A Knight of the Word

Word and Void, Book 2

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: George K. Wilson

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 weary faith. Haunted by guilt, he turns his back on his dread gift, settling down to build a normal life, untroubled by demons and nightmares.

But a fallen Knight makes a tempting prize for the Void, which could bend the Knight’s magic to its own evil ends. And once the demons on Ross’s trail track him to Seattle, neither he nor anyone close to him will be safe. His only hope is Nest Freemark, a college student who wields an extraordinary magic all her own. Five years earlier, Ross had aided Nest when the future of humanity rested upon her choice between Word and Void. Now Nest must return the favor. She must restore Ross’s faith, or his life—and hers—will be forfeited…

©1998 Terry Brooks (P)1998 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“[An] urban dark fantasy … Sharp and satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

A great story!

Loved it! Well written as always. It helped me focus and pass the time while I worked. 😁

okay, a little simple and predictable

It was an okay story. I don't think it was as good as the first story and it didn't leave me scrambling to get the 3rd book.

Another terrific book by Terry Brooks

Another terrific book by Terry Brooks skillfully read by George k Wilson I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

A great audiobook and a welcome addition to my library.

A Knight of the Word is an important puzzle piece of the Word and Void series. It answers almost as many questions as it raises. Already looking forward to the next book and how it relates to the Shannara series. The narrator does a great job of infusing emotion into the characters and carries the listener into the story and it’s settings. Drawing the listener deep down the rabbit hole of the author’s imagination.

great story

enjoyed it ...each story line keeps you guessing and hoping. This trilogy is a rare gem and a great read

The Demons are particularly scary

Yes, the narrator of this story was very good. Not annoying or anything, and contributed greatly to the telling of the story.

This is the second installment of the Word and Void subseries of books set in the world of The Sword of Shannara. This subseries takes place long before the post-apocalyptic Shannara novels. Civilization has not yet crumbled away to nothing. But it’s not because the forces of chaos – the Void – are not trying to make that happen.

We were introduced to John Ross as a knight of the Word in the previous book, Running with the Demon. In that book, John Ross was tasked with seeing that a young girl, Nest Freemark, with magical abilities did not fall under the sway of a Demon who was infesting her hometown. This Demon, we found out, was also her father. Nobody came out of that one quite as I would have expected, but absolute disaster was avoided anyway.

This time, the roles of John Ross and Nest Freemark are somewhat reversed. John Ross has suffered a failure in carrying out another mission, one which keeps eating at his conscience. He thinks he is no longer qualified to be a Knight of the Word and wishes to turn in his staff and return to being an ordinary person. The Lady, who recruited him in the first place, sends Nest to help him back to the right path.

This time there seem to be more demons and fewer agents of the Word. Despite the worst outcome being once again narrowly averted, innocent people are killed, both magical agents of the Word and ordinary people. And once again the Demon gets away – at least one of them does.

While the Shannara books that were written earlier and take place later are set in a world where the loss of modern technology and the return of magic take it back to the feel of a much earlier time, the books in this subseries feel as if they could be happening in a time very close to our own. The demons in particular are scary because you can almost see them in operation in today’s world.

Great Performance. Good Story

Once again Mr. Wilson puts forth an excellent performance. His vocal transitions, character voices, reading speed, and annunciation are superbly executed.

Terry Brooks is as yet to reach the level of top tier storyteller. His descriptions of people and environment, stylized presentation of classic fantasy storlines, and endearing character development is a pleasure to take in. Unfortunately he still seems to be writing to a young adult audience (vocab, world view, etc) while catering to the deductive reasoning skills of a Pre-teen. He continually tiptoes around the key plot twist with blatant foreshadowing. The obvious truth invariably turns out to be the actual truth. He also has a habit of adding in needless drama for drama's sake instead of for the sake of moving along the plot line. Consequently his stories can feel like they come to a crawl about 3/4 of the way in.

Narrator Improved from First Book

I listened to this book at 1.2x speed and was satisfied with the narrator at that speed. This book was better than the first, but the plot was still quite predictable. I would still recommend this book.

Awesome book

wonderful narrator and I like the whole shanara series. can't wait for the next one.

Great Book

Well Performed. Story is everything one would expect from a master like Terry Brooks.

I look forward to the next one.