Angel Fire East is the final book in Terry Brooks' urban fantasy series The Word and The Void that follows John Ross and Nest Freemark. As a Knight of the Word, John Ross dreams of the future that will happen if he fails to keep the creatures of the void at bay. One particularly disturbing dream shows him where to find a gypsy morph-- a shape shifting creature formed of wild magic with the potential to become a strong weapon for whomever controls it. Ross knows he must not only find the morph, but also keep it safe while it decides on a final form When it settles on the form of a young boy and utters Nest's name, he knows where he must go.

Meanwhile Nest is confronted by Findo Gask, a demon already awaiting the arrival of John Ross. He's assembled a group of demons to help him defeat Ross when he does show up: Twitch (a giant simple minded albino), a shadowy ur'droch and Penny Dreadful (who reminded me of a kind of demonic gangster moll). Added to all of this, Nest has house guests. Bennett Scott shows up with her daughter, Harper, needing a place to stay. Bennett is a drug addict trying to get clean and mostly failing. When Ross shows up with the morph, Nest has no idea why it has asked for her, but is determined to help it.

I think Angel Fire East falls a little short. The plot followed the same sort of good vs evil story as A Knight of the Word, but offered little closure on the series. Yes, we do find out what the morph needed from Nest, but it had little impact on the overall plot. It feels as if there should be another title in the series. While I was a bit disappointed by the conclusion of Angel Fire East in several ways I found it very enjoyable. I love the struggle Nest has with Wraith (which is settle by the end) and the colorfully dark Penny Dreadful. Perhaps my biggest criticism is that the story ended too soon.

My Recommendation
As the final book in The Word and the Void I was a bit disappointed in Angel Fire East although I did enjoy reading it. If you've read the rest of the series, this is a must. And as an urban fantasy series, I would recommend Terry Brooks' The Word and the Void to everyone.

Angel Fire East by Terry Brooks
Printed by Del Rey
384 pages

Angel Fire East by Terry Brooks is available at Amazon.com

Also in The Word and the Void series:
Running With the Demon
A Knight of the Word