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EPINIONS --
reviewed
by
"Freak" |
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You're
One Step
Closer
To
Knowing
The
Identity
of "The
Lord of
The
Shadows"...
Author's
Product
Rating
Pros
Some
very
interesting
plot
twists,
the
realization
of the
true
Lord of
The
Shadows.
Cons
Too much
back
tracking
and
recapping
from
previous
books.
The
Bottom
Line
"The
world is
set to
produce
a
monster
of
unimaginable
power
and
fury.
His
coming
is
unavoidable.
Only his
identity
is yet
to be
determined...and
that
will be
decided
shortly"
Full
Review
The
Cirque
Du Freak
series
by
Darren
Shan
completely
took my
by
surprise;
someone
sent me
a copy
of one
of the
books
from the
beginning
of the
series
and even
though
it is
listed
as teen
fiction,
it is an
incredible
story.
My cell
phone
started
beeping
letting
me know
I'd
received
a text
message;
nothing
out of
the
ordinary
about
that.
When I
checked
the
message
it said,
"Lord of
Shadows
came
in", it
was from
a friend
of mine
that
works at
the
library.
Normally
if I am
into a
series
I'll
just buy
the
books so
I can
read
them
when
ever I
want ...
but the
Shan
books
are
different.
All the
local
bookstores
that
claimed
to have
them in
stock
were
sold out
and if I
ordered
one
online
it would
be at
least
two
weeks
before
it would
ship. I
put my
name on
the
reserve
list at
the
library
for
:"Lord
of The
Shadows"
as soon
as it
was
entered
[I'm
talking
a month
and a
half
ago]
but
it said
that the
release
date
wasn't
until
mid June
so when
I got
the text
message
I
assumed
who ever
entered
the
books
got the
title
wrong
...
there
was no
way that
a public
library
would
get it
in
before a
bookstore.....
So how
come I
have the
copy of
"Lord of
The
Shadows"
sitting
next to
me ...
I'll
have to
chalk it
up to
fate.
I've
been
flipping
through
the
pages
here and
there
but I
wanted
to see
how long
it would
take me
to get
through
all 220
pages.
It's
4:20
right
now [no
snickering]
so let's
see how
long it
does
take me
to get
through
this.
8:43. A
little
over
four
hours
... I
would
have
been
done
about an
hour
earlier
but I
had to
take a
break
and whip
up some
dinner.
So what
did I
think?
Part of
me is
let down
by some
of the
unnecessary
stuff
but
overall,
it shows
just how
much
Shan has
put into
the
entire
plot.
This
isn't
something
that you
sit down
and whip
out in a
couple
of hours
then
'think
up' the
next
part of
the
story.
It's
sort of
like
building
a house,
you have
to have
a rough
plan to
start
with and
while
you can
make
some
small
changes
here and
there as
you go
alone,
you
pretty
much
know
what the
end
result
is gong
to be.
According
to the
last
page
there is
only one
more
book in
the
Cirque
Du Freak
saga but
I am
hoping
that he
will
have a
spin off
series
or
something
besides
Demonata
in the
works.
How does
this
stack up
to the
other
books?
Well,
there
are a
lot of
pages
that
cover
past
events
that
were
critical
to where
Darren
ended up
in this
book ...
stuff
that I
felt was
unnecessary.
This is
the
eleventh
book in
the
series,
who in
their
right
mind is
going to
buy
something
that far
into the
story
and
expect
to be
able to
understand
what is
going
on.
Likewise,
it was a
little
foolish
for Shan
to spend
so much
time
back
tracking
and
recounting
things.
The
Lord of
The
Shadows
I have
no idea
how many
people
at
Epinions
have
read any
of
Shan's
books in
Cirque
Du Freak
so I'm a
little
unsure
of what
all I
should
mention.
Some of
the past
characters
that
return
in this
one
include
Debbie,
R.V.,
Alice,
Vancha,
Mr.Tall,
Harkat,
Gannen
and of
course
Steve
[there
are more
recurring
characters
but I
have to
leave
out some
things
to keep
you
interested].
When the
story
starts
up
Harkat
and
Darren
are back
with the
Cirque
Du
Freak,
recovering
from
past
events
and
trying
to
figure
out
Desmond
Tiny's
prophecy
about
the War
of The
Scars.
Mr. Tall
pulls
Darren
aside to
show him
the map
and
where
the
Cirque
is
headed
... back
to his
former
hometown.
He
offers
Darren
an easy
out, he
can take
another
path and
meet up
with
them
later.
When
asked
for his
advice,
Tall
suggests
that it
would be
better
if he
didn't
return
to his
hometown
but Shan
feels
the need
to 'go
home'
...
knowing
full and
well
that it
may be
the last
time he
will
ever be
able to.
There
aren't
many new
characters
introduced
but
there
are some
like
Darren's
former
friends
Evra Von
[from
the
Cirque]
and
Tommy
Jones
[childhood
friend]
that are
critical
to the
development
of this
part of
the
story.
You
learn a
lot more
about
them and
what's
happened
to them
over the
years.
The same
goes for
Darren's
family.
His
younger
sister
had a
baby
when she
was 16,
his
parents
moved
away
after
Darren's
"death"
and his
nephew
is ...
well ...
I am not
going to
let that
cat out
of the
bag.
There
are some
parts of
the book
that
seem to
drag on
for
pages
and some
that
seem
rushed.
One
thing
that
really
confused
me was
Darren's
sister
having a
baby ...
the next
door
neighbor
spotted
Shan in
the
backyard
and
asked
him what
he was
doing
there.
When she
was
satisfied
with his
story
that he
was a
cousin
she gave
him all
the
scoop.
The book
doesn't
say what
Annie
does for
a living
to
support
herself
and her
child,
if her
parents
gave her
the
house or
any of
the
basic
things
that
would
make it
a little
more
believable.
It seems
completely
moronic
for me
to make
this
statement
but I
really
didn't
feel it
was
necessary
to have
Annie at
the age
of
sixteen
[not
married]
get
pregnant.
Shan
could
have
aged the
story a
few more
years or
had her
married
/
widowed.
This is
teen
fiction
...and
in my
opinion
that
stuff
doesn't
need to
be in
teen
fiction.
The main
theme of
the book
is the
confrontation
between
Shan and
Steve;
it was
uncovered
on the
last
book
that he
was the
leader
of the
Vampaneze
and that
either
Steve or
Shan
would
move on
to
carrying
the
title of
the Lord
of The
Shadows.
Shan has
to face
a lot of
truths
in this
book;
his
destiny
isn't as
clear
cut as
he once
thought.
He is
still
coping
with the
betrayals,
deaths
and
events
from
Killers
of The
Dawn
and
The Lake
of Souls.
This
book
doesn't
have as
much
back
stabbing
in it
but more
than a
few
people
are
killed
off and
you do
finally
learn
about
Mr. Tall
and the
extent
of his
powers.
Since
there is
only one
book
left in
the
series
you
really
have to
wonder
how many
loose
ends
Shan is
going to
be able
to tie
up
before
the
Cirque
comes to
a close.
A lot of
major
things
have
been
taken
care of
in other
books
but
there
are more
than a
few cans
of worms
opened
in this
book.
Debbie.
Annie.
Gannen.
I have
to
wonder
if it
was a
wise
move for
Shan to
close
things
out with
"Sons of
Destiny".
The
Bottom
Line
In some
ways
this was
a let
down for
me, I
waited a
long
time
between
The Lake
of Souls
and this
book and
when I
got done
reading
it I was
sitting
there
going,
"That's
it?".
The
ending
is
slightly
predictable
because
of the
lead up
through
most of
the book
but you
have to
wonder
what is
going to
happen
now that
[name
removed
to avoid
spoiling
a major
part of
the
book]
has seen
people's
true
colors.
There
are no
spoilers
at the
end of
the book
so you
are
going to
have to
go into
reading
"Sons of
Destiny"
blindly.
If
memory
serves
me
correctly
all the
other
books in
Cirque
Du Freak
had
eight to
ten page
spoilers
at the
end of
the
books
... this
one
doesn't
so I
have no
idea
what is
going to
happen
in the
next
book.
There
are any
number
of ways
that
things
could go
but from
what is
foretold
in this
one ...
no
matter
who
becomes
the Lord
of The
Shadows,
it
doesn't
look
good for
humans.
I will
add this
- if
Shan
pulls a
"...
and then
I woke
up in a
pool of
sweat
and
realized
it was
all a
dream..."
plot
twist I
will
never
read
another
one of
his
books.
There's
this
tiny
little
part of
me that
thinks
that is
where he
is going
to go
with
this so
if that
happens
... you
read it
here
first. I
mean, it
would be
an easy
way to
solve
the Lord
of The
Shadows
problem
... he
could
wake up
from the
dream
and opt
to not
go to
the
Cirque
Du Freak
show
where
the
whole
story
started.
As I
said, if
that is
the
route he
goes
with the
ending
of the
next
book I
will
never
read
anything
from him
again.
http://www.epinions.com/content_248944561796
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