Well, Mr Brooks, if you were trying to prove that you aren't a one trick pony with the fantasy Shannara novels by sidestepping into the world of YA Science Fiction then you have done a fine, fine job sir!

I wasn't sure what to expect with Street Freaks but it wasn't the stonking dystopian adventure tale that I have just read! This book is basically a sci-fi based murder mystery after a fashion with a handful of corporate espionage mixed in and I found it to be quite remarkable and full of twists and turns that took me by surprise, over and over again. His characters, both the fully human and those genetically altered or artificially created, are complex and truly fascinating, especially the main character Ash who is forced by circumstance to grow significantly throughout the course of the tale as he battles to discover the truth about his father and his work with street kids. The world building is great and really gives the reader a very clear view of the world Brooks has created for his newest creations.

Street Freaks is great as a standalone novels but it also has enough potential to be added to as well. It's a wild ride and I definitely recommend it as I do anything else by Terry Brooks of course, he is most certainly NOT a one-trick pony, not that ever thought he was!

a fast-paced YA science fiction set thriller. In no way like Hamlet in a world with twisted genetics.

Street Freaks is as entertaining and well-written as any book in Terry Brooks’s pantheon. I’ve enjoyed this author’s fantasy work for years and know him to be a world-builder.

My slight preference for sci-fi gives this book an edge and as we read we know we are in the hands of a masterful author. A most enjoyable read.

eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this. It was certainly different than any Terry Brooks that I’d read before, and I’ve read a lot of Terry Brooks. Loyal fans will probably like this as his storytelling quality is there, even if we’re looking at a dystopian future instead of epic fantasy. It appeals to all age groups, being friendly in tone to younger readers, but mature enough in content for older ones as well. Because the main hero and majority of the characters are teens, this would work well as being categorized YA, but it’s a good story regardless.

The pacing and plot are pretty good overall, but there are a couple of plot points that didn’t make a lot of sense. The overall story was fine, but some of the hidden motivations with the “adults” in the story weren’t clear. Maybe they weren’t supposed to be, but it made for a distracting feeling as I came to the end. The ending itself felt pretty good, but these odd tidbits hung with me.

Will this be a series? Had to imagine anything from Terry Brooks that isn’t, but the book could stand alone. It could also see expansion, both in continuation of threads left open here and in other stories set in this future “United Territories”. Either way, I’d be interested in seeing what will come out, if anything.

I received a free Kindle copy of Street Freaks by Terry Brooks courtesy of Net Galley  and Grim Oak Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am a fan of the author's Shanarra fantasy series.

This book is very much more science ficition in approach than fantasy which has been the author's forte in the past. That said, it is a very engaging and enjoyable read which makes it also a fast read. It covers the basic premise of big brother trying to control things, but with a different approach.

If you are a fan of Terry Brooks or science fiction, you will find this a good read.

I enjoyed this book, a different style for Mr. Brooks. The characters were interesting in a world that was familiar enough, but just a bit different. I'm not generally a fan of the dystopian settings, but this title worked. Part of me hopes for some more adventures in the world to see what happens with these freaks now that they have some freedom, but the story worked well as a stand-alone tale.

In a futuristic, polluted - Escape from New York/ Terminator- style Los Angeles, Ash gets a frantic message from his bioengineer father to run. Two minutes later their penthouse apartment is filled with robots on the hunt. Ash flees with his escape bag to the Red Zone, a non-patrolled sector given over to gangs of souped-up car enthusiasts. As instructed by his father, he finds refuge in the Street Freaks garage/hideout.

Ash finds in the Street Freaks a group of techno-teens (genetically enhanced or in some way altered) who have been saved from destruction. His father has reportedly committed suicide, and he leans heavily on his new friends. They accept him and his situation. And he finds that their gang is more that just a shop for customizing cars; they have the tools and the skills to help him find the truth.

My first impression of Street Freaks was that it was like something off of the CW Network... like The 100 or something like that. And I wasn’t too far off. That isn’t to say this is not an entertaining book, but it just relies so heavily of the teen-show plot devices: a group of misfits to help the cause, a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the government to keep the populace at bay, some sort of deadly race/fight to occupy the middle of the book, flat adult characters who are trying to ruin the kids' plans...

Yet, Brooks’s Street Freaks has some very good surprises and a certain edge to some of the twists, and there’s definitely room for a sequel. Its best parts are the coming-of-age moments for its characters. The times when growth is forced, when change is a necessity.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grim Oak Press, and Terry Brooks for the advanced copy for review.

This is a great book for teens about 14-17 and for those of us who remember what it was like to be that age. The protagonist is written well in that he makes logical mistakes that any teen would make. Those that are surrounding him also make their mistakes. Friends may or may not be friends. There was no 'magical' happy ending, but the ending was very satisfying.

A futuristic roller coaster of a novel that I feel will go over very well with it's targeted Young Adult audience.

Ash Collins life is upended all in the space of a few minutes when he is forced to go on the run with only his father's message to find the Street Freaks as his guide. What follows is a hair raising chase through the streets of a future L.A. and once he reaches relative safety the adventure is only beginning.

One of the best features of this book is the fully realized and empathetic characters. It is easy to connect with Ash Collins and share his confusion and fear at his situation and be with him as he has his first crush, makes his first real friends, and tracks down the conspiracy surrounding his life that sent him into hiding.

Beginning in a shaky start into a new genre, you can definately rest assure that Brooks approaches Street Freaks just like any other fantasy novel: high stakes, a mad rush, and wicked action scenes that make you appreciate reading a Young Adult novel. I enjoyed this book and felt it was almost on par with works written by Phillip Pullman, if only slightly newer.

Street Freaks is a fast-moving, really fun standalone novel set in a futuristic world divided between technologically advanced but controlled cities and free-wheeling lawless areas called Red Zones. The star of this book is a teenager on the run from the authorities for reasons he doesn’t understand. He befriends a group of mutated rejects, kind of like super powered X-Men who are street orphans and freakishly redesigned, sometimes more cyborg than human. Their gang/ den/ group is Street Freaks, also because they design and race street racers as well in preparation for the biggest race of the year. Although it has a lot of familiar themes such as the stormtroopers going giant corporation’s bidding, gangs of street urchins banding together, espionage, and auto racing, it is a story well-paced, well set up, and mainly well told. While it might be more designed for a young adult audience, I enjoyed it.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I have never read any of Terry Brooks’s books so I didn’t really have any expectations going in to reading the book. Street Freaks takes place 200 years into the future with a totalitarian world government and big bio tech companies leading the way. The blog starts of with a bang but then I quickly start to notice the writing seems more on par with a young adult book (even though I can’t find anything anywhere that this book is a young adult book). I am not anti young adult books (some of my favortie books are young adult books) but this one had a few things that usually bring a books rating down for me. One is repetition of concepts and ideas. A protagonist that keeps repeating the same thing over and over and over gets tiresome. Another is constantly explaining how the world works. Id rather get dumped into an unknown world and figure it out on my own than constant explaining. And there is a lot of explaining. The book is a quick and easy read and the ending wasn’t what I expected. After having time to think about the ending, I wonder if this is intended to be a stand alone book or there will be a possible sequel?

I've long been a fan of Terry Brooks , Fantasy novels and was super excited when I had the chance to read his newest upcoming book, Streak Freaks. The author takes a different approach from his Fantasy with this Science Fiction novel. The story starts off quickly with the main character, Ash being issued a video warning from his father to get out of his home and head to the Red Zone. From here the action is almost non-stop as Ash meets up with a group of teenage kids known as, Streak Freaks and soons becomes involved in their lives in ways he never dreamed of. He soon learns that he is in danger and that in order to survive in this new world which he finds himself he must trust his new found family.
Streak Freaks captured my attention right from the beginning with it's face paced action and the characters. They were outcasts, misfits, experimental teens that had banded together in a makeshift type family and would do anything for each other and to survive. I found myself reading into the night and finally having to put the book away to get some decent sleep. The outcome of the story lends itself to "possible" sequels so I'm hoping that is the case because this one was well worth the read. Thank you to the Author and Net Galley for a chance to read and review this book.

The reason I’ve not read Terry Brooks before was because he seems to be specializing in fantasy and series, two things I don’t care for. This book is the reason I might not be reading Terry Brooks in the future. Because nowhere..nowhere is this one classified as a YA book as it so obviously is. WTF. And because my OCD demands I finish every book I start, ended up being stuck with a YA book for nearly 400 pages. Almost all of the characters are teens and, while they aren’t annoyingly immature or dumb, they are still teens. So essentially you have something like high tech fast and furious boombastic science fiction thriller, which starts off on an action scene and continues accordingly for the duration. There is a basic plot involving evil adults experimenting on kids for the goal of population control (cue in the maniacal mwahaha), but it ends up nearly buried under all the action. Brooks has been at this writing game long enough to put together a readable book easily and if you’re after easy reading (short words, simple sentences, etc.), this’ll certainly do the trick, but the thing is I never quite understood the appeal of dumbing down your entertainment and that’s what YA fiction is to an adult, it’s simplified, overexplained, unchallenging. It’s all the things books ought not to be. Even with all adult characters this wouldn’t have been a particularly complicated read, it’s too much of an actioneer, but as is it just pissed me off. Even the science fiction aspects are lackluster, some recycled ideas, some unimaginative nomenclature. Whether negligibly mismarketed or a cheap dishonest ploy to sell this at the adult fiction rates, this one is an action movie with teens written down as a book. And sequel ready too. Perfectly appropriate for a younger audience, complete waste of time for the mature one. Thanks Netgalley.

Terry Brooks is well known for his beloved Shannara novels.  Classic fantasy is his specialty. Street Freaks is his first science fiction novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I was astounded. Street Freaks is as innovative as Sword of Shannara was, giving readers a story that will appeal to teens and adults alike.  On one level it is a story about growing up and finding where you fit. On another it is an action adventure pitting corrupt corporate and government forces against a teen who may be able to reveal their secrets.  The characters have more breadth than found in most young adult novels. All are exceptional in one way or another, labeled as “rejects” by the majority. They’ve made a family of sorts in the workshop of Street Freaks, using their unique talents to design and build exotic street racers for rich clients. The juxtaposition of the beautiful and individualistic cars they build and race to the bot controlled taxis and mass transport of the wealthier city outside of the red zone has a bit of a “Red Barchetta” flavor that will resonate with Rush fans.


Shortly before armored troops break into his apartment, Ash receives a message from his father telling him to run, to go to the Red Zone to Street Freaks.  On the run, pursued by elite troops, Ash goes to Street Freaks. He doesn’t know why he is being pursued or what his father was working on. His world is changing and so is he.  His new friends have secrets but they are the only ones that can help him find the truth.


Brooks pairs a fascinating dystopian setting with a group of unforgettable characters to tell a story that will appeal to a wide range of readers.  It is a refreshing departure from the average dystopian young adult science fiction novel.


5 / 5 Young adult ( 4 / 5 adult )


I received a copy of Street Freaks from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom