Running with the Demon

Rating:
Summary: Word vs. Void
Review: A start of another great Terry Brooks Series..

John Ross: Knight of the Word. Chosen to battle the forces of the void and prevent..or at least delay terrible futures that could be the result of the influence of the Void. John Ross comes to Hopewell, Illinois to stop the future in which he dreams of from coming to pass.

Nest Freemark: A 14 year old girl coming to grips with the magic that is a part of her. Forced to keep it a secret from even her closest friends. Nest protects her friends and people of Hopewell from "The Feeders". Evil creatures which feed on human emotion.

Nest Freemark & John Ross are the only people who can stand against the forces of the Void and prevent the future John Ross dreams about every night...

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Work
Review: As I sit and read all of these one and two star reviews, I am thoroughly disappointed in my peers for coming to such conclusions. Many people said how they thought that the modern-world setting was a bad idea. I completely and whole-heartedly disagree with that notion. In my opinion, the fact that the events in Running With the Demon were "here and now" emphasized the realism and tension in the story. On a similar note, it is completely unfair to frown on Brooks simply because he didn't resort to another "sword and sorcery" fantasy land setting. I find it refreshing. As a writer, I let out a heart-felt "shame on you" for downing this story for such arbitrary, and, quite bluntly, selfish reasons. Running With the Demon was fast-paced and descriptive, with reaslitic, believable characters. Brooks managed to keep the heroes of the story "human", which is a skill that doesn't come easily to many adventure or fantasy writers. The fact that Nest Freemark was 14 years old adds to her humanity; it doesn't take away from her credibility as a hero in the story. I don't know how many people will actually read this review, because I got on the horn a little late, but I found it completely necessary to voice my opinion on this subject.

Rating:
Summary: Running with the Demon
Review: Heellooooooo Star Wars fans out there! If you liked the Luke/Vader son/father stuff, then you will love this story! the only problem is you'll probalby figure it out on page twelve or so.
This plot was tired. The writing was boring! If you read this review and still get the book, remember this: You can read the first episode where the Knight has his dream, and then you can skip every other time he has what is almost THE EXACT SAME DREAM!
Also, once Nest has gone through the park the first time, you can skip every other time she runs through the park. For some odd reason Brooks seems to think we need minute overkill descpriptions of the area our characters are moving through...even if he's already given us the dead on descriptions FIVE TIMES BEFORE! I was getting upset with this book because, you take out half the ridiculous scene descriptions and you take out half the internal dialogue and the book is about 150 pages! it was like he had this short idea for a story in his head, but he stretched the story so it would be a normal length novel. I wa skipping the internal dialogue and the dream sequences and the scene description by the 2nd half of the book.

Rating:
Summary: This book got me started in Urban Fantasy
Review: I was a devoted Shannara fan seeing Brooks for the first time when he was publicizing "Running with the Demon" at Powells Books. I got a signed copy, of course, but told him urban fantasy was not my bag.

Brooks told me, "Just keep the book. You'll need it eventually."

He was right. One night, I needed something different and there was "Running with the Demon."

Nest Freemark, one of the two protagonists, is a teenager. She spends her free time with companion Pick, trying to avoid the Demon and Feeders that inhabit Sinnissippi Park. John Ross is a Knight of the Word drawn to Hopewell to combat Evil.

As the plot unfolds, we discover that the Demon has influenced one of Nest's classmates to harass her and also some irritated steelworkers to set off a bomb at a July 4 picnic. Plotting is smart-paced as Freemark and Ross fight to figure out what's happening and stop it.

Great tale--you will find it hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Not resting on his laurels
Review: It is great to see Terry Brooks take yet another turn for the better and presents his fans with a brand new series. This takes place not in Shannara or in Landover but in modern day Hopewell, Illinios.
Nest Freemark is a girl who carries on the tradition of the women before by using magic to protect the local park. Namely her grandmother and her deceased mother. Brooks says within the first thirty pages that they are not witches, so Anne Rice fans calm yourselves. A demon arrives at Hopewell along with a Knight of the Word, the egnimatic John Ross. Guess who is caught in the middle.

The book starts with a great chase scene and then calms down for a bit before picking back up. At first it was a bit tedious, but in the last one hundred and fifty pages every bit of it proves very relevant.
The charm and heart of the book comes not from the protagonist Nest or even from John Ross. It comes from the supporting and peripheral characters that pop up throughout the book. Nest's grandmother and grandfather especially, and not keeping the book soley told from the perspective of one character. At the end of the book, you really want to know what happens to everyone. There is the sylvan Pick, a woodland creature but in my opinion he was variation of Abernathy in Brook's Landover series.
The author also blessedly knows how to write kids. He showed some great work in the Star Wars adaptation but it really comes across here.
The foreshadowing power of John Ross is intriguing, but does get a bit repetitive. Still, he is a very enjoyable character when he shows up.

A modern day fantasy told by one of the best. Brooks does not rely on gimmicks and creatures but implements real and relatable people (and sylvans) to drive the story. Other authors of the genre should follow Brooks' lead and not simply stay in one world (are ya listening Jordan & Goodkind?) I would love to see what he does with a collection of short stories or horror.
Get the book and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Running with the Demon
Review: On a hot Fourth of July weekend, two men have descended on the town of Hopewell, Illinois. One of them is John Ross, a Knight of the Word, sent to protect Nest Freemark, a young girl who has magical powers. The other is a demon, sent by the Void to destroy Nest. Ross suffers apocalyptic dreams of the future. It is the price he pays for being a Knight of the Word. In his visions, he sees a world destroyed by feeders, once-men, and demons. He must do what he can to prevent the dreams from coming true.

Nest Freemark has magic powers which were inherited from her mother and grandmother, and the demon realizes this. He has made it his sole purpose to turn Nest to the Void. While in Hopewell, the demon will use the anger and frustration of the town to attain his goal. Others will be sacrificed, but this is no consequense to the demon.

Brooks has written a masterful novel filled with suspense and action as well as family drama, fading innocence, and cataclysm. The plot is excellent, and the characters come alive as genuine people that the reader grows to genuinely care about. This is a book sure to be remembered long after it is finished. Read this fine book and discover what it feels like to run with the demon!

Rating:
Summary: Between a 3 and a 3.5 star rating
Review: Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others

STORY: As one editorial review nicely put: "Sinnissippi Park, in Hopewell, Illinois, has long hidden a mysterious evil, locked away from humankind by powers greater than most could even imagine. But now the malevolent creatures that normally skulk in the shadows of the park grow bolder, and old secrets hint at a violent explosion. The brewing conflict draws John Ross to Hopewell. A Knight of the Word, Ross is plagued by nightmares that tell him someone evil is coming to unleash an ancient horror upon the world. Caught between them is fourteen-year-old Nest Freemark, who senses that something is terribly wrong but has not yet learned to wield the budding power that sets her apart from her friends."

MY FEEDBACK:
I unknowingly listened to book 3 of the series first then I got my hands on this one (book1). I don't feel like I totally missed out because both books are contained stories which made the "out of orderness" (such a thing?) bearable.

I like the story since it leaves the typical fantasy and sci-fi genres and deals with magic and demons in the current world. There are enough mysteries to keep you in the story with a desire to want to know what happens next. He handles suspense situations fine and has enough subplot going on to add some depth and reality to characters and setting.

All I can say about the end of the story without giving anything away is that I personally found the ending very anti-climatic. If it was handled differently I would have given this a solid 4 stars.

OVERALL: Enjoyable story, characters and setting. It was a bit better than good because of the "uniqueness" of the story setting but not great because of the ending demise of the opposition. Worth a try and not a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent start for the non-fantasy reader!
Review: Terry Brooks is an exceptional writer! This book had me hooked from the first page, and I am NOT a fantasy reader. A friend recommended the title to me, and I was skeptical at first, but I have no regrets about reading it. The story is a nice reprieve from your everyday, run-of-the-mill, fiction. It's suspenseful, thought provoking, and just plain fun to read. The book is centered on the war between the "Word" and the "Void" (good and evil), and their fight to control the magic of a young girl who could change the future for either side. Nest (the young girl) must first discover the secrets of her family that her Grandmother has kept hidden from her, and then she must face a truth about her father that will change her life irrevocably. She must decide whether or not she will side with her Grandmother or her father in the great war that will either sustain, or end, humanity. The human characters are very well portrayed, and the fantasy characters are intriguing. If you're thinking of trying a book that is off the beaten path of ordinary fiction, this is it! Terry Brooks has made a fantasy reader of me!

Rating:
Summary: Completly entertaining
Review: This book is very different for Terry Brooks in that it takes place in "the real world" and not in some created land. It is a complete success as far as entertaining the reader. I read it in two days and actually had difficulty putting it down. Many times I said I would finish the current chapter and go to bed, only to stay up later. The book actually brought to mind Stephen King's book the Stand becouse of it's reference to good and evil and the possibility of the world's evil end. Brooks made the charactors work even if they were somewhat thinly composed. Nest the fourteen year old girl comming of age seems a bit too mature for her age, but not to any detriment of the book. I was often thinking of Barney Fife as Nest spoke to her best friend Pick, who is a Sylvan and is overly rife with his own argumentiveness. It is all very entertaining. Most of all the book keeps throwing up charactors and events that beg for immediate answers which keeps you reading. Who is the indian by the name of Two Bears, and what is his relationship to Nest and the books hero John Ross. Is John Ross the father of Nest? If not who is? These questions keep building on themselves making for great reading. Very well done.

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: This book reads like Terry Brooks writing a Dean Koontz novel, to some degree. But the characters are fresh and likeable, the situations are original, and the plot is compelling. And I like Dean Koontz and Terry Brooks both. :P

A young girl with the potential to be a professional runner (and some minor magical abilities)suddenly finds that mysterious secrets and terrible events are happening all around her, and a demon has come to town with the purpose of taking her. Her only protection is her tough old grandmother (also with a little magic) and a drifter who is a Knight of the Word, sworn to spend his life hunting demons and trying to prevent or postpone a horrific future which he is given visions of in his dreams. The magic is all a secret undercurrent under the otherwise normal small-town activity. The plot is suspenseful and captivating!

My main complaint with the book is the way some characters babble on for ages explaining all the plot points and events the reader might not have figured out on their own, especially Pick, and especially at the end.