Lady Danielle

EDIT So I just finished watching The Vampire's Assistant the film... I'm kind of disappointed. The film was completely different — the film was a mixture of both A Living Nightmare and this; the first 30 minutes of it stuck with book one. Unfortunately, it did not continue with the plot and started its own. The film wasn't about the friendship that was made in here; rather, it was about romance (OK, so it was entirely based on romance, but it was present in the film). I was extremely irritated with that. However, the acting was really good and if I had not have read this, I would have loved it (and talk about the special effects as well as the Cirque! I wish I were there!).

So.... I'm giving the film 2.5 out of 5 stars. I wish they would continue making more films based off of the series, it does have something going on there and it seems as though it'd be interesting. and am i the only one who found mr tiny awesome?

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This review is being reviewed on my android, please excuse any grammatical errors and the like. 

This was a good vampire story.

These vampires don't sloppily bite the victim's neck and leave two punctured holes. They're careful: knock the victim out, find a good place on the body to drink blood, cut open the skin and drink. When finished, they use their saliva to heal the cut, making a very light scar that wouldn't be noticed by the victim once they've awaken. That's something I've never read before regarding vampires. Awesome. I also love how vampires can't survive on animal blood [spoiler] the wussy way out. Sorry, Edward Cullen and Stefan Salvatore[/spoiler], they'll grow weak and eventually die. Human blood is a must.

I must confess, I was a little weirded out by The Vampire's Assistant This book was a book unlike anything I've ever read that's to be expected for a younger audience. In my opinion, I honestly think this shouldn't be handed to a person under 14, then again, it's all in the matter how one takes things. Like The Holy Terror stated in her review, "this could be nightmare material". Parents, be warned this isn't a "happy rainbowland filled with unicorns" kind of book. It's gruesome and shocking that such a book is recommended for kids starting at age 12. I also should mention how Shan mentioned illegal substances (i.e., marijuana and shrooms). 

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book despite the fact that I was semi-disturbed by it — especially by the last few chapters! I cried quietly in bed. Maybe I'm too sensitive.... My brother basically introduced me to Darren Shan's stories. He ate these books up in middle school as well as high school. I remember reading the first Cirque Du Freak book in 8th grade and enjoyed it just as much as I did this one, but the first book wasn't nearly as gruesome and creepy as this. I have no idea why I never continued to with this series. I'm glad I've started again now.

Our protagonist, Darren Shan, is a half-vampire, but he doesn't want to drink human blood. So he feeds on the blood of animals; Mr Crepsley (the vampire who turned Darren into a half-vampire and made him his assistant) is trying to convince him that drinking animal blood will not satisfy his thirst and drinking it will only weaken him. But Darren feels that drinking human blood is evil and not right, and he still wants to be human, so he's doing everything he can to avoid doing so. Unfortunately, this will not be the only problem he faces — after joining Cirque Du Freak, Darren will not only make friends, but he will make enemies and encounter many horrors.

I'm definitely going to get started on the third book as soon as possible. I want to see how it all goes in the end... and it looks as though it's going to be a fun, yet creepy, adventure.

Let me also point out these books are an excellent choice to read on Halloween.