The Vampire's Assistant

September 1, 2001
In The Vampire's Assistant, the second installment of the series begun with Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, the hero returns to the old-fashioned freak show where, thanks to Mr. Crespley, he became a "half-vampire." Darren once again struggles against the urge to feed upon the human blood his health requires.

August 1, 2001
Gr 5-8-After a breezy two-page introduction that gives the major plot points of Cirque du Freak, readers are plunged back into the world of a young, newly minted half-vampire (a concept that is never fully explained). With his mentor, the creepy full vampire Mr. Crepsley, Darren is learning the ropes of the undead. Readers quickly get a rundown of the facts, the most important one being that vampires, even half ones, must have human blood to survive, and Darren can't bring himself to drink. There is not much plot here. He and Mr. Crepsley return to the Cirque du Freak. Darren and Evra, a snake-boy, make what is ultimately a tragic friendship with a local boy named Sam and a self-proclaimed "ecowarrior" named R.V. It is R.V. who precipitates the real action as he becomes suspicious of animals disappearing from nearby farms. The first-person narration seems superficial, and there is little depth to Darren's character. That said, Shan creates heart-pounding, page-turning action that will keep kids reading. He certainly knows his horror, and this book cranks up the gore factor a notch or two. Readers will get more information about the genuinely weird denizens of the Cirque du Freak. There are some genuinely horrific, almost painful moments, particularly at the book's tragic climax. Readers will be turning from the page, sickened, and then come back to find out what happens next. The question remains, where can Shan take his readers from here? Just how far will he go?-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2001
Gr. 5-8. This sequel to the fast-paced " Cir"que Du Freak: A Living Nightmare finds Darren Shan in difficult circumstances. Vampire Larten Crepsley has begun the process of turning Darren into a vampire, but is hampered by Darren's refusal to drink human blood. Feeding on small animals, Darren grows progressively weaker. Crepsley and Darren return to the traveling freak show, Cirque Du Freak, where the vampire hopes Darren will find friends among the unusual performers and finally accept his fate. Although Darren does make friends with snake-boy Evra Von, he also makes a new human friend, Sam, who is enchanted by the freak show and begs to join the troop. Chockful of wonderfully inventive details about the residents of the freak show (which includes a wolf man and the mysterious Mr. Tiny), this stand-alone sequel lacks the poignancy of Anne Rice's early vampire books published for adults, but is well suited to young readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2002
Turned into a half-vampire in "Cirque du Freak, " Darren Shan returns with his mentor to the freak show, where hell have friends. Finally succumbing to his need for human blood, Darren drinks from his friend Sam after Sam is fatally attacked by the wolf-man. The first books deliciously creepy tone never resurrects itself here, and the tone and plot are plagued with jarring inconsistencies.

(Copyright 2002 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)