Cirque Du Freak [Mass Market Paperback]

Darren Shan (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Harper Trophy Canada (2008)
• ISBN-10: 1554683777
• ISBN-13: 978-1554683772
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (298 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,662,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool, spooky stuff!, April 15, 2001

By 

Stephen Richmond "Librarian/Teacher/Reader an... (Newton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cirque du Freak : A Living Nightmare (Hardcover)

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

While this first novel for young readers is slightly marred by some careless editing (the folks at Little Brown should know much better!), it reveals great promise for a superb edition to the juvenile horror genre. Author Shan finely delineates several appallingly fascinating characters including the eponymic protagonist, but as ever in this sort of literature, the plot reigns. Intricate as the spider's webs which permeate the text, the reader turns the pages and wishes only to devour more at story's end. There have been comparisons to R. L. Stine's teeny terror tales, but Shan is a better writer and probably full of plots and characters that haven't been recycled for the umteenth hundred time. There are resonances of the vampire fiction of Anne Rice and Chelsea Yarbro with the merest soupcon of J. K. Rowling's wizardly romps as well. Some reviews aim the book at the 9-12 audience, but this old children's librarian would expect it to be a bit too intense for the former, and yet would captivate many an adult admirer of the genre.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Freaky fun, May 15, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cirque du Freak : A Living Nightmare (Hardcover)

I put off reading this book for quite a while, on the basis that I didn't want anyone assuming that I read it solely because of JK Rowling's recommendation. Fans of Garth Nix's "Seventh Tower" series, with the unresolved endings, may like this book...

Darren and his friends are ordinary enough kids, who find a flier for the traveling freak show "Cirque Du Freak" -- snake boy, the wolf man, giant spider -- and a vampire. Not a warm and fuzzy exhibit show.

Darren and his friend Steve sneak to the freak show, where the ominous Mr. Tall informs them that every act is real -- which, naturally, they are (will kids read a scary book about a fake freak show? Course not). Steve recognizes Mr. Crepsly as a vampire, and exhibits the truly "freaky" wish to be a vampire as well. (Counseling, kid, counseling!) Making the situation even more unreal is Darren, who has a thing about spiders and wishes to steal the enormous arachnid Madame Octa. Darren must deal with an enormous spider, a sideshow full of frightening freaks, and his own best friend...

Darren is just weird enough to fit into this freaky story, without losing the understanding and sympathy of the readers. Steve was a bit too weird for my personal tastes, wanting to be a vampire and so forth, and so I had difficulty connecting with him--but that may have been intentional.

The writing style is snappy and spooky, in keeping with this genre, without becoming too wordy or gross as many horror books are. Atmosphere is handled well, especially in the Cirque Du Freak, and in scenes with Madame Octa and the vampire Crepsly.

The book occasionally becomes a little creepy for younger kids and a little too dark for the faint-of-heart. Additionally, descriptions occasionally become too thin and the characters sometimes take odd actions--but again, the second thing may be deliberate.

Though not flawless, I'll read the next book with pleasure.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Would you say yes?, December 25, 2001

By 

Kaori Takeuchi (Weston, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cirque du Freak : A Living Nightmare (Hardcover)

This book is an awesome book! I ask all people I know to read this book. And I suggest you should too.
Darren was a normal boy. His life was changed by a circus flyer. He and his best friend Steve went to the freak circus. They found out one of the performers was a vampire. That vampire had a performing spider. Darren stole her. Steve was bitten by her. She was a poisonous spider. No one knew how to cure him except one. Darren goes back to the vampire and asks him to cure Steve. But he said that Darren has to pay. Not money, not jewelry, nor gold. Half of his life.
Read this book and face this dilemma. Would you say yes, if your best friend was about to die and you knew the only way to save his/her life which is to throw half of your life away?