The Demon's Lexicon

This is what I wanted the Rob Thurman books to be. Brennan has the fannish DNA, and also the book’s cover appears to feature young Tom Welling, so, bonus. Nick is the taciturn, snappish younger brother, protective of his physically weaker but smarter older brother Alan. They’re on the run from demons because their mother—who hates Rebel-With-a-Cause Nick—stole something very valuable from a powerful magician; magicians raise demons and use them to gain power. When a brother and sister seek the brothers’ help with a demon problem of their own, Alan’s compassion puts all of them in terrible danger, and many secrets are revealed. The mythology is cool—I’d read another book in the series just to learn what the heck is up show more with demons—and the big reveal, though not that hard to figure out, is terrifically satisfying. Highly recommended. show less

16-year-old Nick Ryves’ life has always consisted of running away from the magicians, who want an amulet that Nick’s mother stole from them—an amulet that’s keeping her alive. Nick spends all his time protecting his crippled older brother, Alan, and trying to avoid his mother, who hates him. For the longest time, those two were the only constants in his life…until a brother and sister walk into their house one day, the brother bearing a demon’s mark on his body.

Demon’s marks allow magicians to track them and eventually a demon to possess the body, and when one appears on Alan, Nick will do anything to save his brother’s life. Their journey takes them through England, in and out of magic circles, but secrets abound, and show more there’s the greatest family secret of all that threatens to be even more dangerous than the demon’s mark.

THE DEMON’S LEXICON starts off with a bang, and the action and excitement—and my love for the characters—just keeps building from there. It is a unique and exceptionally well-written fantasy/action story that kept my eyes glued to the pages, never wanting it to end.

Nick is without a doubt the best part of the book. If you like bad boys, Nick is your guy: he’s apathetic and prone to anger, sword-happy and never remorseful. And in spite of all that, we love him. He is dedicated to his brother, and his thoughts are wonderfully portrayed, so that we can understand completely how his brain works. Often in YA fantasy/paranormal novels the “bad boy” is the main character’s forbidden love interest; here, he is the medium through which we absorb the story, and we grow to adore him and his peculiar, rough ways.

Sarah Rees Brennan is a master at writing and storytelling, two very different skills that do not always intersect. She weaves fascinating prose in and out of a compelling plotline, all carried along by the strength of Nick’s character. Whenever the plot slowed into possible dull moments, or secondary characters felt unclear to me, Nick was always there, keeping me enjoying the story.

THE DEMON’S LEXICON is a wonderful novel that will appeal to both genders. I have now proudly joined the crowd of Nick adorers, and can’t wait for what Sarah Rees Brennan has to show us next. show less

There seem to be quite a lot of paranormal adventure novels out for the young adult set these days, all with parents who are dead or MIA or potentially evil, or all three. The authors seem to be combining the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes to the best of their ability.

All that said, I quite enjoyed this book. Brennan has created an interesting protagonist in Nick Ryves, a sixteen-year-old who lives with his older brother Alan and his mother who cannot stand to be in the same room with him--though she has no trouble with Alan at all. The brothers care for their mother and mostly look out for themselves, traveling frequently in order to keep out of the way of an evil circle of magicians who are after them. These magicians gain show more their power by raising demons and allowing them the use of a human body for a short time. The demons, grateful for any brief chance to escape their own torturous dimension, grant the magicians heightened magical abilities in return.

Life for Nick seems to consist primarily of training to use his sword, picking up girls, and keeping the family out of harm's way. But when Alan received a demon's mark and a pair of strangers come looking for their assistance as well, Nick finds himself hunting the very magicians who have been out to get them.

The writing is clear and entertaining, and Brennan has a lovely, fresh wit that shines through her work. I also found her ending refreshingly original--a twist I did not anticipate until quite near the reveal, though the clues were in place. Quite enjoyable, and much better than a number of the books in this sub-genre. show less

A very good, surprisingly different urban fantasy. I really like Brennan's boldness in so many aspects of this story; it's unusual to see an author take so many metaphorical "risks" in writing.

Nick and his brother Alan never get any rest. They move incessantly from one place to the next, on the run from the demons and magicians who relentlessly pursue them and their insane mother. But Alan and Nick couldn't be more different. The former is compassionate, sensitive, and bookish, the latter cold, dangerous, and angry. And when the plight of brother and sister Jamie and Mae ends up in their hands, the two brothers find their already dangerous life is about to get downright deadly.

While demons and magicians are a staple of dark fantasy, I show more personally have never seen them done quite this way before, which is no mean feat. I found the demon marking and demon dancing elements of the story especially fascinating. But better even than the concept are the characters. Each of the four main characters comes vibrantly alive, even the hard-to-like Nick, whose perspective runs the story. Jamie is funny and likable (I laughed several times at his comments), Mae is fiery and independant, and Alan is hands-down one of the absolute nicest, sweetest, most selfless people I have ever met between pages. The entire book I was torn between giving him a high-five and a huge hug. But it is with Nick's character that the author really shines, using him to pull off one of the most strikingly brilliant twists I've ever seen, and definitely did not see coming because it was hiding behind another twist. Wow. I won't spoil, but it's one of those twists that makes you mentally review the entire novel and gasp when you realize where all the clues were planted. And it makes you realize how good an author Brennan has to be to write an entire novel the way she did.

Extra points for having a climax arc that had me holding my breath and made my eyes mist up. Definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for something different. show less

Nick loves his brother but finds most other people incomprehensible. That seems the least of his troubles -- he defends himself from demons with his sword, his brother was crippled in a magicians attack (that killed their dad), two annoying kids from school show up and attract danger, his insane mother hates him.

"You get the magician," Alan whispered. "I'll take the demon."
"I'll get them both," Nick said roughly, and shoved Alan for emphasis.

The plot takes off with the two kids, who stay with Nick and his older brother Alan as they try to sort out the dangers menacing them. Alan is desperately lonely, and sweet, and loyal to his family. Nick is loyal to Alan, but utterly disconnected from everybody else. James, the boy in trouble, is show more timid and snarky and scared, while his sister Mae refuses to let the universe harm her brother, no matter how mad the dangers get.

I loved this book. The bond between the brothers hooked me from the start, and Nick's lack of empathy made him interesting and kept the book on edge -- I was never sure I was rooting for the good guys. Nick's reactions read a lot like autism, if the autistic person was also a knife-wielding killer, and I'm a sucker for autism books. (Elizabeth Moon's _The Speed of Dark_ is a great one.) The ending was spectacular, and I'm delighted to hear there will be a sequel. I don't want to say too much about it, because the ride means more if you don't see what's coming. show less

I waited for this book to come out for at least a year, and when I finally got it (tonight!) I started reading it and didn't stop until it was done. It is insanely enthralling.

This is the first paragraph: "The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink." This is our introduction to Nick Ryves, a sixteen year old who has been on the run from magicians his entire life. He and his older brother Alan (with a crippled leg and a habit of caring about pitiful cases) have only themselves to depend on--their mother is mad, and their father was killed years ago. Desperate to free his family and his friends from demons and magicians both, Alan comes up with plan show more that could kill them all as easily as save them.

Nick has a fascinating POV, and the relationships between characters are believable and drawn with a deft touch. Brennan has a great ear for dialog, and uses humor to great affect. Every character has motivations, moralities, pasts and personalities--the depth therein never overwhelms the action, but makes it feel real, instead. The action scenes feel frantic and alive, and the twists and turns near the end...damn. Worth reading the entire book just for the showdown. show less

(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com/)

So the short version of this review is that if you like the TV show 'Supernatural,' you're pretty much gaurenteed to enjoy 'The Demon's Lexicon.' Which is not to suggest that Sarah Rees Brennan's debut novel is in any way a rip off of the show, it's just that the two share a few key ingredients. Demons and magic and all that but mostly? Mostly, it's about the brothers. Lying to save each other, weapon wielding, monster slaying, angst ridden and really, really pretty brothers.

There are just too few books out there that really explore the relationship between siblings. I'm inclined to think this is because it's just easier to get a reader invested in a romantic relationship. The whole show more will they/won't they thing doesn't really work with siblings, it's a whole different dynamic and it can be hard to do well.

For a start, siblings can do really awful things to each other that would spell the end of most romances. They can lie, cheat, steal and maim and still love each other, because it's family you know? Nick and Alan, the brothers in 'Demon's Lexicon,' are definitely not strangers to hurting each other, but the reader never doubts that they'd do anything for each other.

It's impressive, how effectively Brennan conveys their bond, because her POV character, Nick, is a long tall glass of emotionally stunted. Seriously. The kid is about as caring as a sharp sword, and colder than ice. Which you might think would make for some dark reading, but there is a real warmth to this book. This can mostly be attributed to Brennan's prose, which practically dances across the page and is full of wit and, yes, warmth. There is a larger than life quality to her writing that many books aspire to but few achieve.

And in any case Nick's emotional blankness was my favourite part of the book, weirdly enough. I don't think I've ever encountered another character like him. He's not "evil" or anything, but he's certainly not good either. Mostly, he's just really different. And its refreshing. And Brennan definitely has fun with him. For so long he's only let his brother get close to him, and Alan gets him. But the start of the book introduces two new characters into Nicks life, Mae and Jamie. Watching Nick struggle to deal with these intrusion was equal parts hysterical and moving.

The plot hinges around a magical charm, stolen some years ago from an evil magician by Alan and Nick's mother. I say evil magician, but in this world all magicians are evil and get their powers by dealing with demons. Nick and Alan have devoted their lives to staying one step ahead of the magicians, but then Mae and Jamie (another set of well drawn siblings) came crashing into their lives and mess everything up. I think this is a case of an ok plot being made awesome by the characters. Nick, Alan, Jamie and Mae are so well realised and three dimensional and just so damn fun to read about that any plot meh-ness passed by unnoticed.

And while a lot of people claimed that they saw the ending of this book coming a mile off, I really didn't! For me it was one of those really cool endings which leaves you stunned but when you think about it makes total sense. show less