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Title: A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak, Book 1) by Darren Shan ISBN: 0-316-60510-7 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99

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Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (84 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: The start of a scary new series...
Comment: Darren Shan lead a perfectly normal life until the day he came across the "Cirque du Freak" flier that changed his world forever. "Cirque du Freak", or Circus of Freaks is basically what it sounds like, a freak show with acts such as the wolf-man, the snake-boy and Mr Crepsley and his spider. Determined to view the show, Darren and his friend Steve acquire two tickets and set off to the creepy old theatre in the dead of night. Here they are warned that every act is real and none are harmless. Initially sceptical, Darren and Steve are soon convinced when the wolf-man attacks a member of the audience.

But the act that changes both their lives for good is that of Mr Crepsley and his spider, Madame Octa. Fascinated by spiders, Darren is soon captivated by the unusual arachnid, but for Steve it is Crepsley who holds his attention. Recognising his as a famous vampire, Steve waits behind after the show and demands to join him as an assistant. This decision will have terrible consequences for both boys, but ultimately more so for Darren, whose plan to steal Madame Octa goes terribly wrong....

"Cirque du Freak" is the first part in the saga of Darren Shan. Spooky and entertaining, this is a darker, scarier, more complex version of RL Stine's "Goosebumps" series and is targeted at an older audience. Darren is a likeable narrator with whom readers should be able to identify with. Both adults and teens should enjoy this book as well as younger kids. I can't wait to read the next instalment in this brilliantly frightening new series.

Rating: 5
Summary: Cool, spooky stuff!
Comment: 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.

Rating: 5
Summary: Great Book!
Comment: This book grabbed my attention from the very first page. It is a story about a kid named Darren Shan and his friends finding a flyer to a freak show. Darren has always been fascinated in spiders, and the flyer mentioned a spider, and Darren was determined to go. From here, everything goes wrong. Darren and his friend, Steve, go to the freak show and are absolutely amazed at what they see. Steve thinks he knows a little too much about one paticular act, and Darren eavesdrop on their conversation and is amazed. From this point on the book is filled with exciting moments after another, and will keep you going. For my first time with these books, I LOVE them, and the first one has just impressed me and wanted to continue with the series.

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	Title: Cirque Du Freak #7: Hunters of the Dusk : Book 7 in the Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan ISBN: 0316605964 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 05 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $15.95