[Recensione] Birth of a Killer - Darren Shan (The Saga of Larten Crepsley #1)

Hello everyone!
Today I'll write a review in English. Why? A variety of reasons, to be honest! First of all: this series is not published in Italy, so it wouldn't be read by Non-English speakers anyways. Second: I want my fellow fans and friends to understand it without going through Google Translates. Third: I just want to use English more! ;)
So here we go, with the Master of Horror who's becoming one of my favourite authors!



Title: The Saga of Larten Crepsley #1: Birth of a Killer

Author: Darren Shan

Genre: Horror 

Publishing House: Harper Collins UK

N. of pages: 273

Price: €5,26 (Kindle) / €5,36 (Paperback)

Link: Amazon (Kindle) / Amazon (Paperback)

Following the massive success of the Demonata series, Darren Shan is back where it all started – telling the life story of the vampire Larten Crepsley. Spanning centuries and continents, taking in sea voyages, murder, war and love, this is the epic, bloodsoaked tale of a vampire who started out a nobody… and ended up changing the world forever.

When Larten escapes the terrible workhouse in which he toils, he doesn’t know that he is running from an early death… into another kind of transformation. After meeting the mysterious vampire Seba Nile while sheltering for the night in a crypt, Larten finds himself drawn into the shadowy world of the vampire Clan. As he travels and learns, Larten finds himself enjoying the adventure he has always dreamed of, seeing a world beyond any he suspected in his poverty-stricken youth.

But Larten begins to discover something else, too. Much like death, becoming a vampire is something you can’t come back from…

Larten lives with his family and spends his days earning his keep in a workhouse. His only joy is spending his time with his cousin, Vur, and he doesn't expect to do much in his life but grow up and start a family of his own.

This all changes when Larten has to escape his town (and old life) forever. Sad, hungry, and desperate, he finds refuge in a crypt, and his life takes a turn for the best (or worse) when he meets Seba Nile.

I have to admit I like this first book in the Saga of Larten Crepsley much more than I liked andy of the Cirque du Freak books (apart from Vampire Mountain, that is still at the top!). The reason is very simple: I like the style and mood much better! As the SoLC is written for an older audience, the whole story is more serious and has a harsher description of the things that go on. I do wonder how scarier the life of Darren would've seemed to me if Darren Shan had used such a tone. Probably, I would love it even more than I do currently (and I'm kind of obsessed, so...). As for this book, the early life of Mister Crepsley, the old grumpy vampire we all must admit to having a crush on, it does not disappoint.

Apart from the writing, which I obviously loved so much I had to mention it first when I usually mention it at the bottom of my reviews, the story is REALLY interesting. Not only we see Larten's life as an apprentice and an early Vampire, but we see how different he was in his youth and how his life shaped him to become a Vampire of good standing. His life as a human was not easy, of course... I shudder at the only thought! But his life as a future member of the clan is way more difficult: his mixed blood and his headstrong personality surely don't help.
As the other fans keep talking of Vur and "uncle" Wester (an inside joke which is kind of a spoiler but not really), I was very pleased to meet them. 
Vur, we met sparingly, and yet I could see why he made such an impression on the fandom, especially because of his role in Larten's story. Wester, I'm sure I'll get more accustomed to in the following books. As of now, I'm not that impressed.
And then, the star of the show! Seba Nile himself! Oh, how I wanted to see what kind of a master he was and how he taught his apprentices how to be vampires. In the books about Darren, we have some talk, and I admit I was disappointed to not see any nose hair pulling. Okay, yes, I am cruel. But I would've laughed my ass off.
Seba is so patient and nice, I am so sorry to know what future (or DesTiny?) has in store for him...

These prequel books seem like they're gonna give us a lot of background for Larten and the (then young) Vampires that we saw in Cirque du Freak, and honestly, I can't wait to read more!

What did you think of Larten's story? Did you like the difference in tone between the Larten books and the Darren books? Let me know down below!

Buy it here: