Book Review: Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare
Another book review!
A while ago, I heard of the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan, and the idea intrigued me. Finally, I decided to give it a shot and see what it was like.
I immediately saw why people like Dan Wells recommend it. It's both a good fantasy setting, as well as a story that holds itself together well through an interesting protagonist and secondary characters.
Here's a brief synopsis (with no spoilers!). Darren Shan is a normal kid in school. Good at soccer, pretty good in his classes and all that. Then his friend hears about this traveling freak show called Cirque du Freak. Neither of them really know what's included in the show, but they both decide they want to go. Simple enough. Well, he and his friend go, and see the show. They both love it, but Darren's friend approaches one of the performers after the show because he wants to join. It's a no-go. Later, Darren's fascination with one of the acts leads him to do something stupid, which brings him a decision that has horrible consequences. I love that in the beginning, he says specifically that (and I paraphrase) life isn't like a book. Real life is full of unhappiness and sad endings.
Overall, it's a quick read. It's not as engaging as I would have thought throughout, but I can certainly see why people are drawn to it. One of the main themes is vampires, but (thank heavens!) they're not sparkly. I was able to read the entire book in about five days, and that was taking into account getting ready for Christmas and all of the hectic things that come with the holidays. I'm sure that if I sat down with a determined mind, I'd be able to knock one of the Cirque books out in a day or two.
As I mentioned, the book is good, but it's not quite as engaging as I would have liked. It reads fast, but I felt the tension could have been higher. It almost felt like a "this happened, which led to this, which led to this" kind of story, rather than a dynamic plot that could take me along by the ear. The intensity just isn't the strong point.
So, here's my final analysis:
Pros
Interesting character
Good sense of inner conflict
Quick read
Vampires that don't sparkle
Cons
Lack of driving plot
Overall, I feel like it was a good book, and I'm glad I read it. I want to throw a shout-out to Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal and Howard Tayler of the Writing Excuses podcast for the recommendation.
Final score: 3.5/5
A while ago, I heard of the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan, and the idea intrigued me. Finally, I decided to give it a shot and see what it was like.
I immediately saw why people like Dan Wells recommend it. It's both a good fantasy setting, as well as a story that holds itself together well through an interesting protagonist and secondary characters.
Here's a brief synopsis (with no spoilers!). Darren Shan is a normal kid in school. Good at soccer, pretty good in his classes and all that. Then his friend hears about this traveling freak show called Cirque du Freak. Neither of them really know what's included in the show, but they both decide they want to go. Simple enough. Well, he and his friend go, and see the show. They both love it, but Darren's friend approaches one of the performers after the show because he wants to join. It's a no-go. Later, Darren's fascination with one of the acts leads him to do something stupid, which brings him a decision that has horrible consequences. I love that in the beginning, he says specifically that (and I paraphrase) life isn't like a book. Real life is full of unhappiness and sad endings.
Overall, it's a quick read. It's not as engaging as I would have thought throughout, but I can certainly see why people are drawn to it. One of the main themes is vampires, but (thank heavens!) they're not sparkly. I was able to read the entire book in about five days, and that was taking into account getting ready for Christmas and all of the hectic things that come with the holidays. I'm sure that if I sat down with a determined mind, I'd be able to knock one of the Cirque books out in a day or two.
As I mentioned, the book is good, but it's not quite as engaging as I would have liked. It reads fast, but I felt the tension could have been higher. It almost felt like a "this happened, which led to this, which led to this" kind of story, rather than a dynamic plot that could take me along by the ear. The intensity just isn't the strong point.
So, here's my final analysis:
Pros
Interesting character
Good sense of inner conflict
Quick read
Vampires that don't sparkle
Cons
Lack of driving plot
Overall, I feel like it was a good book, and I'm glad I read it. I want to throw a shout-out to Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal and Howard Tayler of the Writing Excuses podcast for the recommendation.
Final score: 3.5/5
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