Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare

Darren Shan

Aug 2008 · Sold by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

From the Master of Horror comes the first gripping book in the twelve book New York Times bestselling Saga of Darren Shan. Start the tale from the beginning in the book that inspired the feature film The Vampire's Assistant and petrified devoted fans worldwide.

A young boy named 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!

Stever remains after the show finishes to confront the vampire-- but 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 the beginning of Darren's story.

Ratings and reviews

LOVE IT! "Cirque Du Freak" is one of my favorite books I'd have to say. It's my type of book. Darren Shan and his best friend Steve got tickets to go to an illegal freak show. There is where curios Steve found out that Mr. Crepsley is a vampire. Steve confronted him wanting to become a vampire but Mr. Crepsley said he was too evil. Darren snuck back to the freak show and stole the spider, Madam Octa. He fed her and made her do trick like a normal pet, until she bit Steve. Mr. Crepsley gave an antedote to Steve on one condition: Darren becomes his half vampire assistant. Darren agreed, so for every 5 years that passed Darren aged one year. Mr. Crepsley broke his neck and threw him out a window to fake his death. He was buried then dug up by Mr. Crepsley. Steve then showed up and told him when he's he will become a vampire slayer and he will kill him. Once again, LOVED the book!

The only thing was the pages didn't match what was said. I love this series (and the Demonata series), I read it in highschool but haven't been able to buy them because they are too expensive. I figured they'd be less than the physical books. I'd recommend lowering the price, I'm sure you'll make more since more people would be able to buy it.

My teacher read it to me. I was only 8 when she did and it gave me nightmares for weeks! Now i am a lot older i definitely recommend it to people over 10 years!

About the author

Darren Shan is the bestselling author of the young adult series Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, and the Saga of Larten Crepsley series, as well as the stand-alone book The Thin Executioner. His books have sold over 25 million copies worldwide. Shan divides his time between his homes in Ireland and London.