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231 reviews for:
Cirque Du Freak #12: Sons of Destiny: Book 12 in the Saga of Darren Shan
Darren Shan
4.01 AVERAGE
231 reviews for:
Cirque Du Freak #12: Sons of Destiny: Book 12 in the Saga of Darren Shan
Darren Shan
4.01 AVERAGE
I personally loved the ending. Sure it pissed me off at first, but then I started thinking. This is probably the best ending I have ever read. You know exactly what happens afterwards, because nothing changed. You can even think that the books written is his journal published. Hence why the Author named his main character after himself. The ending is just perfect.
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I never liked the ending of the saga. I think I liked it even less the second time around. It's a hard time finishing any series but this one is extra tough. Doesn't feel like there's any closure or real goodbye for a lot of my favourite characters.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
SONS OF DESTINY is the final showdown between Steve and Darren, as they both learn who set them in the other's path.
This wraps up Darren and Steve's conflict with a final confrontation. It addresses some of what happens to the other characters afterward, but only in brief detail. It kind of has a new storyline about what happens to Darren after the conflict, but that's so much of a continuation/redo that I'm not sure whether it counts as a new storyline. It introduces and resolves Darren's transformation. As the final book in the series it wraps up Darren's personal storyline as well as a smattering of other plot threads. Darren is still the narrator, as he has been for the whole series.
It would not make sense to start here, not only is this the final book but it revisits some early events from an altered perspective. To read this without having read any of the others would be a pile of massive spoilers which would be in danger of feeling anticlimactic because they lacked context. The book starts with a concise and useful summation of the series so far, but that's more useful for those who waited a while between reading the other books and this one, and would most likely be insufficient context for anyone who tried skipping the others and just reading this.
The plot picks up where LORD OF THE SHADOWS left off, with Darren and Vancha figuring out what to do with Darius and dealing with Steve's actions at the end of that book. It packs an incredible amount of incredibly spoilery worldbuilding and character work into a very small space, with a villain speech which ties things together with brutal clarity, all the way back to the start of the series. The second part of the book is devoted to the aftermath of the violent clash. The ending is the reason I wanted to re-read this series. I loved it as a kid and I'm so glad it mostly held up now that I'm an adult. It's not the only series that has this kind of finale, but it does it very well and it was the first such ending I'd read.
This wraps up Darren and Steve's conflict with a final confrontation. It addresses some of what happens to the other characters afterward, but only in brief detail. It kind of has a new storyline about what happens to Darren after the conflict, but that's so much of a continuation/redo that I'm not sure whether it counts as a new storyline. It introduces and resolves Darren's transformation. As the final book in the series it wraps up Darren's personal storyline as well as a smattering of other plot threads. Darren is still the narrator, as he has been for the whole series.
It would not make sense to start here, not only is this the final book but it revisits some early events from an altered perspective. To read this without having read any of the others would be a pile of massive spoilers which would be in danger of feeling anticlimactic because they lacked context. The book starts with a concise and useful summation of the series so far, but that's more useful for those who waited a while between reading the other books and this one, and would most likely be insufficient context for anyone who tried skipping the others and just reading this.
The plot picks up where LORD OF THE SHADOWS left off, with Darren and Vancha figuring out what to do with Darius and dealing with Steve's actions at the end of that book. It packs an incredible amount of incredibly spoilery worldbuilding and character work into a very small space, with a villain speech which ties things together with brutal clarity, all the way back to the start of the series. The second part of the book is devoted to the aftermath of the violent clash. The ending is the reason I wanted to re-read this series. I loved it as a kid and I'm so glad it mostly held up now that I'm an adult. It's not the only series that has this kind of finale, but it does it very well and it was the first such ending I'd read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Self harm, Vomit
Definitely a must read for any young teens!! Reading these over the last few months has been a delight <3
A shame about the ending which felt a bit like a cop out. Would have loved a final ‘where they are now’ chapter though I understand that the diary format makes that quite difficult. What happened to Alice, Debbie, Evanna, Harkat, Des Tiny, The War of the Scars? Wrapping it all up a little more would have been nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Depending on your perspective you may find this book to be either
a) the big cop out ending that had a touch of the it was all a dream or
b) very satisfying and clearly designed right from the beginning of book one and a great way to end.
I'm closer to b than a although I could understand why people would be frustrated.
The big twist if you call it that midway in the book was clearly the only option left to Darren and that was obvious to me anyway, after that though, it was more unexpected.
Overall it was a decent series, and of the three I have read the one I like second most.
a) the big cop out ending that had a touch of the it was all a dream or
b) very satisfying and clearly designed right from the beginning of book one and a great way to end.
I'm closer to b than a although I could understand why people would be frustrated.
The big twist if you call it that midway in the book was clearly the only option left to Darren and that was obvious to me anyway, after that though, it was more unexpected.
Overall it was a decent series, and of the three I have read the one I like second most.
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A solid end to the series, very predictable like the other books but still enjoyable.
Not exactly how I thought it would end but it was still overall a great series. Can’t wait for my step son to be old enough to read these books.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated