Okay, i can now say this trilogy sucks.

Book #7 is bad when compared to book #4, 5 and 6. Yet it is still so so much better than #8 and 9. The whole trilogy plays out like a joke. I feel as if I’m reading some weird stories written by a highschooler.

The storytelling is bad and inconsistent. The plot is mediocre. Even the twists (if you want to call them that) are easily predictable. Also, it feels like these ‘twists’ are crammed into the plot just for the sake of surprise element.

And finally, there is absolutely not one ounce of logic in this book. I am effing tired of the whole Mr-Desmond-Tiny-told-me-this-so-I-must-abide shit. Omg can’t the characters for once take matters into their own hands? Zero character development.

I sincerely hope the last trilogy would be better than this.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
DARREN SHAN WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME?
HURT ME LIKE THIS
AND MESS WITH MY FEELING
UGH

Being book #9 in the series, this really should have been one novel. Then you could have kept the Cirque name properly. Otherwise, this is a short trip from sewer to jail and back again into another oddly devised trap (in the sewer) with no Cirque involvement. More like a side trip than a full book. Much like The Green Mile in six parts, which was ultimately, a full story broken down like a radio drama/show.

The underlying premise for Steve's menace is misunderstanding and misplaced jealousy, with a big dollop of "who cares?". To be clear: a C-student, at best, with lousy "parents" and upbringing, has devised a multilayered scheme to enroll Shan into school in a town Shan's never lived in, all while building a massive underground fighting layer in the sewers of Larten's hometown (same town). When there was no real reason for the heroes to return there in the first place, except to investigate vamp murders that were never part of the original prophecy from Tiny? That to me is a big ask, to start. While gathering loyals and royals to his maladjusted cause? Not to mention creating "Hook Hands" for Reggie, who was presumed dead and not because of Shan, mind you, but dead anyway. And why do they keep comparing R/V/ to Murlough? Throwbacks? Although the town then should have been better prepared to handle vamps due to that activity, but I digress.

I still picture Steve as his movie version and shake my head in disbelief at the reality of Steve's malicious intent. He isn't good enough to be a Vamp, so the Vampaneze blindly follow him, do his bidding, but won't kill the heroes for fear of a prophecy? Um, ok.

And the human factor being underplayed as mere cattle when handling "vampets" (dumb name) who are human lackeys in their own right, but Steve who is half-vampaneze is the Full bore lord of the Vampaneze? zzz...zz..zzz, uh, where was I. Never mind.

Only briefly during the almost final act, was I intrigued enough to be invested with the false finish because it broke all the prophecy rules. Then psych, fooled ya, but not really. No rules broken because the plot is too thin to have layers or true impact in the inevitable, and predictable, fight between Shan and Steve.

This one was boring filler.

Thanks for reading.