Tunnels of Blood (The Saga of Darren Shan, Book 3) - Softcover

Shan, Darren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006755143 ISBN 13: 9780006755142

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2009

Synopsis

Darren Shan and Evra Von follow a trail of corpses and confront a foul creature of the night. A new enemy or Mr Crepsley?

When Mr Crepsley is called upon by the Vampire Generals, Darren and the snake-boy, Evra Von, leave the Cirque Du Freak and travel with him to the city. Whilst there, Darren meets Debbie and his life as a Vampire’s Assistant fades into the background – until corpes are found. Corpses drained of blood... Suspicious of Mr Crepsley’s secretive bahaviour, Darren and Evra shadow him across the city and confront a creature of the night who may be the end of them all...

About this title

Review

Coming hot and bloodily on the heels the two opening Darren Shan sagas, Cirque du Freak and The Vampire's Assistant, this third episode in the life of a vampire-to-be is reassuringly gut-wrenching and still as addictive.

Shan again makes no bones about his new life as a half-vampire in the shadow of his full-vampire master, Mr Crepsley. It's brutal and gory, but also fascinating and compelling. Darren's life is different from those around him and he's plagued by feelings of rejection. He's fit and energetic, with superb sensory perception--and he's growing stronger every day. Yet, he is tormented by the human life he has left behind. He can't make normal friends and has no family except the strange and unearthly collection of hobos who inhabit his usual home--the touring circus-of-horrors that is the Cirque du Freak.

In Tunnels of Blood, Shan and the snake-boy Evra--who seems hell-bent on tracking down a rogue vampire on the loose--visit a nameless city on the coat-tails of Crepsley. Vampire law, such that as is, has been violated and a particularly foul and loathsome creature of the night is killing humans in a distinctly uncivilised way. But the monster has picked Crepsley's home town in which to wreak havoc and he must be stopped. Darren, however, has suspicions about Crepsley's motives and his intervention at a crucial point in the hunt threatens dire consequences for all concerned.

Throughout, Shan is debunking myths of the undead by the page-load and then creating a fair few of his own too. Garlic and a fear of the cross is hokum it seems, but Vampire Generals and Vampaneze are fair game.

Despite the story being a bit thinner than in the previous two books, it's still inventive and original, with page-turning action and cliffhanging chapters galore. Shan is trying very hard to entertain and he's getting away with it. --John McLay

Review

Cirque Du Freak
“...fast-paced and compelling book which leaves the reader hungry for more.”
JK Rowling

‘Brilliant, macabre tale.’
Guardian

"I read Cirque Du Freak last week. I loved it. I love the way you manage to juggle the funny with the unpleasant, the affection with the hurt. It's
great story-telling."
Roddy Doyle

The Vampire’s Assistant
“The Vampire’s Assistant blazes a thrilling, gruesome trail through a fascinating plot.”
The Good Book Guide

Vampire Mountain
“Get your teeth into it!”
Funday Times

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0006755143
• ISBN 13: 9780006755142
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 178