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A Knight of the Word (Word & Void #2)

by Terry Brooks (Goodreads Author)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 6,363 ratings · 118 reviews

Eight centuries ago the first Knight of the Word was commissioned to combat the demonic evil of the Void. Now that daunting legacy has passed to John Ross--along with powerful magic and the knowledge that his actions are all that stand between a living hell and humanity's future.

Then, after decades of service to the Word, an unspeakable act of violence shatters John Ross's...more

Hardcover, 309 pages

Published January 18th 2001 by Del Rey (first published January 1st 1998)

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Feb 07, 2013 Al added it · review of another edition

SUMMARY:
John Ross, the tortured, conflicted Knight of the Word from Terry Brooks's Running with the Demon, finally gets a good night's sleep in the sequel. He buys this moment's peace at the cost of his sacred oath to be a champion of the Word, renouncing that pledge after failing to prevent the slaughter of a group of schoolchildren. Duty and destiny are difficult to elude, though, and soon his former charge Nest Freemark, now a college student and Olympic hopeful, arrives to warn him of his im...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Chip rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-fun

This review is for the trilogy.

The integration of the "real" world and fantasy elements is always difficult to work, and while Brooks gets it done alright, I'm just not convinced it was all that interesting.

The premise of these books is that demons from the "Void" are battling against agents or knights of the "Word." (You can think of a Christian Devil and God, if you want, and I can't say you'd really be far off the mark, though there are no overt religious allusions.) The main good guy, John,...more

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Oct 03, 2010 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brooks' uninspired and often tedious novel Running With The Demon gets a follow-up novel that continues to try readers' patience without actually being bad enough to make them give up on it entirely. In Knight of the Word, the novel's main character must undergo the kind of crisis of faith that we've seen before in countless books and films of every genre. Namely, the hero's special powers prove unable to save absolutely everybody who comes within harm's way, burdening the hero with an abundance...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Tara Hall rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, recommended-for-teens

Originally reviewed on "http://bloodcrossed.blogspot.com"... Bloody Words.

This review applies to all three books in "The Word & The Void" trilogy.

Brooks has what I would call a "formulaic" method of constructing his stories. I'll try to explain what I mean.

They are nearly as suspenseful as the best chase novels, with intense fight scenes and magical imagery. All three books are written in third person limited, but not always from the two main characters. In the second and third books, i...more Originally reviewed on "http://bloodcrossed.blogspot.com"... Bloody Words.

This review applies to all three books in "The Word & The Void" trilogy.

Brooks has what I would call a "formulaic" method of constructing his stories. I'll try to explain what I mean.

They are nearly as suspenseful as the best chase novels, with intense fight scenes and magical imagery. All three books are written in third person limited, but not always from the two main characters. In the second and third books, in fact, we often see the viewpoint of the demons our heroes are fighting. All of the background information we need is shown as a memory experienced by the character, an inner narration, as they do some mundane activity like running or cooking. Strategic pieces of the puzzle Brooks builds are revealed through varied points of view, sometimes switching between characters every few paragraphs, and he intentionally keeps you in the dark about the most crucial elements until the very end.

I had the sensation when I was reading the second and third books that I was still reading the first one, the information was just different. The structure of the storytelling was nearly exactly the same. I still haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. It certainly made you very comfortable with the flow of things, but reading it as a writer I found myself a bit bored, knowing what was coming next before it happened.

Which was part of my larger problem. By the time I was 50 percent through each book, I knew exactly how it would end. Brooks writing was still excellent and kept me eagerly reading, but the sense of suspense was slightly lost for me because the foreshadowing was so obvious.

The world that Brooks constructs is intricate and complex, but it is revealed so gradually and through such clever means that the reader doesn't realize they're coming to understand it until the very end. It's one of the most compelling and enjoyable fantasy world I've ever read, both because it is based in reality and because of its semi-religious undertones.

I don't want to give the wrong impression: I LOVED these books and these characters. I'm very much looking forward to reading Brooks's other work. And I would wager that the everyday reader would be oblivious to everything I've pointed out. I would say, from what I've seen, that Brooks is very likely the Master of Fantasy.(less)

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May 18, 2012 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: brooks-terry

This is the second book in The Word and The Void series by Terry Brooks. I found this book much easier to read than the previous book. I now think that another reason I found the first book of the trilogy harder to get through than the Shannara series was that Mr. Brooks had to set the scene and background for the series, and although I find this hard to say since I like Mr. Brooks' books so much, setting the scene and giving the background was slow and a bit pedantic. The second book moved alon...more This is the second book in The Word and The Void series by Terry Brooks. I found this book much easier to read than the previous book. I now think that another reason I found the first book of the trilogy harder to get through than the Shannara series was that Mr. Brooks had to set the scene and background for the series, and although I find this hard to say since I like Mr. Brooks' books so much, setting the scene and giving the background was slow and a bit pedantic. The second book moved along much more quickly, perhaps because there weren't as many non-essential characters to become involved with and you were already familiar with the two main characters, John Ross (the Knight of the Word) and Nest Freemark.

The second book starts five years after the first book ends. Again, the main story covers a small span of days...from October 28 through November 1. However, in the beginning of the book, John Ross (through his dreams that he receives each night as a Knight of the Word) tries to prevent a disaster involving the deaths of several children from happening. He does prevent the events as shown in his dream but the demon involved in creating the disaster in the first place is very inventive. Since John Ross prevented him from killing the children as he has originally planned, the demon finds another way of killing the children, and in the process ends up killing even more children than shown in John Ross' dream. As a result, John Ross (feeling responsible for the children's deaths) disavows his service to the Lady (who originally made him a Knight of the Word). He runs away from his responsibilities as a Knight of the Word. But, as the Lady originally told him, "once a Knight of the Word, it is forever." He moves to Boston to become a student and, in the process, meets a lady and falls in love. They move to Seattle and become involved in an outreach program for abused women and children, as well as meeting the needs of the homeless. John Ross slowly stops dreaming as he did as a Knight of the Word and feels he has actually succeeded in becoming a "normal" person.

But the Lady has other plans for him. Nest Freemark, in the intervening five years, has become a college student and a world class runner. She is expected to run in the upcoming Olympics and win gold for the USA. But all that changes when Ariel, a tatterdemalion, shows up and urgently tells her that John Ross is in danger of being subverted by the Void and that Nest must go to Seattle to warn John Ross of the danger. As might be expected, Nest is at first reluctant to interrupt her studies and training to go but in the end is persuaded by the tatterdemalion to go. Nest doesn't know how she can help John Ross but feels she must try. She also feels as if she has lost any magic that she used to have.

The remainder of the story is composed of the "quest" of Nest, Ariel and various friends she finds in Seattle to persuade John Ross of the danger and that he needs to find his magic again to once again become a Knight of the Word. Things come to the defining point of both Nest's and John Ross' journey on Halloween night, All Hallow's Eve. To say what happened between the time that Nest arrived in Seattle and October 31 would be to ruin the story so, of course, I will not go into those details here.

The reason I only gave this book four stars was that I found the ending to be predictable. The last few chapters of the book were about determining the identity of the demon who was sent to subvert John Ross to the service of the Void. For me, it was obvious who the demon was and therefore the subsequent actions taken by the characters were predictable. Nonetheless, this was more like a typical Terry Brooks' novel...the quest, the back and forth action between the good (the Word) and the evil (the Void) and (for the majority of the book) the mystery as to which side would win. Even though (toward the end of the book) the conclusion was never in doubt, I still found it enjoyable. I am looking forward to the third book in the series, Angel Fire East, and then moving on to the rest of the Shannara series.(less)

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Jun 16, 2011 Robin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tales-of-fantasy

Volume 2 of the series continues in the vein of "slow," but there is - thankfully - considerably less filler to wade through. The characters remain distant, though one does get a small glimpse of the trauma John Ross faces as he attempts to quit his calling as a Knight of the Word. In the aftermath, he is just plain stupid, in spite of all of his years of experience.

Incredibly, five years after learning about her magic and facing down a demon, Next Freemark doesn't know any more about her magic...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Colton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was rather interesting. It was a clash between the modern word and a medevil fantasy world, which was pretty cool. But I was a little confused about it becuase I found out it isn't the first book in the series, but that dosen't matter. I found this book from a friend who loves Terry Brooks so if you like Terry Brook books or just a fantasy reader, than I would recommened this book. It's a little advanced reading for someone who is like 11 years old, but if you're in the 15-18 category,...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Jason Hamilton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading through Running with the Demon, you're probably going to want to continue with A Knight of the Word. This was my case and I eagerly moved on to more original Terry Brooks fantasy goodness. While not the same as the former novel, A Knight of the Word will not disappoint.

Five years after the events of Running with the Demon, Nest Freemark is notified by a messenger of the Word that John Ross, the man who had helped save her life, has put his own in jeopardy. Ross has turned against h...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Also a good book by an AMAZING author! Things are getting more difficult for Nest to hide who she already knows she is now that she is a teenager. Neither her friends or family understand who or what she is and she knows it has to be that way. At the same time she is questioning who she is herself. A mysterious friend comes to town claiming to be a friend of her mothers, just as strange and dark things are beginning to happen in the forest she protects. She has to wonder, to hope he could be her...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the second book of the Word and Void Trilogy. This book is set in Seattle and centers predominantly on John Ross who has decided to leave behind his life as a Knight of the Word. He has abandoned his sacred office and is trying to live a normal life. His life is going to lead him to a dark side that he didn’t know existed. So, Nest comes to Seattle to warn him of his danger and that he must return to his duty as a Knight. In helping John, Nest will uncover a secret about herself. Enjoyed...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Dave rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another good entry in the Word/Void trilogy ... I'm glad that I went back to "catch up" with these (I'd skipped them initially because they weren't Shannara stories).

The demon's work in this book is definitely more subtle, for the most part, and thus more believable. (view spoiler) There were parts of the story that I didn't see happening the...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Barbara ★ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-demons, read-2011, h-h-disfigured-handicapped, paranormal-magic, set-in-usa-washington

This installment opens with John Ross, a knight of the word, reneging on his promise to The Lady. He has rejected The Word and is living life as a human with Stephanie Winslow and working for Simon Lawrence at Fresh Start, a homeless shelter for women and children in Seattle. Nest Freemark is now 19 and attending college when an elemental spirit appears and tells Nest of John's fall from grace and the trap the Void is setting for his soul. Nest hightails it to Washington to help John see the lig...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Kip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read the first one in this trilogy awhile back, maybe an airport purchase? I've had mixed experiences with Brooks stuff, some absolutely great and others not so much. This is somewhere in the middle for me. Compelling characters and settings, if a bit short on story line.

Got this as a Christmas gift on the Kindle and will be buying the third to finish the set.

* Couldn't finish
** I had nothing else to do
*** Passed the time, would be **** for genre / author fans
**** Everyone could enjoy this book
*...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Karmakosmik rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Questo secondo libro della saga del Demone, è anche il mio preferito dell'intera serie di libri dedicati al confronto Verbo\Vuoto. La crisi di John Ross e la sua voglia di voler tornare ad una vita normale sono raccontati in modo molto veritiero ed emozionante. La stessa Seattle, descritta come una città moderna ma piena di contraddizioni (vedasi le varie iniziative del Mago di Oz) e con quel suo clima di perenne pioggia e grigiume, sono un perfetto sfondo per questa nuova avventura di John e Ne...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story continues of John Ross and Nest Freemark and the battle between the Word and the Void. John Ross has decided to no longer be a knight of the Word. The Void desires to turn John to the dark side. Perhaps if Nest is willing, she can help john make the right decision. The battle continues of making the right choices and the human desire to responsible for ones self or to carry the burden of the righteous. A story of fallible heroes, mystery, mythical beings and magic. All combined to keep...more

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May 09, 2012 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, library

I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy, but this one fell flat for me. It felt forced, and I felt like there were no surprises. If you don't know who the demon was before he unveils it, you really haven't been paying attention. I felt like he was trying to draw out the 'reveal' in an attempt to build some suspense that was otherwise severely lacking. I probably wouldn't bother reading book 3 if I hadn't already checked it out. Here's hoping Terry Brooks gets his game back on. I generally...more

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Feb 12, 2011 William rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book had promise, and I did finish it, but was frustrated that he had to include abuse of a child in the book. I realize that this is fantasy but I do not much care for parts about abusing kids. Unlike his Shennara books which are pure fantasy this book was written with humans in our world, and although it included demons, I just felt that the story was based a bit more in our real which made the child abuse part a bit harder to stomach. Obviously many loved this book but it is my opinion a...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Please note: This review originally posted 3/12/2008; do not judge based upon my current format.

Fate and destiny intertwine to trap John Ross in this, the second book of the Word and the Void trilogy. Devastated by his failure to completely prevent a tragedy at a grammar school, John decides he is not able to continue as a Knight of the Word and stops. Stops using his magic, stops following his nightmarish dreams of the future ... and eventually - seemingly - the dreams go away, eventually his l...more Please note: This review originally posted 3/12/2008; do not judge based upon my current format.

Fate and destiny intertwine to trap John Ross in this, the second book of the Word and the Void trilogy. Devastated by his failure to completely prevent a tragedy at a grammar school, John decides he is not able to continue as a Knight of the Word and stops. Stops using his magic, stops following his nightmarish dreams of the future ... and eventually - seemingly - the dreams go away, eventually his link to the magic appears to go away. He is still crippled, he still requires his black staff - the token of his Knighthood - in order to walk, but he no longer utilizes it for anything else but a walking staff. He meets the woman of his dreams - a stunningly beautiful woman named Stefanie Winslow - and together they move to Seattle and begin to work for a man called Simon Lawrence - a man of extraordinary vision who works to help homeless women and children - and a man who, according to the only dream John still has, John is fated to kill.

But the Word is not so willing to give John up; despite the fact that he has renounced his place as a Knight, he still holds the magic of the Word and if a demon can twist that magic to the use of the Void, that would be a giant blow struck in the war against the Word. Nest is contacted by O'olish Amaneh - the last of the Sinnissippi - and asked to go and try to get John to take up his part as a Knight of the Word, to try to get him to believe that he is up close and personal with a demon, because one is already close to turning him to the Void's purposes.

Although the identity of the demon didn't come as much of a surprise to me - having figured it out fairly early - it was nonetheless revealed in a rather startling manner. Watching John Ross go through what he did in this book was painful in the extreme, because it is easy to understand the isolation and loneliness that he underwent as a Knight of the Word as compared to the happy life he had built for himself in Seattle, where he had a job he loved, a girlfriend he loved and a thriving social network. To watch all that come apart under the machinations of a demon AND the Word - it was quite painful. And to watch his determination to make things right anyway was somewhat awe-inspiring.

Terry Brooks can break your heart over and over and you still keep coming back because his characters speak to you in so many ways. This story was about growing up, in more ways than one. I highly recommend it.(less)

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Jun 02, 2010 John rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story isn't so much bad as it is transparent. The very first foreshadowing of who the antagonist might be made it so obvious that the rest of the book was just a chore to get to the final confrontation.

I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if the demon were revealed in the first few chapters (to at least one character) so we could read about how John/Nest deal with that knowledge. Instead we just watch as everybody fumbles around ignorantly while we, the reader, know full well wh...more

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Jul 24, 2008 JC Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Terry Brooks continues the tale about good versus evil - the Void versus the Word. As there is a Knight of the Word, a good and devoted savior there is also a dark and evil demonic follower of the Void. This story is the tale of John Ross and how he came to be a Knight whose duty is to save the world from a living hell and ensure a good future for all humanity.

For decades, he has faithfully performed his duties and without question and doubt, has travelled from town to town following his night...more

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Jul 24, 2008 Monk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book is the second in a core trilogy, and oddly enough, it's actually not the weakest book. I usually find myself disappointed by a second in a trilogy because they always end on a cliffhanger. Not so here. This was encapsulated, a nice change from the usual fantasy mold.

It continues the travells of John Ross, Knight of the Word. Make that ex-Knight of the Word. He's quit and never has felt better. Abandoning his staff and taking on the role of an everyday life in Seattle, his visions of im...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Preston Moore rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Book 2 of the Word and Void Trilogy)
(Warning may contain Spoilers)
This book is a continuation of the first book of the trilogy "Running with the demon". After the events in the first book, many years later, Nest Freemark finds herself in college and also competeing in the olymipics as a distance runner. In this book she reterns home becouse of her grandfathers death, in which she decides what to do with the home she used to live in. There she meets up with old friends, both normal and mystical,...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Still dark, dismal, and despairing. The hope given is deeply overshadowed by all the evil and bad in the world. Mr. Brooks does little to make John Ross a character whose fate the reader actually cares much about. Once again, John Ross comes across as week and ineffectual in his duties. Nest Freemark and John Ross both go through transformative episodes, but it isn't significant enough to satisfy the epic fantasy afficionado in me. This seems to be a hallmark of Mr. Brooks' style.

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Feb 24, 2011 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-free-swapped-gift

Ahh. This was also excellent. It didn't knock my socks off quite as much as Running with the Demon - mostly because it just didn't have quite the level of mystery about who the players were and what might be happening. But, it transported me back to some of my favorite spots in Seattle, and for that alone I loved it. Also, fantasy worlds aside, it had some pretty compelling things to say about how we treat each other here on planet earth.

Onward to Shannara!

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Apr 22, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Number two in the Terry Brooks urban fantasy series doesn't disappoint. I didn't like it quite as much as the first, but it was pretty close.

This has more "urban" as it goes from small town Illinois in the fist book to Seattle in this one. And once there, one must wonder just how many times the characters will stop for Starbucks. Nobody listened to Nirvana in this though (that happened in the first book), so it wasn't too bad for Seattle stereotypes. It did mention the Kingdome a couple of time...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Steven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

This is the sequel to Running with the Demon. I have to say that I didn't enjoy it as much. The John Ross character is so boring. I'd think that a Knight of the Word would be more interesting. He was boring in the first book and boring in this one. Perhaps Brooks is making room for "character development" in the third book of the trilogy?

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Jan 14, 2011 Sabine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Quite boring, slow story just like the first one. A demon pretends to be human to manipulate people.. Not quite original. I wished there was more action. Or more anything. It took me a while to finish this book as I kept loosing interest. I would never have finished it if my laptop hadn't broken down and this was my only entertainment..

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Oct 21, 2011 Natasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Enjoyable, but not memorable. I do like how the real world and magic interact. It's obviously not a new concept, but I like that demons are the ones that could be responsible for the evil in the world. It was a predictable story, but still enjoyable. I like John and Nest. I had a hunch about who the demon was and I was right.

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Aug 02, 2011 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved it. Again Nest comes into the picture as a strong female character looking to help the fallen knight John Ross. I look forward to seeing what intricate scheme the demons are working to try to bring about the downfall of mankind.

Great series so far!

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Oct 19, 2010 Ari Zelanko rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm arguing with myself about whether to give this book 3 stars or 4. I liked it. If you enjoyed Running with the Demon, the first book in this series, then this is a good bet. I sort of saw the ending coming early enough that I can't quite say that I loved it. But it was still a pleasure.

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Goodreads Librari...: Please fix "A Knight of the Word"	18	53	Mar 05, 2013 06:59am
What's The Name o...: Dark Fantasy/Sci Fi Trilogy similar to F Paul Wilson's Adversary series set at the turn of the milennia? The last "Knight" protects a girl who might be the "key" to cosmic battle of good and evil. KNIGHT OF THE WORD series, Terry Brooks. /s [s]	6	114	Nov 01, 2012 03:28pm

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About Terry Brooks

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received...more

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Books by Terry Brooks

Elfstones Of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #2)

The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy #1)

The Talismans Of Shannara (Heritage of Shannara #4)

The Wishsong of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy #3)

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“What we have in life that we can count on is who we are and where we come from, she thought absently. For better or worse, that is what we have to sustain us in our endevors, to buttress us in our darker moments, and to remind us of our identity. Without those things, we are adrift.” — 7 people liked it

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A Knight of the Word (Word & Void #2)

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