The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) [Paperback]

Darren Shan (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Saga of Darren Shan | Publication Date: September 15, 2009

Darren Shan is just an ordinary schoolboy who loves to ride bikes and hang out with his three best friends. Then one day Darren and his friends stumble across an invitation to visit the Cirque Du Freak, a strange and mysterious freak show. Almost as if by destiny, Darren wins a ticket and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.

This is Darren's story.

New movie edition features the first three books--Cirque Du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood-- bound up in one volume!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Darren Shan was born in London but at an early age he moved to Limerick, Ireland, with his parents and younger brother. He grew up watching old Dracula horror movies and reading spooky comics, which were the inspirations for this series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Mti edition (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031605240X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316052405
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #528,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming Story..., November 12, 2009

By 

Elise Miller (Idaho Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) (Paperback)

I read this book because I enjoyed the movie a lot. The book, while quite different, was an enjoyable one to read. This particular edition has the first 3 books in the series. The first book was okay... but the second two are much better. In particular, the author's writing improves drastically after the first, which is littered with exclamation points!! As for a comparison, the book reminds me of a blend between Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter, and a touch of kid-version Stephen King. Easy to read and enjoyable.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cirque Du Freak Series, January 28, 2010

By 

bonedaddy (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) (Paperback)

I saw the movie first and liked it so well I sought out the book series which never would have happened without the movie. I am desperately waiting on book 7 (for some reason twice now it became out of stock after I ordered) and I really want to continue on. I should mention I am 37 and saw the movie with my kids who also really enjoyed the movie and are reading the series too. I enjoyed Twilight but this is a much different take to which I find myself addicted. I anticipate reading Darren Shan's other series too. I also look forward to the DVD release of The Vampire's Assistant on Feb 23 and hope another movie will follow. As with all books to movies take the movie for the movie and the book for the book, things always get lost in translation and you can enjoy them for what they are seperately.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cirque Du Freak series, July 10, 2010

By 

D. R. Pitts "frankenbunnie" (Kansas City, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) (Paperback)

Love love love this vampire-based book series. I am a 58 year old female, however, I have always enjoyed "boy" type, action based fiction books as a reader. What I found about the entire Cirque Du Freak series, however, was that it was not JUST about being a vampire, or a member of a Freak Show. It teaches about loyalty and friendship; what a real 'family' is, even without the blood-relation.

In fact, I was so smitten with this series (Mr Shan, are listening?), that I made a gift of all my books to a then 11-year-old friend, because I was confident there was little to no swearing of any consequence, no real sexual content, but a good wholesome and fun teaching story definitely well-worth my time and my young friend's.

Hours and hours of good reading fun and miles of smiles afterward. I cannot wait to read more from Darren Shan.