Angel Fire East (Trolltown) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Terry Brooks (Author), Kate Burton (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Trolltown | Publication Date: October 26, 1999

Read by Kate Burton
Three cassettes / 4 hours

When Running with the Demon appeared two years ago, it was recognized at once as a masterpiece in the making, a bold departure that promised to revitalize contemporary urban fantasy and showcase Terry Boorks's vast storytelling gifts as never before.  The second book of the series, A Knight of the Word, raised expectations even higher.  Now, in Angel Fire East, sure to be hailed as his most ambitious, most accomplished work yet, Terry Brooks brings his bestselling epic trilogy of good and evil to an unforgettable close.

As a Knight of the Word, John Ross has struggled against the tireless dark forces of the Void for twenty-five years.  A rootless wanderer scarred as deeply by the magic he weilds as by the unspeakable horrors he has witnessed in its service, Ross is driven by dreams that show the world reduced to blood and ashed by the Void and its minions.  The grim future he dreams each night will come true unless he can stop them now, in the present.  But for all his power, John Ross is only one man, while the demons he hunts--and which hunt him in turn--are legion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Angel Fire East marks the close of Terry Brooks's Nest Freemark-John Ross saga, which began with 1997's Running with the Demon. After a long layover in Seattle for the middle book, Knight of the Word, the fantasy-meets-modernity action returns to Nest's native Hopewell, where once again Nest and John must face off against the Void, this time in the form of ancient demon Findo Gask, who favors a black-clad evil preacher getup for his menacing needs.

Brooks's well-realized and likable cast from the previous books is back, from Nest (now 29) to Ross (haggard as ever) to Pick (still just a few inches tall) and even grown-up versions of Nest's childhood friends from Running, including Bennett, now a junkie with child. Of course, Findo Gask has assembled a creepy little Legion of Doom to harry these nice folks: a giant albino demon; a formless, flesh-eating ur'droch; and a knife-wielding Orphan-Annie-gone-bad named Penny Dreadful. And Angel Fire's main plot thread is even compelling: John Ross has caught a shape-changing, wild-magic creature of enormous power, a gypsy morph, that he and Nest must discover how to turn to the Word before Gask and his crew can capture it for the Void.

But as with Knight of the Word, wooden pacing and unconvincing transitions keep this tale from rising to the level of Brooks's previous masterworks, such as the excellent Shannara and Landover series. If you've read the first two books, it's certainly worth seeing off your old friends in Angel Fire East. But if you're--heaven forbid--new to Terry Brooks, check out his earlier work, or even his very capable novelization of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Fighting supernatural evil is taxing work, and Brooks's third novel of humanity's stand against the demons of the Void shows hints of battle fatigue. Fifteen years have passed since the events chronicled in Running with the Demon (1997), but neither Knight of the Word John Ross nor former Olympic runner Nest Freemark seem much changed by their encounters with predatory devils who incarnate modern social ills: he is still the reluctant hero tasked with preventing the Void's incursion into human affairs, and she remains the righteous heroine suppressing her demon-tainted powers. The plot follows a pattern similar to A Knight of the Word (1998), beginning with Ross's tormenting vision of the future that will occur if he fails to keep a gypsy morphAa shapeshifting bundle of "wild magics" with potential to become a weapon for good or evilAfrom falling into demon hands. Ross seeks Nest's help in Hopewell, Ill., a hometown of Norman Rockwell blissfulness primed for demonic devastation. There the morph changes into a young boy, which makes him vulnerable to the schemes of avuncular fiend Findo Gask and provides Brooks with a focus for exploring the importance of parental responsibility and mother love. This predictable dark fantasy springs a few surprises at its end, but the long parade of characters from the earlier installments gives it the feel of a family reunion one endures out of obligation rather than enthusiasm. Like Nest, this novel keeps pace, but a change of direction is in order for the series. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (October 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375407065
• ISBN-13: 978-0375407062
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,694,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Brooks, Terry

More About the Author

Terry Brooks is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including the Genesis of Shannara novels Armageddon's Children and The Elves of Cintra; The Sword of Shannara; the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy: Ilse Witch, Antrax, and Morgawr; the High Druid of Shannara trilogy: Jarka Ruus, Tanequil, and Straken; the nonfiction book Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life; and the novel based upon the screenplay and story by George Lucas, Star Wars(R): Episode I The Phantom Menace.(tm) His novels Running with the Demon and A Knight of the Word were selected by the Rocky Mountain News as two of the best science fiction/fantasy novels of the twentieth century. The author was a practicing attorney for many years but now writes full-time. He lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brooks Casts A Spell, June 7, 2000

By 

Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Fire East (Trolltown) (Hardcover)

The incomparable Terry Brooks is in top form with "Angel Fire East," the third installment of the "Running With The Demon" series. In this one, Knight of the Word John Ross, compelled by his relentless dreams, is on a quest to locate a creature, born of magic, he knows only as a "Gypsy Morph." Once he finds it, he knows he will have but a short time to unravel its secret if it is to become the powerful ally he needs in the ongoing struggle against the Void. Then something happens that takes him back to the town of Hopewell, Illinois, and his old friend, Nest Freemark, who he has not seen in ten years. There's a connection, it seems, between Nest and the Morph; but it's as much a mystery to Nest as it is to Ross. Now it's up to Nest, as well as Ross, to figure it out before it's too late, all the while fending off the demon who would have the morph for his own sinister purposes. Brooks weaves his own magic here with a narrative alive with tension and suspense. There is a sense of urgency to the story, over which the menace of the darkest demon Brooks has yet created, one Findo Gask, hangs like a pall. Along the way we meet Pick, the little Sylvan caretaker of Sinnissippi Park; the Indian O'olish Amaneh, also know as "Two Bears"; Nest's friend, Bennett Scott; all of whom are more than just characters in a book; these are people you get to know, care about, and want to spend some time with. And then there's the malevolent trio of demons under Gask's command: Penny Dreadful (whose name says it all), the hulking Twitch, and a creature of shadow, known as the Ur'droch. Long after you've finished the last chapter, you're going to remember all of them. It's all a part of the spell Brooks casts, and I promise you, it will leave you wanting more of the same.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good except for......, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Angel Fire East (Trolltown) (Hardcover)

Excellent book in my opinion. While others say that it was a bit long winded in spots and is boring to read through all of his descriptions, I look forward to the great detail. He builds the characters from the ground up and makes you feel everything they are feeling... if you take the time to read all of the detail that is. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. He wound the book up in 4-5 pages and it just didn't sit well with me. 50 pages of wonderful fight scenes as only Brooks can do was completely ruined by a quickie ending. Wish he's spent 10-15 more pages explaining what happened to the characters afterwards.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fast reading, but disappointing, December 4, 1999

By 

Craig Stalbaum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Fire East (Trolltown) (Hardcover)

Having worshipped the other two books in this series, I bought AFE the first day it came out and had it finished two days after that. Being slighty upset with it, I waited a few months and read it again, figuring that I'd give it time to digest. Unfortunately, my opinions stayed the same. Nest is a cool character in the books, don't get me wrong, but Ross is, to me, the reason I read the series. He's a cool version of a Paladin, and I can't wait for him to fight the next demon. However, he's severly underused in this book, and his ultimate resolution is terrible...almost as if Brooks was rushing to finish the book. As for the rest of it, Brooks has an annoying tendency of cheating his way through mysteries--you wonder what's going on, what something could mean, and then once its explained you realize its just that you didn't know something about the magic. An explanation that has to be applicable simply because it can't be tested suddenly pops up, i.e. Wraith in basically every sense. The bad guys in this one aren't very good either, and though it reads quickly, I think that can be attributed more to me wanting more of Ross than liking the story...it was fairly slow throughout. All in all though, this series is definitely worth reading, especially the first two. It looses steam at the end, but Brooks still manages to haven enough cool stuff to keep his readers interested.