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Review by William D. Gagliani
In Hopewell, Illinois, the fate of civilization may hang in the balance.
This Fourth of July a demon has come to town to help destroy the remaining fabric of civilization, one evil event at a time. Present-day Hopewell, a mill town, has been rocked by a long and bitter strike, and the demon has plans. Big plans.
A cosmic war is being fought between the Word (good) and the Void (evil), though most humans are unaware, and Hopewell is a crucial turning point. Thus has John Ross also come to town. A Knight of the Word armed with potent but demanding magic, Ross knows the bleak future of Hopewell (and the world) through his horrific dreams. Indeed, he spends his waking life attempting to change that future, and now he has tracked this demon here. Nest Freemark, 14, is the one person who can help decide the outcome, but she doesn't know it. Like her dead mother and like the grandmother who raised her, Nest controls strong magic -- magic she uses to help Pick protect nearby Sinnissippi Park.
Pick, the Guardian of the Park, is a magical sylvan -- a tiny, elflike man fashioned of wood and leaves. In this version of our world, all parks are kept in balance by the magic of Guardians, and their human helpers. Together with other woodland creatures, Nest and Pick keep multitudes of invisible "feeders" at bay.
As events unfold, Nest will learn much about herself and her powers, about Gran and the terrible secret she guards, and about almost everyone she holds dear. Nest's relationships -- with her embittered grandmother, with her wise and long-suffering grandfather, with her friends (both human and magical), and with John Ross and the mysterious Indian, Two Bears -- ring true and add depth to this already complex novel.
Terry Brooks leaves his more outright Tolkienesque settings of Shannara and Landover to weave a harder-edged contemporary morality play such as those pioneered by Charles de Lint. But where de Lint's novels blend North American and Celtic mythologies, Brooks prefers a more traditional Judeo-Christian approach spiced with just a pinch of Celtic-inspired legend.
Why does Hopewell hold so much promise for a Void victory?
Nest's grandfather has worked hard to end the strike, but can his efforts avert a demon-influenced catastrophe? Why have the Void's feeders -- which literally thrive on fear, hopelessness, and pain -- begun to gather by the thousands? Why are these events converging all at once? Young Nest Freemark is the key.
Though occasionally burdened by a blatantly preachy tone and somewhat familiar plot devices, "Running with the Demon" ultimately succeeds as a rousing adventure tinged with darkness and magic. Nest and her magical friends will likely make welcome further appearances as the author explores his new millennium-driven mythos.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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