Night Runner: A Novel

This is a coming of age urban fantasy

For eight years Zack Thomason lived in Nicholls Ward, the home for the mentally disturbed of the Peterborough Civil Hospital; not because he is crazy, but because of a rare medical condition. Max cannot abide sunlight or food with the only nourishment his body accepts and digests is a drink made by Nurse Ophelia. He obviously sleeps during the day and is awake at night. Thus when a man drives a vehicle through the lobby, Zack hears him state that he has come to see Zack. Before the intruder is shot to death, he warns Zack that "he" is coming for him.

Soon after that incident, his Uncle Max visits Zack, which is a shocker because the youngster thought he had no living relatives. Max explains to Zack that he and the lad's late father were vampire hunters; which he still is. His father died trying to kill Baron Vrolok, who survived the attack by drinking Zack's blood; that turned the child into a vampire too. The police under the Baron's control arrive to take Zack with them, but the driver of the Harley that ran through the door rescues the boy. They get separated and Zack struggles to survive on his own in the outside world. He meets with his mortal friend Charlie who visited him at the ward and with Charlie's pal and Zach's love interest Luna unaware the danger he places them in until it is too late; the Baron is coming for his "offspring".

This is a coming of age urban fantasy as the protagonist adjusts to what he is, what happened to his biological father, dealing with the challenge of his blood sire, and struggling with his natural adversarial relationship with his uncle. He is a good person who must make choices some of which seem bad if he is to survive. Charlie the king of chaos and Luna are there for him as Max Turner provides an enjoyable vampire thriller that will keep his teen audience up late night running alongside of the hero.

Harriet Klausner

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

best book i have ever read!!!!!!!!!

this book was full of action, and mystery. it keep you fasinated until you read the very last word. i read-red this book over and over:) you will love it

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great for Guys + Girls Alike

Action packed and nonstop from the beginning I instantly fell in love with Night Runner's main character Zack. His existence, while almost-excepted on his behalf but still sad, drew me in from the beginning. His story intrigued me and even if he didn't want to solve the mystery that surrounded his life I sure as heck did. This book while not something I would typically pick up ended up being one I loved for many reasons including Max's voice and personality. The secondary characters in this story also offer a great foundation to this story rounding it out. Romance took a backseat in this novel making it great for teen guys and girls alike.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great beginning to a new vampire series

I've read MANY vampire stories; some were fantastic while others were just okay. That being said, I must say that Night Runner falls under the category of "AWESOME". Zach has pretty much grown up in a mental ward and has never really gone to school; because of his ivory-tower situation, most of today's well-known people and events go right over his head. However, he is still a cool, level-headed guy that you will like immediately. His friend Charlie is just as lovable and proves to be loyal and trusting. There is a girl in the story, but she doesn't come into play until the middle of the book. That being said, she still makes a lasting impact.
For a little while, the story is all about weird things happening while Zach is living in the mental ward. It then quickly moves to him running all over town with a bunch of different people. There are some twists that I didn't see coming, which made it all the more fun and the ending was fantastic! Very climactic! I cannot wait for the sequel!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another?

I'm just wondering if Max Turner is going to write a sequel to this book,judging by the way it ends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Different Spin

*Spoiler alert* This book stuck with me because it has a different spin on the whole vampire craze. Reading the back of it, I had no idea that it was about vampires. It was a bit refreshing take on vampires. Its a short easy read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A different kind of book.

Wow, pretty interesting ride. A different view on vampires and it is from a teenage boy's point of view at that. A little bumpy at the end, but it's still a good read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

night runner

zack lives in the Nicholls Ward, because he has a strange disease. a vampire bursts him out and the adventure begins. this book is amazing full of twists, action, scary moments, and very funny. people are not what they seem. loved it!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Steph for TeensReadToo.com

Zack Thompson is different. Instead of living in an orphanage, he lives in a mental ward and that's because he's basically allergic to everything - from specific foods to even the sun. Zack lives a nocturnal life - running, reading, and eating at night and sleeping during the day.

Zack thinks nothing of his lifestyle until an old man crashed a motorcycle into the mental ward. Suddenly, Zack is thrown into an extraordinary adventure.

Along for the ride is Zack's best childhood friend, Charlie, and a new, intriguing, beautiful girl named Luna. Not only will Zack figure out about his odd living arrangements and his family, but Zack will find out what he is. And it isn't human.

Max Turner writes a thrilling novel that draws the reader in right from the beginning. Broken up into relatively short chapters, this novel is full of twists and turns that will never leave the reader bored.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love

I completely love this book. Is there a second one?

Preeety good

At first i thought it was really creepy but it grew on me .i thing it is one of the top books ive ever read!

Good Book

Max Turner should consider making this into a series. As a one shot book though it captured my attention. I picked up this book to read on short and I was pleased with my decision. I would recommend to anyone.

Similar

Ive just written a book with a similar title well ive read a sample of thid book and so far it is great. Keep an eye out for mine please as soon as i fin an editor and publisher.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

umm....

I'm not exactly sure where to begin with this book. Story wise, its ok; vampire boy's life goes to shambles as a string of strange events unwind dealing with his parent's deaths.It was ok at times, but usually i found the helpless main character's actions slowed the story down and were incredibly melodramatic. There weren't many exciting twists and turns or many moments to make you go "oh snap!" or anything and you can pretty much guess all the big reveals so nothing really surprised you. Its like riding a roller coaster and seeing all the loops coming, you're just waiting to get there. The main thing that I hated about this book was the main character! Zachary, in my opinion, was one of the most selfish, gullible, needy, and whiniest characters I think I've ever read about. He always relies on other people rather than fixing problems himself, he believes absolutely everything EVERYONE tells him( even when the person seems to be his enemy), he causes problems (and i MEAN HUGE PROBLEMS) for other people in the book and NOT EVEN ONCE did he show any signs of remorse for the damage he'd caused the other characters in the book and BELIEVE ME, he personally ruins and destroys about seven people's lives throughout this book but all he can think about is himself. There were times when i was reading and I wanted to slam the book down because Zach had done something incredibly stupid or selfish or unrealistic things. AND THE ENDING! the book really has no resolve for the reader and instead raises more questions and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. ( I mean when I read the last page, i literally though the last pages had been ripped out of my book before I'd bought it. I flipped through the last page, and when I saw "Acknowledgments" i almost shouted "WHAT!?") Like....imagine if Titanic ended when Rose and Jack were floating on the piece of wood after the boat sank. Yea, thats how i felt afterward. Might be good for a while, but its really a "just for fun" book.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Really?

I did not like this book. It was a very big wase of time. The book was very random wierd and i just didn't like this book. I'm sorry but i would not recommend this book. But i do recommend the Twilight Saga that is a million times better then this. The Twilight Saga is alot more intresting and, to me, the story was fasinating. This book was just boring and weird. The blurb makes the book seem intresting, but seriously, it was very boring. If your going to read a book on vampires then read the whole series, all 4 books, of the TWILIGHT SAGA. Sorry but this book is not reciving a recommendation from me.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Bizarre

I didn't really like this book. It was bizarre and the events were just random, and just...weird, really weird. I read the back cover and thought it sounded good. What was promised on the back, was not delivered. It was an interesting take on vampires, I'll give him that. I guess this book just wasn't for me. And as for those thinking of reading this, I just want to point out a few things. If you like the, 'on the run with someone he's falling in love with' part, then don't get this. He meets the girl in the middle and only knows he for a couple of days by the time the book is finished. He doesn't go 'on-the run' with her. Also, there's a bit of gore, in this book, so if you don't like it, then I wouldn't read this book. It's not worth it. The book started out a bit weird, the way you were thrown right in and I actually liked Max Turner's writing style, but it was kind of an odd place to start. I thought it was kind of cool at first. Get right to the action and we'll learn more about our main character along the way. But the more it went on, the weirder it got. All in all, I won't be re-reading it, and I won't be recommending it. Sorry Max.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

it was ok.

The story itself was good......(I like how the boy ends up in a mental hospital and didn't have a'right' diet)....the only thing that could have been better were the details... it seemed as thought the ending was really rushed!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Looking at what my students literary choices

This book is a relative ease to read with adquate characterization and stereotypes. What makes this a better read for students is the forefront push of the power of choice and the loyalty of friendship.

quick read

this book is very well written, and well developed. i couldn't put it down. it is written from the perspective of a teenage vampire that doesn't know he is a vampire till an uncle he never knew shows up. this novel takes you through young Zachariah's mind during the time of his life where he finds himself, all while someone is hunting for him. overall its a great read and i would love to read a sequel.

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