Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Strong excitement makes best of saga so far October 8, 2008
Stampy (England)
Darren, Mr Crepsley and Harket return to Crepsley's hometown where there have been murders and soon Darren is forced to go back to school, and continue fighting the War of the Scars.
Hunters of the Dusk had a fantastic ending and follows straight into Allies of the Night and this instalment is the best of the series, so far!
The War of the Scars has now been cemented and the danger and drama of the Vampires and Vampeneze becomes very exciting and drastic which is what the saga needed after the last two fairly disappointing novels. The relationship between the two is very intense and dramatic, author Darren Shan has created a real tension which makes this a gripping read as we find from Hunters that the stakes have been raised after the Vampeneze Lord made an escape during the end fight.
Though the tension is there, the reason this book is the best, is simply because it has everything you could want in a story; excitement, drama, twists, humour and tension.
The dramatic ending of Hunters left many questions and it was a matter of seconds before I picked up Allies and unlike previous novels, the excitement and drama continue all the way through this book with hardly any room for breath as you will be fully engrossed and unable to put the book down.
The excitement comes mainly from the return of a couple of characters from the earlier novels, and seeing them all grown up and together will just make you smile, as it is a break away from the fighting, some escapism for central character Darren, but also because it brings some comedy to the narrative, a rarity in this saga. There is a sense of it's a small world, but the ending explains all and will have you grasping for Killers of the Dawn no matter how tired you are.
The plot is very consistent as Shan writes with a purpose to entertain and excite, justified through the returning characters and the mystery of the whole school scenario, which was also intriguing to read as after years of absence Darren is sent back to class and how he reacts is very humane and really dramatic
This is the best of the saga so far as Shan steps it up a gear with sharp writing and a strong purpose in mind as character Darren Shan is tested once again.
9/10
Best one since The Trails of Death May 26, 2007
marky77 (England)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really liked this book in the series. Darren Shan is living with Harkat Mulds and Mr Crepsly in a town where there is a (or maybe more than one) vampaneze killing the people in the town.
I liked it because Darren has to go back to school and also because three charactors from earlier books in the series returned so it had a similar feel to the first few books in the series. One of the best so far in my opinion.
Reviewer: Mr.Zhang from Chinatown, NYC February 23, 2004
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
'' According to the mysterious and powerful Mr. Tiny, only three vampires stood a chance of stopping the Vampeneze Lord. They were the Prince, Vancha March, Larten Crepsly, and a half-vampire-me-Darren Shan." Vancha March is a vampire who had been living in the wild for a very long time and is a vampire Prince. Darren Shan is a half-vampire and also is a vampire Prince. Larten Crepsly is a full-vampire and was the one who had blooded Darren first making Darren a half-vampire. Larten and Darren are so close together, you call them "father & son." The three vampires are on a quest to vanquish the Vampire Lord to win the War of the Scors. The vampires are enemies of the Vampeneze. (The vampires only feed on a little bit of blood, but the Vampeneze suck the victim dry. In this action, the Vampeneze are really killing when they feed.) Only these three vampires may help. A school inspector came to their hotel one day and said Darren should be in school. Since Darren has very little experience in English, math, and science, he agrees to have a private tutor, Debbie. One night when Darren was walking home from his tutoring session, a Vampeneze attacked Darren! Darren is weaponless! What will happen to Darren Shan? Read this book to find out.My favorite part of the story is when Darren took on a big bully all by himself. Darren just picked him up by the collar. The bully's voice got all shaky. Darren wasn't doing it for fun, he had to save a kid named Richard from being killed by the Vampeneze. A girl next to Darren, Tara, already got killed. Even though Darren is a half-vampire, he still has a kind heart. In book 1, "Cirque de Freak," Darren gives up his humanity and becomes a half-vampire just to save a poisoned friend, Steve Leonard from dying. I was first attracted to this series when my after school teacher started reading this book. After a while, I had grown to like the excitement and adventures of these books. Pretty soon, I was reading this series fast. I wanted to learn more about Darren and know what happened. This book, "Allies of the Night," is the 8th book. I would recommend this book to people who are 10 & above. This book has lots of cruel fighting like people using weapons (knives, harpoons, etc.). It also shows a person, once good friends with Darren actually betray him. Plus, this book would be great for people who enjoy books that have daring moments and exciting adventures. If you also really like vampires, then this book is right for you. Within a few minutes, you will be "engaged" with it so choose your favorite spot and get ready to read!
The Saga of Darren Shan- Dottore's word August 16, 2003
Dottore Massimo
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
As you all know, I am th famous Italian-Canadian gamecube game critic. But I also love to read. This series I thought I woulldn't like, but I did love it, and still do. The thing about this author ( Darren Shan) is that he makes vampires seem so real. If this series was not so well written,it would be a terrible series. The storie is told from Darren Shans view, for most of the series he is a young half-vampire. He tells about his life as a vampire. How he has to keep moving around with the Cirque du Freak and his mentor, Mr. Crepsely. In my expert opinion this is one of my favorite series of books next to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket, and Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer.
Allies of the Night January 23, 2003
group s The Old School (Nuneaton, England)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is one of the best books of the series. It is a compelling adventure in which Darren and his friends use up two out of the four chances to find the Vampaneze Lord.We hope the next trilogy is just as good. There is lots of suspense in this book especially when characters from the past reappear, and lots of twists and turns in the plot which keep you guessing.The only problem is that the author cannot write his books quickly enough for us. We are now waiting impatiently for the next in the series 'Killers of the Dawn'
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