Cirque de Freak : Manga #1

Title: Cirque du Freak: The Manga, #1
Series: Cirque du Freak
Author(s): Darren Shan
Genre: Teen, Manga
Publisher: Yen Press
Received:  Borrowed from library
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Finished: March 2010
Pages: 192
Challenges: None
Rating:

 

My Thoughts: Darren Shan and his friend Steve are kids with no fear. Well, at least Steve is, and Darren tries hard to emulate Steve's toughness. Through a twist of fate, they are introduced to a traveling freak show and see things they never thought they would see in their wildest dreams. Suddenly they are thrown into a world of myth and fantasy that breaks even the toughest friendships.

One thing I love about this series is that the author wrote under the name Darren Shan (real name Darren O’Shaughnessy). Using his name as the main character drew me into the story more.  I have not read the books, but I saw the movie based on the first couple books, The Vampire's Assistant, and that was good.  Plus, I've read other book series transformed into manga, and this was the best I have read. The art was well done and the story was not made confusing by the manga-fication. In fact, there was nothing confusing ... well, except for not being used to reading from right to left and back to front.

About the Author: Darren Shan (or, as I mentioned above, Darren O’Shaughnessy) is Irish, but was born in England. He always wanted to be a writer, and has written stories since his teen years. He's written series such as Cirque de Freak and The Demonata, as well as two adult books published in the UK and due in US this year. Check out his website, http://www.darrenshan.com/index.html.