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Anyone who loves the humorous but hair-raising horror in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series will devour British author Darren Shan's first novel with equal zeal. Some books are born with a surrounding buzz; this one even has Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's stamp of approval: "Fast-paced and compelling, full of satisfying macabre touches," she writes. Warner Brothers will be making it into a movie, and the rest of the series is already in the works. Given all that, you'd expect a tour de force! Really, though, Cirque Du Freak is a thrill ride that will keep even the most reluctant readers turning pages, but will never take its place in the literary canon.
Darren Shan, author and narrator, sets the book up as a true story, warning readers: "Real life's nasty. It's cruel.... Evil often wins." Indeed, evil begins to win when Darren and his buddies find a flier for "Cirque Du Freak," a traveling freak show promising performances by the snake-boy, the wolf-man, and Larten Crepsley and his giant spider, Madame Octa. Darren and his friend Steve wouldn't miss it for the world.
So, Saturday night they sneak out to the old theater, tall and dark, with broken windows. "Every act you see tonight is real," croaks Mr. Tall. "Each performer is unique. And none are harmless." That's for sure. (A werewolf bites off the hand of someone in the audience, for instance.) Things grow very serious for the two boys when Steve not only recognizes Mr. Crepsley as a famous vampire, but professes his true desire to join him! To make matters worse, the spider-obsessed Darren goes back to the old theater to steal Madame Octa so he can teach her tricks in his room. (He does, with mixed results.) The plot further coagulates as Darren is faced with some terrible decisions about what to do to save his bloodthirsty friend Steve.
Readers may be too enthralled to notice some clumsy editing (the aforementioned bitten-off hand is later referred to as an arm, Darren stops dead in his tracks when he's already stopped, etc.). They may also not notice that the boys constantly use adult-sounding expressions like "his breath stank to the high heavens," though the book is clearly set in the 21st century. If this book gets under your kids' skin (and it probably will), they're in luck--we haven't heard the last of the Saga of Darren Shan. (Ages 10 and older, not for the faint of heart) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
A boy sneaks out to an illicit freak show, and his life becomes entangled with a vampire spider-wrangler. "The author mines the exploitative history of early 20th-century sideshows to create an artfully macabre 'Cirque du Freak,' " wrote PW. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cirque Du Freak,
By
This review is from: Cirque du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan Book 1 (Paperback)
Cirque Du FreakBy Darren Shan What would you think vampires are like? The typical answer would be, they bite your neck with their sharp pointy fangs and make you bleed to death. But that's not the real story. First of all, vampires don't have fangs, they use their sharp nails to penetrate your skin. Another thing is that they don't kill you, they just leave a nasty scar on your neck, and when you wake up in the morning, you think that aliens have attacked! I mean, who made up the story of UFO's? Of course, the vampires did! What happens in Cirque Du Freak is that the main character, Darren and his friends find out that there is a freak show in an old play theatre, but they can't decide who should go since they only have two tickets. The four friends had a draw and surprisingly, Darren got the ticket while his eyes were closed! When they get to the freak show, they see all these mysterious creatures that look really scary. One even bit off a women's hand! The main thing at the freak show was Madame Octa. Madame Octa is a spider that listens to your thoughts and obeys your commands unless you are not focused. Then Darren gets into trouble and Steve gets bitten by the poisonous Madame Octa and is paralyzed and is dying by the second! Darren has to risk one of his most important things to save his best friend's life. Darren has a very realistic personality which makes him easy to relate to. He is very courageous, he takes risks, and never gives up. Surprisingly, Darren is also very caring to his siblings (not like some other brothers). Darren's best friend Steve wants to be vampire after seeing Mr. Crepsley at a freak show. He is willing to do anything to be a vampire...even giving up his family. He's crazy! The settings in Cirque Du Freak are great because they give you lots of suspense and make you want to read more to find out. Also, the setting in this book sets the mood which is creepy and gloomy. Cirque Du Freak takes place mainly in the neighborhood of Darren's family. But some parts of the story take place in an old, abandoned theatre on the other side of town, and that is where Steve gets the idea of being a vampire. One of the most important themes to remember is that things can't always go right for you if it means something going right for someone else. Like when Darren had to turn into a half-vampire just to save his best friend's life. Another thing to remember is that you shouldn't always trust someone that you don't know very well. When Darren stole Madame Octa (an enormous spider who can do incredible tricks) he wasn't able to control it properly so then Madame Octa bit right into Steve's neck! Another important lesson is that sometimes you have to risk your favourite things just to save someone else. Like when Steve was bitten by Madame Octa and was paralyzed. To make this book better, I would make the book longer since it is too short. That would mean putting in more events and taking even more time to explain the major events so that the reader will have to keep on reading to find out the good parts. Also, I would add more characters that can make the book more interesting and have more than one event going on at a time. Cirque Du Freak is a great book because it is very tense and events just suddenly pop up. I would recommend this book to people age 10-14 and like freaky stories. I hope you enjoy the book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing New Series,
By
This review is from: A Living Nightmare (Mass Market Paperback)
Fourteen-year-old Darren Shan has always had an infatuation with spiders. He dreams about them, saves them, owns them, etc. So when he attends a showing of the Cirque Du Freak with his best friend Steve "Leopard" Leonard, and is introduced to an amazing spider named Madam Octa, Darren knows that he absolutely must have her, so he comes up with a plan to steal the spider, and blackmail her owner, Mr. Crepsley. What he doesn't realize is just how dangerous the spider is, and that the world Madam Octa is from, is filled with vampires, and things that go bump in the night, and, if he actually goes through with this crime, he'll end up as a major player in the game of the underworld.Darren Shan has created an amazing new series in CIRQUE DU FREAK, that is sure to capture the attention of vampire fans the world over. His descriptions of the Cirque Du Freak show are so vivid, that you actually feel as if you are right there in the audience with Steve and Darren, watching it live. His hilarious commentary about Darren's crazy obsession with spiders, as well as his descriptions of Steve's wild antics will keep readers laughing out loud until the very last page is read. A must-read for all fans of Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, or the wonderful BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER book/TV series, as readers will find similarities between the two. Erika Sorocco
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cirque Du Freak: Aliving Nightmare,
By Benjamin Ho (Bak Middle School of the Arts, West Palm Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Living Nightmare (Mass Market Paperback)
A horror book that'll blow your mind. In the amazingly well written book Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan an ordinary school boy named, Darren Shan visits a strange and mysterious freak show with one of his best friends. His life slowly gets increasingly horrific as terrifying events cause his life to slowly go downhill eventually bringing him to the most nerve wracking choice friendship or the disparity of his own life.This book brings horror and emotions to a new level. With an exciting storyline and lots of cliffhangers it's a book you can't put down. Many horror books have predictable plot lines and repeated storylines that you see in almost every horror story. Yet this book is different it has a constantly changing storyline, which makes the story unpredictable. Moreover it brings a unique sense of mystery that is vastly different than any other book you'll ever read. The scenes and settings created by Darren Shan are described with massive details to form an image of what's happening in the book. Its like you're actually in the book experiencing the events. For example when Darren and his friend visited the freak show and the wolf man bit the ladies arm. You could feel the pulsing heart throbbing fear of that moment. The crowds awe, fear, and the confusion of the moment. Moreover the settings are illustrated and depicted so skillfully with words that there is no need for pictures in the novel. For instance when Darren and his friend go to the old theater. The aged look and the creepiness of the theater popped out vividly in my mind. The characters aren't developed all that proficiently. They seem to be uncompleted and you don't ever seem to learn more about them. For example the author just said the kids names and that they were Darren's friends. You also learn brief details about them but not much more. I guess it isn't all that important but it would have improved the novel if the characters were more developed. For instance if the readers could learn more background info in order to gain a clear picture and a complete understanding of the novel. Even if the characters background info wasn't all that great. The author did do an excellent job of describing their appearance. Like you could picture the long imbedded scar on Mr.Creepsley's face. The long pause and chill you experience when you see the grotesque face of the snake boy. This really helped improve the novel. With the author's combination of descriptive settings and the characters appearance he created a topnotch novel. The only thing disappointing about this novel is it's the length of the book. It ends to abruptly with a lousy conclusion of to be continued. Of course since it's a series it has to leave a cliffhanger. But since it's a hard to put down book, it shouldn't end that quickly. The author should have developed the book more to prevent the abruptness of its ending. Overall this book was excellent. A horror thriller that you just can't put down. Its superb descriptions and first-rate storyline make this book the greatest horror book you'll ever read. I give it four stars for all the great qualities in this book but the lousy conclusion almost ruins the whole novel. I definitely recommend reading this book and all the other books in its series to get the complete and full excellency of the storyline.
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