Book Review: Cirque Du Freak 8: Allies of the Night

First US edition 2004, published by Little, Brown and Company. 215 pages, hardcover.

This 8th edition in the saga of Darren Shan--the Vampire Prince who had long ago been just a human boy who visited the odd Cirque du Freak, stole a powerful spider, and ended up a Vampire's assistant, then half-Vampire, then Prince--is a continuing story as told by Darren himself.

Darren and his friends--Vampire Mr. Crepsley, a Little Person named Harkat Mulds, and an ex-Vampire Prince named Vancha March--are searching the cities, "following their hearts," looking for their sworn enemy, the Vampaneze (wild, more vile cousins to the Vampires) Lord.
Mr. Tiny, a mysterious figure, who pops up in all the books, and who some say holds the very keys to destiny (his full name is DESmond TINY!), and who seems to have more than just a touch of evil--has told them that only one of the Vampire related searchers can kill the Vampaneze Lord, and that they will have 4 chances. If they miss them, the Vampaneze will certainly win their war against the Vampires, and humanity is doomed. They missed one chance in the last book, Hunters of the Dusk.
But the hunters have no where to go, so they make their way to a city from their past, where there are terrible murders being committed, that look like the work of a Vampaneze.

Along the way, many coincidences pop up--such as Darren's suddenly being hounded by a truant officer of the city they're in, who forces the slowly aging, but very grown up Vampire Prince to pretend he's fully human and go back to school!
While there, Darren's teacher turns out to be his long-lost-girlfriend that he had to leave behind after falling for her; another long-lost character turns up in his life that he never thought he'd see again... As well as other twists.

Be warned, though--Allies of the Night makes you want to read the next book in the series (entitled Killers of the Dawn), because you won't know what happens to our hero if you don't!

Allies of the Night--as with all of his books--is a fast-paced, exciting read. Mr. Shan (who named his title character after himself) spins a tale of adventure, interesting character development, and eerie horror with ease.
If you enjoy reading books that are tinged with horror, but not of the bloody gross kind (!), and fantastic books that are often geared towards "young adults," and are looking for an interesting story as well--I suggest this book, or better yet, the entire series!