onto the next book in the series. I will definitely be continuing onto reading this one. The ending wasn't much of a cliffhanger as it was in the first book, but it was a good one, to close one part of the story in Darren's life.Overall a good quick read and a great sequel to Cirque du Freak. I will be reading the next one as soon as I can get my hands on it.
    • 4/5
      Young adult. No literary classic but fun and quick reading. Enjoyable enough to go on to the next one and look for the movie.
    • 3/5
      A good choice for boy readers especially - action, gross stuff, not too much emotion. I like that the author didn't try to fill in all the story from the first book throughout the second and, instead, covers it all in an introductory chapter to get the reader up to speed and into the new adventure. Writing style is very simple - not much for an adult to enjoy. Girls will also be attracted to the adventure and the friendships though there aren't any girl characters in this particular episode.
    • 4/5
      Darren and Mr. Crepsley return to the Cirque de Freak and Darren has a hard time coming to terms with his new half-vampire status. He makes friends with the Snake Boy but finds himself becoming weaker and weaker as he resists the urge to drink human blood. This second in the series was even better than the first one! Most of the book is spent fleshing out Darren's character as he struggles with his preconceived ideas about evil and good. And exiting and unexpected ending with plenty of gory bits made this a quick, page-turner. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
    • 5/5
      in this one hes just learning who every body is and he makes friend and he has a a good time and he gets his first kiss and well its good till later on in the story but i dont want to ruin it so you read it nowwwwww !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • 2/5
      I take it something bad is going to happen in every volume.
    • 3/5
      Making new friends is tough when you are a half-vampire finding your way in the world. Struggling against the need for human blood and the stupidity of a certain human, Darren Shan takes us on a great ride through the amazing Circue Du Freak.
    • 4/5
      More of the same light vampirish entertainment.
    • 4/5
      Great vampire series. Not just for teens. Adults will love them too!
    • 3/5
      The story progressed well from the first book. I just don't like the main character very much. This book seemed more juvenile, as well. The story was action packed but it seems that Darren should be maturing into his vampirism by now and he just comes off like a stupid, foolish brat.
    • 4/5
      R.V. was a needlessly slapstick character (especially the scene with him and the wolfman), but the buildup of the actual plot was pretty decent.
    • 3/5
      I just have to say that Darren Shan kicks YOU KNOW WHAT in the world of YA today. He is bold, full of charm and clever. He tells the story how it is and lets it snake around how it wants. I love the Cirque du Freak series. I would say I'm enjoying these more than Harry Potter. (OMG). One of the things that cracked me up about this book is he took a politically correct subject, set it up as a very adult and sacred thing, then slapped it down and showed the topic (not the person) for what it was. I was stunned and charmed at the same time. Beautiful!

      I would give this book five stars for all the macabre moments and the coming up with the idea of snake sleepcrawling alone. However, since I was clueless what the entire book was ACTUALLY about until about a third of the way through, I have to give it a three. Freaking tell me what the book is about, dude! Either case. I love Darren Shan, and I'll continue reading the series.
    • 5/5
      Let me just start off by saying NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED IF YOU WOULD HAVE JUST DRANK SOME HUMAN BLOOD DARREN! Or you could have told Mr. Tall everything that was going on sooner than later, BUT NOOOOO. #imnotcryingyouare
    • 5/5
      Such a joy to re-read this series!