charlottevandenberg's review against another edition
3.0
When a friend of mine recommended a young adult series to me about vampires I was a little hesitant. Thinking back a few years to the time I tried many vampire series friends of mine loved I almost lost interest completely. But I trusted this friend and decided to check it out. I could always stop reading after the first book. I was relieved to see that this book didn’t look like any of the other vampire books I tried to read so I didn’t have come up with an excuse why I couldn’t read this series. I’m so glad I gave it a chance.
This is the seventh book of the series and it still isn’t boring or predictable. These are great books if you feel yourself getting into a reading slump and you need to read a book that’s interesting and easy. I usually read these books when I’m reading a something that’s hard to get through and I need a break.
I liked this book but I did have a few problems with some things:
This book had a new character I didn’t like. We meet a new prince: Vancha. The way he acts is just too much and extreme. I would have liked him better if the way he behaved was more subtle. There was a conversation between him and Darren where we find out he want to beat the sun so he tortures himself by walking around in daylight. I don’t know maybe I’m wrong but that makes no sense to me.
Darren goes through something called '’the purge’’. It’s a sort of super-fast vampire puberty. I didn’t like this because I loved reading about him struggling with growing up so slowly and it was so unexpected and felt forced.
The names vampaneze and vampets. I don’t think it should be very hard to come up with something better than that.
This is the seventh book of the series and it still isn’t boring or predictable. These are great books if you feel yourself getting into a reading slump and you need to read a book that’s interesting and easy. I usually read these books when I’m reading a something that’s hard to get through and I need a break.
I liked this book but I did have a few problems with some things:
This book had a new character I didn’t like. We meet a new prince: Vancha. The way he acts is just too much and extreme. I would have liked him better if the way he behaved was more subtle. There was a conversation between him and Darren where we find out he want to beat the sun so he tortures himself by walking around in daylight. I don’t know maybe I’m wrong but that makes no sense to me.
Darren goes through something called '’the purge’’. It’s a sort of super-fast vampire puberty. I didn’t like this because I loved reading about him struggling with growing up so slowly and it was so unexpected and felt forced.
The names vampaneze and vampets. I don’t think it should be very hard to come up with something better than that.
alexampersand's review against another edition
3.0
This one felt like quite a slog. I'm really not such a huge fan of the journey-preparing-for-war type story, and I'm concerned that that's what the entire rest of the series is going to be. I'm disappointed that in the previous book there were some hints at the moral and ethical dilemmas of the fight against the vampaneze, but those seem to have been cast aside in this book. I hope it comes back into play at some point...
19minnie's review against another edition
3.0
Weeral een leuk verhaal rond deze halfvampier. Het viel me nu wel op dat er telkens gewerkt wordt met trilogiën binnen de serie rond Darren Shan.
nerdypotsie's review against another edition
3.0
This book was mainly just a filler book. Most of the book was spent setting up the rest of the series and the conflict didn't appear until the very end of this book, but I still enjoyed this one. I feel really attached to the characters and I'm always eager to find out what happens next even in the slow parts.
I have so many questions about this series though that I hoped get answered in the next books. Here's just some of my many unanswered questions (slight spoiler warning):
-Where is that kid from the first book that was friends with Darren? I thought he wanted to hunt vampires, so I assumed he was going to come back as a villain, but he literally just disappeared. What happened to him?
-Why do they trust Mr. Tiny and how did Mr. Tiny get his powers? Is he a god?
-How does Darren still know that he has human cells after the thing that happened to him in this book? Cells are so tiny that I wouldn't think someone would know which cells are in or not in their body without testing?
-Why is the series called "Cirque du Freak" when it barely involves the cirque anymore?
-Why is a kid named Shankus? I mean it sort of answered this, but imagine meeting someone new and saying "My name is Shankus." Like no! That poor child...
I will be continuing with this series in the future and if my concussion symptoms ever go away, I want to watch the movie adaptation of this series just to make fun of how awful it is.
I have so many questions about this series though that I hoped get answered in the next books. Here's just some of my many unanswered questions (slight spoiler warning):
-Where is that kid from the first book that was friends with Darren? I thought he wanted to hunt vampires, so I assumed he was going to come back as a villain, but he literally just disappeared. What happened to him?
-Why do they trust Mr. Tiny and how did Mr. Tiny get his powers? Is he a god?
-How does Darren still know that he has human cells after the thing that happened to him in this book? Cells are so tiny that I wouldn't think someone would know which cells are in or not in their body without testing?
-Why is the series called "Cirque du Freak" when it barely involves the cirque anymore?
-Why is a kid named Shankus? I mean it sort of answered this, but imagine meeting someone new and saying "My name is Shankus." Like no! That poor child...
I will be continuing with this series in the future and if my concussion symptoms ever go away, I want to watch the movie adaptation of this series just to make fun of how awful it is.
sterlingsilver's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gemtrants's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
heyjarrod's review against another edition
5.0
The time jumps in these books get me a little bit because it doesn't seem like Darren matures (internally, not externally) as much as he should. But the author does a good job getting us up to speed and onto the next adventure quickly. I enjoyed the return to the Cirque, however short-lived, though the crux battle and reveal of the book really happens in a flash.
tramuntana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
4.25
A vampiric road trip with some new characters and a nice little twist at the end.
sean67's review against another edition
3.0
I was finally able to get a copy of book #7 of the series, and begin the second half of it.
This seemed more of a bridge entry and begins a whole new phase of the saga.
I wonder though is there ever a horror book that is actually horrific and frightening?
This seemed more of a bridge entry and begins a whole new phase of the saga.
I wonder though is there ever a horror book that is actually horrific and frightening?
ugh1ife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really loved the new characters introduced and a reintroduction to some old favorites.