Plot
After the events of Killers of the Dawn, Darren returns to the Cirque du Freak with Harkat, and after many months of numbness, finally breaks down and accepts Mr Crepsley's passing. Several months later, Debbie Hemlock and Police Chief Alice Burgess arrive at the Circus, wishing to create a human army to combat the Vampets. Darren and Harkat agree to act as buffers with the Vampire Princes to help, but before they can set off, Mr. Tiny appears. Harkat's nightmares have returned; it is time for the Little Person to discover his former identity, or fall into madness. When Mr. Tiny informs Darren that Harkat has little hope of success without him, he decides to join his friend, leaving the two women to make their own way to Vampire Mountain. Darren and Harkat walk through a mysterious portal to a strange, desolate world.
Mr. Tiny informs them to head west until they come reach the territory of a black panther they must kill to find a clue. The pair narrowly succeed, and retrieve a map from the panther's skin. They also find the panther's teeth are inscribed with letters that spell Harkat's name, but learn nothing more. The map tells them they must head to a swamp of a giant toad to grab some "gelatinous globes". They retrieve them, but Darren is attacked by alligators as he tries to escape. He is unexpectedly saved by Lady Evanna, who offers to trek with them until they reach a giant lake and assist them with fashioning a boat to cross it. Evanna then leaves, telling them to collect holy liquid from the 'Temple of the Grotesque' on the other side. As the voyage comes to an end they are attacked by a dragon, and barely escape with their lives.
Darren wakes up in the home of a pirate and drunkard named Spits Abrams, who has no idea how he came to this world from the 1930s, and has been informed by Mr. Tiny that Darren and Harkat, the first human-like creatures he has seen since he arrived, are a chance for him to fulfill his dreams. Although neither trusts the man, they decide to let him join them in their quest, partly to use his fishing net to retrieve Harkat's soul, but also to give Darren a supply of blood.
The three soon come across a tribe they dub Kulashkas (they are chanting "kulashka" more than any other word), who look strangely similar to the Guardians of the Blood from Vampire Mountain, and indulge in human sacrifice to feed the monstrous Grotesque, milking the monster's fangs for its venom, the holy liquid, stored in vials. Darren and Harkat enter the temple to extract these vials, but are discovered by the Kulashkas and are then attacked by the Grotesque. The Kulashkas eventually call the beast off, offering Darren and Harkat safe passage if they leave without the vials. The pair attempt to comply, but Spits drunkenly intervenes, stealing and throwing Harkat's vial at the monster. The vial smashes, and the explosive venom blows the Grotesque apart, causing the temple to collapse. Darren, Harkat and Spits escape by smashing through the floor and falling into darkness.
They end up in a tunnel, following it until they reach what appears to be a fallout shelter, with drinks and food in a fridge. A note signed by Mr. Tiny informs them that a short walk will take them to the Lake of Souls. Harkat discovers some postcards that seem to bother him, but he does not explain why.
They soon arrive at a valley where the Lake lies, which is also the home of five dragons. Darren and Harkat figure out that they should make bombs, filling the 'gelatinous globes' with the Grotesque venom to frighten the dragons away. As they reach the lakeside, the dragons stop attacking. Spits explains when Mr. Tiny brought him here, he told him that a spell prevents the dragons to be closer than eight metres to the Lake unless a living person fell into it. He reveals that he is a cannibal, who fed his crew members meat butchered from those fished out of the sea. Spits vows to stay by the Lake of Souls, feeding off victims for the rest of his life. Darren and Harkat refuse to allow him to carry out his plan, and in the struggle that follows, Spits is accidentally knocked out the eight metre zone. A dragon sets the pirate on fire and he falls into the lake, breaking the spell.
While being ruthlessly attacked, Harkat pulls up his former identity, revealed to be Kurda Smahlt. The world freezes and Mr. Tiny appears to congratulate them and spirits the trio away, explaining that Harkat was created to help protect Darren for Mr. Tiny's plans, Kurda being chosen because he was Darren's friend in life. Mr. Tiny then informs them that, since Kurda and Harkat are of the same soul, only one can normally survive. Although Mr. Tiny had a means of protecting Harkat's soul when he and Kurda lived in the present at the same time, no such mechanism is in place now, and Harkat will soon disappear, albeit with a guaranteed escape from the Lake of Souls. Kurda eventually decides to sacrifice himself to allow Harkat to carry on his life, with Harkat choosing to risk a possible return to the Lake so he can carry on helping Darren in his quest.
As Kurda prepares for his second death, Darren and Harkat return to their world, arriving at the Cirque du Freak. Harkat discovers the panther teeth also spell the name KURDA SMAHLT; Harkat's name is an anagram and the answer was in front of them all along. Harkat also takes out the postcards, pointing the time and date it was sent, noting that it was all dated twelve, twenty, thirty, and fifty years later. Harkat then reveals his theory: that the barren land they had visited was the future.
Darren O'Shaughnessy, is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series The Saga of Darren Shan, The Demonata, and Zom-B, published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former was adapted into a manga series from 2006 to 2009 as well as a a live-action film in 2009, with a prequel series, The Saga of Larten Crepsley, releasing from 2010 to 2012.
The Saga of Darren Shan is a young adult 12-part book series written by Darren O'Shaughnessy about the struggle of Darren Shan, a boy who has become involved in the world of vampires. As of October 2008, the book has been published in 33 countries around the world, in 30 different languages. A film based on the first three books in the series was released in theatres on October 23, 2009. Blackstone Audio has also released CD recordings of all 12 books in the series, read by Ralph Lister.
Tunnels of Blood is the third novel of twelve in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan. In this book, the history of the vampires is explained to a small bit, and introduces the clan of the Vampaneze, which will become one of the major focuses of the story. It is also the final book of the Vampire Blood trilogy and where Darren's loyalty and trust in Mr. Crepsley is put to the test.
Trials of Death is the fifth book in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan. It is part of the Vampire Rites Trilogy, consisting of books four through six in the 12-book saga. It was first published by Collins in the United Kingdom in 2001, and in the United States in 2003.
Allies of the Night is the eighth book of The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan. It is part of the Vampire War trilogy, which comprises three books: Hunters of the Dusk, Allies of the Night and Killers of the Dawn. Allies of the Night was first published in Great Britain by HarperCollins in 2002. It was then published in the Vampire War Trilogy in 2005.
Vampire Blood is the first trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by the author Darren Shan. It contains the books Cirque du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant and Tunnels of Blood. These starting books explore how Darren must adapt to his new life, and what that entails. The first book contains the reasons why he became a half-vampire and what he had to give up in order to save his ex-best friend, as well as introducing the character. The second and third go into more detail about how he has to change and what he will never be able to do. The main theme for the whole of the trilogy is insecurity. Darren has just been changed into something hardly anyone would accept, and this, combined with the fact that he is just a child, leads into a darker and more unusual way to grow up.
Vampire Rites is the second trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. It contains the books Vampire Mountain, Trials of Death and The Vampire Prince. This trilogy involves more of the various vampire characters, and their beliefs and customs. This trilogy's main theme is religion, compared to the previous one, it brings a whole new take on the vampire way of life and shows the kinder, better side of the vampires involved. These books show a more relaxed character of Darren Shan towards the more gruesome aspects of vampire life.
Vampire Destiny is the fourth and final trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. The trilogy included The Lake of Souls, Lord of the Shadows and Sons of Destiny. This series goes more in depth on the Lord of Shadows and the future where he rules, and Harkat's secrets of his past life are finally revealed. The main theme in the final trilogy is destiny. Darren and Harket learn the disturbing aftermath of the War of Scars, and it is revealed that both Darren and Steve are pawns to the hand of fate, in which either one of them is destined to bring destruction to the world.
Vampire War is the third trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan. It contains the novels Hunters of the Dusk, Allies of the Night and Killers of the Dawn. This trilogy continues the war between vampires and vampaneze. Mr Tiny forms a group of three "hunters" - Darren Shan, Mr Crepsley and new character Vancha March, a Vampire Prince who lives in the wild and follows the old vampire traditions, and has unusually pink skin from staying out in the sun too long. Also, Lady Evanna, who may or may not be a witch, comes along with them. She tells Darren that either he or the Vampaneze Lord will be the Lord of Shadows. But instead of that being on his mind: he only will have four opportunities to kill the Vampaneze Lord, or else the vampires will be destroyed. But there is a gruesome twist involving the Vampaneze Lord and Darren's childhood friend, Steve "Leopard" Leonard, who is the dreaded Vampaneze Lord himself.
Sons of Destiny is the twelfth and final book in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan.
Venomm or Horatio Venomm is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is a 2009 American fantasy film loosely based on the Vampire Blood trilogy of the book series The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan, particularly Cirque du Freak and The Vampire’s Assistant. The film received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure.
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Cirque du Freak, known as The Saga of Darren Shan in Japan, is a Japanese manga series illustrated by Takahiro Arai and based on the book series The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. The series was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 2006 to February 2009, with its chapters compiled in twelve tankōbon volumes.
King in Black is a comic book event written by Donny Cates with art by Ryan Stegman, and was published from 2020 to 2021 by Marvel Comics. It is a continuation to 2019's Absolute Carnage, also containing fallout from 2020's Empyre. Knull has come to earth, now Venom and every superhero on earth must stop knull Symbiotes invasion.
