You Need to Read: Cirque du Freak

Darren Shan and his best friend, Steve, get tickets to the Cirque du Freak, a wonderfully gothic freak show featuring weird, frightening half human / half animals who interact terrifyingly with the audience. In the midst of the excitement, true terror raises its head when Steve recognizes that one of the performers, Mr. Crepsley is a vampire!

Steve confronts the vampire after the show finishesbut his motives are surprising! In the shadows of a crumbling theater, a horrified Darren eavesdrops on his friend and the vampire, and is witness to a monstrous, disturbing plea.

As if by destiny, Darren is pulled to Mr. Crepsley, and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.

This is Darrens story.

Cirque Du Freak

Darren Shan

I discovered these books in junior high and tried to re-read the series several times since then. Today, at age 21, I finally finished them.

Sometimes the tone of the writing, and the adventurous cliff hangers at the end of chapters reminded me why I liked them so much when I was younger. However, even now, it still grips me, and never failed to surprise me with every twist and turn.

I can honestly say this series (12 books in total) has the most unpredictable plot ever. There are twists and turns constantly, that there is truly no way to predict what path this story will take. Some come as less of a surprises but I guarantee there will be parts that you will never see coming.

Shan was able to create such an in-depth world, so full of detail, the likes of which I rarely can find nowadays and relished in from the start.

I almost don't even know what else to say about this series, besides the fact that you need to try it, you need to fall in deep love with its pages, and you need to be absolutely tortured by every plot twist that are so far-fetched at times, that only Shan should dare attempt something of this calibre.

Shan claims that the book actually happened, that he was actually a half-vampire after stealing a spider he discovered in a Freak Show. Honestly, by the end of everything with Shan's amazing writing, you might not believe him, but you won't 100% doubt him either.

Links:

Dartmouth book Exchange:

http://dartmouthbookexchange.ca

Good Reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9640837-cirque-du-freak