Trials of Death

Trials of Death picks up shortly after the events of Vampire Mountain, with Darren Shan facing a second, far deadlier set of trials to formally earn his place among the vampire clan as a Vampire Prince. Where the earlier Trials of Initiation tested endurance and skill, the Trials of Death carry real risk of dying - contestants have died completing them before.

As Darren works through the trials with his mentor Mr Crepsley at his side, the book also deepens the mystery around Kurda Smahlt, a vampire General whose unusual sympathies toward humans and vampaneze set him apart from the rest of the clan. The novel stays inside the claustrophobic world of Vampire Mountain - its halls, its rituals, its politics - building tension that carries into the rest of the saga.