After his ill-fated voyage on a blood bathed passenger ship, the vampire Larten Crepsley has lost all will to live through his immortal life. Burdened with a young child from one of the dead crew, he wanders a wasteland of glaciers and searing snow, looking for a suitable place to lay the both of them down to rest in an icy death. After a violent confrontation with a polar bear, Larten is determined to find a cave, so that at least the baby's remains will not be desecrated by scavengers. He nearly loses hope of finding a suitable tomb before he spots flashes of yellow and green in the distance, nearly invisible through the whirling snow. At a loss of anything else to do, Larten follows the phantom, not knowing if it is a guiding spirit or just a trick of his weary mind. The colors in the white lead him to a large cavern, where he discovers glimmering crystals and coffins of ice. Leaving the still wriggling baby on top of one of the frozen tombs, Larten submits himself to a more lowly death by deciding to jump down a crevice deep in the cave. He takes a moment to remember all his misdeeds and all who have suffered because of him before leaping from the edge. In mid-fall, Larten sickeningly realizes that he has so much to live for and that he isn't ready to die, but is too late to grab onto anything. However, destiny seems to have other plans for the vampire when its hand reaches out to clasp his coat before he can fall to his untimely demise...

I picked this book up because I love Darren Shan's books.

I finished this book because it was fast paced and totally sucked me in.

I'd give this book to any Cirque du Freak fan that wants more.

Rating: ****