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CURLED
UP KIDS --
reviewed
by
Bobby
Blades |
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What do
you get
when you
mix
Cirque
De
Soleil
with
Todd
Browning’s
1932
cult
classic
film
Freaks?
You get
Darren
Shan’s
Cirque
Du Freak.
Coming
off the
highly
successful
tenth
entry of
the
Cirque
series,
Lake Of
Souls,
the
eleventh
entry
(titled
Lord Of
The
Shadows)
continues
in the
same
vampire/fantasy
tradition
set in
the
previous
books.
This one
opens up
with
Darren
having
the most
wicked
of
nightmares:
“In
the
distance
a
wave
of
blood
was
building.
Red,
towering,
topped
with
spitting
heads
of
fire.
On a
vast
plain,
a
mass
of
vampires
waited.
All
three
thousand
or
so
faced
the
onrushing
wave.
AT
the
rear,
separated
from
the
crowd,
I
stood
alone.
I
was
trying
to
push
forward
-- I
wanted
to
be
with
the
rest
of
the
clan
when
the
wave
hit
–
but
an
invisible
force
held
me
back.
As I
struggled,
roaring
silently
– my
voice
didn’t
work
here
–
the
wave
swept
ever
nearer.
The
vampires
pulled
closer
together,
terrified
but
proud,
facing
their
deaths
with
dignity.”
Without
giving
too much
away,
Darren’s
dream in
the
prologue
ends
with
some
ironic
twists
and
foreshadowing.
All of
the
chapters
are
mini-cliffhangers,
making
for a
very
exciting
and
fun-filled
read.
Darren
wakes
from his
dream
screaming
and is
greeted
by the
tiny
stitched-up,
gray-skinned
Harkat.
They
make
their
way back
to
Cirque
Du Freak
and find
out from
Mr. Tall
that the
troupe
is going
to
Darren’s
hometown.
Darren
would
love to
see his
family
and
friends,
but he
knows
the
dangers
of doing
that
during
this
point in
the war
with the
Vampaneze.
After an
incident
with his
old
friend
Tommy,
Darren
has an
altercation
with
R.V. and
Morgan
James,
bringing
him
face-to-face
with the
prime
protector
of the
Lord of
the
Vampaneze,
Steve
Leopard.
Darren
eventually
faces
off with
Leopard
in a
battle
that
will
determine
the fate
of
vampires
everywhere.
Lord Of
The
Shadows
is a
gory,
fast-paced,
thrill-a-minute
vampire
fantasy
filled
with
great
characters
that
will
please
longtime
fans and
make a
whole
bunch of
new
ones.
http://www.curledupkids.com/cdflordo.htm |
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