Usually it can be quite cringe worthy when an author writes themselves - or a version of themselves - into a novel. However, Darren Shan’s The Vampire’s Assistant’s saga featuring the conventional teenage protagonist Darren Shan is a far cry from cringe worthy. When reading the first instalment of the saga, ‘Cirque du Freak’, you are invited into the mundane world of teenager Darren Shan - ordinary life, ordinary grades, ordinary friends; well except for Steve... and then the whole Vampire’s Assistant thing.
As the saga goes on and Darren’s life is changed forever (literally forever) you discover not only the dark world of Vampirism (or Vampaneze-ism) but also the time-old, logistical world of Vampires and their council. And you meet the community of loveable Freaks who give the novel so much life.
With so many turns and plot twists to make you dizzy, Darren Shan has created another reality, choosing to end the series (in the 12th and final instalment ‘Sons of Destiny’) in such an incredible yet clever manner that we can’t really afford not to believe in the Vampire world laid out before us.
Side note - if you ever get the opportunity to meet the Master of Horror, Darren Shan himself, do it. For such a twisted mind filled with the most haunting ideas - he is a lovely person!
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
