For Zack Thomson, life in the Nicholls Ward wasn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange allergies, and the mental institution was t...
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reviews
Jun 21, 2011
Kaycee
rated it: 
The book begins with the MC, Zack Thomson, living in a mental hospital. Sounds intriguing. . .
Unfortunately, it devolved from there. It ended up being another vampire book that brings in Vlad Dracula as a character - under a psuedonym of course, until near the end. I think that the back cover "praise" was written by people who hadn't read the book. Both mention "twists" that kept them guessing.
I found it predictable, and overwritten. Honestly, I put my More...
Unfortunately, it devolved from there. It ended up being another vampire book that brings in Vlad Dracula as a character - under a psuedonym of course, until near the end. I think that the back cover "praise" was written by people who hadn't read the book. Both mention "twists" that kept them guessing.
I found it predictable, and overwritten. Honestly, I put my More...
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Feb 27, 2011
Three words; adventure, betrayal & surprising
Night Runner is a full on high speed action, adventure, thriller! Excellent story and an even more so enjoyable male MC. The whole initial set-up is very unique. Living in a mental institution because of his special "needs." Very different!
The plot is really action packed and fast paced. There are a few slower moments too, but that's expected when an author is setting up a story. From what I can understand this is the More...
Night Runner is a full on high speed action, adventure, thriller! Excellent story and an even more so enjoyable male MC. The whole initial set-up is very unique. Living in a mental institution because of his special "needs." Very different!
The plot is really action packed and fast paced. There are a few slower moments too, but that's expected when an author is setting up a story. From what I can understand this is the More...
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Aug 09, 2010
This was an enjoyable quick read for me (not enjoyable as in there was no kind of gore). It was refreshing to have a unique vampire story. I’m not tired of vampires being main characters in books yet but I always appreciate it when a book isn’t almost a direct copy of the Twilight Saga (unless it’s very entertaining & addictive). This book contained the elements that a vampire story needs without having a lot of common clichés. There are the beginnings of a romance but it’s nothing like Bella &
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Nov 17, 2011
Grant
rated it: 
Max Turner. Night Runner. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2008.
If I asked you to think of a vampire, odds are you would think of two things. First you would think of two shirtless men with washboard abs fighting over a decent looking girl. The other image popping into your head would probably be a Dracula-type figure. He is somewhat old, very threatening, sucks blood for survival or even amusement at times. He can control people with just a bite or a look into their eyes. He canno More...
If I asked you to think of a vampire, odds are you would think of two things. First you would think of two shirtless men with washboard abs fighting over a decent looking girl. The other image popping into your head would probably be a Dracula-type figure. He is somewhat old, very threatening, sucks blood for survival or even amusement at times. He can control people with just a bite or a look into their eyes. He canno More...
Jul 01, 2011
Maggie
rated it: 
Umm. This is one of those books I just don't know how to review. I'd almost picked it up several times, because it seemed like one of those vampire novels that's quirky enough to work, like Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, which is my favorite vampire novel ever. You just know that the strawberry smoothies Zack was referring to aren't really strawberry, don't you?
Unfortunately the promise of zany humor in the blurb never delivered; instead we get a nice dose of overwriting and a whacked p More...
Unfortunately the promise of zany humor in the blurb never delivered; instead we get a nice dose of overwriting and a whacked p More...
Nov 05, 2010
Tonya
rated it: 
I picked up this book at the library knowing nothing about it. I am glad I did.
I know, I know, you all have had enough of vampire books lately. When I began to read it, I didn't even realize that's what it was.
I really enjoyed this book. Teenaged Zach is a patient at a mental ward for the last eight years; both his parents are dead. He enjoys his life there, sleeps during the day being alergic to the sun, alergic to food, and his favorite nurse, Nurse Ophelia, in the More...
I know, I know, you all have had enough of vampire books lately. When I began to read it, I didn't even realize that's what it was.
I really enjoyed this book. Teenaged Zach is a patient at a mental ward for the last eight years; both his parents are dead. He enjoys his life there, sleeps during the day being alergic to the sun, alergic to food, and his favorite nurse, Nurse Ophelia, in the More...
Sep 24, 2010
Wilson
rated it:
Night Runner:
Not Your Typical Vampire
Everything changed for Zack Thompson the day the man on the motorcycle crashed into the Nicholls Ward. The man tells Zack to run away with him and to watch out for cops as he retreats into the forest with multiple gunshot wounds. This is all a blur to Zack, until his uncle he never knew he had comes to visit him and explains to Zack that he is actually a vampire who is constantly being hunted. Night Runner, by Max Turner is a fast-paced fantas More...
Not Your Typical Vampire
Everything changed for Zack Thompson the day the man on the motorcycle crashed into the Nicholls Ward. The man tells Zack to run away with him and to watch out for cops as he retreats into the forest with multiple gunshot wounds. This is all a blur to Zack, until his uncle he never knew he had comes to visit him and explains to Zack that he is actually a vampire who is constantly being hunted. Night Runner, by Max Turner is a fast-paced fantas More...
Jan 29, 2011
Hope
rated it: 
I been eyeing this book for a while and luckily they had this book at my local library. This book was little disappointing, I thought that it would be filled with action, scary vampires, excitement and more. But this book did not live up to my pre-conceived notion what it should be.
The first five chapters or so had a promising start, but after Zack lives Nicholls Ward everything becomes anti-climactic. There is barely any action other than few chases and fight scene towards the end More...
The first five chapters or so had a promising start, but after Zack lives Nicholls Ward everything becomes anti-climactic. There is barely any action other than few chases and fight scene towards the end More...
Oct 29, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Night Runner by Max Turner held a lot of punch. The entire story is one crazy ride in the newly exciting life of Zack Thomson. For the past eight years he had been living basically in isolation inside a mental ward. He has a plethora of allergies - including an extreme reaction to the sun. Therefore, he sleeps all day and lives at night. He also cannot stomach food, he has to drink special concoctions, which he dubs "brain cocktails". The only two friends he has are Charlie and Nurse O
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Aug 22, 2009
MissM
rated it:
*Advanced Reader Copy*
Ok, so this book wasn't awful but it wasn't really great either. I'm not a "Young Adult" but I don't discriminate against books that are written for that market. Many are still solid stories. Some YA books are YA because they write from a teenager character perspective. Some are YA because they tone down the sex/violence to suit a younger audience. And this book definitely does both. But what it unfortunately also does is try to write prose and dialogu More...
Ok, so this book wasn't awful but it wasn't really great either. I'm not a "Young Adult" but I don't discriminate against books that are written for that market. Many are still solid stories. Some YA books are YA because they write from a teenager character perspective. Some are YA because they tone down the sex/violence to suit a younger audience. And this book definitely does both. But what it unfortunately also does is try to write prose and dialogu More...
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Mar 20, 2010
Stacy/GirlsInTheStacks.com
rated it:
Err, I thought I was on a diet. (If you read my reviews you will know what I mean!)
In Night Runner we are introduced to Daniel Zachariah Thomson. Both parents dead, no relations and has lived the past 8 years in a mental ward because of his strange allergies. The only people that seemed to care for him was Nurse Ophelia and his childhood best friend Charlie who visited once a week. Doesn’t it just break your heart?
Then one fateful night, his whole world comes crashi More...
In Night Runner we are introduced to Daniel Zachariah Thomson. Both parents dead, no relations and has lived the past 8 years in a mental ward because of his strange allergies. The only people that seemed to care for him was Nurse Ophelia and his childhood best friend Charlie who visited once a week. Doesn’t it just break your heart?
Then one fateful night, his whole world comes crashi More...
Jan 04, 2011
Splash Of Our Worlds
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 25, 2010
Emily
rated it:
It's nice to get a break from all the swooning once in a while. This was a fun vampire story with a likable narrator in Zack, a boy who has lived in a mental hospital for several years after being bitten by a "dog" when he was a child. At the same time, his father was killed, leaving him an orphan. With Zack's allergy to the sun and to all foods except his special red shakes, the author doesn't really keep the reader in the dark about his character's true nature, but he does keep Zack
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Jun 26, 2010
Jenna
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 28, 2010
Amanda
rated it:
The Nicholls Ward is all that Zack knows. He isn't crazy, but with all his allergies, he never really leaves the mental ward. It's nice enough there, and his nurse, Ophelia, is almost like a mother to him. When a strange man crashes into the ward on a motorcycle and tells Zack that someone is after him, Zack's life is forever changed. Now he's on the run, with only his best friend to turn to and enemies popping out of the woodwork. Can Zack make it out of this alive?
Night Runner is a More...
Night Runner is a More...
Mar 15, 2011
Julie
rated it:
Zack Thomson is a 15-year-old who leads an unconventional life in a mental ward. He sleeps all day because he's allergic to the sun, can't stomach anything other than a suspicious blood-like liquid, and spends his nights running on the treadmill in the fitness room. Despite not knowing the exact circumstances of his parents' death, he leads a tolerably peaceful existence until the night a man crashes into the hospital with a dire warning: Run. And run he does to escape the threat of an evil that
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Jan 11, 2011
Theresa
rated it:
Max Turner has created a wonderful and exciting novel. Involving Vampires and other Creators, but created differently. Not like Twilight or any other Vampire book, Turner has made it a twist in the story, which makes so much more than just a story. Five stars and two thumbs up!!
Zack isn’t an ordinary teenage boy. He has a weird allergy against the sun and had to be medicated since he was seven years old. His father died that day, and his mom died when he was two years old. Living at a ment More...
Zack isn’t an ordinary teenage boy. He has a weird allergy against the sun and had to be medicated since he was seven years old. His father died that day, and his mom died when he was two years old. Living at a ment More...
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Jan 07, 2011
Miriam
rated it:
Voice is the strong point of this twist on the teen vampire thriller. The main character has lived in near-isolation in a medical facility since age eight, and Turner does an excellent job portraying a fairly normal but highly sheltered boy. Zack has standard teen interests -- books, movies, sports, the opposite sex -- but because of his lack of contact with his peers or the world in general his reactions and speech are often off kilter, sometimes without him noticing, since he has little experi
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Mar 27, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
This book was a little too over written for a YA Action book. There was so much word building and so much detail to things that really didn't matter. The main character who's pov the story is told in seemed to ramble on for no reason. Has this been a General Fiction book it might have been useful info to the story but when you’re just reading and waiting for the action to start it's just boring. I'm not sure if it was done because is a first book or just how the writer writes. You open the
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Jan 05, 2012
Shawna
rated it:
Zack Thomson has been living in the Nicholls Ward ever since he became an orphan. He developed strange and severe allergies after his parents died. Charlie, his best friend, visits him often and Nurse Ophelia, the only night-time working nurse took care of him. He had no thoughts of running away until a stranger told him to run. Zack is confused about why he would want him to run away especially since they've never met before. Suddenly, his uncle shows up. He tells Zack the truth about his fathe
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Sep 11, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Steph for TeensReadToo.com
Zack Thompson is different. Instead of living in an orphanage, he lives in a mental ward and that's because he's basically allergic to everything - from specific foods to even the sun. Zack lives a nocturnal life - running, reading, and eating at night and sleeping during the day.
Zack thinks nothing of his lifestyle until an old man crashed a motorcycle into the mental ward. Suddenly, Zack is thrown into an extraordinary adventure.
More...
Zack Thompson is different. Instead of living in an orphanage, he lives in a mental ward and that's because he's basically allergic to everything - from specific foods to even the sun. Zack lives a nocturnal life - running, reading, and eating at night and sleeping during the day.
Zack thinks nothing of his lifestyle until an old man crashed a motorcycle into the mental ward. Suddenly, Zack is thrown into an extraordinary adventure.
More...
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Jun 28, 2010
Laura (Bookish Belle)
rated it:
Going into this book. I really didn't know what to expect. I believe this book is going to be one of those that you either really like or really hate. I thought I wouldn't like it but boy I was wrong. The story picks up right away and doesn't stop until you're finished with the novel and even then you're on the edge of your seat begging for more.
Many people I've looked through didn't like it but I really want to ask those of you to give it a try, especially you male readers out there More...
Many people I've looked through didn't like it but I really want to ask those of you to give it a try, especially you male readers out there More...
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Dec 11, 2010
Sheralyn
rated it:
At first I was really worried as I had not intended on yet another vampire book and did not realize what I was getting into at first. I have heard enough documentaries on sun intolerance and bizarre food allergies to not realize this was more than the true to life tale I was expecting. The story was intriguing enough to keep my interested once I caught on, which was before the hero I might add- I am not totally spaced. Near the end I was really shocked into thinking the author had lost his train
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Oct 06, 2009
Karin
rated it:
Zack Thomson lives in the Nicholls Ward – a mental institution, but it isn’t too bad. His medical condition makes it necessary for him to sleep all day and eat a very special diet consisting of strawberry smoothies. Living at Nicholls Ward ensures he gets everything he needs. He likes most of the people there, even the patients, but one nurse in particular is very close to his heart. Nurse Ophelia is the one that usually checks on him to make sure he has everything he needs and makes his dinn
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Aug 21, 2010
Kolleen
rated it:
Night Runner is a young adult novel about vampires, but different than other young adult vamp books out there like Twilight. Night Runner is about Zach, a mental ward patient who learns that he is a vampire. A man breaks in to the ward one night with a warning for Zach to run, and so continues the story.
Zach runs from the elusive Baron Vrolok, an old vampire who is out to get him. Without knowing why or where he will go, Zach tries to stay alive with the newfound knowledge that he More...
Zach runs from the elusive Baron Vrolok, an old vampire who is out to get him. Without knowing why or where he will go, Zach tries to stay alive with the newfound knowledge that he More...
Sep 21, 2011
Alexey
rated it:
this book take you in to the life of a young boy who is a vampire he lives in a mental ward until a deranged man on a motorbike smashes throw the front gate and asks him to follow him a bit later he meats up with his uncle Maximilian but goes to live with his friend who take him on a sped boat ride to meat his friends. he then meats a girl called Lura and well you get the gist.the then get taken by Maximilian and forced to make a choice between friends or family against the bad vampire Vladamir.
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Jun 21, 2011
Kara
rated it:
You see my mom wasn't too happy about me reading a book about vampires. I had not known it was a book about vampires but it was surprisingly good although I will not be reading the sequel. The reason for the 2 stars was ait left a bitter taste in my mouth. Its just I REALLY hated how everything turned out. It was too sudden and Charlie was still okay with Zachary even after he killed him. Now their all vampires together, experiencing the circle of life! :) So up to that point I was really enjoyi
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Jul 16, 2011
Scott
rated it:
This story added something new to the vampire genre: a vampire who does not know he is one. Zack Thompson is a teenage boy who has been living in a mental ward for years and wakes only at night, and eats only special strawberry smoothies. He's happy and has a friend who works around his schedule to visit him.
Everything changes when a strange man crashes a motorcycle into the mental hospital's lobby, and soon after that, Zack's long-lost uncle arrives.
There are lots of plot twists, but More...
Everything changes when a strange man crashes a motorcycle into the mental hospital's lobby, and soon after that, Zack's long-lost uncle arrives.
There are lots of plot twists, but More...
Feb 11, 2011
Paul
rated it:
This is a pretty good start to a vampire series. The main character is Zack, he has a disease that he knows nothing about where he has to eat "strawberry" smoothies and can only go out when it is dark. His nurse, Ophelia, takes care of him in an insane asylum. One night Zack gets a strange visitor that crashes through the front door on a motorcycle telling him to run. The ensuing story reveals Zack's background and introduces the reader to many characters who will play a role in bo
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Jun 12, 2010
Hailey
rated it:
I LOVED this book. It's a story about a teenager named Zach, who has lived in a mental ward for most of his life. Zach seems to be allergic to just about everything including the sun and basically ALL foods, except for the 'strawberry' smoothies his nurse Ophelia makes for him(get it yet?). One day his life dramtically changes when some random guy crashes a POLICE motorcycle into the ward. Now Zach is running for life with his best friend Charlie and a girl he thinks he's falling in love wit
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