| Book Review | Jennifer Hairfield |
Cirque
du Freak:
Tunnels of Blood
By: Darren Shan
Welcome back for the third installment of the Cirque du
Freak series called The Tunnels of Blood. In this story we
leave the Cirque, with Evra in tow for a vacation, for the
hometown of Mr. Crepsley. Darren doesn't know what's going
on but doesn't really care because his best friend Evra is
with him to keep him company during the days. Because of
Evra's "condition" he gets bundled up so not to attract
attention but add to it Darren's pirate costume and they
make heads turn, especially a young girl named Debbie who
lives in the square.
The whole story takes place around the time of Christmas and
Darren starts to really miss his family, not to mention the
traditions of the holiday. This is one of the reasons Darren
hooks up with Debbie while they are there. She makes him
feel human. Darren leads a double life in Tunnels of Blood
very well. But when six bodies show up drained of all their
blood the boys start to suspect Mr. Crepsley because of his
weird behavior. Together the boys track Mr. Crepsley to see
if they can catch him in the act and kill him. Because of
miscommunication Darren almost succeeds in the plan.
When the plan fails we find out the truth about what's going
on and that a vampeneze is the true killer. Unfortunately,
after the failed plan the vampeneze takes Evra to his layer
under the city "to play with" until Christmas. Between Mr.
Crepsley and Darren they hatch a new plan to beat the
vampeneze and get Evra back alive and in one piece.
Miscommunication is the main underling theme throughout the
story. It is what keeps the plot going and the reader
entranced. The reader also gets a short lesson in ethics
between a vampire and a vampeneze. Not to mention Darren
shows that even though he's only half-vampire he is quickly
showing the potential to be a very cunning full-vampire.
Again, this book is written like a memoir told by Darren.
The twists and turns are done wonderfully and makes the
reader want more. It would have been nice if there were more
details of the surroundings and of the supporting characters
but, the small amount of details is what makes the reader
want more. This novel is very much of a quick read and
something you don't want to put down. This is definitely an
excellent addition to the Cirque du Freak series.