Cirque Du Freak

One of the first series I ever got into was Cirque Du Freak, a 12 book run. Darren Shan (not only the name of the author but the name of our protagnist as a unique twist) and and his friend attend a traveling circus When Darren's friend is bitten by one of the performer's deadly spiders, our protagonist consents to be transformed into a half-vampire in order to save him. The books plots are intertwined with characters coming in and out throughout the series, sometimes disappearing for three books at a time. If you haven't read them your in luck because the series is complete and each installment is easy to read in a day for diehards or a couple of days for others.

The plot centers around good guys, vampires, and bad guys, vampaneze. The vampires only eat as much as is necessary and remain looking more human, but the vampaneze suck their victims dry, retain all the unnecessary blood, and their skin is turned a grouteque purple. Darren is the catalyst that will decide who will be the dominant species of vampire and rule the world!

Lots of action, suspense, mystery, and things that will make you go "Oh! I get it now!" With the multitude of characters coming in and out you might be wondering, "But Jake, how am I going to remember all of these people?" Well, pretty much every character rejoins Darren on his journey at least once and makes it feel like all the characters were well thought out in their connection to the overall plot. No character left behind! The title may say your're heading into a living nightmare, but it's an awesome adventure that chronicles the life of a boy who starts his journey with a selfless act to save his friend and ends changing the fate of the universe O_O'!

And FYI...The movie version starring John C Reilly, Willem Dafoe, and Salma Hayek is due out Jan 2010.