Customer Reviews

Cirque Du Freak #12: Sons of Destiny: Book 12 in the Saga of Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak: Saga of Darren Shan)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've been following this series for awhile now. At one point, a few years ago, I was so addicted that I had to order the 3 books that had been released in the UK because I couldn't wait for the US versions to come out. So, it was with much pleasure and anticipation that I sat down to read books 10, 11, and 12 in one sitting.

I have to say that Book 12 left me a bit disappointed. At the end of the book, Shan has the main character go back in the time & prevent himself from making the mistake of kidnapping Madam Octa. Since Darren manages to stop himself from kidnapping the spider, he never makes the deal with Mr. Crepsley & ends up leading a normal, healthy, life as a human. This, of course, means that Darius is probably never born (because Annie wouldn't be a single mom at 16). But there is a possibility that others still die the same way -- Mr. Crepsley, Shancus... their fate may be the same, but Darren won't be around to witness it.

I understand that Shan felt that this was the only way to resolve the convoluted system of "Destiny" that he created in the past 11 books. However, in the process, it left the reader high and dry because the ending basically told us that the stories we had just invested time and effort in for the past few years didn't happen. Sure, they would still happen in a way -- but these trials and tribulations wouldn't fall on a boy named Darren Shan. Some other, nameless, person would step up to take over Darren's destiny. And we're just supposed to leave to our imagination how the universe righted itself & who was affected by the change in the end. Will the ones who died still end up dead? Will this new child (whoever it is) end up sacrificing themselves & floating to Paradise (as Darren predicts he/she would) or, maybe, they cannot resist the lure that Mr. Tiny places on them.

The biggest issue I have with this ending is that it makes us wonder -- why'd we read the past 11 books if they were all irrelevant? This is the equivalent of Shan ending the series with a scene where Darren wakes up from a nightmare and finds out it was all a dream. I invested time and emotion in Darren's Saga. And now you're telling me that it wasn't Darren's saga, at all. And, perhaps, even the people mentioned in the book might not have had anything to do with it, because Darren changed the course of history.

Another thing that bothered me were the holes in the whole "fate vs. destiny" situation. Darren managed to overcome the two set futures by killing himself and Steve. However -- why didn't he just have the power to "Just Say No" to Des Tiny's edicts? Why not just say, "Thanks, but no thanks, I choose my own fate and I don't want to rule the world." Particularly when he'd already been shown the consequences his actions if he did get mixed up with Mr. Tiny's vision. The author was feeding us two messages: (1) You control on your fate in a manner of speaking and should choose the path of good, but (2) If Mr. Tiny makes you evil, there's nothing you can do about it. I was like, "huh??" Not to mention -- Mr. Tiny had waaaayyy too much power & I didn't like the fact that he wasn't facing any consequences for his actions.

Also, why did Darren go the Lake of Souls... he was a decent guy and sacrificed himself. I didn't buy the whole "guilt" thing. Other vampires had probably done much more bad things in their long lives (like Mr. Crepsley) and they went straight to Paradise. It made no sense that Darren -- a half-Vampire who constantly did the ethical thing -- would end up in the Lake of Souls for hundreds of thousands of years & there would be no force in the universe that could right that mistake. Again, giving Mr. Tiny way too much power.

Basically, I give this 3.5 stars because the series, as a whole, is excellent. And, naturally, if you read Books 1-11, you have to read this finale. However, this particular reader was left unsatisfied with the resolution of the series. I was hoping for more closure.

For a while now the Cirque Du Freak has captured my imagination and been one of the best series i've ever read. It was exciting to start reading the last book and finaly find out the awnser to all my questions.

I have to say as much as I like the Cirque series the 12th book slightly disapointed me. It wasnt a page turner like the rest and it seemed too predictable. What made me give it 4 stars was the ending I didnt like it very much. The other books were so good that I expected the ending to be a lot better.....too high expectations? maybe. Dont get me wrong though the book defenantly had its good parts but it seems to lack the "after shock" like the 11th book left on me.

Although im not a fan of the ending to this beloved series I do recommend this book to fans because its not bad, just dont expect it to be great like I did. And who knows everyones different you might think its one of the best books yet. :)

Ok, I will start by saying that I loved this whole series, and even this one up to the last chapter or two, that's why it got such a high rating from me. I probably went through books 1 - 11 in less than a week, and they have the potential to be read over.

Book #12 Bugged the hell out of me. Ok, Darren sacrificed himself for the greater good. I was pretty much expecting this so no big deal. I could even see the story ending here and despite the sad ending, it would be a good piece of work.

The problem comes in when Darren, trying to keep things happy, happy, joy, joy, does a 360 at the end so everyone lives happily ever after. THIS DOES NOT WORK IN REAL LIFE. Ok, so stories aren't real life and even ignoring the paradox of Darren going back in time to stop himself from becoming a vampire, which means he wouldn't have a reason for going back in the first place, etc... etc... The whole end seemed like a cop out. It says to me "I couldn't think up a better ending, so I nullified the whole story", which any idiot can do.

I can say that I'd be right up front with those that like a happy ending, but this was worse than killing everyone off. The author made the whole storyline irrelevant, and I find that unbearably sad. All the time Darren spent with friends he cared for no longer happened. So Darren goes back to his nice normal life with his family and best friend Steve (Someone who was willing to kill Darren because he was chosen for something Steve wasn't, I might add) and someone else takes Darren's place. Assuming the rest of the story goes pretty much as prophesied this is what we are left with...

Mr. Crepsley makes some boy a vampire (who isn't Darren) They join the circus and the boy (who isn't Darren) makes friends with Evra and Sam. Mr. Crepsley and the boy (who isn't Darren) go to vampire mountain and go through the trials. Kurda betrays the vampires and the boy (who isn't Darren) stops him. The war (which still happens) is fought by the boy vampire prince (who isn't Darren) He and Mr. Crepsley go to the town where Debbie lives and Mr. Crepsly still dies. The boy (who isn't Darren) fights the vampaneze boy (who we can assume isn't Steve) for the title of Lord of the Shadows. Now, after getting all of that out, there are 3 ways (again) that this can go - The boy who isn't Darren can win (world ends) The boy who isn't Steve can win (again world ends) or both can die (back to where we started again)

I don't mean to sound sarcastic. I really loved the whole series. I would just rather it be Darren's adventure instead of some doppelganger's because Darren wimped out at the end. He shouldn't have the option of choosing a different path because for whatever reason he didn't like his original choices.

IMO Read the books. Even read number 12! Just skip the last few chapters, you'll be glad you did.

I loved the whole Cirque Du Freak saga books 1-11. When i finished reading book 11 i decided to read the reviews about the next book.I found most people thought the last book ruined the whole saga for them because of the horrible ending,i didn't think that the last book could end so badly that it spoiled all the books.

But after reading the last book i completely agree that it was a horrible why to end the saga and left me asking why did i even bother reading them in the 1st place. Even though i hate the end and it did spoil the whole saga i still recommend reading all the books because in spite of the bad ending i really enjoyed reading all the books.

I've read all the books in the series in less then a day. I couldn't put them down, but at the ending of this book, the last one, i didn't just put the book down, i threw it across my room. I loved the book up until the ending, and i love the series up until this book. I think it kills the whole series and leaves me wondering why i even bothered to buy and read the other 11. at the end, he goes back in time and stops everything that i read in books 1-11 non-existent, as in they didn't even happen. I felt as if the ending has said something like, "he woke up and it was all a bad dream!" what kind of ending is that to a series such as Cirque Du Freak. And because of this book i actually don't recommend the series anymore. What is the point of wasting you time reading 12 books, when everything you read ended up not happening.
Not only a waste of my time, but my hard earned money also. Don't get me wrong, i loved the series up until the end. i devoured the books and could not get enough, but this to me seems like Darren Shan was saying, "i don't want to write anymore Cirque Du Freak books, so lets just make everything i wrote in books 1-11 not happen!"
i feel like i was cheated.

I love this series to death! I was super excited when the last book finally came out. I read it in less than a day. I couldn't put it down. I was shocked at the end. I was literally almost in tears. I'm sad Mr. Crepsley wasn't in the last three books. He was my favorite character and I'd love this book even more if he was in it! I have to say, I'm sad that it's over. I've read this series at least three times. I love vampire books, and this series was by far the best. It gets boring with your typical "blood-sucking, night walkers" vampire stories, but Darren Shan put a total twist on it and that made it new and refreshing. That's what I loved most. And the fact that he uses his own name saying it really happened makes it a little better. Overall, it was an excellent book!!!

I picked up the first book in this series on a whim after watching the movie. I was immediately pulled in and enjoyed all of the books, especially because it never seemed to "convenient". Things did not always work out perfectly for the characters and their actions had consequences. I really appreciated this, mostly because I typically do not enjoy when situations work out perfectly for no reason other than to give the reader a sense of comfort. Which is why I was a bit frustrated when this series seemingly did just that. It was the equivalent of Darren (the main character) waking up from a dream with everything that had happened in the first 11 books magically fixed. I do not have a problem with the entire ending, just that aspect of it. I am still happy I read the series and would recommend it to others, I just wish it had ended a little less conveniently.

Darren Shan is just an ordinary school boy, until his friend Alan Morris finds a flyer advertising the Cirque Du Freak, an illegal freak show. There he sees Alexander Ribs, a man with bones like rubber, the Wolf-Man, Truska, the bearded lady, Rhamus Twobellies, and many more. But he also saw Mr. Crepsley and his amazing poisonous performing spider, Madam Octa, who leads Darren to becoming a half-vampire! Through books 1-11, Darren makes the trek to Vampire Mountain, no small feat for one his age, endures the Trials of Initiation, fails, becomes a ruler of the vampire clan, and has his best friend in the entire world, Steve (Leopard) Leonard turn against him.
Now, Darren finally returns to his home city many years later - where Steve has sworn to wreak havoc - to find that his now grown-up younger sister, Annie, is married to Steve, but she doesn't love him. Darren doesn't know this yet. He wants to kill Darius, Steve's son, in revenge for Steve killing his other friend's son, Shancus. But then Steve reveals who is Darius's mother, Annie, and if Darren killed Darius, he would be killing his own nephew. And cackling like a demon, he left Darren and his friends in the blood-drenched night.
Then, Darren is off to fight. It is time for The War of the Scars, either Darren or Steve dies, whoever triumphs will become the Lord of the Shadows, and destroy the world. Darren, wounded and burning, finally stabs Steve's shriveled forgery of a heart, but when an ancient prophecy is revealed by a mysterious little man called Mr. Tiny and his witch-daughter Evanna, Darren is so upset, he kills himself. He and Steve both drop into the Lake of Souls. What happens here?
This book made me realize the horrors of real life, and if you start reading this series, you will NOT put them down! Dare to be scared? Sons of Destiny is a page-turner, awesome and grueling, it will leave any reader hungry for more. (Ages 11-16)

By Nadia
(Pakistan)

This book was amazing! This book really tied everything together. The ending was perfect and I think it really satisfied all the readers wants.This series is really good because it really makes you think about what happens next and gives you the taste for more. Darren Shan really structured the characters well and gave readers the feel of a vampire!

this is a very good book.but the ending was sad. I was expecting more of an after shock like ??? um i forgot who said that.well this is awsome and very sad I mean im a boy and i got sad.and your right i cant believe its over, it stinks. I mean it was a crudy ending and he is cheating the veiwers. And the worse part of all darren never got to say bye to Vancha daries or especialy Annie. Also what ever happend to Vancha after Gannen stabbed him. The real Darren if you read this please tell me.Now dont get me wrong its by the far best series ive ever read and i own the whole series. Just it leaves the veiwers a gap in the story.I think there should be 1 more book. I cant stand it, the books is like my bible well not really but there so good its really hard to believe that its all over,all the waiting you ,we had to do to get the series it just is not that fair and im pretty shure people agree with me. I hate it really its so addicting its really not funny.I got grounded because i skipped meals and staid way pass my bed time reading, of coarse if you read them i think you would know.