Cirque du Freak
First edition
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| Author | Darren Shan |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Saga of Darren Shan |
| Genre | Vampire Fiction |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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January 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 182 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 42745230 |
| Followed by | The Vampire's Assistant |
Cirque du Freak (also known as Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare) is the first novel in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan, published in January 2000. The story begins with Darren Shan and his best friend Steve "Leopard", who visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices that neither of them could have ever thought possible.
A feature film adaption of the novel, directed by Paul Weitz and starring Chris Massoglia, John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson and Willem Dafoe was released on October 23, 2009.
Darren Shan starts narrating the story by 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 despite what his mom said about never bringing them in, 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. As the book unfolds, the reader finds out that the story is true. Darren says he doesn't expect the reader to believe, but if he hadn't lived through it, he wouldn't believe it, either. He explains, "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." He also explains that everything written is true, except for the names.
His best friend, Steve "Leopard" Leonard, has grown up reading horror comics and stories of the Wolfman and Vampires. One day, their other friend Alan comes across a flyer (which he has stolen from his older scary brother) advertising "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). During Darren's turn, he hears a voice inside his mind telling him to "close his eyes and grasp". He does so, and ends up winning. Darren proceeds to accompany Steve to the Cirque.
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. Mr. Crepsley's act consists of him letting the highly poisonous spider out of her cage and controlling her actions via telepathic communication, using a small flute to focus his thoughts. One bite from Madam Octa will kill a human being after several days.
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