Demons and Druids (Daniel X)

With DEMONS AND DRUIDS, James Patterson and Adam Sadler take the Daniel X series to an entirely new level.

Daniel X is an extraterrestrial who had been living with his family on earth. When his parents and sister were killed in a sneak attack by intergalactic criminals, Daniel made it his mission to wipe them all out. He is a fairly powerful guy who is still testing the extent and limits of his powers. He is able to travel in time, conjure up friends from his home planet, and occasionally and randomly experiences visits from his family, even though they no longer exist. It was Daniel's father who gave him a list of criminals who needed extermination the most, and while Daniel has not been following along in numerical order, he has been doing a good job of systematically whittling down the number.

Daniel's primary target in DEMONS AND DRUIDS is Phosphorius Beta, his strongest foe to date. Beta is a demon of fire --- one of the most basic of elements, and arguably the most dangerous --- and, worse, he comes with an army of similarly powered henchmen who are loaded with bad attitude. Beta is not a late arrival to Earth, either; he has been here for over a thousand years, biding his time while increasing his strength. Daniel soon discovers that the only way to defeat this enemy is to go back in time, to Europe's Dark Ages, and confront Beta before he has a chance to become so powerful.

Daniel has some interesting and unexpected allies in his quest. One of them, surprisingly, is his father, who puts him through a bit of criminal-elimination training, where Daniel learns there is much more to the job than he originally imagined. His other allies? Well, let's not spoil the surprise. All I can tell you is that if you are really good at guessing, you will be able to put it together. They also use a somewhat unexpected tool, one that has existed for almost 5,000 years and has been waiting to be put to its mysterious use.

Daniel X has become a franchise, complete with manga, graphic novels and video games that are based on the character being readily available and popular. However, Daniel X originally appeared in traditional books, and it is with installments such as DEMONS AND DRUIDS that Daniel and his friends are most fully realized.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Starting middle school can be rough on anybody, but for Rafe Khatchadorian, the sixth grade escalates into an absolute nightmare. First of all, his middle school resembles an ancient, high security prison. Secondly, it's staffed with angry monsters, like the dragon lady who teaches English, the three witches in the cafeteria, the ogre gym teacher, and the principal named the Lizard King. Thirdly, there's a nine-foot-tall troll of a sixth grader called Miller the Killer who is out to get him.

i absolutely loved it. because of the aliens and dans powers the story is alyays so exciting. i could not put it down. every page is full of excitement wit and everything that makes a book amazingly amazing. just about all of james pattersons books are like this. i am a very picky reader but never have i been dissapointed by one of his books. he is one cool dude

This series was amazing, until it started to go demonic. James Patterson needed to think about his viewers that were not comfortable reading, or having their children read, a story with the main villain being a demon.

As I have said onnumberous occasions, this is one of my favorite authors. My favorite style of book is murder mysteries and no author could capture my attention better than Patterson. His style of writing is so appealing to me, I can never put his books down. This novel was nothing like his usual line of novels. Being my age, I wouldn't normally read this kind of novel. While it is about a teenager/alien who is raised by earthly parents, the story is oddly great.