Darren goes to a banned freak show with his best mate Steve. It’s the wonderfully gothic Cirque Du Freak where weird, frightening half human/half animals appear who interact terrifyingly with the audience. Darren – a spider freak – ‘falls in love’ with Madam Octa – an enormous tarantala owned by Mr Crepsley. Darren determines to steal the spider so that he can train it to perform amazing deeds. But his daring theft goes horribly wrong and Darren finds himself having to make a bargain with a creature of the night.
Something out of the ordinary is set against the background of children’s normal lives to chilling effect. Atmospheric, funny, realistic, moving and… terrifying.
Darren Shan is the number-one best-selling author of the series THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN, the DEMONATA and more recently the SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY and ZOM-B. His books have been read by millions of people around the world and translated into more than 25 languages. Darren lives in seclusion in the depths of Ireland. He is a big film buff, and also loves theatre, comics and books, and collecting art. He loves dreaming up new ways to terrify his readers, but never drinks blood. Or so he claims.
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.
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.
Praise for A Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare
Cirque Du Freak: "Fast-paced and compelling, full of satisfying macabre touches, Cirque Du Freak explores the powerful fascination of the dangerous and unnatural and also, movingly, the obligations of friendship." -J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series
"Book one in the Saga of Darren Shan is poised to capture a wide audience of series horror readers." -Publishers Weekly
"Will leave readers begging for more." -Booklist
The Vampire's Assistant: "Gross-out horror fans will devour it and clamor for the next in the series." -Kirkus Reviews
"Shan creates heart-pounding, page-turning action that will keep kids reading." -School Library Journal
Cirque Du Freak (or A Living Nightmare in the US) is the first book in The Saga of Darren Shan, and also the first book in the Vampire Blood Trilogy. Written by Darren Shan it is the start of the Vampiric life of Darren Shan, a young boy who is turned into a Vampire.
Background
Darren O'Shaughnessy wrote Cirque Du Freak in the years 1998 and 1999 and it was published for the first time in January 2000 by HarperCollins through the help of the Christopher Little Literary Agency.
Story
It start with Darren narating saying he was always fascinated by spiders. When he was young, he used to bring spiders from the garden and let them loose in his house, and at the age of 9, he received the greatest gift of his life: a small tarantula. However, the joy of that gift was crushed when he, after watching a cartoon, killed the spider with a vacuum cleaner. The reason he started the 2 tale is because as the books unfold he said the story is real he doesn't expect the reader to believe but if he hadn't live through it he wouldn't believe it either. Darren makes then a statement that life, unlike a cartoon, is naturally evil, doesn't care about happy endings, and is always out to kill you. You just have to be careful. Also he said the story is real except the names.
His best friend, Steve "Leopard" Leonard has grown up reading horror comics and stories of the Wolf Man and Vampires.
One day, their other friend Alan comes across a flyer (which he has stolen from his older scary brother) advertising the "The Cirque Du Freak" and eagerly shows it to Darren, Steve, and Tommy (Darren's Other Friend). All the boys wanted to go. Each flyer could only get two tickets, however, so they play a game of chance to see who will go with Steve(Because he put the most money towards it), which Darren wins, After Listening To A Voice inside him!
Darren and Steve are mesmerized by the fantastic and disturbing show, especially by the act of the mysterious Mr. Crepsley and his giant spider Madam Octa. After witnessing a confrontation between Steve and Mr. Crepsley after the show in which Steve declares the latter to be a vampire, Darren sets his sight on Madam Octa, planning to steal her and use his knowledge of Mr. Crepsley's true nature to his full advantage.
The Saga of Darren Shan Cirque Du Freak Chapters I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 Book 11 Book 12
Darren's plan succeeds, and after a few weeks of training Madam Octa, he is fully comfortable with having it in his bedroom, using Mr. Crepsley's flute as an excuse for privacy. During this time, he grows more and more detached from Steve due to overhearing Mr. Crepsley stating that Steve has bad blood and is not good enough to become a vampire's assistant. Steve figures out that Darren lied to him and witnessed what he did, but still chooses to be friends with him.
One day while Steve is at Darren's house playing with Madam Octa, Darren's younger sister Annie barges into his room unknowingly and shocks him, causing him to drop the flute and lose control over the spider, which bites and fatally wounds Steve.
Steve's only hope for survival is if Darren makes a deal with Mr. Crepsley to become his assistant and pay off the cost of the spider antidote. Steve lives, but Darren is turned into a half-vampire, half vampire and is thrust into the dark world of the vampires. In order to successfully free Darren of all previous bonds, including family, Mr. Crepsley helps his to-be apprentice fake his own death by numbing Darren's entire body, breaking his neck, and throwing him out of his bedroom window, perfectly simulating a fatal fall. Following the events of Darren's human body's funeral, Mr. Crepsley returns and digs Darren up. Unbeknownst to Crepsley, however, Steve tries to kill Darren, but fails, instead swearing revenge on Darren for stealing his rightful place of being Mr. Crepsley's vampire assistant and betraying him.