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EPINIONS --
reviewed
by
Freak
369 |
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Destiny
Is
Fulfilled
In The
Climax
of
Darren
Shan's
'Cirque
Du
Freak'
Series
Pros
Lots of
plot
twists,
you
finally
learn
about
the true
Lord of
The
Shadows.
Cons
You will
feel
like
kicking
yourself
for not
getting
the pun
in the
title.
The
Bottom
Line
If you
are a
fan of
the
series
then
consider
this a
must
read
book.
Full
Review
IMPORTANT
if
you
haven't
read the
other
books in
the
Cirque
Du Freak
series,
please
consider
reading
them in
the
exact
order
they
were
written.
This
review
contains
a few
spoilers
but not
enough
that you
won't
want to
read it
and
learn
the
truth
about
Darren
Shan and
how the
series
ends
The saga
of
Darren
Shan
comes to
a climax
in "Sons
of
Destiny";
the last
book in
the
Cirque
Du Freak
series.
While I
was a
little
less
than
impressed
with the
second
book in
Shan's
Demonata
series,
I went
into
reading
this one
more
than a
little
anxious
to find
out how
the
whole
thing
ends.
Shan
began
writing
this
series
when he
was a
teen,
needless
to say,
the
subject
matter
of
vampires,
demons
and
things
that go
bump in
the
night
were all
I needed
to get
me
hooked
on the
books
after a
friend
sent me
the
second
one, The
Vampires
Assistant.
After
reading
that one
I
started
tearing
through
the
series
often
reading
one book
every
two days
and
thirsting
for
more.
Shan
isn't
what I
consider
a
complex
writer
like
Anne
Rice;
his
words
are
simple
but have
impact.
Rice is
verbose
and
eloquent,
Shan is
direct
and to
the
point …
most of
the
time. In
this,
the last
book of
Shan's
Cirque
Du Freak
legacy
you
learn a
lot but
when I
hit the
last
page and
closed
the book
I was
left
with a
few
questions.
He left
a few
things
up in
the air
and
possibly
a door
open for
another
installment
somewhere
in the
next
five
years.
The
Rolling
Stones
proved
that
just
because
someone
says
it's the
last
hurrah,
it
usually
isn't.
Cirque
Du
Freak:
Sons of
Destiny
If you
followed
the
other
books
then you
will be
kicking
yourself
for not
getting
the
unbelievable
pun in
the
title of
the
book. As
usual,
Shan
gives
you a
five or
six page
recap of
past
events.
In this
one he
reflects
on his
past,
mistakes
he has
made and
personal
regrets.
The
thing
about
regrets
is that
if you
are
given
the
chance
to
change
them,
you are
meddling
in what
exists
in the
'here
and
now'.
Shan is
faced
with the
task of
fulfilling
the
prophecy
of the
Lord of
The
Shadows,
the one
being
that is
strong
enough
to undo
all that
humans
hold
sacred.
Desmond
Tiny is
a
character
that you
love to
hate; he
sticks
his nose
in where
it
doesn't
belong
and in
this
book you
see
exactly
how
meddlesome
he can
be. Even
though
he
wasn't
mentioned
in some
of the
earlier
books,
in Sons
of
Destiny
you find
out that
even
though
his name
wasn't
spoken,
he was
there in
spirit
gently
coaxing
Shan and
Leopard
along
their
path.
One
thing
that
really
blew me
away was
when Mr.
Tiny
revealed
that he
was the
one that
helped
Darren
win the
ticket
to the
Cirque
Du Freak
and the
one that
whispered
doubtful
words to
Steve,
forcing
him to
question
Shan's
friendship
and the
eventually
falling
out
between
them.
Yes,
Desmond
Tiny is
a true
bastard
but that
is just
the tip
of the
iceberg.
In the
last
book you
learn
about
the fate
of
Annie,
Darren's
younger
sister
and that
she's
now
grown up
with a
child of
her own.
Her
child
will
play a
small
but
important
role in
how the
War of
Scars
plays
out as
well as
who
becomes
the true
Lord of
The
Shadows.
This was
something
that
really
haunted
me when
I was
reading
previous
installments
in the
series;
there
seemed
no way
out for
anyone,
there
had to
be a
winner
and a
loser in
this
situation
and no
matter
who came
out on
top,
humanity
would
end up
suffering.
The
battle
between
Steve
and
Darren
has gone
on for
years;
both
have
strong
allies
on their
side but
they
both
know
that
death
will
come for
one of
them. In
some
ways
death
would be
preferable
to carry
around
the
title of
'Lord of
The
Shadows'
for
eternity.
Desmond
Tiny
spoke of
the
outcome
in
riddles
and
rhymes
in
previous
books
but it
isn't
until
this one
that you
learn
how much
of a
part he
had to
play in
the
whole
thing.
If you
read
between
the
lines it
shouldn't
have
come as
a huge
shock
that
Evanna
and Mr.
Tall
were
both
children
of
Desmond
Tiny but
there
are a
few more
offspring
that you
learn
about in
this
book. If
you
think I
am going
to tell
you who,
you are
indeed
demented.
I
expected
there to
be more
bloodshed
and
fighting
in this
one but
there
wasn't.
The
confrontation
between
Steve
and
Darren
did
cause a
lot of
deaths,
including
some
innocent
people
like
Shancus,
the son
of Eva
Von,
Darren's
best
friend
when he
joined
the
Cirque
Du
Freak.
When you
are
reading
the book
you
really
don't
get a
feel of
how
things
are
going to
turn
out; the
vampets
and
vampanize
are
great in
number
but
there is
doubt
lingering
behind
their
blood
stained
eyes.
RV, the
former
eco-warrior
that
lost his
hands
when
trying
to free
a member
of the
Cirque
plays a
small
but
pivotal
part in
this
book. It
is the
first
sign
that you
get that
all is
not well
in Steve
Leopard's
camp.
One of
my
favorite
characters
in the
series
has to
be
Vancha.
He has
proven
time and
time
again
that he
is a
true
Vampire
Prince
bur
refuses
to leave
Shan's
side no
matter
how bad
things
get.
Does he
end up
getting
killed
off?
Well,
let's
just say
that
even if
someone
does die
in the
book,
they
don't
really
die. OK,
that
takes a
little
explaining.
Chalk
that
weird
line up
to
Desmond
Tiny.
You
learn
about
some of
the
things
that he
has
altered
in
history
as well
as
visiting
his
strange
home
near the
Lake of
Souls.
Because
he has
the
power to
travel
through
time he
can go
back and
prevent
someone
from
dying so
even if
someone
is
'offed',
Des Tiny
can
teleport
back and
change
the
course
of
history.
When I
was
reading
earlier
books in
the
series I
sort of
knew
that
Steve
would be
the only
other
person
besides
Shan
that
would be
able to
survive
the
Coffin
of Fire.
He was
the only
person
that had
the
ability,
hatred
and evil
needed
to
survive
such an
ordeal.
When you
finish
the book
you do
feel
like
smacking
yourself
because
you were
already
privy to
a lot of
the
things
that
were
revealed.
The
title of
the book
is the
biggest
of them
all but
you
don't
get the
meaning
of it
until
you read
about
three
quarters
of the
book. So
how do I
feel now
that the
series
is over?
Well, I
can't
really
say for
sure
that it
is
indeed a
done
deal.
Evanna
is
pregnant
and her
spawn
will
unite
the
clans,
Desmond
Tiny
still
has the
power to
travel
back in
time and
meddle
where he
shouldn't
and
there is
the
whole
'replacement'
thing to
deal
with.
Just
because
someone
is
removed
from
history
doesn't
mean
that it
will
change
it, just
the
names,
not the
actual
events.
This was
a hard
pill for
me to
swallow
because
every
person
is going
to react
differently
to
situations
and even
the
smallest
change
will
cause a
ripple
in
history,
events
and
things
to come.
The
Bottom
Line
If you
followed
the
other
books
then
chances
are you
are
going to
know
some of
what
happens
but
there
are
still a
lot of
amazing
things
that are
revealed
in the
book.
What
really
troubled
me was
that
there
was no
cut and
dry
ending;
since
Desmond
Tiny
still
has the
ability
to go
back in
time and
change
things
he can
undo
things
that
Shan and
Evanna
have
done to
ensure
that
there is
a
bonding
between
the two
clans.
Sure
this
leaves
the door
wide
open for
Shan to
jump
start
the
series
in the
future
if he
wants to
but he
will
have to
get
awfully
creative
to try
and top
what
he's
penned
so far.
You see
a lot of
maturity
in this
book, he
is no
longer a
teen
that is
wandering
around
trying
to
figure
out what
is going
on and
he does
make the
ultimate
sacrifice
to save
humanity.
I was a
little
disappointed
that the
actual
war
between
the two
clans
played
out on
such a
small
scale,
it would
be been
incredible
to see
it
unfold
in a
larger
setting
than a
soccer
stadium
but hey,
that's
why I
write
the
reviews
and
leave
the
books to
others.
As
always,
thanks
for the
visit… |
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