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[Following is a volunteer review of "Demon Freaks" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]

Demon Freaks by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison is a supernatural horror novel, dashed liberally with comedy. Aimed at a young adult and teenage audience, the book deals with friendship and perseverance, good versus evil, and follows the ‘never give up’ ideology throughout.

While studying for their SAT test taking place tomorrow, twins Ron and Bing Slaughter, and their fellow bandmate Prathamesh ‘Meat’ Kimitri, are attacked by their history teacher, Mr. Brom, who is wielding a dangerous looking dagger. Dealing with a wild and unforeseen lightning storm that knocked out their power and tying up their maniac teacher, Ron, Bing, and Meat find themselves surrounded by the Servants of Darkness. After picking up the dagger, Meat finds himself fleeing while under its psychic control. Picking up their final band member, Kaitlyn Krimpsen, along the way, Ron and Bing pursue Meat, trying to figure out just what is going on. What ensues is an action-packed night full of monsters, sacrifices, comedy, and an evil Golfers’ Association.

This book is told from an omniscient point of view and follows Ron, Bing, Meat, and Kaitlyn through their misadventures. Although it feels like the book was finished with a few plot holes, I feel that these will be addressed in continuing books. The ending of the book set it up nicely for a sequel, but still managed to wrap everything up and didn’t end on a cliff-hanger.

I found the main characters in this book to be wonderful. Despite being twins, Ron and Bing face challenges differently and it’s interesting to watch how this impacts the decisions made between the two. Meat and Kaitlyn were also well-developed and most of my favourite character interactions occurred between these two. The dagger was also a nice surprise and I really enjoyed discovering its back-story and reading its snarky attempts to get its own way.

What I liked most about this book was its comedic content. The book delivers scares and violence, but interwoven through it all is this humour that breaks up the seriousness and really lets you enjoy the ride without being too overwhelmed or scared. I still giggle inside picturing 'spit-flecked Brommy!'

What I liked least about the book was its rather narrow focus on action. While the fast-paced action of the book kept me hooked, I felt that it also held back some of the character development. Ron and Bing seem to spend most of the book either running away or running to something and just got propelled from event to event.

Overall, I found this book to be a cracking read and I loved the interactions between the main characters, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The book appears to be professionally edited and I only found two mistakes. I would recommend this book to teenagers and fans of young adult books who enjoy supernatural action and comedy books. I don’t recommend it to younger or more sensitive readers as there are quite a few violent scenes and some adult themes throughout the book. Also, some readers may be offended by the constant use of the phrase ‘Jesus Christ!’

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Demon Freaks
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Like Zhariah's review? Post a comment saying so!

I love fantasy but not so much supernatural. I don't think I am the right target audience for this book as I scare easily and I would be annoyed at the constant blasphemy. That said, I think the book sounds like a good read for a younger audience that does appreciate a little fright. I'm not worried that the characters aren't fully developed as it sounds like this could be explored in later books along with the cliffhangers.

Good review that highlights some key points.

Georgia Lyonhyde wrote: ↑04 Dec 2018, 06:03 I love fantasy but not so much supernatural. I don't think I am the right target audience for this book as I scare easily and I would be annoyed at the constant blasphemy. That said, I think the book sounds like a good read for a younger audience that does appreciate a little fright. I'm not worried that the characters aren't fully developed as it sounds like this could be explored in later books along with the cliffhangers.

Good review that highlights some key points.

Yes, I'm really looking forward to reading the later books to see how the characters develop and how the author ties up some of the plot holes. I have my theories but they may prove to be way off base!
Thank you very much for taking the time to read and comment on my review