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The Word & The Void #3
Angel Fire East
Angel Fire East marks the close of Terry Brooks's Word and Void trilogy, which began with 1997's Running with the Demon. In this book, the story returns to Nest's native Hopewell, where once again Nest and John must face off against the Void. This time, the demon is the ancient Findo Gask, along with his a giant albino demon, a shapeless ur'droch who lives only to kill, and a self-destructive psycho named Penny Dreadful. The story begins when John Ross shows up at Nest Freemark's door with a young boy. He reveals that the boy, who he calls Little John, is actually a gypsy morph, a creature born of wild magic and capable of enormous deeds, for good or evil. Both sides have approximately one month to unravel Little John's secrets and recruit him for their cause. Because after one month, the magic that holds him together will tear him apart, and his powers will be lost forever.
440 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 1999
299 people are currently reading
6563 people want to read
About the author
Terry Brooks
413 books77.8k followersTerry 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 his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 379 reviews
May 25, 2014
So I found myself disappointed with the last two books of this series. What began as a book that easily made my top 20 fantasy novels, RUNNING WITH THE DEMON, took a slide down to the mediocre mud pits of fantasy.
The main problem I had was that this book returned to the hometown and created a watered down version of the first book. Whereas the first book had heart and emotional resonance, this had neither. Whereas the first book had secrets and laid them out beautifully before revealing them, this book had none. Whereas the first book made me love the characters, this book turned me away from them.
I know Mr. Brooks has done some excellent works. The one
thing I can think of in his defense is that he was writing
two novels at the same time so doing both may have diluted
his work.
OVERALL GRADE: C minus to C.
The main problem I had was that this book returned to the hometown and created a watered down version of the first book. Whereas the first book had heart and emotional resonance, this had neither. Whereas the first book had secrets and laid them out beautifully before revealing them, this book had none. Whereas the first book made me love the characters, this book turned me away from them.
I know Mr. Brooks has done some excellent works. The one
thing I can think of in his defense is that he was writing
two novels at the same time so doing both may have diluted
his work.
OVERALL GRADE: C minus to C.
April 6, 2022
A disappointing and unsatisfying ending to the trilogy.
November 23, 2015
Nice ending to the trilogy.
What this book had that was better than the first two: Villains. Sinister, creepy villains. Not the cookie-cutter bad demons from the first two. Findo Gask and Penny Dreadful were wickedly delicious. Had to love Twitch too, and the whatever-it-was shadow thing (ur'droch).
John Ross was a bit of a dud in this book though; Nest carried the show. I mean, when she was meeting with Gask and Penny, John is just standing around, leaning on his staff. What the hell, man? Are you a Knight of the Word, or what? I got a little fed up with all the "I shouldn't have come here and put you in danger" junk. No, I thought. You shouldn't have come here and stood around like a lump while Nest did all the work. Where I used to work, we had a name for someone like that: a Blister. Because they'd always show up when all the hard work was done.
Anyway, the ending had me scratching my head a bit too. Not the part with Nest, that was awesome. But again, with John Ross. I was like huh?
Well, I enjoyed the book, and the series.
Nest rules.
What this book had that was better than the first two: Villains. Sinister, creepy villains. Not the cookie-cutter bad demons from the first two. Findo Gask and Penny Dreadful were wickedly delicious. Had to love Twitch too, and the whatever-it-was shadow thing (ur'droch).
John Ross was a bit of a dud in this book though; Nest carried the show. I mean, when she was meeting with Gask and Penny, John is just standing around, leaning on his staff. What the hell, man? Are you a Knight of the Word, or what? I got a little fed up with all the "I shouldn't have come here and put you in danger" junk. No, I thought. You shouldn't have come here and stood around like a lump while Nest did all the work. Where I used to work, we had a name for someone like that: a Blister. Because they'd always show up when all the hard work was done.
Anyway, the ending had me scratching my head a bit too. Not the part with Nest, that was awesome. But again, with John Ross. I was like huh?
Well, I enjoyed the book, and the series.
Nest rules.
December 8, 2015
This is the review for the whole Word&Void trilogy.
This trilogy is not what I expected. In a sense it's a good thing, because Brooks got boring and repeated the same old premonition-last hope-druid-adventurer cycle over and over. But also it's a disappointment, because it is NOT a bridge between our present and future Shannara world. It's not much of anything, but a depressing story of some small almost insignificant depressing people. Where is the epic? Where is the fantastic?
It's an everyday boring soapopera life of couple of persons with tiny grain of magical abilities who keep whining about NOT using the magic. Ok, so it's going to be a long Void-nudged downfall, I get it. I really don't need to have it drawn out to a whole damn trilogy. A short story would suffice.
This trilogy takes place in our times. It's a contemporary mystery novel and it's premise is that dark and light magic existed already then. The "daemons" nudged the world into turmoil and constant decline. In secret, not all at once. Unfortunately that's the only value this trilogy has to offer to the overall Shannara universe. Simple conclusion is that this trilogy was a waste of paper and time.
I wanted to skim through Shannara because there is a TV series pending launch next year, but I'm telling, if I have to take one more beating like this, I will hate Brooks' Shannara forever.
This trilogy is not what I expected. In a sense it's a good thing, because Brooks got boring and repeated the same old premonition-last hope-druid-adventurer cycle over and over. But also it's a disappointment, because it is NOT a bridge between our present and future Shannara world. It's not much of anything, but a depressing story of some small almost insignificant depressing people. Where is the epic? Where is the fantastic?
It's an everyday boring soapopera life of couple of persons with tiny grain of magical abilities who keep whining about NOT using the magic. Ok, so it's going to be a long Void-nudged downfall, I get it. I really don't need to have it drawn out to a whole damn trilogy. A short story would suffice.
This trilogy takes place in our times. It's a contemporary mystery novel and it's premise is that dark and light magic existed already then. The "daemons" nudged the world into turmoil and constant decline. In secret, not all at once. Unfortunately that's the only value this trilogy has to offer to the overall Shannara universe. Simple conclusion is that this trilogy was a waste of paper and time.
I wanted to skim through Shannara because there is a TV series pending launch next year, but I'm telling, if I have to take one more beating like this, I will hate Brooks' Shannara forever.
July 26, 2024
So endeth the "Word and Void" trilogy by Terry Brooks.
This book is in a very similar league as its predecessors: "Running with the Demon" and "A Knight of the Word. Its ok, but its not great.
The best part of the book is its ending. The final chapter with John Ross and his story and Nest Freemark's ending. It was so moving and sweet and a good finale for the trilogy.
However, the rest of the book is just...boring. It feels like a retread of Books 1 and 2, and a lot of the characters make similar decisions from previous books. It feels like Terry had a full story for book 1 and only a loose idea for books 2 and 3, but was committed to a trilogy.
The fantastical elements of the book are surprisingly sparse, really limited to the end of the book.
Overall, just an ok book. 5.5 out of 10.
This book is in a very similar league as its predecessors: "Running with the Demon" and "A Knight of the Word. Its ok, but its not great.
The best part of the book is its ending. The final chapter with John Ross and his story and Nest Freemark's ending. It was so moving and sweet and a good finale for the trilogy.
However, the rest of the book is just...boring. It feels like a retread of Books 1 and 2, and a lot of the characters make similar decisions from previous books. It feels like Terry had a full story for book 1 and only a loose idea for books 2 and 3, but was committed to a trilogy.
The fantastical elements of the book are surprisingly sparse, really limited to the end of the book.
Overall, just an ok book. 5.5 out of 10.
April 30, 2022
Angel Fire East is the third book in Terry Brooks' Word and Void series, and the conclusion of the trilogy. It is not a stand-alone book, so don't start here. Read Running with the Demon and A Knight of the Word first.
This story picks up ten years after the second book (fifteen since the first). We're back in Hopewell, Illinois with Nest Freemark, and demons have come knocking. This story describes the third and final time she and John Ross cross paths. While John is a central character, this is very much Nest's story with him acting mostly as a catalyst. I found myself getting pretty annoyed with John at times for being useless.
Along with the carry-over characters of Pick, Josie, and Two Bears, we see the adult versions of Nest's childhood friends Robert Heppler and Bennett Scott, along with some new additions. The cast on the side of the void is expanded as well, with two central demons and two backups, each with distinct traits and personalities.
Trigger warning: Like the second book in the series addressed the topic of homelessness, this one tackles drug addiction and the potential fallout of that lifestyle.
It took me a while to get into the book because the pacing was pretty slow. There was a lot of overly-descriptive exposition and "sit-and-think" moments. There's a nice twist at the end for Nest, though not so nice for anyone else. The book, and therefore the series, ended on a hopeful but rather melancholy note.
This story picks up ten years after the second book (fifteen since the first). We're back in Hopewell, Illinois with Nest Freemark, and demons have come knocking. This story describes the third and final time she and John Ross cross paths. While John is a central character, this is very much Nest's story with him acting mostly as a catalyst. I found myself getting pretty annoyed with John at times for being useless.
Along with the carry-over characters of Pick, Josie, and Two Bears, we see the adult versions of Nest's childhood friends Robert Heppler and Bennett Scott, along with some new additions. The cast on the side of the void is expanded as well, with two central demons and two backups, each with distinct traits and personalities.
Trigger warning: Like the second book in the series addressed the topic of homelessness, this one tackles drug addiction and the potential fallout of that lifestyle.
It took me a while to get into the book because the pacing was pretty slow. There was a lot of overly-descriptive exposition and "sit-and-think" moments. There's a nice twist at the end for Nest, though not so nice for anyone else. The book, and therefore the series, ended on a hopeful but rather melancholy note.
April 19, 2020
4.5 Stars
This book returns to Nest and John Ross a decade later than their last meeting. But this time John's dream have lead him to seeing his own death and yet give him the possibility of hope in the form of a gypsy morph that he must save. And of course all clues to try to understand the gypsy morph lead right back to Nest.
I really loved Nest in this book. She's now an adult with all the strengths of one. She's decisive and caring. Her one fear in life has to with Wraith and what would happen if she ever loosed the control she has over him. When life comes knocking on her door in the form of her adoptive little sister and of course John Ross she knows things are about to go topsy turvy again.
I liked the battle with the demon in this book, I think in part because it was a team ganging up on our heroes and they were formidable. The were tricky and with Ross as worn down as he is, well a lot of this falls to Nest to really find her strength in herself.
This book returns to Nest and John Ross a decade later than their last meeting. But this time John's dream have lead him to seeing his own death and yet give him the possibility of hope in the form of a gypsy morph that he must save. And of course all clues to try to understand the gypsy morph lead right back to Nest.
I really loved Nest in this book. She's now an adult with all the strengths of one. She's decisive and caring. Her one fear in life has to with Wraith and what would happen if she ever loosed the control she has over him. When life comes knocking on her door in the form of her adoptive little sister and of course John Ross she knows things are about to go topsy turvy again.
I liked the battle with the demon in this book, I think in part because it was a team ganging up on our heroes and they were formidable. The were tricky and with Ross as worn down as he is, well a lot of this falls to Nest to really find her strength in herself.
February 9, 2010
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, has dreams of the future and works to prevent what seems like Armageddon from coming to pass...yet it seems like he, or the "Word," will eventually fail. And this, if you've read the Shannara series, is what you sort of believe must eventually happen.
The other protagonist is Nest, who is sort of interesting, but not quite, not completely. She has some magic, but it's not all that powerful or, well, interesting.
These two battle off some demons and, for the time, quite expectedly save the day. Brooks's books are not those in which you really expect it to go any other way.
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, has dreams of the future and works to prevent what seems like Armageddon from coming to pass...yet it seems like he, or the "Word," will eventually fail. And this, if you've read the Shannara series, is what you sort of believe must eventually happen.
The other protagonist is Nest, who is sort of interesting, but not quite, not completely. She has some magic, but it's not all that powerful or, well, interesting.
These two battle off some demons and, for the time, quite expectedly save the day. Brooks's books are not those in which you really expect it to go any other way.
July 10, 2016
#3/29 in my Epic Shannara Quest.
Terrific conclusion to The Word and the Void trilogy. Exciting, well-paced, with some of Brooks' most powerful writing. I found this novel to be the darkest of the trilogy, but it's also the most optimistic--light shines brightest in the darkest night. And unlike the first two, I couldn't predict where this one was going.
If anything falls flat in this book, it's the character of Larry Spence, the Deputy Sheriff who become the pawn of the demon Findo Gask. But that wasn't enough to make me drop my rating at all.
Terrific conclusion to The Word and the Void trilogy. Exciting, well-paced, with some of Brooks' most powerful writing. I found this novel to be the darkest of the trilogy, but it's also the most optimistic--light shines brightest in the darkest night. And unlike the first two, I couldn't predict where this one was going.
If anything falls flat in this book, it's the character of Larry Spence, the Deputy Sheriff who become the pawn of the demon Findo Gask. But that wasn't enough to make me drop my rating at all.
April 29, 2012
I absolutely love the Word and the Void series! So intricate and complex and emotional, this is definately my favorite series by Terry Brooks.
July 28, 2019
Terry Brooks is a master fantasy writer. His The Sword of Shannara was a classic that arguably helped launch the modern fantasy genre. He has been fleshing out that world and it's history ever since. His Knight of the Word trilogy is about our current world, with magic elements added, before the disaster that kicks off the unique post-apocalypse fantasy setting.
John Ross is a Knight of the Word, a warrior for good in a world that's increasingly indifferent to such things. The demons that serve the Void are powerful, and they are everywhere. Nest Freemark is a woman from a special family, gifted with magic and a special heritage on both side of her family.
The two need to protect the gypsy morph, a special kind of wild magic given form and a possible great servant of good. Findo Gask, a powerful demon, has assembled a small group and starts chipping away at Nest's life to get what he wants.
It's the conclusion to the trilogy, and Brooks wraps up everything. It's not what I'd call a happy ending on every front, but the bad guys don't wholly win, and it sets in motion some good for the future.
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
John Ross is a Knight of the Word, a warrior for good in a world that's increasingly indifferent to such things. The demons that serve the Void are powerful, and they are everywhere. Nest Freemark is a woman from a special family, gifted with magic and a special heritage on both side of her family.
The two need to protect the gypsy morph, a special kind of wild magic given form and a possible great servant of good. Findo Gask, a powerful demon, has assembled a small group and starts chipping away at Nest's life to get what he wants.
It's the conclusion to the trilogy, and Brooks wraps up everything. It's not what I'd call a happy ending on every front, but the bad guys don't wholly win, and it sets in motion some good for the future.
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
January 8, 2018
The final book in the first (chronological) Shannara trilogy, this one foreshadows yet more of the events that lead to the end of our world as we know it and the beginning of the apocalypse that ends in Shannara proper.
Nest and John together again, must mean demons are around. And again, it's never quite that simple.
Nest and John together again, must mean demons are around. And again, it's never quite that simple.
March 27, 2018
This was my first Terry Brooks book, and while I would've liked to have read books 1&2 first, circumstances didn't permit it. But even for not reading those two, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though there was talk of past events that may or may not have been part of those other books, I was not lost or clueless at any point (well, no more than usual). The story was interesting and I was completely engrossed with both Nest and John's narratives, much more than I thought I would be. Looks like now I'll have to search out some more of Brooks' books.
February 10, 2021
Very enjoyable conclusion to the Word & Void series. The story's more like book one, as opposed to book two, which I liked less so I'm very happy with this one. I would have loved a more solid conclusion though, some ends are left open. My questions will probably be answered further on in the series, but I do know that these characters don't really come back, except for the magical creature. It's a pretty quick read with some faster-paced chapters. On to the next series!
November 25, 2020
Another page turner. Great story. Characters were much more compelling in this book in the series. Findo Gask was quite the scary demon character. However, I felt slightly let down at the "big finale" scene. There was so much build up, I was kind of expecting something more I guess. Still not bad by any means....just not quite as big as I'd hoped for.
February 11, 2025
Angel Fire East is the third book in the Word & Void series. It is an urban fantasy tale that makes you wonder what is in the shadows. An enjoyable read.
November 15, 2020
This book (audio) strikes an odd chord with me. I'm perplexed. I found it both far too long, yet it also feels complete by its length.
I know I grew ever so tired of the use of entire names, especially Findo Gask's, at every mention of them in a scene.
The overlong descriptions and day-in-the-life scenes seemed like they were designed to extend a flimsy third act to the trilogy, but it also gave the impression of a fully fleshing out of the characters (which would have strengthened the second book more) to give the reader/listener an emotional and relatable investment towards the last couple chapters.
It didn't feel rushed at the end, and the slow pace set for the entire book helped that bit of structured and cohesive storytelling for the reader/listener in its consistency. It did feel grown up from the earlier books in the trilogy, as per the equal aging of the characters.
I'll give it a 4, especially for surprising me with its storytelling style. I'm not usually a fan of it, as it takes a bit of talent to pull off, but Terry Brooks managed to hold my attention, and that gets a star.
It's also the same reason it isn't a 5. It's a one-and-done book for me.
I know I grew ever so tired of the use of entire names, especially Findo Gask's, at every mention of them in a scene.
The overlong descriptions and day-in-the-life scenes seemed like they were designed to extend a flimsy third act to the trilogy, but it also gave the impression of a fully fleshing out of the characters (which would have strengthened the second book more) to give the reader/listener an emotional and relatable investment towards the last couple chapters.
It didn't feel rushed at the end, and the slow pace set for the entire book helped that bit of structured and cohesive storytelling for the reader/listener in its consistency. It did feel grown up from the earlier books in the trilogy, as per the equal aging of the characters.
I'll give it a 4, especially for surprising me with its storytelling style. I'm not usually a fan of it, as it takes a bit of talent to pull off, but Terry Brooks managed to hold my attention, and that gets a star.
It's also the same reason it isn't a 5. It's a one-and-done book for me.
May 23, 2023
Of all the Shannara and pre-Shannara books I've read, the Word and Void trilogy is the most well done. Set in our world with a different style of narrative, darker in tone, and with characters that feel real, yeah, it's definitely the best I've read so far from Brooks.
Cool note: not necessary to read any other Shannara books, either. I think the connection came about later and probably wasn't even intended to exist originally.
Cool note: not necessary to read any other Shannara books, either. I think the connection came about later and probably wasn't even intended to exist originally.
March 4, 2019
I kind of enjoyed it, mixed emotions to be honest. Very slow, like the other two books and then the end is a giant cliff hanger but I’m almost 100% certain that the next trilogy won’t pick up where this one ended 🙃 let’s continje with this
September 8, 2020
Not bad as a fantasy trilogy for walking the dogs. It reads very much like a Stephen King novel, although he'd have made the trilogy into one big ass book. The character of Pick really annoyed me, but the concept of the gypsy morph was pretty cool and I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of it, knowing as I do that that's the title of a later-written book.
January 28, 2018
Okay but like, I'm sad?? I need to know what happens with Nest, Harper and little John asdfghj
April 15, 2021
Needed a little editing but a decent book.
September 3, 2020
TW: mentions substance abuse, vaguely suicide-adjacent ideology, child abuse, non-graphic sexual harassment
Again I just can’t ignore the amount of sexism and misogyny in this trilogy!!
The few female characters in the book each have issues that go beyond character flaws and I think are a direct result of the internalized misogyny that society has, and the lack of awareness Terry Brooks has for the importance of having a balance of diverse female characters.
First of all is Nest, the protagonist, who STILL is not comfortable with the magical abilities she has after years and years. She has no magical beings to look up to who aren’t men, and she has absolutely no support in dealing with her feelings of self-doubt. The way the men around her keep her in the dark or mistreat her is astounding, but even more is that in most cases it’s not specified that the behaviour is wrong by any characters in the story or in the author’s tone. Now she has a few moments, for example when she hangs up on her ex husband and one of the demons instead of listening to their bs, but it doesn’t excuse the rest of it.
We also have Penny, a demon working under one of the most powerful male demons in the world currently. She’s presented as crazy, unstable, and expendable.
I don’t know if The Lady (magical fairy woman who’s probably a metaphor for God but I don’t have the time nor energy to analyse the Christian ideology in these books) counts all that much as a female character because she’s barely in it and also like...a magical being who shouldn’t really follow human gender standards anyway but whatever. She’s the typical white, able-bodied, thin image of a beautiful fairy (I know she’s white because Brooks didn’t say otherwise - as he does with every other character of colour (seriously I think there was maybe one black man in this whole book)), and she seems like your typical “~you have to follow what I say because it’s the right thing to do and I won’t explain things to you clearly and make you feel guilty and alone when you make a human mistake btw here’s a magic net for this quest~” deity.
Josie is John’s (knight of the word, other main character) romantic interest I guess? I wouldn’t call them partners because they can never really be in a healthy or consistent relationship because of John serving The Word. Anyway, her role is to be a nice taste of a “normal” life for John, so that whenever he’s in town they can spend a night together and then he leaves her. She appears to be perfectly okay with this arrangement, however, because most of her characterization is a) how she can support John and b) she’s very attractive for a middle aged woman, I’m not buying it.
Then there’s Bennet Scott, who Nest knew as a small child. Her mother had substance abuse issues and found herself with terrible men as partners, which left Bennet neglected and abused. She comes back to Nest years after having run away from home, gotten into drugs herself, and having had a child - Harper (Harper is a little angel and I love her). Sadly the demons tempt her into using again even though she’s been clean for a bit. They end up dragging her out into the snow and convince her to jump off a cliff where she dies from the cold. I don’t think her death was necessary, or fair to the character. It didn’t contribute anything to the story except perpetuating the idea that there’s no hope for those who struggle with addiction. We already knew the demons are bad - this was not needed.
Also? [This is the literal end of the book and a huge spoiler so if you’ve already come this far and not read the book proceed with caution]
I’m not a fan of the fact that Little John (the magical being John was sent to retrieve for the Word who appears as a young boy) ends up being Nest’s child. He’s an unstable magical being who will dissipate unless they find out his secret within a certain amount of time, and Brooks just went for the whole magical Jesus baby thing and it ends with Nest like,,,absorbing him into her uterus and “giving her body” to this little magic baby. After a whole story of Nest being sexually harassed by this one cop dude and having her ex husband try to visit just to make a news story of her ‘failed running career’ and nearly every man she interacts with doing her wrong - now you’re really just making her the vessel??
Now let me clarify. I don’t expect that every female character in a series should be extremely powerful or without flaws, but I do think that when there are so few, they should be handled with more attention. Needlessly subjecting then all to implicit and explicit sexism takes away from the story and it’s simply bad representation.
Anyway. I was not a fan of this book nor the rest of this trilogy. I’m going to keep reading the other books in this universe because I’m curious and also analyzing them is kind of fun, if in a maddening way. Some people apparently didn’t like the Word and Void books so I’m hoping the other series are better than this one.
Again I just can’t ignore the amount of sexism and misogyny in this trilogy!!
The few female characters in the book each have issues that go beyond character flaws and I think are a direct result of the internalized misogyny that society has, and the lack of awareness Terry Brooks has for the importance of having a balance of diverse female characters.
First of all is Nest, the protagonist, who STILL is not comfortable with the magical abilities she has after years and years. She has no magical beings to look up to who aren’t men, and she has absolutely no support in dealing with her feelings of self-doubt. The way the men around her keep her in the dark or mistreat her is astounding, but even more is that in most cases it’s not specified that the behaviour is wrong by any characters in the story or in the author’s tone. Now she has a few moments, for example when she hangs up on her ex husband and one of the demons instead of listening to their bs, but it doesn’t excuse the rest of it.
We also have Penny, a demon working under one of the most powerful male demons in the world currently. She’s presented as crazy, unstable, and expendable.
I don’t know if The Lady (magical fairy woman who’s probably a metaphor for God but I don’t have the time nor energy to analyse the Christian ideology in these books) counts all that much as a female character because she’s barely in it and also like...a magical being who shouldn’t really follow human gender standards anyway but whatever. She’s the typical white, able-bodied, thin image of a beautiful fairy (I know she’s white because Brooks didn’t say otherwise - as he does with every other character of colour (seriously I think there was maybe one black man in this whole book)), and she seems like your typical “~you have to follow what I say because it’s the right thing to do and I won’t explain things to you clearly and make you feel guilty and alone when you make a human mistake btw here’s a magic net for this quest~” deity.
Josie is John’s (knight of the word, other main character) romantic interest I guess? I wouldn’t call them partners because they can never really be in a healthy or consistent relationship because of John serving The Word. Anyway, her role is to be a nice taste of a “normal” life for John, so that whenever he’s in town they can spend a night together and then he leaves her. She appears to be perfectly okay with this arrangement, however, because most of her characterization is a) how she can support John and b) she’s very attractive for a middle aged woman, I’m not buying it.
Then there’s Bennet Scott, who Nest knew as a small child. Her mother had substance abuse issues and found herself with terrible men as partners, which left Bennet neglected and abused. She comes back to Nest years after having run away from home, gotten into drugs herself, and having had a child - Harper (Harper is a little angel and I love her). Sadly the demons tempt her into using again even though she’s been clean for a bit. They end up dragging her out into the snow and convince her to jump off a cliff where she dies from the cold. I don’t think her death was necessary, or fair to the character. It didn’t contribute anything to the story except perpetuating the idea that there’s no hope for those who struggle with addiction. We already knew the demons are bad - this was not needed.
Also? [This is the literal end of the book and a huge spoiler so if you’ve already come this far and not read the book proceed with caution]
I’m not a fan of the fact that Little John (the magical being John was sent to retrieve for the Word who appears as a young boy) ends up being Nest’s child. He’s an unstable magical being who will dissipate unless they find out his secret within a certain amount of time, and Brooks just went for the whole magical Jesus baby thing and it ends with Nest like,,,absorbing him into her uterus and “giving her body” to this little magic baby. After a whole story of Nest being sexually harassed by this one cop dude and having her ex husband try to visit just to make a news story of her ‘failed running career’ and nearly every man she interacts with doing her wrong - now you’re really just making her the vessel??
Now let me clarify. I don’t expect that every female character in a series should be extremely powerful or without flaws, but I do think that when there are so few, they should be handled with more attention. Needlessly subjecting then all to implicit and explicit sexism takes away from the story and it’s simply bad representation.
Anyway. I was not a fan of this book nor the rest of this trilogy. I’m going to keep reading the other books in this universe because I’m curious and also analyzing them is kind of fun, if in a maddening way. Some people apparently didn’t like the Word and Void books so I’m hoping the other series are better than this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2019
Between 4 and 4.5 - great ending to the series.
August 12, 2024
Fine conclusion to a fine series. Brooks is certainly a master at creating believable characters. I'll miss Nest Freemark and John Ross for a while I'm sure. I'm normally not a fan of urban fantasy but this series has won me back.
April 16, 2020
Buona conclusione della trilogia
Molto bello, mi ha coinvolto quanto il primo volume. Ottimi personaggi forse mi attendevo un finale piu' drammatico in questa trilogia che portasse a mostrare a come si e' giunti al mondo di shannara. Comunque molto bello, trilogia consigliata. E' genere urban fantasy.
Molto bello, mi ha coinvolto quanto il primo volume. Ottimi personaggi forse mi attendevo un finale piu' drammatico in questa trilogia che portasse a mostrare a come si e' giunti al mondo di shannara. Comunque molto bello, trilogia consigliata. E' genere urban fantasy.
July 16, 2013
Finally Nest has hit her stride. As a twenty-nine year-old, she's a little careworn, a little sad, and a lot more complete a human being. In A Knight of the Word I couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't practiced her magic more; as a tender of the forest, shouldn't it be her duty to develop the talent that makes her fit for that purpose? Here, she has good reason to fear her talent -- because it risks releasing the demon within. But some demons must be confronted eventually...
The demon quartet in this book never felt all that real to me. Only Findo Gask really had any depth -- Twitch and the Ur'droch barely play bit parts, and Penny Dreadful just came across as a slightly psychopathic bimbo, not the deeply disturbed and dangerously unstable timebomb she was supposed to be.
A real weakness of this book is Nest's relationship with other people. We see that she's civic-minded and active, and well-loved by at least Robert, but we see deeper relationships between her and Bennett Scott or John Ross and Josie than between Nest and any of the people she lives around. She's supposed to be lonely -- never quite fitting in with or around people -- but given how friendly the few acquaintances she has are, it just evokes a feeling of shallowness in the book, rather than a feeling of deep and abiding loneliness in her life.
It's probably telling that I basically forgot to write about the gypsy morph until right now. The little boy has no presence, and when we finally see the morph's true form and how happy Nest is about it, it just feels hollow -- I can't feel invested in their relationship or how it ends.
It's the plot and a few moments of really deep feeling that drive this book. A worthy read, but not one that'll go at the front of my queue to read again.
The demon quartet in this book never felt all that real to me. Only Findo Gask really had any depth -- Twitch and the Ur'droch barely play bit parts, and Penny Dreadful just came across as a slightly psychopathic bimbo, not the deeply disturbed and dangerously unstable timebomb she was supposed to be.
A real weakness of this book is Nest's relationship with other people. We see that she's civic-minded and active, and well-loved by at least Robert, but we see deeper relationships between her and Bennett Scott or John Ross and Josie than between Nest and any of the people she lives around. She's supposed to be lonely -- never quite fitting in with or around people -- but given how friendly the few acquaintances she has are, it just evokes a feeling of shallowness in the book, rather than a feeling of deep and abiding loneliness in her life.
It's probably telling that I basically forgot to write about the gypsy morph until right now. The little boy has no presence, and when we finally see the morph's true form and how happy Nest is about it, it just feels hollow -- I can't feel invested in their relationship or how it ends.
It's the plot and a few moments of really deep feeling that drive this book. A worthy read, but not one that'll go at the front of my queue to read again.
February 8, 2017
Great ending best one in the series
This has to be one of the greatest and trilogy books that I've read by Terry Brooks in the especially in the word World Series it follows right and his Chanera type of trilogies but anyway I loved it
This has to be one of the greatest and trilogy books that I've read by Terry Brooks in the especially in the word World Series it follows right and his Chanera type of trilogies but anyway I loved it
January 24, 2016
I really enjoyed my re-read of the Word & Void series. I'm journeying through Shannara again in Terry Brooks suggested reading order. Back when I was a kid, I didn't know that Word & Void was going to tie into Shannara. Reading it in that context as an adult has been very cool. Terry Brooks is a great author... I actually caught a glimpse of him at Salt Lake Comic Con last week. I didn't have time to stand in line to get an autograph, but from ten feet away, I excitedly pointed him out to my kids... "That's Terry Brooks!! He's the author that got me hooked on fantasy!! He's SO awesome!!"
I'm moving on to the Genesis of Shannara series next... it's been a few years since I've read them, so I'm excited. If you're interested in revisiting Shannara & don't know where to start, here's a link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/9916...
This link also includes a links for chronological order, publication order, and new readers to the series.
I'm moving on to the Genesis of Shannara series next... it's been a few years since I've read them, so I'm excited. If you're interested in revisiting Shannara & don't know where to start, here's a link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/9916...
This link also includes a links for chronological order, publication order, and new readers to the series.
January 6, 2015
This is by far the worst book ever written. I made a mistake, I read the first two books in this series and thought to myself, "hey these are pretty good, I'll lend the first book to my friend while I read the third" by the time I finished the third I went back and apologized to my friend for getting him started on this path from hell. I would sooner be stuck on a plane with crying babies while a kid kicked the back of my chair then ever read this again. And if the technology from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind existed I would wipe all memory of this book from my brain.
I know this probably sounds sarcastic but it's not. Without giving too much away this was the least satisfying, ending to a book/series I've ever read. There was absolutely no conclusion, it's like he got to the got to the climax of the book, said he'll write that later, went on to the epilogue and forgot to go back.
TLDR: Genuinely enjoyed the first two books in the series, that being said this book is a disgrace to novels everywhere.
I know this probably sounds sarcastic but it's not. Without giving too much away this was the least satisfying, ending to a book/series I've ever read. There was absolutely no conclusion, it's like he got to the got to the climax of the book, said he'll write that later, went on to the epilogue and forgot to go back.
TLDR: Genuinely enjoyed the first two books in the series, that being said this book is a disgrace to novels everywhere.
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