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Aug 10, 2008

Rhapsody rated it:

A very entertaining contemporary fantasy, with horror elements. There are demonic creatures that populate the world, called feeders. They multiply in the presence of people's bad emotions. John Ross is a Knight of the Word; he hunts demons, who cause large and small disasters that stir people up and cause the feeder population to grow. His dreams take him to Hopewell, where he needs to stop an event that will destroy the future of civilization and throw the balance of people and feeders comp More...

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Jul 24, 2008

Jenn rated it:

Terry Brooks writes a suspenseful and mysterious fantasy novel that has you sitting on the edge of your seat. I was glad to see that the book wasn't very thick because I couldn't put it down. I practically had to read it from cover to cover since I was absorbed by the writing on each page.

This story is centered on a young girl named Nest Freemark who has the ability to see forces in the dark. These dark, shadowy forms are called Feeders and they have the ability to change the minds More...

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Jan 27, 2008

Phoebe rated it:

I've read a lot of Terry Brooks' books, including all of the Shannara books, and unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in this book, Running with the Demon. Here, Mr. Brooks departs from his usual pure fantasy genre to tell a story that mixes present day life with fantasy elements. The story is about a girl with magical powers, a demon who has arrived in her town to plot a cataclysmic event and a Knight of the Word (i.e., a man who tracks demons) whose mission is to stop the demon. I did More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Jim rated it:

This book gets 2 stars only if you're expecting a YA read & not much else. Actually, it's kind of a neat idea, but the execution was horribly flawed. Reading it, I was able to skim & ignore much of the stupid & repetitive writing. Listening to it was pretty torturous, though.

The idea of the 'Word & Void', opposites, good & evil is obvious & overdone, but it looked as if Brooks had opened up some possibilities. Overall, there are some good messages. I like the idea that The End i More...

8 comments like (11 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

Joseph rated it:

This was a fun read that had a lot of unique elements. If I could give half stars I would give it 3.5. One of the things I liked most about it was also one of the things that made it very slightly less enjoyable to read. Which is the sense or feeling of impending, apocalyptic doom awaiting just around the corner. It is a new sort of perspective which I find intriguing. I find I like to have a feeling or sense that everything will work out. I'm curious if I could find motivation approaching life More...

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Mar 04, 2011

Sara rated it:

What do a fourteen year old girl, a wanderer with a wicked limp, and a calculating demon have in common? The answer is three-fold.

Hopewell, Indiana is your typical small town where everyone knows everyone else, it's economy reliant on a single industry - in this case it's the now quiet steel mill as the strike grinds into it's third month. It is also the home of Nest Freemark, growing up under the watchful eyes of her grandparents, a sylvan, a magical dog, and the knowledge that sh More...

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Jan 11, 2011

Ithlilian rated it:

I decided to read this series because it is technically a prequel to Terry Brooks' other large series. I wasn't quite ready to delve into that monstrous series, and I'm usually a fan of urban fantasy, so this seemed like a great place to start. Unfortunately, Running With the Demon is more like a Stephen King novel then an urban fantasy. The magic is at a minimum and the suspense and action is practically non existent. The plot is very simple, if an angel type character doesn't stop a demon from More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Dan rated it:

It was a good read, but honestly, my biggest problems with the book was that there were no characters that jumped out at me, and the heavy pseudo-Christian overtones that were prevalent throughout the novel.

With the characters, none of them were endearing, none of them really incited that spark in me, whether to get me rooting for them, feeling sympathetic, or downright hatred for them. This was actually pretty suprising, since Brooks usually gets me, and I've always found the pro More...

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Jul 29, 2010

Stephanie M. rated it:

An entertaining and captivating read, once you hit the middle section. I found the characters interesting with their quirks (Gran's smokes and booze, Jared's catatonic fits), but they were also overused at times (I really only need to be told Gran drinks vodka and orange juice for breakfast a maximum of twice).

Brooks is fantastic with narrative descriptions, making you feel as if you're walking in the footsteps of the characters. He can get a little wordy and delve into minutiae, whi More...

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Apr 13, 2010

Jeff rated it:

Let me start by saying I have been a Terry Brooks fan since reading Sword of Shannara in high school. However that was a problem while reading Running with the Demon. I keep looking for Shannara in the book. It's not there. Next I guess I was looking for the Magic Kingdom sale. It's not there either. But that's ok, Brooks didn't intend for them to be there. This read more like a King or Koontz book, which maybe is what Brooks intended. But Koontz and King have spent years in their model while Br More...

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Feb 09, 2010

Chip rated it:

This review is for the trilogy.

The integration of the "real" world and fantasy elements is always difficult to work, and while Brooks gets it done alright, I'm just not convinced it was all that interesting.

The premise of these books is that demons from the "Void" are battling against agents or knights of the "Word." (You can think of a Christian Devil and God, if you want, and I can't say you'd really be far off the mark, though there are More...

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Oct 18, 2009

Roger rated it:

Terry Brooks has long been one of my favorite fantasy authors. Even though I’ve actually yet to get into his Shanarra series, which is apparently one of the ultimate fantasy series after the works of Tolkien, his work in the Word and Void series is amazing alone.

Moving across the period of some decades, the three part series begins with Running with the Demon. The reimaging of the concept of magic in this series is one of its biggest charms. Weaving a subtle, almost unseeable mag More...

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Dec 30, 2011

Dan rated it:

Running with the Demon is a very interesting book. Part post-apocalyptic nightmare, but only in the dreams of John Ross, Knight of the Word, who has nightly visions of the world after events which he relentlessly tries to prevent. Part teen romance on the part of Nest Freemark, but only briefly and as a backdrop to a deeper plot. Part epic fantasy, but without the endless trekking from place to place, though John Ross does this, the events of the book are just one stop on his many journeys. More...

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Nov 23, 2010

Tara Lindsay rated it:

Originally reviewed on My Bloody Words.

This review applies to all three books in "The Word & The Void" trilogy.

Brooks has what I would call a "formulaic" method of constructing his stories. I'll try to explain what I mean.

They are nearly as suspenseful as the best chase novels, with intense fight scenes and magical imagery. All three books are written in third person limited, but not always from the two main characters. In the second and third b More...

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Sep 06, 2011

J rated it:

This is only the second book I've read by Terry Brooks (First being the Star Wars novelization he did. Review: Well, it was better than the movie.) I've tried Sword of Shannara a few times, and that didn't really work out well for me.

Running with the Demon is a solid read. It's about a teen girl in Hopewell, Illinois, a town described as being in the "Heart of Reagan Country" more than once. Nest, the absurdly-named girl in question, has powers and some degree of responsibi More...

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Jan 16, 2012

R. M. rated it:

This is not the first Terry Brooks novel that I ever read, and this review is really for the entire series of Shannara. This isn't the first book he wrote, either, but this is the beginning of the story as far as he as written. This three book series is the preamble to what creates a post-apocolyptic future of earth known as Shannara, which is a land of magic and fantasy. How he tied all this in is wonderful, and well done. I had read the shannara series first, then found the word and void trilo More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Lori rated it:

This is the first book of the Word and Void Trilogy. This book is set in our current world rather than a true fantasy world. Nest Freemark is almost an average teenager, but with a secret that she can’t share with anyone outside the family. She has magic and insight into a world within our world that noone else sees. Nest works with Pick in keeping the balance of good and evil within the park by her house. Nest doesn’t realize her life is about to change a lot and a family secret will come More...

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Sep 03, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

I was a bit disappointed in this book from Mr. Brooks. I loved his Sword of Shannara series, so I was hoping to enjoy this one equally as well. Unfortunately, this was not the case. It was okay, but not awesome.

At first, I had the impression I was reading a Stephen King novel rather than a fantasy. The book was set in the modern world where the magical elements were only visible and acknowledged by a few--Nest, Gran and John Ross. The action was a little slow and plodding in som More...

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Mar 03, 2010

Deborah rated it:

A fourteen year old girl, blessed with a runner's body,is by all appearances a normal teenager; although appearances can be deceiving. Nest Freeman has know since she was a small child that she was different from her fiends. She has learned to combat the evil in her home town of Hopewell, Illinois, and the evil is gathering more and more. The evil conflict brings John Ross, a knight of the Word, a mysterious Indian named O'olish Amaneh,to Nest to help her fight the evil. Nest learns that good an More...

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Apr 29, 2009

Allen rated it:

One of Terry Brook's better books--among the best of his career. It did him well to get away from Shannara (though, grr, from his last trilogy we now know he didn't). Set in the 20th century, with young Nest Freemark able to see Feeders, sinister otherworldly creatures that feed off negative emotions. John Ross, a mysterious Knight of the Word, shows up to protect her against otherworldly things that seek her demise, mostly by manipulating real people, pushing people with malevolent impulses ove More...

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Oct 03, 2010

James rated it:

It pains me to give this 2 stars, but it's because I love the T.B. that I must. This one kind of falls down in the places he sometimes falls down without making up for it in others. Mostly, a sort of generalized writing style that doesn't really convey a lot of concrete details gives parts of the story - the use of magic, the discovery of evil - a sense of being the _idea_ of the kind of story this is rather than actually being the kind of story this is.

That said, the Word and the V More...

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May 11, 2011

Miya rated it:

Having grown up along the Rock River and Sinnissippi Park in Sterling, Illinois, this story adds an amazingly written dimension to the town. Walking through the park "with" Nest is given details that only someone who grew up in the town can truly apply. The trees, the feel of old memories clinging to the cliffs, Terry shares these alternate realities of the true Sinnissippi Park.

The blending of the world we've all grown to love and know as Shannara with new lore is done w More...

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Aug 11, 2010

Steven rated it:

I enjoyed this fantasy story set in Hopewell, Illinois a few years ago. Nest Freemark is at the center of the story. She's a girl about 14 years old; however, she's not a typical teenager. She see's evil creatures than no one else does--and she destroys them.

Now as the Fourth of July approaches, a demon has come to town, who appears as an ordinary person and begins twisting events to his own evil ends. All in all a fairly compelling story with a number of interesting characters, not More...

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Jan 18, 2012

Rick rated it:

Terry Brooks takes to our world this time and not Shannara, but he shows us glimpses of the magic that lives beneath the surface. That magic has much in common with that in Shannara. Again we have good, in the form of The Word, vs evil, in the form of the Void. We experience the conflicts inherent in a an adolescent girl's life and meet an equally conflicted Knight of the Word, who has come to her small town to prevent something from happening that involves her and her choices. Another character More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Barbara rated it:

This is the first book I've read by Terry Brooks and I loved it. I listened to the abridged version of the audiobook and it makes me really want to listen to the unabridged version for the remaining books in the series. The writing is spectacular and the scene-setting is truly amazing. You can feel and see everything that is described as if it is happening right in front of you. I was very impressed by everything about this story.

Nest Freemark is a 14 year old girl with magic. More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 26, 2011

Preston rated it:

(Book 1 of the Word and Void Trilogy)
Running with the Demon, by Terry Brooks, is a dark fiction that takes place in modern day, in a small town of sinsnappi, Illonis. (sorry if spelling is wrong) Nest Freemark is your average everday girl except she has a unique power to comand magic. Whille she doesn't completely understand it all, she knows that magic has been part of her family for three generations, the daugter of each generation. She currently lives with her grandparents where it is s More...

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May 24, 2009

The Flooze (Michelle M.) rated it:

I haven't read anything this mundane and predictable in a very long time. Terry Brooks has been touted as a wonderful fantasy writer for ages, so I thought it time to delve in. I was heartily disappointed.

Running with the Demon tells of Good and Evil, Dark and Light, and the delicate balance that must be maintained between warring forces.

The opposing factions lack power, detail, and urgency and don't impress. Lackluster characterization is combined with startling predi More...

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Sep 21, 2008

Giacinta rated it:

This was a really enjoyable book. Brooks has an interesting narrative style, and sometimes his books don't flow as well as they could. Nevertheless, the Word and the Void books were quite interesting and created a new urban fantasy world. There are a lot of spiritual overtones here- temptation, seduction, and free will.

John Ross is a Knight of the Word. He was chosen and given special powers to fight against the powers of the Void. He has nightmares in which he sees the future that he More...

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Oct 05, 2008

veronica rated it:

I started reading this book after a friend recommended Terry Brooks (some may recognize his name, as he novelized the movies "Hook" and "Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace"). The problem is, Terry Brooks has written a LOT of fantasy novels! My friend had mentioned one that he particularly enjoyed, but when searching through the many titles, I could not remember which one he had told me about. So, I decided to go way back to the pre-prequel to his "Shanarra" se More...

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Apr 02, 2008

Todd rated it:

A blend of contemporary fiction with the fantasy world, this book kept its focus on a small but diverse (in character type, not ethnicity) cast of characters. At the same time the story delves into the question of what it means to be human and the relationship of humanity with good and evil. Here demons are people who have lost their humanity and gained power from the nebulous Void. Those strong enough and willing enough are secretly given power to fight these forces from the equally unknown Wor More...

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