From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Oct 30 14:17:43 1997 From: sfrevu@aol.com (SFRevu) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: RUNNING WITH THE DEMON by Terry Brooks Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Oct 1997 20:27:48 -0500 Organization: AOL Lines: 60 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!genius.dat.hk-r.se!seunet!news2.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!solace!xinit!adm.icenet.no!news.IAEhv.nl!news.cs.utwente.nl!cosy.sbg.ac.at!newsfeed.Austria.EU.net!newscore.univie.ac.at!newsfeed.nacamar.de!howland.erols.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.88.144.6!news.kei.com!eecs-usenet-02.mit.edu!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!not-for-mail Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1577 RUNNING WITH THE DEMON by Terry Brooks Review Copyright 1997 Ernest Lilley - SFRevu And now for something completely different from the author that brought us the Shanarra novels and occasional lighthearted romps in fantasy like KINGDOM FOR SALE. Well, it is the time of year for some HORROR, or at least Dark Fantasy, so Terry Brooks latest book is only fitting. When the forces of classic Fantasy grapple with the power of demons in small town America it all seems vaguely familiar... A bit more graphic than Bradbury, a bit more hopeful than King, Terry Brooks' latest book, RUNNING WITH THE DEMON is dark fantasy teetering on the edge of horror. Magic runs in the Freemont family. For seven generations the women of the family have been charged with the stewardship of Sinsinippi Park, warding off the mindless "feeders" that no one can see and maintaining a balance of magic with the help of Pick, a Sylvan ("Don't call me an Elf!") and his forest friends. Nest Freemont is a normal 14 year old girl. Well, normal if you discount her prodigious athletic ability and the strength of the magic inside her, or the way her future self keeps popping up in visions of a dark future. It's her uniqueness that makes her the focus of good and evil in this story, and why she is summoned in the night to stop the dark magic in the park from driving humans to self destruction. Nest's mother died mysteriously when she was an infant, and no one will tell her about her father; not her grandmother, who wielded the power in her time, not her grandfather who can't see the magic, not even Pick. Two men, or things that were once men, come to town as it readies itself for the Fourth of July, and tries to forget the strike that has shut down its sole source of industry, the steel mill. One being is a demon in human flesh, come to tip the balance of power towards an apocalyptic future, the other a Knight of the Word, sworn to the service of an ancient power, sworn to stop the demon and his kind, forsaking his humanity in that service. They have both come for Nest. On her future rests the future of mankind, a future that John Ross, Knight of the Word, dreams all too vividly in the desperate visions of what the future might be if he fails. Terry Brooks lies somewhere between the implied horror of Ray Bradbury's dusty attics, and the conspicuous carnage of Steven King's hatchet wielding minions. In RUNNING WITH THE DEMON, he maintains a fine balance between hidden and obvious evil. He also spends his violence with care, obtaining its best dramatic effect by not wearing it out through overuse. Set in a contemporary small town in the heart of "Reagan Country," the story builds steadily toward a battle for the Nest's future on which the balance between good and evil teeters. The story climaxes in a battle which is clearly part of a larger war. This awareness, along with the author's superb storytelling skill leaves you in suspense as the story moves towards its conclusion. Nest and her band of teenage friends are as well realized as the adult and elderly characters. Though there is some adult content, it is handled with restraint and should make this acceptable for mature teens as well as the adult readers it's aimed at. %G ISBN 0-06-105286-8 %P Harper Prism %D September 1997 (hardcover) From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Apr 27 15:57:10 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.88.144.6!news.kei.com!eecs-usenet-02.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!not-for-mail From: Alexander Stroup Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Terry Brook's _Running with the Demon_ Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 17 Apr 1998 13:55:22 -0400 Organization: LavaNet, Inc. Lines: 67 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: Reply-To: Alexander Stroup NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1869 RUNNING WITH THE DEMON: A NOVEL OF GOOD AND EVIL by Terry Brooks Ballantine, ISBN 0-345-37962-4, 1997, 420pp, US$25.95 A book review by Alexander Stroup Copyright 1998 Alexander Stroup A child of uncertain heritage is growing into magical powers only to become the focus of a conflict bigger than any previously imagined. Sounds like pretty standard fantasy fare, doesn't it? Except that Terry Brooks' latest has two hooks that may catch the blurb-reader's eye. First, the setting is Hopewell, Illinois over the weekend of July 4, 1994 (or perhaps 2005). The second is that the main character, Nest Freemark, is a 14-year-old girl rather than the standard 14 year-old-boy. Sadly, the latter is probably the more unusual since when fantasy is set in the present it is called horror. The summer swelter is in full swing in Hopewell, Illinois, and though the employees at the city's largest employer have been on strike for months the town is looking forward to the Fourth of July festivities. Everyone, that is, except for a stranger putting unsavory thoughts into people's minds. With the arrival of John Ross, another mysterious stranger, the stage is finally set for a battle with the future of the world in the balance. The key question is what role are the Freemarks, and the park they have magically watched over, playing. Nest Freemark grew up knowing of magic in the world. She has always known of the creatures, both good and bad, living in the park next door. She has always known that the women in her family have had magic for five generations and that they have all looked after the park next door. She has known for several years that the bad creatures, "feeders," have been growing more numerous. Unfortunately, since Nest has always known this stuff the author apparently felt it unnecessary to explain it to the reader. For me this was the big problem with the book. The blurb promised that Brooks "does nothing less than revitalizing fantasy fiction again, inventing the complex and powerful new mythos of the Word and the Void." Unfortunately the Word and the Void are invented much as a perpetual motion machine is; not so much through hard word but rather by simply claiming it exists. It is more troubling that Brooks spends so little time filling out this "powerful new mythos" considering that the idea of good versus evil is hardly a new one and it is in the details that Brooks needs to set himself apart. This lack of detail extends throughout the book and most of the people in the book are more caricature than character. Perhaps Terry Brooks can't really be blamed for creating wooden characters (no pun intended in regards to the sylvan, Pick). Fantasy readers generally accept strange character interactions but the contemporary United States setting makes it very hard to swallow. One of the strangest scenes in the book occurs at church. There is a death in the front area of the church, Nest asks an usher to call for an ambulance and then returns to her grandfather to finish the hymn. The ambulance apparently arrives and removes the corpse but the congregation continues the sermon uninterrupted. Terry Brooks is a good enough writer that the moments that are good were enough to keep me reading to the end but I can only recommend _Running with the Demon_ to the ardent Brooks fan. The casual fantasy reader will find nothing of interest here. %A Terry Brooks %C New York %D 1997 %G 0-345-37962-4 %I Ballantine %O hardcover, US$25.95 %P 420pp