Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara is the best Shannara book. I like the descriptive power of Brooks in this novel. He creates a dark tapestry, where the fears and doubts that Shea and his brother Flick have of the evil Warlock Lord and magic are ones that we can identify with. Allanon steals the show, of course. Brooks probably didn't know that he was creating an enduring, powerful character to the extent that Allanon is known as. The development of this character is rock solid. Allanon is fearsome, secretive, and a man of unknown powers. I found myself cheering at the nuances of Allanon's nature...and smiling when I got to see his fighting spirit and prowess. Shea is a normal man that I could identify with, and thus, a good lead character. Brooks other characters are very well balanced...the Elves Durin and Dayel, and the Dwarf Hendel are all likeable, and Balinor was that knight-like staying force that is necessary in an epic story like this. Brooks shows his descriptive genius during the grand battle scenes which take place between the Warlock Lord's armies and the Border Legion. Pleasantly surprising to me was his ability to keep all the sub-plots interesting and draw them together so seamlessly.
The interaction and tension between the characters was masterfully written and even the shy love between Menion and Shirl was done with just the right touch. The way Brooks gets you to dwell on the power, and mystery of the magic that threatens the mind of his characters is incredible. The journey through the Tomb of the King's was one of the mental highlights of the book. All in all, Terry Brooks was able to make the grand scale of his story exciting and fresh throughout its entirety.
Normally, any sequel to a book that was written so well and with the impact of The Sword of Shannara is disappointing. Not so with The Elfstones of Shannara. The same, incredible descriptive power that Brooks has mastered comes alive in this book as well. The battle scenes between the Elven Army and the Demons is superb, and I had a picture in my mind's eye at every turn of the page. The pacing of a good story is an art that Brooks also seems to have perfected, as the scenes shift from the battles to the quest that Wil and Amberle are on.
The fear that Wil has of the Elfstones as well as the Reaper is tangible. The doubts and emotions that flow between Amberle and Wil are easy to read into, and the side characters keep my interest throughout. The most fun I had reading this story was the valor and charisma of Stee Jans, the Free Corps commander. Peripheral characters like him cease to be peripheral to me, and make me cheer on the forces of good all the more. While Brooks described the central part of the Four Lands well in Sword, he went a step farther in Elfstones
giving each area that Wil and Amberle traversed throughout the deep Westland a mysticism and life of its own. The climactic battle between Elves and Demons, Allanon and the Dagda Mor, and Wil and the Reaper, and the rebirth of the Ellcrys are a nice end to a descriptive and well told story.
Brooks proved himself capable of writing an original story with the first two books of the Shannara Trilogy, and he never falters here. While I didn't like this story as much as the other two novels, it was still well worth the read. The history of the Four Lands and the origins of the Druids unfold in good fashion; Brooks paces the unfolding of mysteries that become revealed to a great extent here. Brin seemed to me to be a little less developed than her brother and counterplot protagonist, Jair. While I appreciated the struggles that Brin, Allanon, and Rone went through, the staying power of this story was in Jair and the characters that surrounded him.
Brin didn't really go through enough struggles to grow as a character as much as Jair did.
Allanon has always been a stable character that continually pleases the reader with his knowledge and abilities to overcome his enemies and his charges. Rone seems to be a shadowy copy of Menion, though...same temper tantrums...same brashness.
As I said before, Jair was the lifesaver. He went through so much, and I could instantly empathize with his love and concern for his sister. His relationship with his kidnapper-turned-comrade Slanter is new and refreshing to the Shannara series, and the favorite of the book seems to be the Weapons Master, Garet Jax, who has been Brooks most "neat-o" butt-kicking good guy to at this point in the novels...with the exception of Allanon, of course.
The best part of Brin's journey was the meeting of Kimber and Cogline. Cogline was a humorous and fresh addition to Brooks line-up of original characters...and his importance to the Shannara children makes his appearance here classic. Jair's comrades such as Helt, Elb Foraker, and Edain are all well-developed characters that remind you of the comraderie of the first book, and the most descriptive scenes are those in which Jair and his protectors fight against Gnomes and Mord Wraiths. The change that comes over Allanon and the closing of the trilogy are skillfully done, and Brooks still left me wanting more.
½
I guess the five year break that Brooks took between the end of the Shannara Trilogy and the beginning of the Heritage of Shannara was a good one, with new ideas popping into his head.
Why? Because that's what we get here...another new and original plot that doesn't make you feel like you've read it before. Instead of Druids coming in and having the answers to defeating Evil to those that have the means, we are placed in a time during the Four Lands when everything that can go wrong has gone wrong! Evil magical creatures called Shadowen roam the lands..but no one knows their source. The are no more Druids, and the Federation controls most of the Human race and has enslaved the Dwarves. The dissappearing of the Elves disturbed me (as it should) and I found myself wanting something to be done about all this. Brooks doesn't disappoint. I found the characters that Brooks created to once again be original and entertaining. Though Par and Coll are faint reminders of Shea and Flick..they are different in many ways. Par is headstrong and naive in the ways that people and the magic can use him... and Coll is opinionated and must protect Par from himself many times. Though most of Scions centers on the adventures and misadventures of Par and Coll, the groundwork for the new series is begun. Brooks brings Wren Ohmsford and Walker Boh to the forefront for a while, and lets us wonder at what is in store for them in the future...small glimpses into their abilities and lives interested me. Rather than the descriptive battles of the first two books in the Trilogy or the mind-exploring and pitched battle scenes of Wishsong, Scions leads us into the mysteries of the Shadowen and the workings of the Rebellion who wishes to free the Southland from the Federation. Descendants of old friends like Padishar Creel are welcome changes to me in this book, and the exploration and description of Tyrsis and its catacombs are fascinating. The attention to detail in changes throughout the Four Lands is astonishing, and Brooks supports the main story with characters that become more fleshed out, like Morgan Leah and Cogline. From the Southland to the Eastland and the once beautiful city called Culhaven of the Dwarves, from the underground Dwarf movement and the cliffs of the Rebellion's hideaway, Brooks held my attention with the new mysteries of the magic and the history of the Four Lands. The only thing lacking in this book was a sense of a major turning point...either for the enemies or for the good guys. But plenty of surprises and twists happen from cover to cover.
This book is not as long as Scions but that didn't disappoint me after reading the first chapter. I consider this the best book in the entire Heritage series. Always, Brooks has excited us with magic duels and wonderful characters that are full of life, but in this book he turns up the intensity a notch. For the first time since first getting to know Allanon, I sensed a feeling of something exhilirating in the daughter of the King of the Silver River, Quickening. Her powers, her personality, and the way she talks are all alluring. I liked the way Brooks hammered out the different relationships she had with the different characters; They all made sense. Seeing a Leah finally grow by leaps and bounds was a treat, as Morgan throws off the youth and brashness of Leah's past, and takes on responsibility for friends and those in need.
The connection he has with his sword is palpable, as are his feelings for Quickening. Walker Boh is a character that is ever as much mysterious and enigmatic as Allanon, without even being a spin-off of the favorite Druid. Seeing him unveil his powers and abilities gives you hope for the future of the Four Lands and the quest he has undertaken. And finally there is an evil character that is fully human, tainted by the magical Stiehl. We can see the dementia of the mind
and the nature of evil in one of Brooks characters for the first time. The feeling of ancient magic and power was easy to grasp in the character of the Stone King, Uhl Belk, and even the grubby Horner Dee's was a fun character to read about. Brooks allows us a glimpse of the inner workings of Rimmer Dall and the Shadowen. The descriptive power and timing that is so prevalent in Brooks writing made me feel the toil and weariness of being in the domain of the Stone King, and the hope when Quickening brought her power to bear in the Gardens at Culhaven. The characters are to be cheered for, the plot was exciting and kept you waiting to see how it would all work out. Definitely the best book in the Heritage series.
The best parts about The Elf Queen of Shannara are the first half of it, and the parts in which Walker Boh gets closer to fulfilling his charge to bring back the Druids and their stronghold, Paranor. Very little of Wren was revealed in the first two books of the Heritage series, but this entire book, with the exceptions of chapters about Walker Boh and Par and Coll, is about Wren and her quest to find the Elves and restore them to the world of Men.
Her companion, Garth, was a fun and different character. Big, strong, but smart and able to live and survive in the open. The first part of the book is wonderful; we get to enter that dark setting that Brooks works with so well, as Wren goes deep onto the island of Morrowindl.
The revelation of her heritage is a nice surprise, and seeing her finally go into action with the Elfstones is rewarding as well. But for some reason, Brooks allows some of his most promising characters to fade away or die out just as they seem to become one's favorite of the side characters. The Owl would have been a welcome addition to the ongoing story, and characters that give you that mundane discomfort were not left to linger, as in Gavin, who was a disconcertingly dangerous friend to trust. Brooks still has the magic, though, as he creates a dangerous world on the island that Wren must go into and come out of without losing the trust placed on her by other interesting characters. Seeing the Ellesedils were still around was reassuring...as I like that particular lineage. The last half of the book has the sense of dragging on a bit longer that I was accustomed to; Many dangers were faced that were very similar...and you longed for there to be a change in pace of the morbidness that Brooks is good at fostering when appropriate. In the end, however, the manner in which Wren breaks out and returns to the Four Lands and her thrust to a place of decision and leadership over what is to happen to the Elves is a welcome edition to the story of the children of Shannara.
½
The task of taking the previous three books of the Heritage series and wrapping them into a good cohesive finale is a task well-suited to Brooks abilities. Before, in his long novels in the original Trilogy, he was able to take many plots and bring them together in a culmination that appeased me greatly. He masterfully does the same in Talismans. I enjoyed the continuing use of the odd characters such as the Mole in the catacombs of Tyrsis, the Splinterscat, and new friends with amazing abilities like Matty Roh. Brooks doesn't leave loose threads; he deals with the need of healing with Morgan in a satisfactory way... Wren shows herself to be a strong leader and capable of kicking a little enemy tail, and Walker Boh reveals a new vitality and prowess in the awesome legacy of the Druids. Once again, the description of great battles, and duels, and mysteries that laid dormant for a short time are created and revealed in this book. Brooks also continues to probe the depths of the characters souls...their fears, joys, hopes, needs, and the courage and strength that each possesses to do what they must do for themselves and their friends. New friendships are made as human Rebels and Trolls fight side by side to free the Four Lands...the unity made me cheer the forces of good for one more reason. The surprise that there are FOUR Scions of Shannara rather than three is an addition to revealed mysteries.
The one problem I have with this novel is that Brooks brings an end to the story rather abruptly for so large a tale. Four books worth of story are finally resolved within a few chapters, and you want more time to say goodbye to the characters. This book has all the magic, both inside the story and for the reader, that Brooks has provided for fans again and again.
The possibilities of what is to come next in the Shannara saga are joyfully anticipated.
The First King of Shannara fits in that category somewhere between "the best book of the series" and "really, really good!". Set 500 years BEFORE The Sword of Shannara, you knew it would have to have that same freshness of the first book to make it work...and it does. The feel of the Four Lands and the characters is closely associated with the mystery and dark terrain of Sword. What's more, despite the challenge of telling the particulars of fixed historic events we've already heard (in historic short-form from Allanon), Brooks demonstrates his talent for telling sub-plots and bringing them together well. Brooks revives our fear of the unknown and of the Warlock Lord's evil even though we know the outcome. Seeing Bremen and his allies at the height of their powers and getting to see the magic at work is exhilirating, and getting to know the character of the Races in this time and setting is rewarding. Never does this book seem to slow down or break away from the history we know; everything we know that must come to pass is revealed in surprising and pleasing ways. Besides the wonderful story of how the Sword of Shannara come to be and the failure of Jerle Shannara, the search for the Black Elfstone by Tay is urgent and we get to see even more of the ancient lore of Elven magic. Risca gathers his Dwarven brethren and we get a glimpse of the unchanging valor of the Dwarves and the power of the last Warrior Druid. We come to know Jerle Shannara and how he struggled to save the Elves from the Warlock Lord, and last but not least, how Allanon came to be a Druid! The struggles of these characters are the beginnings of a legend...and their struggles are their own...not anyone elses. The vivid detail of the different places each of the heroes must go to and the believable turmoil they go through in their relationships and the challenge of their quests leaves me with a feeling that I know these characters the best out of any other character in the series. The scale of the book is grand, and the expectations of Shannara fans was even more so. But when it comes down to the bottom line...Terry Brooks has done what he always does well; told a really good story.
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