Rating: 
Summary: "I've Come Home"
Review: "Angel Fire East" is the third book in the "Word and the Void" trilogy that began with "Running with the Demon" and continued with "A Knight of the Word." The gap between this book and the last is even longer than that between the previous two; ten years have passed since our two protagonists John Ross and Nest Freemark last met, and once again their reunion heralds another upheaval in the war between the benevolent Word and the chaotic Void.
"Angel Fire" is better than "Knight", but "Running" is still the best, and the only one in the trilogy that I would seriously recommend. The second two just don't seem to have the same characterisation or sense of all the plot threads drawing together in a master plan like "Running" did. But if you're determined to see Nest and Ross's story out to the end, then here we go again...
John Ross is a knight working on behalf of the Word who has managed to capture a strange magical creature - a gypsy morph that is made of leftover magics and (because of its capacity for either good or evil) is a much coveted prize for both sides of the battle. It has finally settled on the shape of a young boy, and since then the only word it has uttered has been the name "Nest".
Nest is now twenty-nine years old, a divorcee, and a retired Olympian runner - in other words, she's not really feeling fulfilled in her life, especially due to the unwanted attentions of the local sheriff Larry Spence. Then two arrivals appear: a demon named Findo Gask shows up on her doorstep inquiring after John Ross, and Bennett Scott, the young woman that Nest once saved, who is now a drug addict with a daughter of her own - Harper. Eventually John himself arrives, complete with the morph/boy they dub "Little John".
In the three days before Christmas, Nest and Ross come together again, trying to solve the riddle of the gypsy morph whilst shielding it from the control of Gask and his trio of demon henchmen. This mission is especially important to Ross due to the promise that the Lady has given him: if he completes this task, then his service as a Knight will be over.
The setting is thankfully back in Hopewell and the park, and Pick the sylvan is given more to do in this book than in the last, as does Wraith, Nest's inner guardian in the form of a giant wolfhound. The return of Bennett is a nice touch, if a little sad, Robert Heppler is still around - now with a wife and child of his own, and Two Bears again has a cameo appearance - perhaps the best one of the three books. Larry Spence is rather irritating, though I suppose he was supposed to be - but by the end of the novel I felt rather sorry for his kids - Brooks does nothing to explain what will now happen to them. Findo Gask makes a scary villain, calm, organised and collected in the visage of a country preacher with a Book of Names on all the people he has killed, and is backed up nicely by the slightly crazed Penny Dreadful. However, the other two demons' presence is somewhat unnecessary - the ur'droch remains an enigma, and Twitch's existence is entirely unjustified (he doesn't do anything except back up an unfortunate stereotype against albinos - they don't have pink eyes!)
The story itself suffers too - although the premise is interesting, there are plot holes and inconsistencies large enough to drive a truck through, plus an awkwardness in reconciling the fantasy and the `real world' stories that wasn't present in the previous books. The plot seems somewhat cobbled together quickly, switching back and forth between scenarios that don't really fit together - the demons' actions and motivations in particular are somewhat confusing, choosing elaborate schemes and disguises to watch the protagonists instead of simply going in and getting what they want. For evil creatures, they fluff around an awful lot, and spend too much time manipulating Larry Spence and Bennett when there isn't really much reason to. Likewise, the characterisations of Ross and Nest suffer too - even knowing what's at cost, they make some extremely unwise decisions. I question Nest's very intelligence at leaving Bennett and Harper alone in the house on the same day a demon came to call, and later letting Bennett go out alone after a near fatal accident. Furthermore, they don't neglect their social lives during the life or death situation - Nest goes to a Christmas party and Ross visits an old flame, seemingly believing that they'll be safe amongst other people when its been shown again and again that this is never the case. With Gask waiting too long to make his move, Nest waiting too long to ask for a basic warding spell around her house, and a lot of time wasted on a lengthy and unnecessary death scene on a frozen lake, the story just felt to patchy and hacked together.
Which is unfortunate given that it's the last book - some people may feel a little short-changed at the resolution, though it does end on a conclusion that suggests more books might be coming; Brooks certainly leaves himself with enough material to keep the franchise open, and I myself would dearly love to see Nest's old friend Brianna and Jared once again. As "Knight" centred on the theme of homelessness, here Brooks explores the evils of drug abuse. Thankfully the message was not so heavy handed as it was in the previous book, but it still comes across loud and clear: Don't Do Drugs.
All in all, a reasonable end to an interesting trilogy, but it always felt as though Brooks was skimming the surface of something much larger and more intricate that was only really explored in "Running with the Demon".
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Conclusion, If Not What I Wanted
Review: "Running With the Demon" and "A Knight of the Word" established characters that I cared for and hoped to read more about. While it was sad that my wish was met in the final installment of the series, I did like this book best out of the three. I got to see what became of many of the characters mentioned in "Running". Certainly, not all the endings were happy. This is something I've always loved about Terry Brooks writing: as in real life, the good guys don't always come out on top. Nonetheless, I was still very content with how things played out.There were some loose ends, and ends that I wished had been otherwise, even though they worked well with the story. Overall, I found this to be a satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Conclusion, If Not What I Wanted
Review: "Running With the Demon" and "A Knight of the Word" established characters that I cared for and hoped to read more about. While it was sad that my wish was met in the final installment of the series, I did like this book best out of the three. I got to see what became of many of the characters mentioned in "Running". Certainly, not all the endings were happy. This is something I've always loved about Terry Brooks writing: as in real life, the good guys don't always come out on top. Nonetheless, I was still very content with how things played out. There were some loose ends, and ends that I wished had been otherwise, even though they worked well with the story. Overall, I found this to be a satisfying read.
Rating: 
Summary: Review for Audiobook
Review: 1) The audibook was entertaining and engrossing 2) A couple of scenes were left to one's imagination...very nice touch. 3) If it wasn't for the Editor's notes here on Amazon I would never have known this was book three of three. It appeared to be a nice single story book. 4) Not too often is there a "modern day" fantasy story combining people with magic fighting demons in modern day times. Nicely done. 5) My only complaint with the audiobook version is that I'm sure there were other scenes showing the abilities of the "good guys" and the demons that probably were left out on this abridged version. A lot of potential here...If I come across the paperback by chance I'll probably pick it up and read it in it's fullness.
Rating:
Summary: Brooks only gets better
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Angel Fire East
Review: Angel Fire East was a great book for me in many ways. I had just moved back to my childhood home because of my mothers illness. Terry Brooks captured the feeling for me very well. I had been waiting to get a copy of this book because I missed the characters and I was happy to see them again. Life does not treat everyone equally and this was shown in the way everyone popped up a little wearier. Terry Brooks also captured the spirit of addiction in the demons and Brenda.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Sad to See This Series End
Review: Angle Fire East, the big finale to the John Ross-Nest Freemark trilogy, offers more of a fantasy element than the previous two books. This one deals more with the magic of the world and how it effects our characters. It also offers us the gypsy morph, a truly wonderful creature concocted of wild magics thrown together that last only a short while. John Ross has captured this and it's up to him to figure out it's secret for the Word, while avoiding servants of the Void who want it for their master. His single clue leads him to, you guessed it, Hopewell, home of Nest Freemark. This book feels more like the first in the series in that, in addition to Nest and John Ross, there's a strong supporting cast that get their time in the sun. We see Bennet Scott, all grown up with a kid of her own. Unfortunately, she's turned into a junkie and decides the best way to get out of that life is to return home to her surrogate big sister, Nest. Josie, the lady who has John Ross' heart makes a return, as does Robert Heppler. Findo Gask makes the best villian in this series yet. I found him to be scarier than any of the other demons in all three books. There was just something about him. The fact that he is as evil as they get makes it all the more satisfying when, in a couple of different scenes, Nest gets all up in his face and tells him off. Go girl! I only wish that the ending didn't end so quick. It's kind of a bittersweet ending and I wish it was a bit more fleshed out. Basically you had the final confrontation and a couple of pages after and that's it. I could have gone for a final confrontation then a whole chapter after. The best part about the ending is that it seems this story can go on, if not the Ross-Nest saga, then there is a place where it can go. Maybe Brooks will treat us to more Word-Void books after he finishes up his latest batch of Shannara books. I, for one, would not complain. P.S. Two Bears continues to rock!
Rating:
Summary: Definately not Brooks's best ..
Review: I am not a fan of Brooks's works. However, I've read his Shannara series before and I enjoyed it tremendously. It's fast pace, with the characters well told and he kept the plot interesting from the beginning till the end (for the first 2 books at least). Unfortunately, I can't say the same for his latest "Word vs. Void" series. I picked up Knight of the Word some time ago after finishing Eddings's Tamuli, thinking it would be at least as good as Shannara. It's not one of the best book that I've ever read, but still it makes me wanna read its sequel, which unfortunately is also a let-down. (I nearly slept in the middle of "Running With Demon"). Next came Angel Fire East (I borrowed it from a friend - its in my not-worth-buying scale) - my my am I in for another disappointment(read: a boring fantasy tale that should have ended a long time ago)! Its another long-winded tale of John Ross and an older Nest Freemark battling to save the world from the void. In came "morph", a powerful creature, in the verge of allying itself to either the Word or the Void. Yup .. u guessed it. The limping John and pretty Nest must save the world yet again, this time by preventing the morph from joining the void. Well, about the plot, u don't have to guess what's gonna happen before u flipped the pages .. everythings plain and simple. No humor, no vividly described great-scaled battle and magic, no plot-twisting. An apology for Brooks's fan, but this is really NOT a good fantasy book. Wished that Brooks killed off the characters and the series in the first book and came out with something of the standard of the Shannara's series.
Rating:
Summary: Well....
Review: I have been an avid Brooks reader ever since I got my hands on a copy of Sword of Shannara. After I finished the Shannara series, I decided to check out Word and Void, a recent Brooks series. Well, I can say that I did like Angel Fire East more than the first two. Some of the characters are still a bit too smart and always seem to think of the right thing at the right time and whatnot, one of the flaws of Word and Void. But this book was different from the first two. Brooks added in some characters that really seem to be real. You almost understand the drug addiction and Bennett's desperate need for them. Larry Spence is a total idiot character and nearly ruined the story with his stupidness (for me, that is, not literally). Nest, the main character is just about as close you can come to perfection without stretching the limit. Not a very good thing.
The plot was rather simple, and went at a fast pace. Nothing was ever endlessly dragged out and nothing occurred that wasn't realistic.
The writing quality is wonderful: a unique style and very rich.
Well, anyway, it's not as wonderful as his Shannara series, but.. good.
Rating:
Summary: Only read this if you have read the first two books....
Review: If like me, you've read "Running with the Demon" and "Knight of the Word," you'll want to know what happens to John Ross and Nest Freemark. Character is what this book is about.
In this final volume of the trilogy, Nest is 29 and living back in Hopewell, Illinois. John Ross, once more a Knight of the Word, has come back to try and claim a potentially powerful entity--a newly born Gypsy Moth--for the Word.
Findo Gask, a demon, wearing an "Elmer Gantry" like face, has assembled his own odd crew of fighters aiming to take the moth for the Void. The results of this battle could change the balance substantially.
While I still love Ross and Freemark, it almost feels like some of this story is templated--particularly the fight scenes. I'm glad to have read the book. It's good to know what happened to two characters I value, but this is a lackluster end to what I consider a staller beginning.
If you're interested in Terry Brooks and want to read this series, start at the beginning with "Running with the Demon" but understand it 'runs downhill' from there.
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