With his groundbreaking New York Times bestseller The Sword of Shannara and its acclaimed sequels, Terry Brooks brought a new audience to epic fantasy. Then he gave the genre a darkly compelling contemporary twist in his trilogy of the Word and the Void. Last year, in Armageddon’s Children, Brooks undertook the stunning chronicle that united two unique worlds. Now that story of clashing forces of darkness and light, of Shannara’s beginnings and the human race’s possible end, marches forward into an unforgettable second volume full of mystery, magic, and momentous events.
Across the ruined landscape that is America–hopelessly poisoned, plague-ridden, burned, and besieged by demon armies bent on exterminating all mortal life–two pilgrims have been summoned to serve the embattled cause of good. Logan Tom has journeyed to desolate Seattle to protect a ragged band of street urchins and the being known as “the gypsy morph,” who is both mortal and magical, and destined to save mankind unless he is destroyed. Likewise, Angel Perez has her own quest, one that will take her from the wreckage of Los Angeles to a distant, secret place untouched by the horrors of the nationwide blight–a place where the race of Elves has dwelled since before man existed. But close behind these lone Knights of the Word swarm the ravening forces of the Void.
As the menacing thunder of war drums heralds the arrival of the demons and their brutal minions in Seattle, the young survivors who call themselves the Ghosts are forced to brave the dangerous world of gangs, mutants, and worse to escape the invasion. And Logan Tom must infiltrate a refugee compound to rescue Hawk, the leader of the street urchins, who has yet to learn the truth about who and what he is. Meanwhile, Angel Perez has joined an equally urgent mission: to find the Ellcrys, a fabled talisman crucial to protecting the Elven realm against an influx of unspeakable evil from the dread dimension known as the Forbidding. But Angel and her Elf allies must beware–for a demon spy, with a monstrous creature at its command, walks among them.
As the legions of darkness draw the noose tighter, and the time of confrontation draws near, those chosen to defend the soul of the world must draw their battle lines and prepare to fight with, and for, their lives. If they fail, humanity falls.
Going to keep this short and simple. Terry Brooks continues to be a master story-teller and the Shannara series is one of the best. Can't wait for book 3.
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Hawk is missing, having vanished into a blast of white light after being thrown from a wall in ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN. His family, the Ghosts, hunts for him in desolate Seattle. Invading demons and horrifying creatures beyond description are hot on their trail, looking to overrun all that once was about our world. In the meantime, Hawk learns of his past, of his magic and of his destiny to lead thousands to safety, though he refuses to believe his own worth.
Kirisin struggles to persuade the Elves of Cintra that they are needed for a great quest. They must seek out the Elfstones, which have long been lost to the world. Failing in this mission will result in nothing less than the extermination of Elven society. A human, Angel Perez, infiltrates their society and urges the Elves to listen to Kirisin. Ultimately, as the quest reaches its climax, disaster strikes and Angel and Kirisin are forced to flee. They have the Stones, but their use gives away their location to the demons that pursue them on their new-found and more important quest for a land of safety for the Elves.
In ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN, Terry Brooks began the process of blending his Shannara and Word & Void series. The first book in the Genesis of Shannara trilogy hinted at those links between the two interconnected worlds. Now, in THE ELVES OF CINTRA, he boldly makes those connections clearer, even going so far as to answer some of the questions that have stuck in readers' minds for years.
ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN was, perhaps, one of the strongest novels Brooks has ever produced. THE ELVES OF CINTRA surpasses its predecessor with ease, and it also does an excellent job of avoiding the pitfall of middle installments of a series. In general, second books are nothing more than great fillers that serve barely to go anywhere and leave little in the way of interesting developments. In addition to propelling the main story forward, THE ELVES OF CINTRA also contains its own major arc, one that is introduced and completed, giving a sense of closure while also leaving readers reaching for the next book to continue the main tale.
Characters carried over also grow and become more substantial. Hawk is a prime example and Logan Tom continues to be of great interest, but the female Knight of the Word, Angel Perez, impresses me the most. She is a young and tenacious woman with incredible skills that we finally get to see her make use of. In some ways she eclipses Hawk and Logan in this story, though there is no doubt that Hawk is the main driver of the series.
THE ELVES OF CINTRA remains a gloomy and gritty piece of a post-apocalyptic pie that is full of outstanding epic ingredients and characters. There are the most villainous of the vile and the most heroic, and there are those who are lost along the way. Brooks makes you care, makes you grieve and, most importantly, makes you hope --- emotions that could be lost in the hands of a lesser author.
--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard
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once again, Terry Brooks had me on the edge of my seat (I'm still there for another year, waiting for the conclusion). He's filling in a lot of background, so there are some slow spots, and I hope he's not going to keep hitting us over the head with current political allusions. As Laura Ingraham so eloquently stated to artists, "Shut Up and Sing." The same applies here; we can get our fill of political commentary from all sides in the blogs.
