This is probably the most-requested set of books in the Evans library. After reading A Living Nightmare (book 1), I can see why. Cirque du Freak books are fun, funny, exciting, scary (a little bit), and imaginative. They do for vampires what Harry Potter did for wizards. Here's how Amazon.com describes the action:

"Darren Shan, author and narrator, sets the book up as a true story, warning readers: "Real life's nasty. It's cruel.... Evil often wins." Indeed, evil begins to win when Darren and his buddies find a flier for "Cirque Du Freak," a traveling freak show promising performances by the snake-boy, the wolf-man, and Larten Crepsley and his giant spider, Madame Octa. Darren and his friend Steve wouldn't miss it for the world.
So, Saturday night they sneak out to the old theater, tall and dark, with broken windows. "Every act you see tonight is real," croaks Mr. Tall. "Each performer is unique. And none are harmless." That's for sure. (A werewolf bites off the hand of someone in the audience, for instance.) Things grow very serious for the two boys when Steve not only recognizes Mr. Crepsley as a famous vampire, but professes his true desire to join him! To make matters worse, the spider-obsessed Darren goes back to the old theater to steal Madame Octa so he can teach her tricks in his room. (He does, with mixed results.) The plot further coagulates as Darren is faced with some terrible decisions about what to do to save his bloodthirsty friend Steve."

I love all the vampire details that Darren Shan invents, going beyond the usual stake-coffin-garlic-can't tolerate daylight thing. Shan's vampires have a culture and a code of ethics. They are divided into two sects: the normal Vampires who only drink small amounts of blood to live and the murderous Vampanese, who drink until their victims are dead. Darren sides with the vampires.

Nice kid Darren is drawn unwillingly into the world of the vampires as Mr. Crepsley's apprentice. Forced to become a half-vampire to save his friend, he struggles to adjust to his new destiny (wink wink to those who have read the whole series).

It's not as beautifully written as Harry Potter but that's alright. It's great fun. After all, Darren tells the story in his own words and he's supposed to be a British schoolboy, not Shakespeare.

The books in the series are:

*A Living Nightmare
*The Vampire's Assistant
*Tunnels of Blood
*Vampire Mountain
*Trials of Death
*The Vampire Prince
*Hunters of the Dusk
*Allies of the Night
*Killers of the Dawn

*Lake of Souls

*Lord of the Shadows (not yet released in the U.S. but I have it!)

*Sons of Destiny (not yet released in the U.S. but I have it!)

Books 10, 11, and 12 have not been released in the U.S. yet. Right now you can only get them by going through Amazon.com UK (United Kingdom) and paying an extra $30 for shipping. I admit that I actually did this! Just had to find out how it all turns out, you know? :)

Check out this series on the web by clicking here.

Send me your comments about this series and I'll post them.

Hobey Ho, Evans Panthers!

Welcome to the reading club blog. This is the place to hear (o.k. read!) about books I love and recommend all the time. Why Hobey Ho? Well, if you've read the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale you probably already know! If not, read on and I'll tell you......

Merchant of Death
Bobby Pendragon is a pretty normal guy. He's the point guard for his Jr. High basketball team and he's finally getting to kiss (whoo hoo!) the girl he's liked since second grade. Suddenly, his world is turned upside down by his mysterious uncle Press. Soon, Bobby and Press are roaring to NY City on a motorcycle, climbing through an abandoned subway station, and being attacked by killer dogs called Quigs. An evil dude named Saint Dane complicates things and Bobby finds himself alone, jumping through a doorway which turns out to be a "flume" (tunnel) to another dimension. It turns out that Uncle Press is a Traveler, a person who can ride the flumes through time and space .

He needs Bobby to help him save the world.

The Worlds.....

All of them!

Did you know that we live on "Second Earth? In this series the Territories of Halla (the universe) include First Earth (like our own but set in the past), Denduron, Cloral, Veelox, and more. Each book in the series introduces you to another territory. Bobby learns how to be a traveler while he battles Saint Dane. The books is full of exciting adventures and memorable characters.

My favorite character is Spader from the second book, The Lost City of Faar. Spader's this kind of surfer-dude which comes in handy on his mostly-water planet. Spader's cool....he rides a jet-ski thingie and is quick with a joke. His temper and his love of action get him into trouble a lot, but he is Bobby's loyal friend. Spader's favorite expression is "Hobey Ho!" which can mean hello, goodbye, or "oh my gosh, we're about to be eaten!". Spader rocks.

Did I mention that Bobby's best friend Mark and his girlfriend Courtney are also important characters? No?

Most people who meet Mark would probably call him a nerd. He's super-popular Bobby's main connection to home, though. Bobby sends Mark his journals by means of a powerful ring. Mark shares them with Courtney and that's how we readers get to hear Bobby's story. Courtney is an amazing girl...beautiful, fearless, and a powerful athlete.

I like all these characters a whole lot and that's one reason I recommend the books. As a reader, I can't stand a book if the main character is boring or annoying. These books also give your mind something to work on. The author makes Bobby (and you, the reader) think about larger issues. You know, important stuff like....

What happens when mankind tries to improve things but messes with nature too much?

Or what happens when a primitive, oppressed society gets weapons of mass destruction?

Bet you've heard some of these topics right on today's news. Like I said, it's more than just consuming mind-candy to read these books. They are exciting, but they have a bit of depth to them as well.

Here is a list of the titles in order:

*Merchant of Death
*The Lost City of Faar
*The Never War
*The Reality Bug
*Black Water
*Rivers of Zadaa

Send me your thoughts on the books and I'll add your post.

Hobey Ho!

Mrs. Niche

p.s.- Click here to visit the official Pendragon series website.