Darren Shan has been through a lot in this series. He's gone from ordinary teen to Vampire Prince. And he's a hunter of a super evil Vampaneze Lord. It's complicated. The book is extremely fast paced and action packed. In many ways, it reminded me of a graphic novel minus the graphics - the tone is dark (very dark) and the story is violent. The characters are all brooding, clever, and violent. Did I mention it's violent? Okay, the actual torture takes place off stage, but there's more than enough on-stage violence to make you a little jumpy after dark. I found the general hopelessness of the plot a bit depressing, but if you like fast paced and don't mind the imminent possibility of the death of any character (except, I assume, the one named after the author) - this book is tightly written and grimly fascinating. When I was a teen with a serious Stephen King addiction, I would have loved it.