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ENTERTAINMENT
Tara Donahue: 'Cirque du Freak' series could fill 'Twilight' void
With the end of the "Twilight" saga, I found myself craving another vampire series. I'd heard about the "Cirque du Freak" series from several people, and it came highly recommended. I picked up the first book of the 12-book series, "The Living Nightmare." I was definitely not disappointed.
There are not that many authors out there that write good horror fiction for the young adult crowd. Even though he wouldn't be out of his league with fellow authors such as Lois Duncan, R.L. Stine and Clive Barker, Darren Shan offers a fresh take on the genre, creating a world where all the creatures that go bump in the night are real.
This first installment sets up the story for each of the remaining books in this fascinating series. Reading like a memoir of the main character, this book provides many fascinating twists and bizarre turns beginning with a disclaimer that his name is in fact, not Darren Shan.
Instead, our protagonist insists that the only thing about the story that isn't real are the names of the characters involved. To protect the innocent, of course.
The story centers around not only Darren, but his friend Steve Leonard. Together, they obtain tickets to an aptly-titled freak show, Cirque du Freak after pooling their money together with two other boys. Since there is only enough money for two tickets, Darren receives one for putting the most in and the other three boys draw for the other ticket.
Having won the coveted prize, Steve joins his friend for a veritable circus with many and varied sideshows including all kinds of interesting characters like a werewolf, giant, contortionist, a snake boy, vampire with a performing spider and, of course, a bearded lady.
The cirque leaves both boys astonished, particularly by the act of Mr. Crepsley, the "spider charmer" and his performing spider, Madam Octa. Darren becomes fascinated by the poisonous spider and decides he must possess her as his own. Unbeknownst to him, Steve has become ensnared by a similarly unavoidable draw to Mr. Crepsley.
It is here that the boy's friendship becomes estranged after Darren witnesses the fateful confrontation between his friend and the man that Steve recognizes from a book as a vampire. It is Steve's desire to become Crepsley's assistant and his subsequent obsession that throw the boys' friendship into turmoil, leaving them estranged throughout the rest of the book.
From there, the story spirals into a desperate race against time and the most unusual of circumstances as one of the boys tries to save his friend. He is tested and forced to confront the lengths that he is willing to go to and the price he will ultimately pay so that his friend won't pay the ultimate price.
Even with its peculiar surroundings, it is a situation that anyone can relate to. If your friend was in deep peril, how far would you go to save them? How much would you give up for their sake? What would you do if it was your fault they were dying?
Is there anything you wouldn't do to rescue a friend? And if you could, would it be worth it if saving them meant giving up yourself and that your friendship was beyond salvation?
These are heavy questions for anyone to answer, much less a teenager. But for one of our two main characters, they must be answered. To find out who becomes trapped in a spider web bigger than even Madam Octa could spin and who must fearlessly brave the web's sticky, silken strands, you'll have to read "The Living Nightmare."
But don't stop there. The ending of the book is only the beginning of the answers you will need. You will not be able to wait to pick up right where you left off in the second book of the series, "The Vampire's Assistant."
This young adult novel, which is also adventurous and suspenseful enough to keep adult readers entertained and enthralled, ends on such a cliffhanger you'll find yourself in your own living nightmare without the next book.
Tara Donahue is an employee of Empire Books and News at Pullman Square in Huntington.
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