Running with the Demon
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| Author | Terry Brooks |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Gerald Brom |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Word & Void series |
| Genre | Dark fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
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Publication date
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19 August 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 420 pp (hardcover edition) 448 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 36582033 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3552.R6596 R86 1997 |
| Followed by | A Knight of the Word |
Running with the Demon is the first book in the Word & Void fantasy series, written by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 1997 by Ballantine's Del Rey division. The story takes place in a fictional town named Hopewell, Illinois, but is actually based on the author's hometown of Sterling, Illinois around the Fourth of July in 1997. It is followed by the novel A Knight of the Word.
Nest Freemark is a fourteen-year-old girl of Hopewell, Illinois, who has inherited magical powers from her mother's lineage. She lives with her grandmother Evelyn and grandfather Bob, as her mother apparently committed suicide at a young age. She is one of a rare few in the world who can see the spiritual warfare underlying the events in the real world. She can see "feeders" - small shadowy creatures that feed on human emotion, influence thoughts, and ultimately attempt to "devour" people, causing their real world demise. Nest is enlisted to guard the nearby park and wilderness, a regional feeding ground for feeders, as many generations of Freemark women before her. She is aided in this task by a six-inch tree-like sylvan named Pick, an insightful barn owl named Daniel, and an ethereal wolfen creature named Wraith, who appears at opportune moments to protect Nest, but whose origins are initially unknown.
On July first, Nest is awakened by Pick and informed that a young local girl, Bennett Scott, has run away from home (and her mother's abusive boyfriend) into the park and is at risk of being attacked by feeders. She rescues the girl and is almost overrun by feeders when Wraith appears to fend them off and help her escape. Meanwhile, a demon of the Void has come to the town of Hopewell. Once a human, this demon now possesses magical powers including the ability to blend in easily among other people and influence their thoughts. He befriends Derry Howe, a less intelligent resident of Hopewell, and places in his mind the idea of setting a bomb during the fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Since the display is sponsored by the company that owns the factory, Derry is fooled into believing that the company will have to end a town-crippling strike in apology for the injuries at the show.
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