book data
1059 ratings, 4.13 average rating, 84 reviews
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published
April 1st 2004
(first published 2000)
by Little, Brown Young Readers
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages
isbn
0316905720
(isbn13: 9780316905725)
description
What if you were an unwilling vampire? You needed to drink human blood to stay alive, but you weren't some horror-flick villain; you were you,...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1271)
Read in November, 2007
What makes Darren Shan's books a great read is that even though they're over 200 pages long, I can easily finish them. The action within this book is very quick and there's always something new for you to read. The ending for me was a little shocking, but the way that Darren Shan writes makes you want to read the next book. The Vampire's Assistant is the 2nd book in a series of seven books. After reading the Dreamcatcher which was over 800 pages long this was an easy read and very quick. For man...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
fantasy/horror fans
Second book in the Cirque du Freak series.
Darren agreed to become a half-vampire and to work as an assistant to Mr. Crepsley, a vampire, in order to save his friend's life. Basically, a nice guy, Darren is revolted by the idea of feeding on human blood. He gradually learns to accept his life as a vampire, but draws the line at drinking human blood.
Darren and Mr. Crepsley return to Cirque du Freak after a brief time on their own and Darren is finally able to make some friends. When one...more
Darren agreed to become a half-vampire and to work as an assistant to Mr. Crepsley, a vampire, in order to save his friend's life. Basically, a nice guy, Darren is revolted by the idea of feeding on human blood. He gradually learns to accept his life as a vampire, but draws the line at drinking human blood.
Darren and Mr. Crepsley return to Cirque du Freak after a brief time on their own and Darren is finally able to make some friends. When one...more
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Read in November, 2008
This is the 2nd book from the Cirque Du Freak series. A freak show come to town and Darren and Steve went to see it, little did he know his days of his regular human life was over and his new half vampire life has just begun. His mentor Mr. Crepsley guides him through his new life as a half vampire. He learns new tricks, learns new facts, and meets new people all in this book of beginning to be a vampire.
I can make a Text to Self connection because during this book Darren goes through some w...more
I can make a Text to Self connection because during this book Darren goes through some w...more
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Read in January, 2008
This is a great series for boys, younger teens, 11-15. Darren Shan is a wonderful, real character, just as the supporting characters are, Mr. Tall, and Mr. Crepsley. Darren's situation is unique, he's a half vampire. But that's not the unique part. He's still a kid. So not only was half of his humanity taken away but he lost his friends. What's a teenage half-vampire to do? Join Cirque du Freak obviously!
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
boys reluctant to read
would definitely appeal to jr high boys. Plenty of blood guts and gore. Read this as a request by my youngest son. Wanted mom to share a book in common with him. Who was I to argue? :)
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This book is a sequel to the first Cirque Du Freak book series by Darren Shan. When we last left off, Darren Shan (the main character in the book as well as this book's author ironically)just became a half vampire who is very unfamiliar with his new powers. His "group" of people are suppose to stay alive by draining the blood off other humans. Despite this fact, Darren refuses to do so because he thinks that if he drinks other human's blood, then he will lose all sense of humanity. ...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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recommended to Marco by:
Mrs. Everitt
recommends it for: vampiric story lovers
recommends it for: vampiric story lovers
Many sequels pale in comparison to the original, as they tend to lose steam. Not so with The Vampire's Assistant. If anything, this had more steam than the original.
What's very impressive with this series is the wonderful pacing. The books are nearly impossible to put down, because at the end of every chapter there's a hook to draw you into the next chapter. As a result, I tend to read these books in one sitting.
Perhaps even more impressive is the risks that the author takes. In the fi...more
What's very impressive with this series is the wonderful pacing. The books are nearly impossible to put down, because at the end of every chapter there's a hook to draw you into the next chapter. As a result, I tend to read these books in one sitting.
Perhaps even more impressive is the risks that the author takes. In the fi...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
horror, vampire fans
Better than the first book in the series, this second novel is about Darren's struggles with being half-human, half-vampire. Now that making friends with other humans is all but impossible, Darren and his vampire mentor Mr. Crepsley join up with the Cirque du Freak and Darren befriends the snake-boy Evra. Two new characters are introduced -- an environmentalist named R.V. and an mysterious man named Mr. Tiny -- and both seem like they will show up again later in the series. As in the first bo...more
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In this book there is a lot of suspenseful moments. It really makes you think outside the box, about things. It is about a boy who is forcefully made a half-vampire and assistant to a vampire. They go on adventures, and join a circus show full of freaks. It really evaluates how tough it is to be a loner, in the world, not being able to have friends or really get close to anyone, because you're afraid they wont like you for who you really are. The book really shows, once he finds a friend, that n...more
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Once again I was enthralled. I couldn't wait to get hold of the next book.
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This book is a continuation of the first series of Cirque du Freak. Even if the series is long, each page makes you thirsty for the next one. In this book, Darren meets a little kid named Sam. He watches Darren's carnival performances, and becomes his close friend. The ending of this book would crush everyone's heart. This is because after a wolf-man from the carnival has been released, it attacks Sam. Unfortunately, he gets eaten, and all that is left are parts of his body. The moral lesson ...more
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its kinda gross and cool all at the same time
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I would recommend this book to everyone likes vampires and horror books. My favorite character in this book is Darren because he is a half vampire and you wouldn’t know he was a vampire till he told you so he can hind his true identity. My least favorite character is Sam because he is the most annoying person every. All he does is ask questions. The fact that it’s a vampire book captivated my attention.
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Read in April, 2008
This book was just as good as the first one. The good thing about Darren Shans books is that they are quite long but they are just easy to read because there is so much going on that keeps you interested. In this book Darren has officially entered the vampire world as he is officially his assistant. He loses his best friend and his journey with Mr. Creplsley begins.
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Read in September, 2003
recommends it for:
YA/horror fans
Although fairly repetitive from book to book, the Darren Shan stories are entertaining and interesting. The first few focus on Darren's transformation into "half vampire," but the story grows into an epic struggle between good and evil caused by Darren's own past decisions in the mortal world. Really quick reads. We have them all if you want to borrow them.
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this book was good, because it continued off while the last book left, while excited me because the 1st book was already good, and the 2nd book in the series continued off. the 2nd book was ok to me because it didn't really contained any new surprising things that was already mentioned in the 1st book, but overall it was a good book.
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Read in August, 2007
A strong book, it appears to be the only one of the saga on this site at the moment, which is a shame because this is not the best book of the saga, I prefare book three 'tunnels of blood'. Some aspects of the saga are a little predictible but it is worth a read, even if it's just for how well he handles characters with real depth.
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Read in October, 2008
recommended to Sandi by:
No one, I found it myself.recommends it for: Anyone who loves action, mystery, tragic events, vampies, humans, and hippies combined in one book!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. The author Darren Shan has amazed me at the creativity, action, mystery, and tragic events he has put his young character through. If you love all those things, plus vampires, freaks, humans, and hippies then you will absolutely love this book!
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Darren Shan is Coping with being Mr. Crepsley's assistant. Mr. Crepsley is a Full vampire. Darren is a Half vampire and has Vampire strenth, hearing, and sight...On the bad side he also ages differently than humans. For every five years he only ages one, which means that he is going to have a LONG childhood.
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