Cirque du Freak: Allies of the Night

 

Level: Teen

Genre: Fantasy/Horror > Vampires

Obtained: Purchased at Borders

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

About the Book:

One opportunity has passed for Darren, Crepsley, and Vancha to be rid of the Vampaneze Lord. After this, Vancha has returned to Vampire Mountain to relay the news while Darren and Mr. Crepsley return to Crepsley's birth town. The murders have returned once more, and both Crepsley and Darren are determined to stop it, but someone seems to know about them and their prior encounter with the mad vampaneze, Murlough, and this mysterious stranger is also forcing Darren to attend school, where he runs into his old girlfriend, Debbie. Meanwhile, a man with hooks for hands is running around, along with another old friend: Steve Leonard!

Rating: 8/10

The series and trilogy continue with another interesting tale. Although this trilogy seems to be a bit drawn out, I did not find it overly so. I was quite interested in who the hook man was (and when I found out, I was amazed). Yes, you could probably easily figure it out who it was of you put your mind to it, but if you're mainly along for the ride, like me, you will be astounded. Now, while Hooky's reveal was a surprise for me, Steve's path was not. Maybe it is because I have seen the movie (though that is very loosely based), but I still believe that it would be fairly obvious, which kind of lessened the suspense for me. 

Now, even though I saw where Steve's character was heading, Shan was still able to keep a good amount of suspense and action throughout the book. Actually, the only thing I really disliked was Debbie. It seemed as if the only reason she was placed in this book (so far. I hope she will very useful later in the series) was to be a victim. She also seemed to believe in vampires way too easily, and then she forces herself upon Darren and company, where she ends up being more of a liability than a help, which anyone ought to have seen coming. Honestly, I think I would have liked her more if she had stayed out of the tunnels. Even with these annoyances though, Shan still manages to pen an interesting tale that I cannot wait to finish.

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