The Fury (Fury and the Terror)

Description

Why did Robins loving father want to kill him? Why did Gillians doting mother desperately fear her? And why were both these parents so horrifyingly and helplessly right about their children? Twenty-five years after the first edition, The Fury is back.

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Customer Reviews

Super Reader
This is a precursor to the whole Firestarter and Teek type plot. Gift psionic ability youngster wanted by extremely dodgy government agency.

In this case, however, there are two kids, and the father trying to protect his child is also a trained government killer. They have an earlier handle on the whole offensive use of weapons of the mind, too.

In other words, I wouldn't be putting my hand up and volunteering to try and bring them in.

2007-08-07 | - Research Finished | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Disappointing
Having enjoyed John Farris's novella, THE RANSOME WOMEN, I found in Ed McBain's anthology, TRANSGRESSIONS, I thought I'd try his best-known work, THE FURY.

THE FURY starts out well as we get to know teenagers Gillian Bellaver and Robin Sandza. They have known each other intimately in previous lives and both have incredible psychic powers. Peter Sandza, Robin's father, is the third major character.

There is an early discussion on reincarnation that I found especially stimulating. Robin compares it to a baseball game. If he plays poorly, he can always do better in the next game. Gillian's father, millionaire Avery Bellaver, is also a unique character. He is an amateur anthropologist who feels that the problem with American teenagers is that ritual is lacking in their lives.

The book deteriorates when it turns into a Tom Clancy-type thriller. Robin Sandza falls into the hands of MORG, a clandestine group similar to the CIA who plan to use his psychic powers as a secret weapon. Peter Sandza, who was once a MORG agent, fights incredible odds to get his son back. Meanwhile Gillian's psychic powers have gone awry.

The villain of the piece, MORG leader Childermass, is somewhat of a cartoon character. I couldn't find one redeeming characteristic. The last half of the novel reads a bit like an episode from THE MAN FROM UNCLE. The psychic twins don't do a whole lot with their psychic powers besides bleed people out. I would have preferred a much larger role for Avery Bellaver.

2006-02-12 | Dave Schwinghammer (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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A 4 1/2 STAR REVIEW
What possessed John Farris to write, in 1976, such an avant-garde no holds barred of a novel, we will never know. But one thing's for sure, his FURY is one heck of a roller coaster ride. From the get go, the novel screams of ingeniuty, whether it's in its pre-Koontz-like subject (Gouverment propaganda behind "gifted" subjects), its dead-on characterization or in its dynamic and assured pace. The author's skills as a writer shine through and through, up to the edge-of-your seat conclusion that leaves the reader literally breathless. Be prepared to applaud the man, for THE FURY certainly deserves all of its success.-----Martin Boucher

2006-01-11 (Montreal, Canada) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Furious Phenomena
John Farris' breakthrough bestseller holds up well, after all these years. It spawned a minor cottage industry in the film business, especially, with the "evil government psychic projects" plot. Scanners and Firestarter, and their numerous clones and offspring, were inspired by this piece. It was ahead of its time in discussing then-unknown true-life psychic spying programs, which have since been written about in quite some detail - though discussing nothing quite like what happens in this book.

Robin and Gillian are twins separated at pre-birth, reincarnated souls meant to grow up together who instead are growing up separately. Robin is the more powerful of the two, and comes to the attention of MORG, a nefarious super-secret government agency that attempts to murder Robin's CIA assassin father in order to more fully take Robin under their wing. Robin's father is mighty ticked-off about all this, and wages a private little mini-war with MORG head Childermass to get his son back. In the meantime, promising newcomer Gillian has also come to MORG's attention - and Robin's father's, as well, who wants to use her to locate his sequestered son.

Definitely one of Farris' best. Even though Farris also wrote the screenplay to the stylish Brian DePalma movie, the film is weak compared to its original source material.

2002-04-07 (Aurora, CO) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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A classic horror tale returns and it stands the test of time
5

Turning fifteen, New Yorker Gillian Bellaver possesses a rare talent. She can convert psychic energy into a powerful, destructive force that she struggles to restrain. Teenager Robin Sandaz also contains the same power. The Feds, several foreign governments, and other wealthy interests share in common the desire to control Gillian, Robin, and similar talents for purposes of exploiting their respective powers mostly as weapons.

Robin's father, Peter is one of the US government's most dangerous and successful assassins, but feels it is time to retire. The sanguinary Middle East has been his most frequent playground, but a recent personal incident has returned him to America. Peter worries that he may be too late to save his son from the brain washing happening to Robin back in the States. Peter plans to attempt to free Robin and the other "student"-prisoners from their captivity before they become inhuman pawns deadlier than any known terrorist in the world today. Failure means death while success means being on the lam perhaps forever.

It has been twenty-five years since John Farris released THE FURY, but the book is being re-released in anticipation of Mr. Farris' sequel. I feel like the star of Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen" that I read so long ago and just reread yesterday. The original retains all the freshness that made it a best seller as the look inside the unused segments of the mind seems even more relevant in this age of rapid medical achievements. This reviewer strongly recommends reading the novel followed by the De Palma's movie because both are excellent.

Harriet Klausner

2000-11-01 | Helpful Votes: 11 | Rating: 5

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All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes by

Description

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Customer Reviews

From 100 Best....
Horror: 100 Best Books led me to this novel. It is an interesting read but...long. Farris aspires to a literary/Southern Gothic writing style that can be confusing at times. The story is epic in scope - a supernatural thriller involving generations of a cursed family. It weaves the themes of voodoo and the lamia into a modern sexual thriller. Just be prepared to invest a lot of time into it.

2008-08-19 (New Jersey) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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An Amazing Classic Horror Novel
This here's perhaps one of the best horror novels I've ever read. Great characters and complex plot, from it's startling beginning to the satisfying climax, it's a page turner that could make a perfect HBO mini series. Included in the 100 Best Horror Novels by Stephen Jones. Highly Recommended.

2007-07-24 | FurNTats (Indiana) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Promising beginning that never quite follows through
I bought this book after seeing it listed on several "10 Best" lists. And the beginning certainly packs a punch. However, the excitement of the opening scenes is not sustained. The rest of the book drags. In addition, characters are introduced never to be heard or seen again, information is presented but nothing is ever done with it, you are never given anything more than a surface glance at these characters, and nothing is ever truly resolved.

Is the "big bad" of this novel worthy of our fear or our pity? And what about those that helped bring it about? The resolution shuffles to a finish, and is wrapped up in about 25 pages. The rest of the novel discusses plot points that either go nowhere or end up so lackluster that when you finally uncover the mystery it's more of an "oh" than a "oh wow!"

How exactly did the main family of this novel become what it is? There are hints on the book jacket that this family has a secret evil past, but it's never proven. Why exactly did this evil visit this family? It's explained in about two sentences. Those looking for a book with a big payoff should look elsewhere.

2002-11-22 (Silver Spring, MD) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 2

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Five-plus stars. A masterpiece. How did he do it?
I can't believe this book is out of print. And I can't believe it
hasn't been made into a movie. It's up there in the pantheon of the gods...Lovecraft, Blackwood. I believe I have glimpsed influences on Stephen King and Clive Barker...
esp. "It" and "Galilee."

It's a classic. A smart publisher will bring it back. The public deserves it. Great, great writing...poetry and magic and a riveting story with one of the greatest opening chapters in literature.

2002-07-04 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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As Gripping as a Noose Around the Neck
Farris' book of voodoo sorcery is an intricately weaved work of plot and subplot. Ostensibly about the cursed lineage of the Bradwins, this book takes you from the plantations of Virginia to the countryside of England to the colonial age jungles of the heart of Africa (places Joe Conrad would not have even stepped foot in). This range of settings, times, and characters, apparently disconnected yet insidiously linked by dark, ancient forces, gives this book an almost Lovecraftian feeling. It is as if these forces can and are affecting each and every individual on this planet, yet we are naively and mercifully unaware of these unseen powers. That is, until those powers wish to make themselves known. This virtual omnipresence is illustrated in one scene where the character of Early Boy is talking to the self confessed voodoo priest. The old man tells Early Boy that voodoo is not primitive superstition or nonsensical sorcery but a sophisticated and very ancient religion predating and even the basis of modern religions. He says that Moses himself learned magic from powerful voodoo masters in the African jungles and therefore pretty much all of Christianity and Judaism is based on voodoo.
Instead of giving us a simple "voodoo men raise demons and other boogeymen with curses" type plot, which is straight out of a B movie, Farris structures the story so that it is believable, frightening, sophisticated, and chilling in its insinuations. Nor is this the type of story that has a predictable plot. You never guess the horror of the first few pages and you will never see the ending coming. Farris also never fails to give us great action throughout the story. A character jumping out of a window sending shards of glass flying is just the norm in this story. And they do get cut. "What do you think this is, a western?" as Early Boy says. Farris not only gives us a masterfully woven plot, he also delievers great action, and a pretty good scary story.

2002-06-16 | netchild (Lubbock, TX. United States) | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 4

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Sharp Practice

Description

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Customer Reviews

Great find Interesting to read
Just looking at the summary of this book, I was already interested. This book kept me interested till the end. It had a surprise in store for me, but even when I figured it out, I was still intersted. Very good suspense. I recommend it for any John Farris fans.

2000-07-20 | jaquita874 (Waynesboro, VA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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The Fury and the Terror

Description

The United States is besieged by terrorists-terrorists who work from within the White House itself. Their weapon of choice is a type of mind control not even dreamed of years ago.

Eden Waring, star athlete and valedictorian, is about to address fellow graduates and family members in the school's stadium when she is overwhelmed by a terrible premonition: a DC-10 is about to crash at the ceremony site.

From that moment on, her life is forever changed. On the run, pursued by a powerful covert agency and married to a man she can no longer trust, Waring must use her full psychic potential to save the lives of millions of Americans while she tracks down a complex plot that leads to the Oval Office itself.

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Customer Reviews

Not really horror
Not really a horror novel, but fairly enjoyable none the less. It's more like the X-men than anything else. Pretty over the top plotting and more of a dense read than I expected. I liked this book, but am wondering about the 3rd volume in this trilogy which was supposed to be printed in 2005 , but still has not been published here in 2007. Can't find anything online about it. Perhaps the publisher Tor has decided against it. Hmmmm.

2007-06-10 | FurNTats (Indiana) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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HILARY MOVE OVER
If you think our former first lady Hilary is awful, wait till you meet Rona Harvester, the first lady who propels the evil plot in Farris' long overdue sequel to THE FURY. This woman has no redeeming qualities, and she's as wicked as they come. Without going through the plot (which several good reviewers have already done), suffice to say this book is overflowing with characters, plot, and devilish goings-on. It's almost a little too much, but Farris is such a master, you forgive him for the length, and relish in the violent scenarios he paints so well.
I didn't have a lot of fun with the "psychic cult" in spite of their ability to turn into so many wonderful monsters! But, anything goes in this book and I'm looking forward to the sequel THE FURY AND THE POWER.

2003-11-29 (Martinsburg, WV USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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A FANTASTIC SEQUEL TO A CLASSIC BESTSELLER!!!
It's taken John Farris over twenty-five years to finally write a sequel to his most famous novel, THE FURY, and I'm happy to say that it was well worth the wait. THE FURY AND THE TERROR takes up twenty years later where its predecessor left off. Gillian Bellaver has been dead for over a year, having been murdered by a team of assassins in front of her husband, Tom Sherard. Robin Sandza has been in a coma-like state for two decades-his body housed in the ultra-secret MORG facility in Montana-while his twin body (or doppelganger), using the name of Victor Wilding, now runs MORG with the help of Rona Harvester, who's married to the President of the United States. The story starts out with a commando raid on a Hawaii compound that's led by the First Lady. The mission of the raid is to capture of Kelanie Cheng, whose psychic abilities are so strong that she's considered to be what's known as an avatar. After the raid is successfully completed, Rona Harvester decides to remain in Hawaii for an extra day, while Kelanie is heavily drugged and then flown to the MORG facility, guarded by the team of commandoes. The plane, however, never makes it to Montana. Kelanie uses her power to divert the aircraft to northern California where it crashes into a stadium during a college graduation ceremony. Eden Waring is in the process of giving the valedictory address at the ceremony when the tragedy occurs, and it's only because of her own psychic ability that the several thousand people in the stands aren't killed when the airplane crashes and then explores. This immediately draws national attention to Eden and what she did. It also draws the attention of MORG and Rona Harvester. It isn't long before Eden's hidden identity is discovered. She's the daughter of Gillian Bellaver and Peter Sandza (Robin's father), and her psychic powers are stronger than anyone can imagine. Everybody now wants her either dead or alive, and will do whatever it takes to accomplish this vital task. Eden's grandmother (Katherine Bellaver) sends Tom Sherard to save her-a man who's known danger in a thousand different ways and is prepared to put his own life on the line to save the daughter of his late wife. Even with the help of many close and powerful friends, Tom may not be able to do the impossible because there's more at stake here than just the life of one young girl-the entire country may be on the brink of a nuclear disaster. Understand that this brief description of the storyline is only the tip of the iceberg for THE FURY AND THE TERROR. John Farris has managed to intertwine a dozen different subplots into the novel that almost boggles the reader's mind. At the crux of the story, however, is Rona Harvester's conspiracy to murder her invalided husband with the help of her lover, Victory Wilding, and to take over the Presidency. Once Kelanie Cheng is killed in the plane crash, however, Rona has to turn to Eden Waring, hoping that she might be able to help heal Robin Sandza's brain injury with her psychic powers so that his doppelganger (Victor) won't die. Together, both Rona and Victor hope to rule the most powerful country in the world. Along with this is the large number of colorful characters that clearly stand out. There's Phil Haman, a transvestite assassin with a split personality whose job is to kill Eden before MORG can gets its hands on her. Then, there's Tom Sherard, an African hunter with a British accent, who loved Eden's real mother more than life itself and is willing to take on the entire American government to save his stepdaughter. There's also a small California town that's filled with witches and warlocks who use their shape-changing abilities when attacked by outsiders. And let's not forget Rona Harvester, a woman who clearly likes to use sex, blackmail and murder to control the men and women in her life, and who isn't afraid to blow up an entire city in order to achieve her goals for total control. These are characters that explode outward in all of their strengths and weaknesses, coming alive in a way that only John Farris can conceive. Another factor that adds to the extreme quality of THE FURY AND THE TERROR is the fact that the author never lets up from the first page to the last. Something is constantly happening, and there's never a dull moment. Mr. Farris has skillfully incorporated fantasy with reality to create a believable scenario that makes you wonder just how much of this is actually true. Though it helps, it's not necessary that you read THE FURY in order to enjoy this novel. Each book stands alone. For those of you who've never read anything by John Farris, fasten your seatbelts and be prepared for the ride of a lifetime!

2003-01-27 (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 5

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Disturbing Implications
Written many months before September 11, Farris credibly outlined a sinister government scenario in this book to hoax just such a terror-attack for political purposes. If for no other reason, this semi-sequel to The Fury is worth consideration.

This book would have succeeded better on its own than as a sequel to The Fury, but then it probably wouldn't have gotten as many readers, either. The continuing characters aren't really continuing characters, and their having any connection to those from the first book is frankly unimportant. In fact, it's partly a sequel to Farris' Son of the Endless Night, as well, with an odd, unnecessary, and slightly confusing diversionary little subplot concerning an Earthbound race of suggested-to-be extraterrestrials, who really deserve a separate book of their own.

This isn't Farris' best book, but it is still Farris, which means it's good, and worth reading.

2002-04-07 (Aurora, CO) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Disappointing
This book has interesting characters and sub plots but I think the overall story is weak and the good guys have it too easy. I was disappointed.

2002-03-31 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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Solar Eclipse

Description

Bruised and bleeding stuntwoman Shay Waco and her eleven-year-old daughter have just survived a car crash and a sixty-foot drop through a nest of conifers. They enter a lone house for help and instead find a family sitting around a dinner table--with bullets in their heads.

Sheriff Tobin Bonner, an ex-DEA agent with past he'd like to forget, investigated. His son has a bullet lodged in his brain, a gift from drug dealers when he was two. Tobin delves into the case, only to receive photos of his boy, alone and vulnerable on his daily outings.

Tobin and Shay must now rely on each other to solve the murder in sunny Arizona, and if they slip up, it will be their children who pay the price.

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Customer Reviews

Lots of twists and action in this thriller
Hollywood stuntwoman Shay Waco, takes a wrong turn on her way to a reluctant reunion with her reprobate Western showman grandfather and ends up run off the road. Teetering on a cliff, her 10-year-old daughter panicking, Shay looks for rescue and sees a construction bulldozer maneuvering to topple onto them.

Not for the last time, her Hollywood skills do her some good in real life and John Farris" "Solar Eclipse" gets a jumpstart which serves to launch it deep into a story of corruption, religious terrorism, murder and revenge.

Looking for help, Shay stumbles on a family sitting around their dinner table - shot dead. It doesn't take long for brooding Sheriff Tobin Bonner, ex-DEA, his life shadowed by a vicious attack that killed his wife and left his son brain damaged, to assume the family was in the witness protection program, a deduction quickly confirmed by the arrival of a herd of federal agents.

But it's not to be that simple. Bonner's son is threatened by a stalker, Shay befriends a young mormon girl desperate to escape the forced marriage her fanatic polygamist father is determined to thrust on her, and the girl's amoral outlaw sister returns to town for her own unknown purposes.

Farris ("Soon She Will Be Gone," "Sacrifice," "Dragonfly") mixes it up handily with well-organized plotting, characters who are seldom as simple (but sometimes even more nefarious) as they seem, and lots of imaginative, grisly action.

2007-07-26 (Marathon, FL USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Gruntings from the Farris cave and tales of Marlboro country
Having heard many good things about John Farris, I picked up Solar Eclipse from the local library. I was greatly disappointed. Friends of mine praised Farris for the intricacies and cleverness of his plots. As a thriller/mystery, I found the plot of this book highly generic, formulaic and conventional. There were no surprises here to any fan of B movies (or B novels). Worse, I found his characterizations of women and men (and what passes for intimacy between them) to be slightly to the right of Neanderthal man's perspective.

Farris has been compared to Stephen King. Well, to my mind, he lacks King's grace with language and he certainly lacks King's mordant and insightful take on American popular culture and the darkness that lurks beneath the seemingly ordinary and innocent.

2001-10-01 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1

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wow what a story
I personally like john farris,s work always did. I read his other works he is very diverse.I loved the characters in this book.They were vicious and unique.This is basically a story about the discovery of a murdered family in a small town in Utah.The family is discovered by spirited stuntwoman Shay Waco, who is visiting her father after many years.She meets sheriff Toby Bonner and he falls in love with her.however,the murder is just part of the plot.Alot of surveillance equipment was found in the murder victims home. the reader later finds out that the victims were in a witness protection program.in exchange for protection, the victims had to spy on their neighbors.prior to their murder the victims find out that neighbor wolfgang gehrig is in cahoots with a doomsday religious cult and the famed aum shirinkyo.This religious cult wants to blow up the mormon temple and create a new zion.they are trying to develope a particular bomb that has no sound.this particular cult is also beig being investigated by crooked fbi agent Dale stearman. that is the basic plot of the story but there are a lot of other things. This story is so complexely plotted I had to re-read it and I am thinking of re-reading it again.I especially liked the two evil daughters of the founder of the doomsday cult, Rosaland and Sarah.Even though they are eviland underhanded Farris manages to reveal a softer side to them. I won,t reveal any more but this book was fabulous. I would recommend this to anyone.

2001-07-06 (largo florida) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

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First of Mr. Farris' works I've read, very enjoyable
I'm sure glad I picked this up on a travel day, which was extended by 4 hours due to weather conditions. Very engrossing, not always satisfying, some of the characters a little too one-dimensional, but overall a good read.

Maybe I haven't read enough Stephen King (ok, only Christine), but I just don't get the comparisons between the authors.

This one moves pretty fast, and does make you work to keep up.

2001-06-15 (Houston, TX United States) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Solar Burnout
Having been a long-standing fan of John Farris, I looked forward to this novel of "suspense." Farris has certainly served up some tasty novels including "Dragonfly," "Soon She Will Be Gone," and "Sacrifice." "Solar Eclipse" falls way short of those books. The plot is so contrived that any of its intricacies and complexities are lost in slow moving scenes and unbelievable characters. Farris has his typical gore, murders, double crosses, and chase scenes. What is missing, though, is any characterization. Full of stereotypes, and he loses it big time with the characters of Rosalind and Sarah. Such wicked ladies, and yet, he tries to make us like them in spite of their wickedness. The novel starts off great, and has some riveting suspense in what happens to Shay Waco and her daughter Pepper. Once they find the murdered families, though, it's downhill. Typical drug pushers; typical crooked federal agents; and a typically disgusting brother for the sheriff. Even the character of Vida, Sheriff Bonner's adopted son, is wasted. His relationship with Rosalind is pure hokum and a mere plot contrivance. I hope Farris gets back on track after this disappointment. He can certainly do better!

Michael Butts

2000-08-11 (Martinsburg, WV USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 2

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Scare Tactics

Description

Three chilling works, "The Guardians," "The Odor of Violets," and "Horrorshow," take the reader from ancient Babylon to the supernatural power of reincarnated gods. Reissue. AB. PW.

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Customer Reviews

ENTERTAINING COLLECTION
SCARE TACTICS by noted author John Farris (The Fury) is a combination of two short stories and a novella. Apparently written early in Farris' career, the collection isn't brilliant, but are nonetheless entertaining.
The first short story, THE ODOR OF VIOLETS, is somewhat reminiscent of Stephen King's SECRET WINDOW. A writer is approached by a dying man who wants him to proofread and critique his novel. The skeptical author is amazed when the book is brilliant; especially since he has been working on a novel for eight years and hasn't come up with anything. Of course, we know where the story is heading. The novice writer dies and the author claims he wrote the book; it becomes a best seller, he is on his way to fame and fortune, until the dead writer's "muse" confronts him with his deed. The ending is predictable but it's hauntingly written.
The second story, HORRORSHOW, is a nifty little thriller about a dead girl who uses the local closed up drive in to reveal her killer's identity. Contrived and a little incredulous, it's still a neat and tidy thriller.
The "novel," THE GUARDIANS, is a little preponderous and at times hard to follow, and has an ending that is a little confusing. Focusing on Jim Practice, the aide to a governor, it tells the story of murder, revenge and deception. Practice is a good leading character, and the villains are notably despicable. Not Farris' best work but not as bad as some critics have labeled it.

2005-01-22 (Martinsburg, WV USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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