I started reading this book immediately after Ilse Witch, and I’m glad to see that Terry Brooks is following his familiar pattern. In the first novel, he puts together a large group of people to go on an epic quest to find some powerful magic treasure and/or defeat a powerful foe (in this case there is both of these things). The group is now splintered into about five or six smaller groups. What I like about this trilogy is how Brooks has departed from the typical magical entity that has to be destroyed and is instead using an artificial intelligence system from the old world (our world) as the bad guy in this novel. It tests the characters in ways they haven’t been tested in the past, and forces them to dig deep to solve a problem that is far out of their comfort zone. It ties back into the start of Brooks’s Word and the Void series, and I enjoyed the symmetry.

I think I may have enjoyed this perhaps a bit more than the Ilse Witch. The story branched off in a lot of different areas. Out of all the different storylines, I think I like the one with Bek and his sister the most. I could see where the story is going to head. She is going to finally realize that Bek and Walker have been telling the truth and she truly is Bek’s sister. I also think that she will switch sides and help Bek and company against Morgwahr in the final installment of the trilogy. I like how in this trilogy, there isn’t one but three different powerful enemies for the good guys to combat, and all three are very different. Although, Brooks is following his typical formula, he’s also giving enough different wrinkles to keep it interesting.

Carl Alves – author of Two For Eternity ( )

old world tech vs new world magic ( )

The sequel to Ilse Witch. The rip-roaring adventure continues. The adventurers pit themselves against a malevolent AI that will do anything to stay alive and keep its secrets safe.

This is the best book in the trilogy and the concept works really well. ( )

transferring reading records from spreadsheet

Oh, how do you do this? The action never stops, and yet somehow fails to arouse. The one thing Brooks managed was to make me empathise with the characters, so that's kept me going. Easy to read, but ultimately uninspiring. And somehow, I am already plunging into the third part. ( )