Customer Reviews

The Demon Inside (The Zone War, Book 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really wish I knew exactly how to pronounce this author's last name because I'm definitely going to be spreading it around to anyone interested in reading great fantasy. Terry Cloutier really bursts out of the gate like gangbusters with this lengthy, richly rewarding debut novel, book one of The Zone War trilogy. Maybe you're thinking you don't want to invest a significant time and effort into reading a 600+ page novel from a brand new fantasy writer, but rest assured that your commitment will not be wasted one iota in The Demon Inside. You'll be swearing this book is all too short when you get to the end and face the daunting task of waiting for book two to see what happens next.

The foundation for the story is Edward Fox, a most sympathetic protagonist indeed. At the age of twelve, Edward was abducted by a deranged psychopath named David Wayne Diamond, a man who delighted in skinning his victims alive. While he was eventually rescued and Diamond killed, Edward is still haunted by the experience. Now, it is seriously affecting his relationship with his wife, who believes the scars on his legs date back to a farming accident. When the memories threaten to overpower him, Edward does now what he has always done - space out from the world completely and retreat into a world of his own creation. In the Zone, he was always safe and completely in control of his environment - no one could hurt him there, including Diamond. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.

As his real world body lies in a coma, Edward finds himself back in the Zone for the long haul - only now, the Zone has undergone some serious changes. Edward no longer has the power to control what goes on there, which proves especially inconvenient and dangerous when he learns that he is the Creator whose triumphant return has been highly anticipated by many in the Zone. Almost completely powerless and exceedingly vulnerable, Edward isn't exactly the Creator that his followers expected. Doorgen Sandon, a great knight (a creation of Edward's younger imagination), and a young wizard are sent to find the Creator and return him to the Old Man (head wizard), while a company of devoted monks also seek the Creator they have been prophesying about. They, along with a fascinating mix of remarkably memorable individuals, find themselves compelled to become Edward's protectors (as they hope he will come into his powers eventually) against the evil and deadly forces of a mad emperor determined to kill this Creator and thus open up the way for his own conquest of the entire Zone. Edward doesn't know it yet, but this emperor is a malignant soul he is far too familiar with already.

There's no lack of action in these pages, as the emperor lets loose the dogs of war against neighboring cities and dispatches a cadre of soldiers, terrible witches, and other sundry evils to dispose of Edward and his friends. Much blood is shed by the swords of Sandon and his fellow Knights, a young wizard sent to do an experienced wizard's job more than proves himself despite serious physical odds, and the forces of evil increasingly bear down upon a more and more isolated Creator. Many great characters rise above the tumult, such as the bold and fiery Lady Jasmiine Vaxin (who bears more than a striking resemblance to Edward's real-world wife), and - sometimes to my dismay - many of them go. Cloutier forges his own path through the fantasy genre, sometimes killing off, after a few odd pages, individuals I expected to be major secondary characters. That authorial capriciousness really kept this reader on his toes, never knowing for sure whether a fallen hero would actually rise again.

While all of this intense action is taking place in the Zone, Cloutier pauses here and there to reveal more about Edward's real-world past, specifically his efforts to mentally and emotionally recover from his violent kidnapping ordeal. Both of Edward's story lines come to a most dramatic climax, leaving this reader desperate for more. This isn't one of those lengthy novels that you put down with a "Whew - thank goodness that's done" feeling - far from it. In fact, The Demon Inside has you directing a few choice words Cloutier's way for his authorial decision to leave you hanging on a precipice of anticipation until such time as the second novel in the series is released. That, my friends, is good writing.

Terry Cloutier's The Demon Inside, Book I, is a well-conceived book with a complicated fantasy world and realistic characters. The novel centers on Edward Fox, who is abducted when he is a child by the serial killer David Wayne Diamond. Edward creates an imaginary world called `The Zone', where his mind goes in order to escape the torture Diamond inflicts upon his body as he slowly skins Edward alive. Though Edward is eventually freed before Diamond can kill him, who himself is killed by police, Edward never forgets `The Zone', and disappears inside this imaginary world whenever the real world becomes too difficult for him to handle.

In some ways, The Demon Inside, Book I, reminds me of Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold!, Philip Jose Farmer's The World of Tiers, or C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. All of these books deal with seemingly ordinary humans transported to a magical realm where they must learn the extent of their power in order to save the fantasy world. Though Cloutier's book follows a similar theme, he manages to create something fresh and uniquely interesting in The Demon Inside. Edward Fox isn't only trying to save an imaginary population, he's also trying to save his sanity by finally standing up to his inner demons.

The characters in Terry's book are not simple. Many of them have their own agendas, which makes it difficult to put them in neat boxes of good and bad. Edward Fox is perhaps the hero, but in his adulthood, he is consumed by fear of his childhood tormenter. David Wayne Diamond's desire to skin kids alive is never fully explained in the first book, but he is not presented as a wholly evil, all-powerful nemesis. He has weaknesses which makes him all the more human, his survival is as threatened as everyone else's in the novel, and like everyone else, he desperately wants to live. The Demon Inside introduces the reader to a host of other characters, such as the wizard Eraac Storn, First Guardian Doorgen Sandon, or my favorite, the psychotic preteen Trueen Firth. The characters all seem like regular folk one feels could actually exist; no one acts mindlessly with their only purpose the acquisition of power or the singular desire to hurt and kill. Instead, the readers mostly meet military men or individuals on missions who are simply doing what they are told by higher ups, and who want to advance in the world in order to lead better lives for themselves and, often times, their families. The fact that the characters are multi-dimensional makes The Demon Inside all the more challenging to read.

Overall, this is a very good book. There are some issues with language that becomes distracting at times, such as the overuse of adverbs and similes, particularly in the last third of the novel. Though the dialogue is mostly well done, there are some melodramatic moments when one can't help but wonder if an individual would really speak that way. But these are mostly quick fixes that can be resolved in a second or third Edition, and overall, the writing is strong and engaging. I am genuinely interested in knowing what happens in Book 2, and I only hope that the sequel will not disappoint.

Characters that are easy to relate to, plenty of action, and a vivid, well constructed world make this book a pleasure to read. I thouroughly enjoyed my visit to The Zone. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

The Demon Inside, Terry Cloutier's first installment in the Zone trilogy, is a fantastic place to start learning about his protagonist, Edward Fox, and the world Fox created in his mind, the Zone. The first book introduces the main characters and explains some of the trouble surrounding Edward's past. It also outlines the unsure future faced by Edward and by the characters he created to fill the Zone. I'll admit, I liked the second book, the Balance of Power, better. However, I couldn't have enjoyed the second book so much without the background achieved in the first.

The Demon Inside by Terry Cloutier is the first novel in The Zone War Trilogy. The second book, which is already released, is titled The Balance of Power: The Zone War, Book 2. The third and final book is scheduled to be titled The Master Eye, and is slated for release either late in 2008 or early 2009. It is not your traditional fantasy, sword and sorcery novel. It blends traditional fantasy with a few scenes set in the modern world. I knew this was included in the novel, and initially, it made me a little leery of reading it. I usually only read medieval type fantasy so this, I thought, was a little out of my comfort area. I am really pleased to have decided to take the chance on this novel.

The plot of this novel has some aspects of traditional fantasy novels, a fight between good and evil. However, the package that it is in is something that is quite rare. Due to a very traumatic experience as a child, Edward Fox was forced to partition his mind. When that happened, a new world came into being The Zone. The main plot of the book focuses on Edward Fox, as an adult, being thrust into The Zone yet again. However, unlike when he was a child, he no longer has control over anything in The Zone. He is trust into the middle of a war that is going on, and there are several factions of people who seek to gain control of him because he is the Creator of the Zone. There are also a couple of sub plots woven into the story such as; a group of monks who's only purpose is to serve the Creator and help put an end to the Zone, there is a slight political sub plot with a certain group of characters, there is the sub plot of facing ones demons, then of course there is the sub plot of how a child deals with the extreme trauma. When I first approached this novel and read the back cover, I was unsure just how deep the plot would be, however once I finished the plot was extremely satisfying. It was an almost perfect mix of main plot and sub plots and kept me continually interested. Even the `modern day' scenes didn't jar me out of the story as I thought they would. They were kept rather short, but added quite a bit to the story.

The characters in this book, at times, take a little bit of a back seat to the plot. There are a couple of times that I felt the characters were being dragged alone by what was happening instead of them making the choices that would move the plot forward. There are some very interesting characters in this novel, and one in particular seems to steal scenes he is in. He doesn't appear until later in the novel but the character of Taagaa, was extremely interesting and I only hope he appears in the next book as well. Other characters such as Edward, Eddie (young Edward), Jasmiine, Quint, Storn, Doogren and Daamand are all well written and interesting. They all held true to what you would expect their actions to be under a variety of circumstances and situations. For this type of book, there are a lot of characters, but I never felt as though I lost track of any of them and I can honestly say, there is not one character I didn't have some type of emotional reaction to. From the first page, to the last word, the characters are solid, well defined and interesting.

If I had to pick a couple things to offer up some constructive criticism to in this novel they would be:

1 - As good as the characters are, I would have like to see a little more characters development scatter throughout the pages. It seems the vast majority of character development, especially with Edward, happens in the last fifty pages or so. Also, adding some secondary character development here and there may have taken this novel to the next level.

2 - There were a couple places where the dialogue between characters seemed a little forced and almost on the verge of what I like to call an information dump. Almost as though there was a great need to give the reader a piece of information, and the only way to do it was to just let it go from a character. This wasn't a resounding issue by any means, and does not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book but it is present.

3 - There were a few times when I think a little more description of the scene/ environment may have benefited me as a reader. Just giving me a better idea of what the authors true vision was. I have read enough fantasy novels where I was able to fill in the blanks, but I wonder if what I filled in was truly what the author intended.

Enough of the criticism, what did I really enjoy about this novel, besides almost everything.

1 - The prose and pacing is fantastic. For a debut book from a new author this novel is incredibly polished. The prose is fluid and is written in almost such a way that Mr. Cloutier is daring the reader to stop reading and put the book down.

2 - The story. Some fantasy stories try to be more than what they are. This novel however, is what it is and doesn't claim to be anything else. It set up the world, and provided a very good story with surprising depth to it.

3 - The structure of the novel. The modern scenes were mixed perfectly in with the main parts of the novel. As I said in the opening, when I first heard there would be modern elements to the story I was worried they would dominate the book and take away from the fantasy aspect. However, after finishing it I can only say those modern elements actually helped to enhance the story and provide a base for what was going on. It was a brilliant move and one that worked extremely well.

For a first time author, this novel is fantastic. In deciding what to rate it I ultimately decided on a 4 star rating over a five, mainly because a five star rating, to me, signifies perfection. The way I see it, there are still a few (minor things) that could be tweaked. Hat does not mean by any scope of the imagination that this is not a good book. It's very well done and I will certainly be reading the next one right away and eagerly awaiting the third. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, or even looking to get into the genre, I strongly encourage you to check this book out. It's a great read and one that I will most certainly be recommending to people in the future.

I just finished reading The Demon Inside, the first book of Terry Cloutier's trilogy entitled The Zone War. From start to finish, page after page, chapter after chapter, I found this fantasy fascinating. It captivated my attention throughout and I found it difficult to put down.

Like Edward Fox, we all enter "The Zone" every now and then, except that for Edward, "The Zone" became his permanent residence. I was fascinated by the way Mr. Cloutier uses common names but distort them by adding a double vowel or, sometimes deleting one. For example, Edward becomes Edwaard, William becomes Wilaam, Jasmine is Jasmiine, and so on. With a tour de force of imagination, we are transported into a fictitious medieval world which alternates between the real and present world. Reality vs illusion and fiction is evident throughout the book

I certainly would recommend it as a must for all readers of fantasy. And for those who are not familiar with this genre of writing, this book is a golden opportunity to get acquainted with this type of imaginative fiction.

Congratulations, Mr. Cloutier . Well done!! I look forward to reading your next book.

Gerard Chevalier

Reviewed by Ron Baxley, author of "Extra! Extra-terrestrial!," for PODBRAM

Fantasy and science fiction authors create works of dual escapism at times, putting characters within virtual snow globes that reside in still more fantastical landscapes. Not only is our speculative genre escapist, but, within that escapism, characters themselves escape into sub-worlds outside the main setting. Cloutier has manufactured an ingenious dual escapism that could only happen if one took The Boy Who Runs from Wolves, a character who only exists in the head of an abused young man and later his older self, from the novel and film "Mystic River," a real world of the psychological thriller, and transported him from the world within his head to a fictional Tolkein landscape. Edward, his creative, suffering main character, has escaped into a fantasy world but has brought alter egos and his demons with him.

In fact, child psychologists often dictate that when a child has been through a traumatic experience that he or she will create a fantasy world to escape the trauma. Cloutier's main character, Edward, did just that as a child, when he was much like The Boy Who Runs from Wolves, an abused young man, but the fantasy world that he created as a child will eventually engulf him as an adult.

The child's fantasy world becomes a literal yet fantastic world called The Zone in which one can escape, continuing with the themes of realities within realities. What makes Cloutier's work different, a little more novel than "The Neverending Story," for example, is that he makes his main character, Edward, have his own dark half a la Stephen King.

Not only has Cloutier created a Tolkein landscape with blind witches, wizards, and warriors plucked straight out of the Middle Ages or, in this case, Middle Earth, he has incorporated a Thomas Harris-like gritty reality of a serial killer. His serial killer, David Wayne Diamond, may not be the most original incarnation of what has become a stock character, but Cloutier originates an amalgam of "The Dark Half," "The Silence of the Lambs," and "The Gunslinger" series. We soon realize that Eddie has his own Dark Half. As many abused people do, he has internalized his abuser, David Wayne Diamond. This horrifying monstrosity of a human being cut Eddie up as a child and left him for dead and now the young man cannot get him out of his head, cannot get him out of the worlds that he creates. The title even alludes to the antagonist's, Diamond's, position within the narrative. He is "The Demon Inside."

How Eddie exorcises his demon is, as many authors do, through fiction, but do authors really get rid of their demons when they write? Authors may state that they are getting rid of their demons, but are they fully? These and other probing philosophical questions abound as the author blurs the line between reality and fantasy and makes one ponder the thin line between creativity and insanity.

He does an incredibly original job of blurring the line between genres as well, doing one of the better cross-genre pieces I have read in a while. Nevertheless, some of his concepts deserve far more original labels. The Empire, the name of the kingdom Diamond's alter-ego is trying to create, has been overdone by George Lucas, and The Zone is too reminiscent of The Twilight Zone or the cliché of somebody being "in the zone". Nevertheless, clichés can serve as the compost heaps from which great gardens can grow.

Cloutier's novel is a great garden indeed, for it is manicured with minimal grammar and spelling errors, a real plus for a self-published work. Also, the garden becomes more evidently a jungle as you explore its confines. One begins to realize that the pursuit of the dark serial killer memory within will take Edward through many books, and I know that this author will sustain this pursuit with suspense, originality, and gusto. This great garden, indeed, grows within a snow globe, a world within a world, only accessible through the comatose mind of the main character, Edward, and through the author's writing. As I did, marvel at the fantastic world Cloutier has created and be equally as stunned by the sinister vines that twist there.

In Jerry Jay Carroll's well-received hybrid fantasy thriller Top Dog, readers were introduced to a mystical world where humans and magical creatures were engaged in an epic battle of good versus evil while the hero, transformed into a giant dog, alternated between that world and the real one, where he lay in a coma, baffling his doctors and ex-wife alike.

In The Demon Inside, the first installment of his three-part thriller The Zone War, author Terry Cloutier takes this Kafkaesque ingenuity one step further by making his hero's mystical world one of his own creation, an existence into which he escapes whenever the harrowing trauma of an unspeakable act he endured as a child proves too much for his psyche to handle. But now the tables have turned and The Zone has become far too real for its creator to control while the evil Empire that threatens its inhabitants is bent on his destruction.

Edward Fox, Cloutier's unlikely hero, carries with him both the physical and psychological scars of a brutal childhood attack perpetrated by the serial killer who now inhabits, and rules, the mythical "other world" that Edward created as his own safe haven. Unable to escape this world through which he once moved so freely, Edward finds himself drawn into the brutal war launched by the Empire, hunted by its ruthless assassins even as he must come to terms with his own helplessness, his inner demons, and the almost messianic conviction of his faithful followers that he is indeed "the Creator" of The Zone and that he can save them all.

Cloutier has written a stylish tale of science fiction and fantasy that glitters with all the action and suspense of a modern psychological thriller. His captivating world bears the hallmarks of a Tolkienesque existence of magical creatures, evil sorcerers, spells, and swordplay that move this well-crafted yarn along at a brisk and suspenseful pace. Although only the first of a trilogy, The Demon Inside stands well on its own, and will provide fans of the genre with a satisfying read.

The concept behind this book is really exciting--a trauma victim whose escape-world comes alive, complete with serial killers, set in the modern day and a fantasy world.

That sounded like it was right up my alley, and since the reviews were pretty good, I grabbed it for a great low Kindle price. Unfortunately, the quality level of the actual writing let me down. I was really disappointed, because I wanted to read the book.

My standards for writing in popular fiction aren't such that I expect James Joyce, or even Terry Brooks or R.A. Salvatore. But I was unable to finish more than a few chapters of this book. I even skipped forward to see if things would get better, but the prose remained at the same quality level: more like a draft than a finished novel.

Cloutier is clearly a beginning writer, which of course is not a crime. It looks like he just needs more practice. I really hope that he comes back and edits this book! I would love to read it, and its fellows in the trilogy, later on in his writing career.

Reviewed by Deb Shunamon for Reader Views (12/06)


My first reaction on finishing "The Demon Inside: The Zone War Trilogy" was a resounding "Wow! That was brilliant!" followed closely by extreme guilt as this great world and story wouldn't exist if not for the sickening, violent abuse of a 12 year old boy. A young Edward Fox creates The Zone in his mind as a place of escape and empowerment, where he is revered and respected by magicians, rulers, religious orders, and the common people. Known as "The Creator," Edward is in control of this world until he returns to it during adulthood and finds that somehow the rules have changed.

The author answers the pressing questions right away and immediately sets up the format of the book: flashbacks and the life of Edward Fox in this world, alternating with the world of Edward Fox and The Zone. The flow between these settings is wonderful, picking up former story lines at just the right time to maintain interest, and introducing new characters and plots without disruption. What I really liked was the sparing use of implausible rescues - some notable characters actually die. I also felt an immediate connection with the inhabitants and action of the fantasy world, and more than once felt like diving into a rousing Warhammer battle. This is also an emotionally difficult story to read at times, though, as the author doesn't let you forget the violence in Edward's past. There's more going on than you think, however, and the constant, weird occurrences in the stories led me to continually question many of my conclusions, right through to the terrifying, cliffhanger end.

At over six hundred pages this book can be intimidating at first glance, but it doesn't take long to become totally involved in the dual worlds of Edward Fox, and be glad that there are lots of pages to read. The story has elements of good fantasy, blood and gore horror, suspense, and epic action and adventure, and while "The Demon Inside" owes a lot to other great fantasy stories, it remains an original work. Terry Cloutier's simple, good writing serves up some great action scenes and characters as he skillfully manipulates the emotions of the reader, and while it is perhaps too uncomfortable in places for younger teens, this adult reader can't wait for the second book of the trilogy. I hope the author is busy working on it as Terry Cloutier is sure to earn himself some faithful fans with "The Demon Inside: The Zone War Trilogy." It really is a great book.

Book received free of charge.