num_pages: 183
description: The chilling Saga of Darren Shan, the ordinary schoolboy plunged into the vampire world. 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.
language: English
title: Cirque Du Freak
titlecomplete: Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan, #1)
characters: Sheila Leigh, Rhamus Twobellies, Gertha Teeth, Alan Morris, Annie Shan, Darren Shan, Evra Von, Wolf-Man, Hans Hands, Mrs. Quinn, Dermot Shan, Truska, Tommy Jones, Steve Leonard, Mr. Dalton, Angela Shan, Seersa, Sive, Madam Octa, Hibernius Tall, Larten Crepsley, Dave Morgan, Danny Curtain, Sam White, Mrs. Leonard, Tony Morris, Alexander Ribs
genres: Paranormal, Adventure, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Vampires, Middle Grade, Supernatural, Fiction, Horror
ratings_count: 57916
places: The United States of America
series: The Saga of Darren Shan
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Soaring Eagle Book Award
publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books