Trials of Death
Science-Fiction
By Darren Shan
Reviewed by Greg Mcmullin
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
In the world of the vampires, danger lurks around every corner, especially for young half-vampires like Darren Shan. Inside the very home of the vampire race, Vampire Mountain, Darren must confront trials that will test all of his abilities as a vampire. Pain and struggle will confront Darren in his near future.
The blooding of a child, making them a half-vampire, is usually forbidden. By choosing to make Darren his apprentice, Mr. Crepsley was going against vampire code. Mr. Crepsley is faced with the decision to turn his back on the vampires, or present Darren before the Vampire Princes, the rulers of the vampires, and let them decide if Darren is a worthy apprentice, and if Mr. Crepsley made a good choice. Their decision: Have Darren face the trials of death, five fatal challenges presented to any GROWN vampire wanting to become a general. If Darren can survive through all five, he is deemed worthy. If he fails and doesn’t die in the process, he faces death in the Hall of Death. Darren must succeed, or die trying.
The trials, meant for fully matured vampires who had mastered their abilities, were far harder than Darren had ever expected. Walking through a chamber of pinpoint stalagmites, finding his way out of a maze before it flooded with water, and staying alive in a room with erupting fire were just some of the challenges Darren faced. With the help of his close friends, he managed to scrape by the first three challenges, until it came to the Bloodied Boars…
Trials of Death is the 5th book in the Cirque Du Freak series, and is a worthy sequel of the series. Read it, and find out how Darren, a half-vampire child, manages to make it through challenges meant for matured vampires. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in horror and science-fiction books, along with the rest of the series.
