Cirque du Freak

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Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare
CirqueDuFreak.jpg
First edition
Author Darren Shan
LanguageEnglish
Series The Saga of Darren Shan
Genre Vampire Fiction
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
January 2000
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages192
ISBN 0-00-713900-4
OCLC 42745230
Followed by The Vampire's Assistant  
Website https://darrenshan.com/

Cirque du Freak (also known as Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare) is the first of twelve novels in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan (real name Darren O'Shaugnessy), published in January 2000. [1]

A feature film adaptation of the novel, directed by Paul Weitz and starring Chris Massoglia, John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Salma Hayek, Josh Hutcherson and Willem Dafoe was released on October 23, 2009. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire literature</span> Speculative literary genre

Vampire literature covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of gothic fiction with the publication of Polidori's The Vampyre (1819), which was inspired by the life and legend of Lord Byron. Later influential works include the penny dreadful Varney the Vampire (1847); Sheridan Le Fanu's tale of a lesbian vampire, Carmilla (1872), and the most well known: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Some authors created a more "sympathetic vampire", with Varney being the first, and more recent examples such as Moto Hagio's series The Poe Clan (1972–1976) and Anne Rice's novel Interview with the Vampire (1976) proving influential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circus</span> Group of entertainers performing circus skills

A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the field of performance, training and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirque du Soleil</span> Canadian contemporary circus company

Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 June 1984 by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren O'Shaughnessy</span> Irish novelist

Darren O'Shaughnessy is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series The Saga of Darren Shan, The Demonata, and Zom-B, published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former was adapted into a manga series from 2006 to 2009 as well as a live-action film in 2009, with a prequel series, The Saga of Larten Crepsley, being released from 2010 to 2012.

<i>The Saga of Darren Shan</i> Series of books by Darren Shan

The Saga of Darren Shan is a young adult 12-part book series written by Darren O'Shaughnessy about the struggle of Darren Shan, a boy who has become involved in the world of vampires. As of October 2008, the book has been published in 33 countries around the world, in 30 different languages. A film based on the first three books in the series was released in theatres on 23 October 2009. Blackstone Audio has also released CD recordings of all 12 books in the series, read by Ralph Lïster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Chaplin</span> British-American circus performer

Victoria Agnes Chaplin-Thierrée is a British-American circus performer. She is a daughter of film actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin from his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill, and a granddaughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill.

<i>Tunnels of Blood</i> Novel by Darren Shan

Tunnels of Blood is the third novel of twelve in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan. In this book, the history of the vampires is explained to a small bit, and introduces the clan of the Vampaneze, which will become one of the major focuses of the story. It is also the final book of the Vampire Blood trilogy and where Darren's loyalty and trust in Mr. Crepsley is put to the test.

<i>Vampire Blood</i>

Vampire Blood is the first trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by the author Darren Shan. It contains the books Cirque du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant and Tunnels of Blood. These starting books explore how Darren must adapt to his new life, and what that entails. The first book contains the reasons why he became a half-vampire and what he had to give up in order to save his ex-best friend, as well as introducing the character. The second and third go into more detail about how he has to change and what he will never be able to do. The main theme for the whole of the trilogy is insecurity. Darren has just been changed into something hardly anyone would accept, and this, combined with the fact that he is just a child, leads into a darker and more unusual way to grow up.

Vampire Rites is the second trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. It contains the books Vampire Mountain, Trials of Death and The Vampire Prince. This trilogy involves more of the various vampire characters, and their beliefs and customs. This trilogy's main theme is religion, compared to the previous one, it brings a whole new take on the vampire way of life and shows the kinder, better side of the vampires involved. These books show a more relaxed character of Darren Shan towards the more gruesome aspects of vampire life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Carlson</span> American actress from New York City

Jessica Carlson is an American actress from New York City, known for her role as Rebecca the monkey girl in the Universal's Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.

<i>Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant</i> 2009 American film

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is a 2009 American fantasy film directed by Paul Weitz and co-screenplay adapted with Brian Helgeland, loosely based on the Vampire Blood trilogy of the book series The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. The first three books in the 12-part series—Cirque du Freak, The Vampire’s Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood—inspired the film. The film received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure.

Mark Schreiber is an American writer. He has written over forty books, mostly novels but also memoirs, essays and general science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Massoglia</span> American actor

Christopher Paul Massoglia is an American actor and a city council member for Blaine, Minnesota.

Yusuke Yamamoto is a Japanese actor and DJ. He was born in Aichi, Japan. His debut role was as Tsurugi Kamishiro, a.k.a. Kamen Rider Sasword, in Kamen Rider Kabuto.

<i>Cirque du Freak</i> (manga) Japanese manga series

Cirque du Freak, known as The Saga of Darren Shan in Japan, is a Japanese manga series illustrated by Takahiro Arai and based on the book series The Saga of Darren Shan by author Darren Shan. The series was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 2006 to February 2009, with its chapters compiled in twelve tankōbon volumes.

<i>Zom-B</i> Series of books which deals with a zombie apocalypse from the zombie perspective

Zom-B is a young adult zombie apocalyptic-thriller novel series by written by Irish author Darren O'Shaughnessy under the pen name Darren Shan. The series is told by first-person perspective of B Smith, a teenager turned into a zombie. Like Shan's previous series, Zom-B is notable for exploring themes of racism, xenophobia, and the sociological concept of "us and them".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McManus</span> American actor

Don McManus is an American character actor of film and television. He became better known after his performance as Duncan in the Seinfeld episode "The Race". Born in San Diego, California, he is a graduate of Yale University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake of Ghosts</span> Lake in Iran

The Lake of Ghosts is a small lake situated in the richly-forested Iranian province of Mazandaran, and located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the city of Nowshahr. The settlement nearest the lake is the village of Vanush. The local name for this lake is Mamraz, but it is better known by the names "Ghost Lake" or "Lake of Ghosts" - given it in reference to its eerie swampland landscape featuring countless half-drowned trees, often shrouded in mist, giving them the appearance of phantoms.

References

  1. Rivett, Miriam (1 June 2002). "Cirque du Freak". Children's Literature in Education . 33 (2): 97–106. doi:10.1023/A:1015227716438. ISSN   1573-1693. S2CID   189840853.
  2. Sellers, John (8 October 2009). "Movie Alert: Cirque Du Freak". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 10 August 2014.