Cirque Du Freak #7: Hunters of the Dusk: Book 7 in the Saga of Darren Shan… (original 2002; edition 2005)

The books in Darren Shan's Vampire's Assistant saga are divided into trilogies, and Hunters of the Dusk is the first of three in the 'Vampire War' set. The previous trilogy - 'Vampire Rites' - was already going slightly off the boil for me, deviating from the basic vampire premise into a sort of Lord of the Rings-cum-Klingon rites of passage adventure, and even though Darren and Mr Crepsley have now left Vampire Mountain behind, their quest to hunt down the Lord of the Vampanese lacks the charm of the early books. Darren is also going through the 'purge', a sort of vampire puberty, where he suddenly leaves behind his childhood body and turns into a hairy, musclebound teen overnight! Granted, he has been trapped in a child's body for far too long, considering that around fourteen years have passed since Mr Crepsley blooded him, but the charm of the books for me is in the father and son relationship Darren has with the vampire. I know all children have to grow up, and that the whole series is basically a drawn-out, fantastical bildungsroman, but Darren's independence from Mr Crepsley is depressing to read. As Mr Tiny says to him, 'I preferred you when you were less clever'.

The plot is fast-paced and more character-centric than previous instalments, with Darren and Mr Crepsley returning to the Cirque du Freak with Harkat Mulds, Vancha March and Lady Evanna. The Lady, who gave Larten the scar on his face, is a sort of Mad Madam Mim figure, in league with Mr Tiny and Mr Tall, who warns Darren and the others that they will only have four chances to kill the Lord of the Vampanese. If they don't, only one of the hunters will live to see the War of the Scars between vampires and vampanese. Wherein lies the second obstacle to my further enjoyment of this series - I know what's coming, and I really don't want to read any further. So I think I will abandon the saga here, and order the manga versions of the first four books instead. Cowardly, I know, but thank you anyway, Darren Shan, for creating such an addictive, open-age series! ( )

Yet another Darren Shan book, where nothing much happens. Its a good idea but is poorly executed. Explanations of vampire powers are constantly repeated in each book, to a tiresome degree. Reads more like a eight grade essay than anything else. ( )

Another entertaining book in the series. ( )

Darren has to leave the comfort of vampire mountain to hunt the Vampeneze Lord. But along the way he finds out more than he wanted to know about himself. ( )

I've come this far in this series that I've realized that each 3 books contain a story arc within the main plot of the series. This makes Book 7 the start of a new adventure for Darren, this time he and his companions, are on a quest to kill the Lord of the Vampaneze before he becomes fully blooded. This will make no sense to anyone who hasn't read the series but it's all I can say without giving away spoilers of previous books.

New characters are introduced in this book which I loved, especially the witch, Evanna. Darren Shan keeps these books fresh by adding new characters throughout the series. Plus we also see all the favourite characters who have travelled through each successive book. I was thrilled when Darren and Mr. Crepsley made a return visit to the Cirque du Freak in this book. I've been hoping that would happen. It was a brief visit but my desire was sated. Is there a YA vampire series out there any better than this one? I highly doubt it! If you like vampire books,run, don't walk, and get yourself a copy of the first book Cirque du Freak (A Living Nightmare) immediately. ( )