A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in Terry Brooks' Word and Void urban fantasy series. These books most definitely need to be read in order to make sense. (I actually picked this one up first and read the first couple chapters before realizing it was the second book, and I was completely lost until I backtracked and read the first one.)

Once again, Brooks' world building is phenomenal. The tatterdemalion creature he creates, as well as the forest creatures he introduced in the first book are unique and believable. He also does a wonderful job with the demon in this story, although I didn't find it nearly as compelling as the demon in book 1.

The two main characters from the first book, John Ross and Nest Freemark, return as POV characters in book two. They are joined by several other familiar faces and a good many new ones. Nest Freemark is a strong, independent young woman who, while often conflicted, always does what she believes is right. I really like Nest and I feel like she was the true protagonist of this book.

John Ross is a Knight of the Word, though the premise of this book is that he no longer sees himself as such. He basically goes through the entire novel with his head in the sand, willfully delusional to his own reality. Now, I've met plenty of real life people like this, so it is believable, but the thing is, I don't like people like that and I generally avoid them when I can. As such, I didn't particularly connect with Ross. He's inept and steeped in self pity, more a plot device that an actual character in this book. Part of that may have been due to the demon's influence, but whatever the reason, I didn't find him compelling and had trouble rooting for him.

The plot was centered around John Ross running away from his responsibilities as a Knight and, as stated above, sticking his head in the sand. Therefore, while the individual scenes were fun, I didn't find myself caring too much about the outcome. I enjoyed Nest's chapters. I liked the way she kept the story moving forward by actually doing things, even when her choices were bad. She made a much better Knight than Ross.

All in all, I wasn't riveted but did enjoy the book, and I will be continuing with book 3.

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