Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare

It was definately not Twilight.
No romance, no handsome vampires (or werewolves.) Just some selfish jerky teenage boys who want magic spiders, to be made vampires...
And a bunch of freaky freaks.

Darren Shan tells his tale of how he came to be a vampire's assistant. Two boys find tickets to a magical circus/freak show and sneak out. Darren's horror-obsessed friend realizes that one of the performers is really an ancient vampire. What transpires is a fast paced twist-of-fate.


Not for the faint-hearted, but probably okay for kids ages 11 who like the scary stuff but have graduated beyond Goosebumps books. I think the movie was a compilation of the first two books. Looking back I think they really did a good job following to the book.

It was show more a fast, fun read. I have to admit even though it's not my thing I really did enjoy Darren Shan's writing style. Think this is the answer to those who want the scary vampire books without all the mushy stuff. show less

Written for pre-adolescents, this horror story pulls no punches in appealing to the semi-psychopathic instincts of young boys. The phobic (spiders and snakes), the freakish and visceral are to the fore as well as reference to that vampire tradition that all its readers must be familiar with.

It is never far from going over the top although it never quite manages to do so. Even a scene of deliberate premature burial (recall the scene in Kill Bill Volume 2) that will give any adult who reads it an uncomfortable twinge is carried off - just!

There is a nice morally ambiguous vampire (no better or worse than the young pre-adolescents who enter his world) in Larten Crepsley, a kinder, more avuncular figure who we guess is going to be a sound show more father-substitute in future books in the series.

'Darren Shan' (the real author is Darren O'Shaughnessy) is presented as a real person writing his memoir. Shaughnessy's skill is to set an unbelievable horror tale in the 'real world' of a London working class family - the Jacqueline Wilson trick, realism to help ground childhood trauma

Wilson's work was once controversial. Perhaps O'Shaughnessy's should have been but both do something very important. They do not patronise young minds and, though perhaps some sensitive children might be traumatised momentarily, most will be strengthened.

In an age of inability to face dark possibility and the actualities of life, these writers are important in the maturation of children. I hope that some near future generation does not start confusing kids with trigger warnings.

Still, it is pretty tough stuff. I would not encourage every child to read it. In fact I would not encourage any child to read it. It is the sort of book they would be well minded to discover themselves with their pocket money or in the library at the right time for them and not before.

So, buying it for a child is probably not appropriate but being shocked and taking it way from them when they buy it for themselves would be even worse. This is their choice - part of imagining the darkness in order to master it which is what all good horror is about. show less

This was an unbelievably fun book. It has been compared to Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes and Stephen King's Salem's Lot...both of which are on my all-time favorite, "read over and over again" list. The book is classed as YA (middle school kids will love it)...however it's story is ageless...especially if you are a horror fan. The characters are so alive...even those that really aren't. I'm not a spider fan in any way, but I loved Mr. Crepsley's trained...and very poisonous spider, Madame Octa. I understand there is a movie of this first book and will have to look for it.

Cirque du Freak: A living nightmare è l'inizio della serie Cirque du Freak, o la Saga di Darren Shan, e qui vengono principalmente improntati gli inizi della storia e mostrati i protagonisti e gli, eventuali, antagonisti.
Conosciamo Darren, il protagonista della serie e conosciamo i suoi amici, la sua famiglia, tutto ciò di cui si circorda e ama. Poi abbiamo i freaks del circo, tra i quali Mr. Larten Crepsley, un essere fugace ma di presente spessore, un vampiro. Un essere che, nella lore dei mostri, è immortale. O così dovrebbe essere.
“Is it because you want to live forever?” Mr Crepsley asked. “If so, I must tell you – we do not. We live far longer than humans, but we die all the same, sooner or later.”
Conosciamo Steve, show more migliore amico di Darren che avrà sicuramente un ruolo importante anche nei prossimi volumi. Me lo sento.
“Because vampires are not the evil monsters of lore,” Mr Crepsley said. “We respect life. You have a killer’s instincts, but we are not killers.”
Dovrebbe essere un horror e lo è, in parte. Diciamo che è creepy al punto giusto soltanto in determinati punti. Mi son piaciuti molto i personaggi, soprattutto quanto umano sia Darren e quanto sia relatable in certi punti. Tranne quando tesse le lodi dei ragni/tarantole. La parte in cui è con Madam Octa, però, mi è piaciuta, soprattutto cosa succede poi. E' stato adrenalinico in certi punti, davvero perfetto. Fast paced che, ad un certo punto, faceva girare pagina super veloce per sapere cosa succedeva poi.
L'avevo letto anni fa, ricordavo qualcosa, soprattutto Crepsley mi è rimasto impresso, e vidi il film. Mi piacquero entrambi, nonostante il film sia un po' una ciofeca. Larten Crepsley me lo sono immaginata in un modo e il film mi ha dato un'esatta trasposizione di ciò che mi ero immaginata. Perfetto! Questa seconda lettura l'ho fatta perché volevo riprendere la saga e devo dire che non sono affatto rimasta delusa dalla lettura. Anzi, sono rimasta piacevolmente colpita come una serie per ragazzi faccia ancora effetto su di me. Ma sapevo che andavo incontro ad una buona lettura anche perché se continua a piacermi Percy Jackson, posso leggere tutto il middle-grade che voglio.
In ogni caso, una bella lettura, continuerò presto la serie così, finalmente, potrò leggere quella dedicata a Mr. Crepsley. show less

Reread (listened) on audio. It must have been at least 15 years since my first read, and I don't think I reread more than once when I was younger. I was amazed by how much gender typing this did--there was a really cringey moment where Darren talks about how boys don't really talk about feelings and I thought NOOOOoooOOo don't tell the youth that! This was still super fun though and I think I'm about to commit to rereading this entire series because the last book was so mindblowing.

In the tradition of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes and Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, New York Times best-seller Cirque du Freak is the first title in the popular Saga of Darren Shan series.

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 finishes - but his motives are surprising! In the shadows of a crumbling theater, a horrified Darren eavesdrops on his friend and the vampire, and is show more 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 Darren’s story. show less

Years ago I watched the film and fell in love with this series. It was a shame the movies never continued because I was enchanted and adored it. I had a Harry Potter-mania type love for it. Why wouldn't I? I'm a girl obsessed with Halloween and all things spooky!

As an adult, it's weird picking this book up. I can totally tell I'd be obsessed with this book series as a middle grader. It's a real shame I never grabbed it back then. It would have totally fit on my shelves next to my Goosebumps and Bunnicula!

Darren Shan being the author and main protagonist is interesting. I did read this series out of order, so it was weird knowing what happens next, but it was still good! I can totally see why middle graders loved this series and I can show more see why it was so popular. I want to keep reading its because it's fun, mysterious and full of frights. It has a male lead, which is different from what I normally get, so it also made reading it a bit more interesting. A vampire tale told by a male becoming a vampire and not a girl chasing after them? Not my norm! Oh, and it's dark. I love that!

Overall, I really liked this book. It's got a whimsical tale with lots of spooky lore and mysteries that will surely be expanded upon. I want to see how the world of Cirque Du Freak works and what will become of Steve.

Four out of five stars. show less