The Saga of Darren Shan: Difference between revisions

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The [[City Trilogy]] is his first -and so far only- [[Out of Character|adult]] [[Your Mileage May Vary|series]]

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: The sewers in the city Mr Crepsley grew up in are very large, spacious and labyrnthine. They are seen in Tunnels in Blood (where they are the eponymous Tunnels) and in a later book {{spoiler|where Steve Leopard, the Fake Vampaneze Lord and Mr Crepsley fight in a large arena built by Steve located entirely in the sewer. This is lampshaded in that book as being because Steve likes things to be a spectacle.}}

* [[Action Girl]]: Arra Sails, one of the few female vampires.

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: And how.

* [[Arc Words]]: "Even in death, may you be triumphant!"

* [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence]]: Vampires have their own afterlife in the form of 'Paradise', and thus this is played completely straight.

* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Almost ''everyone''. Particularly a few: Larten Crepsley, Paris Skyle, Arra Sails, Debbie Hemlock.

* [[Eats Babies]]: It is implied that Mr. Tiny likes to eat children.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: {{spoiler|R.V. is horrified when Steve kills a child, and eventually turns against him because of this.}}

* [[For the Evulz]]: Mr. Tiny's main motivation (as well as his hobby; he once refers to needing to catch a volcano which is going to kill hundreds as though it was a show).

* [[Flynning]]: Subverted and lampshaded. In ''Tunnels of Blood'' Darren expects a long and drawn out battle between Mr.Crepsley and Murlough, when in fact the fight lasts just three seconds. He does accept that they were fighting to kill, not to entertain.

** However, there may actually be an end. {{spoiler|Darren something about believing whoever took his place would be taken to Paradise after the alternate fight with Steve, seeing as they had no choice in the matter, they were just following what Darren had set out for them.}} However, this is all speculation from a relatively young vampire, so he may be wrong.

* [[Graying Morality]]

* [[Healing Factor]]: Cormac Limbs.

** Exaggerated, in that {{spoiler|when his head is cut off, ''two'' grow back}}

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: The vampaneze have a complex code of honour which, among other things, [[Can Not Tell a Lie|forbids them from lying]] and allows them only to feed on humans who they have chosen through a ritual several days in advance. A vampaneze will never break this code, even when violently insane.

** The vampaneze code also [[Doesn't Like Guns|prevents them from using projectile weapons]]. The vampires have a less restrictive one which [[Doesn't Like Guns|just disallows guns and bows]] (shurikens are fine). Then the vampaneze start to raise an army of human soldiers who are exempt from their code (and can thus lie and use guns), to the outrage of the vampires.

* [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]]: Mr. Crepsley is bitter, snarky, perfectly willing to let Steve die, and not averse to smacking Darren around to teach him a lesson, and yet he genuinely cares for Mesdames Truska and Octa, and comes to the rescue every time Darren gets into trouble (which is often).

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Mr. Crepsley making Darren fake his death and make him sit through his own grieving funeral and burial. But at least he did it to save his best friends life, right? Too bad, as said best friend thinks Darren did it to spite him and vows to kill him. [[Break the Cutie|Break the cutie indeed]].

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: In the Second book for most of the book Darren wheres the same suit {{spoiler|the one in which he was buried in during his funeral}} and it is lampshaded as him wearing all this time until eventually in this book he gains a pirate suit which he wears for the whole of the third book where he never changes his clothes for no discernable reason. It's not for lack of money because Mr Crepsley supposedly has loads.

* [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]]: The entire ''point''.

** He also learns that {{spoiler|Steve's son is actually his own nephew, via his sister Annie}}.

* [[Master Apprentice Chain]] Seba -> Mr. Crepsley -> Darren

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: In ''Trials of Death'', we see the Death's Touch(see [[Strange Salute]]). {{spoiler|When at the end of the book, after surviving 3 Trials and "failing" one, Darren discovers Kurda Smahlt's treachery, as Darren flees, he swears that he will bring vengeance upon Kurda. Broken and battered, down a roaring river, he does the Death's Touch at Kurda, and spitefully cries "Even in death, may I be triumphant!"}}

* [[The Spartan Way]]: Those who wish to become a Vampire General must take the Trials of Initiation, a series of five difficult, randomly-chosen tasks, each the day after the last (excepting holidays) where death is highly likely, and even survival without success results in execution. When Darren has to undergo the Trials to prove himself, he has to go through a flooding maze with a huge rock shackled to him, cross a cave filled with very sharp and brittle stalagmites and stalactites which drop at the slightest noise, spend 15 minutes in a metal chamber which randomly shoots spurts of flame, and fight two massive, rabid wild boars. They note that due to his youth and being only a half vampire, they actually removed the most difficult tasks from the roster.

* [[Trailers Always Lie]]: The trailers for [[The Movie]] imply that Crepsley just randomly asks Darren if he wants to be a vampire. "Dude, wanna be a vampire?" while in the actual movie Darren agrees to become one in exchange for saving Steve(part of the line survives, but it's part of a speech about the trials of being a vampire)

* [[Two Part Trilogy]]: The twelve-book saga is divided into four trilogies, the latter two of which are [[Two Part Trilogy|Two Part Trilogies]] in their own right (with "Hunters of the Dusk" establishing what has happened during the [[Time Skip]] and setting the premise for the next two books, and "The Lake of Souls" bridging the [[Grand Finale]] and the previous [[Wham Episode]]).

* [[Unable to Cry]]: Darren for a long time after the death of {{spoiler|Mr. Crepsley}}.

* [[Vampire Monarch]]: The Vampire authority are the Princes, and to a lesser extent, the Generals.

* [[Vampire Vannabe]]: Steve. {{spoiler|When Mr. Crepsley [[Refused By the Call|refused him]], he goes... ''mad''.}}

* [[Wham Episode]]: "Killers of the Dawn", "The Lake of Souls" and "Lord of the Shadows" could all qualify.

* [[Xanatos Roulette]]: {{spoiler|The whole series of events was just a way for Des Tiny to create his idyllic dystopian future.}}

* [[Your Vampires Suck]]: Mr.Crepsley finds the thought of fangs hilarious.