I recently bought these books and I am very excited to read them. I have just finished reading 'If I Stay' and I am going to write the review of it now and then I am going to start the first books in 'The Saga of Larten Crepsley' which is 'Birth of a Killer'. Exciting!!!!

I borrowed this book from the library. Only after I got home I realised that it was a pre-sequel to a different series (Cirque Du Freak).

The blurb still sounded interesting though, so I decided to read it anyways. And I really enjoyed it, though I did feel I was missing out a little as I haven't read the other series. (I feel like I might need to now though!)

I'm guessing my rating might have been a star higher if I had read the other books first. So I would recommend that if you are considering reading this one! (That will teach me to rush when I'm at the library...)

But it was still a good read and I enjoyed the story! I will probably end up reading the rest of the series, though I might try to get hold of the Cirque the Freak series first!

I borrowed this book from the library. Only after I got home I realised that it was a pre-sequel to a different series (Cirque Du Freak).

The blurb still sounded interesting though, so I decided to read it anyways. And I really enjoyed it, though I did feel I was missing out a little as I haven't read the other series. (I feel like I might need to now though!)

I'm guessing my rating might have been a star higher if I had read the other books first. So I would recommend that if you are considering reading this one! (That will teach me to rush when I'm at the library...)

But it was still a good read and I enjoyed the story! I will probably end up reading the rest of the series, though I might try to get hold of the Cirque the Freak series first!

Considering how much I loved The Cirque Du Freak Series I was expecting so much more from this prequel. As a preteen I came across A living Nightmare, and I remember powering through the first five within the week. Then I waited every six months, or how ever long the release for the next book was back then. I credit my love for horror and vampires to these books, so naturally I was beyond excited when this prequel series was announced. However, it wasn't nearly as addicting, nor exciting as the Darren Shan Saga, but for a die hard fan like me it was still fun.

It was obvious that Darren Shan wrote these assuming that the fans of Darren Shan would pick it up. Therefore, he didn't bother with the action packed plot he normally delved into. He focused on the characters and sprinkled a healthy dose of foreshadowing I could tell he is working his way into the series and Birth of A killer was merely the jumping stone. The pace of this one was a too slow for me, however, and I found my attention straying. 

I did enjoy seeing Mr. Cepsely and some old favorite characters.I had so much nostalgia while reading this book. It took me back to being twelve and obsessively devouring this story, and now ten years later I'm back again. I liked being back in this world, and I realized how much I've missed it. 

I will continue on with the series because I know the way Darren Shan works. I'm sure we got some surprises in store for us. I can only hope the plot picks up a bit.

Overall fun for the fans of Darren Shan, but for those of you who haven't read them, I recommend you read those first, or you might get a little bored.

A prequel series to his Cirque du Freak books, The Sage of Larten Crepsley follows the life of vampire Larten, who will play such an important part in the later books featuring young Darren. Set three hundred years ago, we meet Larten as a human. We see the world through his eyes, and learn how he has become the person he is.The thing that stands out first is the writing style in Birth of a Killer. It is so different from how Mr Shan has written his Demonata series, which I've read before this one. The language in Birth of a Killer is slightly more formal, richer, more detailed. Especially the more formal part worked really well with the historical feel. It was nice to see that he has such a diversity of writing.Another thing that is remarkable in comparison with his other work is how little action there is in this book. Usually you can count on some kind of big fights at least three times throughout his books, but it felt like Birth of a Killer was way more mellow than his other books. Even though there might not be that much action, this book can still classify as horror. Not because there are demons or vampires in it, but because it describes the horrors of what some human beings can do to each other. You know, the true evil in the world. There was quite some heavy stuff going on in the first part of the book, so I was glad there were also some lighter parts to give some relief. Birth of a Killer is a very quick read, even though it doesn't rely on action to keep it moving. You should see it more like some kind of diary of Larten's childhood and the beginning of his vampire life. Not everything is told; just some key elements that have formed the way he is.For lovers of the Cirque du Freak series, I would definitely recommend Birth of a Killer. Larten is one of the most interesting characters in the series, and he deserves some books of his own. If you haven't read any Darren Shan yet, I wouldn't recommend this book to start with. Especially the mechanics of the vampire society will probably go completely past you if you aren't familiar with the world. Birth of a Killer is different, but not a bad different.