Angel Fire East

In "Angel Fire East", Terry Brooks returns to the writing style of "Running with the Demon", and I think it is the best of the three books in the series. Nest has returned to Hopewell after a personal tragedy at the Olympics and a failed personal life. She is living in her Grandparents' home, and is reunited with some of the characters from the first book. She is visited by a demon searching for John Ross, and Nest must decide whether or not she wants to invite the chaos that seems to follow John back into her life. The demons in this story are much more satisfying than the demons of the previous two. Findo Gask is an intellectual equal to John and Nest, and it makes the story more compelling to read. The only disappointment to the book is that the ending has left it wide open for a fourth, and we have yet to see whether or not Terry Brooks will add to the series in the future. Either way, it's worth the read!

I own all three books in this series, but Angel Fire East is the only one I own in hardcover. This book is wonderfully written, and has some very interesting plot twists in it. As this review is titled: "Best book of the series".

Angel Fire East is a wonderful conclusion to the Word vs. Void series. The description in this book and its previous two are richly developed and decidedly romantically nostalgic. The reader is completely and thoroughly enveloped by the scenery and feelings of which Brooks obviously has felt and still feels, even to this day. I've heard Brooks say that these books are loosely based on his childhood and the town in which he grew up. He really knows how to put onto paper his inner most feelings. Our friend Nest Freemark has grown into full adulthood and now resides in her hometown. She is still trying to come to terms with her magic and at a time when she is most vulnerable, a demon comes looking for her. John Ross has discovered a gypsy morph of which will change the power struggle in favor of the Word. The only way for the gypsy morph to evolve into a helpful state is to encounter powerful magic much like it contains in itself. Nest has that power and John has decided to bring it to her in hopes of some much needed assistance. Of course the demon, Findo Gask has designs for getting the powerful gypsy morph through Nest. This book was really wonderful and gave me much enjoyment. I especially liked the descriptions of Christmas and all its warmth, proverbial and otherwise. If your looking to read something that is just simply good all around, this is the book for you. I recommend it highly.

Sorry to say, Brooks has been somewhat of a whipping-boy for the last twenty-odd years for most fantasy and SF readers and writers to use as an example of how not to write, and that reputation almost kept me from reading this series. The plot was interesting enough to get me into it, and I must say that this, as well as the first two books, are great examples of urban fantasy. I was so impressed that I plan to go back and read some of his other works to see if I've been missing anything. For anyone with a love of character-driven fiction and fantasy themes interwoven into the mundane, these are the books for you. They probably aren't for the more pedestrian consumer tastes who need big battles, dragons, quick-paced pulp action and all the other predictable genre devices that makes much fantasy literature these days virtually unreadable to anyone who appreciates a well written story. It's not suprising that it's not as popular amongst the Eddings/Jordan crowd. This is more like Koontz or King at the top of their form. In other words, good literature. I really hope Brooks conintues in this vein - he's proven he has greatness within.

As a big fan of Terry Brooks' effortless way of keeping you in suspense awaiting the next installment, I throughly enjoyed this book. It tied up many loose ends and left the reader wondering what would continue in the footprints left by the story's conclusion. For those who have read and followed the Magic Kingdom and Shannara series, both of which left me wanting more(a new series, character, or idea), this series continues the tradition. I feel it is worth reading more than once, as I certainly will.