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The Fury #2
The Fury and the Terror
Psychic Eden Waring, married to a man she no longer trusts, is pursued by a powerful covert agency as she struggles to use her remarkable psychic gifts to save millions of lives while investigating a bizarre and complex plot that reaches to the Oval Office.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2000
6 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
John Farris
85 books166 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 24, 2013
Hmm... okay. So, I'm trying to gather my thoughts so that I can adequately, coherently, and fairly review this book. A little background on how the book came to me first. My sweety pie, Jeremiah, borrowed this book to me. I didn't ask for a book to borrow, but one evening he had two books sitting on his coffee table for me that he apparently thought I'd enjoy. He and I have pretty different taste in books, though we have found some "common denominators" in books we've read in the past. He prefers "spy novels" and I prefer... well, anything really as long as it's words on a page with a good enough story line. I just have never read a spy book or a book where guns or war- for example- play a heavy role in the overall theme. When he handed me this book, I wasn't really sure if I would like it or what to expect, but I trust his opinion in books and am always looking to expand my reading horizons.
Also, how awkward is it when a friend or significant other gives you a book that they loved and you read it and find it subpar? Yikes. Jeremiah said, "I re-read this book at least once a year." Okay, so there's a lot of pressure for me to like this book.
So, I went home and began reading. In the beginning, I was confused. I had no idea what's going on and it wasn't so enjoyable. However, with the introduction of the character of Eden Waring, which comes very early in the book, I really started enjoying it. Now, let me go back to the confusing part. This is probably not the author's fault, but rather Jeremiah's fault. He forgot one important detail about the book- it's the second in the series. By the time, he remembered I was already over 100 pages in. No turning back now. In retrospect, I do wish I would have stopped and went back and read the first, The Fury. Even during the last few pages of the book, I still was confused and had questions about some things. Luckily, the book was good enough that my confusion wasn't enough for me to want to put it down.
I think the female characters are what really kept me going. I really enjoyed Eden, Rona, and Bertie. Even though Rona was one of the "bad guys" she was one of my favorite characters. See, I wish I could describe the book, but I really can't. I don't really know where to start as there's so much going on. Also, some things I just don't know because oops, I didn't read the first one. To best sum up- very superficially- what's happening I'll use part of the Goodreads description, "The United States is besieged by terrorists- terrorists who work from within The White House itself. Their weapon of choice is a type of mind control not even dreamed of years ago." Psychic capabilities play a large role in the story. For that, I really liked the sci-fi elements.
The author is definitely a great storyteller. I loved how the book could go from super-intense to almost humorous. Almost like The X-Files, but in book format. I *hate* to reference television shows while writing book reviews (not) which some kind person on Goodreads chastised me for. I can't be the only person who while watching a movie is reminded of a book, or while reading a book is reminded of a TV show or even a song. Is that such a crime?
Anyways, I do plan on getting around to reading the first book in the series eventually. I'm giving The Fury and The Terror 4 out of 5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable and interesting it was.
Also, how awkward is it when a friend or significant other gives you a book that they loved and you read it and find it subpar? Yikes. Jeremiah said, "I re-read this book at least once a year." Okay, so there's a lot of pressure for me to like this book.
So, I went home and began reading. In the beginning, I was confused. I had no idea what's going on and it wasn't so enjoyable. However, with the introduction of the character of Eden Waring, which comes very early in the book, I really started enjoying it. Now, let me go back to the confusing part. This is probably not the author's fault, but rather Jeremiah's fault. He forgot one important detail about the book- it's the second in the series. By the time, he remembered I was already over 100 pages in. No turning back now. In retrospect, I do wish I would have stopped and went back and read the first, The Fury. Even during the last few pages of the book, I still was confused and had questions about some things. Luckily, the book was good enough that my confusion wasn't enough for me to want to put it down.
I think the female characters are what really kept me going. I really enjoyed Eden, Rona, and Bertie. Even though Rona was one of the "bad guys" she was one of my favorite characters. See, I wish I could describe the book, but I really can't. I don't really know where to start as there's so much going on. Also, some things I just don't know because oops, I didn't read the first one. To best sum up- very superficially- what's happening I'll use part of the Goodreads description, "The United States is besieged by terrorists- terrorists who work from within The White House itself. Their weapon of choice is a type of mind control not even dreamed of years ago." Psychic capabilities play a large role in the story. For that, I really liked the sci-fi elements.
The author is definitely a great storyteller. I loved how the book could go from super-intense to almost humorous. Almost like The X-Files, but in book format. I *hate* to reference television shows while writing book reviews (not) which some kind person on Goodreads chastised me for. I can't be the only person who while watching a movie is reminded of a book, or while reading a book is reminded of a TV show or even a song. Is that such a crime?
Anyways, I do plan on getting around to reading the first book in the series eventually. I'm giving The Fury and The Terror 4 out of 5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable and interesting it was.
October 30, 2012
It has been to long since I read a John Farris novel, I am big enough fan that I have a dozen well worn paperbacks on my shelf with his name on them. This novel is the long awaited sequel to his 70’s classic The Fury. It was his biggest hit and Farris himself adapted the novel for Brian DePalma film that starred Amy Irving and Kirk Douglas.
I read the first novel many moons ago and thought I would have no trouble jumping into the sequel as I have seen the movie many times. First things first I forgot how much Farris and Depalma simplified the story for the movie. The movie was a sopy thriller about psychic spies and the father that tries to find his teenage son Robin who was kidnapped by the supernatural spy agency MORG.
Robin we learn has amazing psychic abilities that include mind control, telekinetics and the ability to create an astral doppleganger. He is not alone, he also has a psychic twin Gillian. The first novel is basically about the twins and their attempt to understand their power, the government spy agency that wants to exploit them.
This sequel takes place in 2001 after a nuclear bomb has blown up Portland Oregon. Yep, my town was blown up some time before the events of the novel takes place. In many ways I felt like you are thrown into this story having missed about 50 or so pages of story. I found myself checking a couple times to see if I had missed a book.
The story follows Gillian’s daughter Eden Waring, who was raised apart from her. As she is about to graduate from college she has not even discovered that she has the same power as her mother. While she has traveled in the astral plain during her dreams she had not become aware until she interrupts her graduation to warn the crowd of a plane (still miles away) is coming to crash on top of them.
It’s not just any plane, it’s a MORG plane taking the captured Avatar(most powerful psychic) back to their secret compound. The Avatar while seditated manages to cause the plane to crash and creates a situation that forces Eden out into the light. Hence a race begins between the various agencies and powerful people who want to control Eden.
Farris crafts a near perfect horror/ espionage thriller. There are several entries in this cross over subgenre including King’s Firestatrter( which has been called a weak rip-off of the Fury) and my favorite being Lumley’s early Necroscope novels. The strength of The Fury and the Terror is the political intrigue.
Rona Harvester, the first lady in the novel is a cold hearted but wonderfully composed villain. You just can’t stand her, but at the same time you can’t wait to see what she does next. Farris also created another powerful who is perfectly set up for the third book in the cross dressing showgirl assassin.
Of course the story includes an attempted coup, terrorist attacks, psychic warfare, astral projections, psychic doppelgangers and an out of control black funded government spy agencies. Great stuff.
Farris remains a graceful story teller, I am glad he returned to the Fury, a story that deserved a sequel and I am glad to say he did it justice.
February 28, 2018
After 1979's classic tale of psychometric power and evil government departments, The Fury, it took John Farris 22 years to give us this sequel. Since we last saw our heroine, Gillian Bellaver, she has had a daughter, married, and been murdered by the group that was unable to harness her power.
.
Gillian's daughter, Eden, is the new Avatar, the culmination of her mother's and father's powers. But Eden has had to keep her powers hidden. When she foresees a plane crashing at her college's graduation ceremony, her warning to the people in attendance betrays her secret. Now Eden is being hunted.
.
This was a great, and much anticipated, sequel, which leads nicely into the next two novels in this series. Farris has given us a new hero for the psychic age, and the characters are as well crafted as any in Farris' other works. The story, although disjointed at times, does progress nicely, and the pace of action will leave the reader breathless at times. I'm looking forward to immediately diving in to the next part of the Eden saga.
.
.
Gillian's daughter, Eden, is the new Avatar, the culmination of her mother's and father's powers. But Eden has had to keep her powers hidden. When she foresees a plane crashing at her college's graduation ceremony, her warning to the people in attendance betrays her secret. Now Eden is being hunted.
.
This was a great, and much anticipated, sequel, which leads nicely into the next two novels in this series. Farris has given us a new hero for the psychic age, and the characters are as well crafted as any in Farris' other works. The story, although disjointed at times, does progress nicely, and the pace of action will leave the reader breathless at times. I'm looking forward to immediately diving in to the next part of the Eden saga.
.
August 15, 2012
Lot of fun and the last third really took off, things took an abrupt turn and went wild from there. Very fun.
February 13, 2016
Made it through the first chapter then asked myself, why am I doing this? There was no good answer so I quit. Yep, just quit.
December 3, 2022
VERDICT: 2.88 stars, bumped to 3.
Completely bonkers. Lacks realism. No possible suspension of disbelief for me. But not without some merit as fantastical/imaginative entertainment.
Eden and G were sympathetic characters. I could've done without all the others, as well as the convoluted conspiracies, political subplots, But Farris does eventually weave it all together.
Ludicrous? Extremely.
Entertaining? Sometimes (and 2 or 3 mild laughs along the way).
Completely bonkers. Lacks realism. No possible suspension of disbelief for me. But not without some merit as fantastical/imaginative entertainment.
Eden and G were sympathetic characters. I could've done without all the others, as well as the convoluted conspiracies, political subplots, But Farris does eventually weave it all together.
Ludicrous? Extremely.
Entertaining? Sometimes (and 2 or 3 mild laughs along the way).
June 22, 2012
Well, ya gotta read "The Fury" first to get the back story (see my review), but this is a better book, from several perspectives. First off, Eden Waring is an emerging Avatar who "sees" an impending plane crash at the site of her college graduation (this plane contains a previous avatar, but the first couple chapters flesh that out), and she's a plucky gal who slowly figures out where she "is" in the scheme of things (she has a connection to "The Fury's" Robin Sandza which also becomes more clear as the book continues). My habit of using an index card for a bookmark, upon which I write the names of the characters and their relationships, paid off big time, since there is a larger cast of characters than one realizes. Without giving away a lot of the fun, two of the most intriguing are Rona Harvester, the First Lady, with questionable connections and a nasty, conniving nature fueling her ambitions; and Buck Hannifin, Montana (my home state) State Senator with not a few tricks up his sleeve. There are other interesting characters (an assassin with multiple identities, a model who is sort of Eden's psi-abilities coach and protector, Eden's "real" stepfather (Gillian, from "The Fury," is her mother, but don't tell anybody - oh, that's right, you aren't reading this review till you finish it "cause I hid it) Tom, yet another protector and love-interest for Bertie, and - well, you can see where it gets sort of complicated.
In addition to characters, this book has a very nice combination of horror (some, but not so much), supernaturality (a lot), action (a lot), mysteries (abounding), intrigue (in Spades) and suspense (healthy dose). Mr. Farris puts 'em all together in a very enjoyable manner, satisfying ending and - well, there was a "teaser" chapter from the final book in the series, "The Fury and the Power," which takes up where the previous one left off, and I was HOOKED and immediately went and found my recently-purchased (from one of my list of ubiquitous used book stores) copy and have started that one. Shouldn't be too long till I finish that one. I recommend this one a lot, but again you have to read "The Fury" first (don't bother with the movie, ug).
In addition to characters, this book has a very nice combination of horror (some, but not so much), supernaturality (a lot), action (a lot), mysteries (abounding), intrigue (in Spades) and suspense (healthy dose). Mr. Farris puts 'em all together in a very enjoyable manner, satisfying ending and - well, there was a "teaser" chapter from the final book in the series, "The Fury and the Power," which takes up where the previous one left off, and I was HOOKED and immediately went and found my recently-purchased (from one of my list of ubiquitous used book stores) copy and have started that one. Shouldn't be too long till I finish that one. I recommend this one a lot, but again you have to read "The Fury" first (don't bother with the movie, ug).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2012
This is the sequel to The Fury, and after 25 years, it was strong enough to stand up by itself. I'm not usually into terrorist plot stories, but this one did away with the usual boring stuff and added a little psychic bionengineering, avatar projection and kept the story moving. Eden is a very likable character, and thankfully she's not the only one: Bertie, Tom, and even some who only make a small appearance. In the midst of her innocence, we only wonder what she will be able to accomplish once she fully comes into her powers.
May 6, 2015
It had been a while since I had read The Fury, so there was some initial confusion as to who was who. However, over the course of the book I was able to piece it all together. This is another one of those odd Farris books where the characters don't always react like real people. I've seem Patricia Cornwell do something similar. Strangely enough, it does add to the surrealness of the story. It'll be interesting to see what the next installment brings.
December 4, 2020
This book is a trip and a half. Farris uses all his talent to write this amazing imaginative thriller that has more twists, turns and just plain weird elements to fill three books. It is probably one of his most accomplished works.
Want to read
April 29, 2010Horror author. Thrall has some. 4/2010
August 30, 2013
I couldn't get into it. Then again, I really didn't care much for THE FURY in the first place. I love John Farris's work, but this series just isn't doing it for me.
August 12, 2015
The first sequel to The Fury, but mostly new characters...tons of new characters. I had trouble keeping track of them at first. Good plot, but predictable ending.
July 18, 2013
As Shania Twain said "Don't Impress Me Much".
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews