Darren Shan made the biggest sacrifice of his life when, at the age of twelve, he agreed to allow Larten Crepsley to make him into a half-vampire. Eight years after being blooded, the time has come for Darren to be presented to the Council of Vampire Generals. He doesn't know why, and he doesn't know where Vampire Mountain is, but he's going, and it's going to be an adventure like no other that he's had. The journey to Vampire Mountain is cold, rocky, and dangerous, and he's not even allowed to wear shoes!

As he and his mentor, Mr. Crepsley, travel the long frozen paths to Vampire Mountain, they discover that they are not alone. Somewhere on the trail ahead of them, there is a vampaneze, a being like a vampire that kills the humans on which it feeds. For years, the vampaneze have been at war with the vampires, and Darren learns that one of his traveling companions has been sent with an important message about the future of the vampires versus the vampaneze.

If VAMPIRE MOUNTAIN were to be compared to a Harry Potter book, it would be closest to HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. A lot of the action of the past three books is absent, although there is a terrific fight between Darren and the first female vampire to appear in the books. In place of the action, we see Darren growing into his life as a vampire, meet a lot of interesting new characters, and learn more about the vampire world and its past. Don't worry, though, if you're into twists, turns, and blood, there's plenty of that. VAMPIRE MOUNTAIN sets up what promises to be an amazing fifth book, where Darren is assigned the tasks which will prove his worthiness to the Council.
 

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