Witchblade: Demons [Mass Market Paperback]

Mike Baron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2002

Has the Witchblade met its match as an ancient Japanese warrior descends on New York When a big-shot antiquities dealer is found with his head severed, the case falls to NYPD Homicide dtective Sara Pezzini and her partner. Sara enlists sword polisher David Kopkind, a student of Japanese history, who recognizes the killing blow of katana. Could an ancient Japanese warrior be on the loose in New York - and if so, can even the Witchblade stop him before Sara loses her own head...?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Baron is the award-winning writer/creator of the comic book series NEXUS (currently in development as an animated television series from Fox), and has written for such characters as Batman and the X-Men. He was also the writer of a series of Bruce Lee comics published by Marvel Comics.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: I Books (December 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743445201
• ISBN-13: 978-0743445207
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,482,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Witchblade MUST Read!, January 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Witchblade: Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

I am familiar with just about everything that has been produced under the Witchblade franchise and I think this is probably the single best Witchblade story to date. The text novel format offers depth and a level of sophistication that a comic or TV episode simply can not match. The book starts when a series of bizarre murders puts Detective Sara Pezzini on the trail of a legendary cursed samurai sword. Sara wants to stop the killer, but the Witchblade seems to have its own agenda, very creepy! The text is heavily researched and chock full of historically accurate names, dates, places, and events from Japanese history, all cleverly strung together into a compelling narrative.

This story walks the line cleanly down the middle of the comic and TV versions of Witchblade. The characteristics of the Witchblade and supporting cast could have been easily drawn from either source so this should be easy for fans of either version to get right into. It's not encumbered by much of the ongoing subplots from the comic or TV series, but does introduce several new characters including a new love interest for Sara!

The author, Mike Baron who is known for gritty realism, does a really nice job of giving "a day in the life" type perspective throughout. The characters and world they are set into seem very authentic. This really enhances the believability of the supernatural elements of the story. This is very refreshing as this type of credibility is often hard to find in this genre.

I recommend that anyone who has any interest in Witchblade buy this book. It is the best Witchblade "fix" you are going to get for quite a while.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bike on!, January 9, 2003

By 

Wilhelmina Thomas (Birmingham, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witchblade: Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

Witchblade: Demons by Mike Baron, like the first two Witchblade novels,
is based on the comic book storyline and characters. We get a couple of
appearance by Siri, some lurking by the Internal Affairs guys and Jake
is on vacation. Sara 's partner for this case is an officer name Raja.

What we have is a case only Sara and the Witchblade can solve: a
Medieval Samurai ghost looking for his sword. The subplot includes a 15
year old female nemesis/ally, a couple of imaginative fight scene and a
interesting aspect or use for the Witchblade powers/armor.

Baron does a wonderful job of describing post 911 New York along with
Sara's reactions to the changed landscape. If you like motorcycles,
Baron does a great job of describing Sara's bikes as well as her
enthusiasms for riding. If you don't, it will probably be dry reading
for you and seem like filler. The use of the Witchblade in this story
is both intriguing and baffling. To say more would give away the best
part of the plot.

I of course enjoyed the book and read it in one sitting. If you are new
to Witchblade this is not the book for you. If you are aware of the
comic book or the TV show, you will enjoy it.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Story About Sara, October 7, 2007

By 

Kenneth Chu "SincereAgape" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Witchblade: Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my second review of the three Witchblade paperback novels that were published from 2001-2002. "Witchblade Demons" is a nice mystery/science fiction novel that is more realistic then the previous two books. As one of the previous reviews mentioned, the current comic adaption scribed by Ron Marz has a same feeling to Demons.

Let me start off by saying that Michael Baron's writing is in good form and as you move from chapter to chapter you can tell that he is an above average talent when it comes to the artistic form of writing. He uses no gimmicks, no flashy styles, complex words, or absurd plot lines; instead Baron keeps the book simple and direct which makes this book the best out of the 3 Witchblade paperback novels. I did enjoy John Miller's writing style in a Terrible Beauty [Which is very much influenced by HP Lovecraft], but I would have to say that Baron's writing is superior.

Baron uses a very balanced blend of metaphors, narrative descriptions, dialouge, and similies. I did not find myself checking the dictionary every other page nor did I found myself re-reading certain pages because the writing did not flow. The book touches upon the daily life of Sara Pezzini, the series main hero and a fantastic character. In the book you'll read about Sara's struggles some of the personal sacrifices that she must make to be the bearer of the Witchblade. For example, she is deemed a "Freak Magnet" beacause of all of the supernatural cases that being the bearter of the blade puts her into. As a result of this, Sara is isolated from the rest of the police department and often times has very few people to confide in. Not only is she isolated, but the others play practical jokes on her. Another theme of the book is her romantic life. There is a nice romance that develops between Sara and a character by the name of David Kopkind. This romance is developed rather nicely, and Sara's reactions to it are not over-played nor over dramatized.

Baron does a wonderful job describing New York City. As someone who lives in the NYC Metropolitan area, Baron really knows the city. He touches upon general themes such as the the differences between the Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan boroughs; while describing in fine detail the downtown Wall Street Area. This book also touches upon many post 9/11/01 themes -- such as Ground Zero, the terrorism paranoia [which engulfed NYC for a year or two.], and the emptiness of not having the Twin Towers luming over NYC.

As for plot it's pretty straight forward. There is a samurai killer who is plaguing New York City. We're given a few characters and about 3/4 through the book you're still left guessing who is the main killer and what is their motivation. Baron also does a great job exploring Japanese history and the use of motorcycles. Sadly the only character from the Comic Books that is in the story is Joe Siry. Jake McCarthy is mentioned only briefly for he is vacation in this novel.

Overall it was not a complex read and very enjoyable. As a Witchblade fan I recommend this book.