The Black Irix

Paladins of Shannara #3

by Terry Brooks

An old friend urges Shea Ohmsford to take a dangerous risk in the concluding story of this gripping Shannara eBook series by New York Times bestselling fantasy master Terry Brooks.

Shea Ohmsford has had quite enough of quests. A year after surviving a harrowing odyssey, he is still plagued by troubling memories and dreams. A mysterious trafficker in spells and potions provides a restorative nostrum for the stricken Shea . . . along with a warning: Shea will break his vow to never again leave Shady Vale. And then the potion-maker’s prophecy comes to pass.

A thief, adventurer, and notoriously charismatic rogue, Panamon Creel unexpectedly appears in the Vale with a request for his longtime friend, Shea—journey into the untamed northland, infiltrate the stronghold of a sinister dealer in stolen goods, and capture a precious artifact: the sacred Black Irix. Creel wishes to return this treasure to its rightful owners. Shea cannot refuse such a just cause. But what lies behind the black castle walls they must breach? And will this quest truly be their last?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, High Fantasy, Adventure

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 3, 2013

About the author

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.

Reviews

[Artemas]

I would only recommend this one for die hard Shannara fans. This latest short story REALLY felt forced compared to the other two volumes in this "series." It was nice to see some old characters again, but the entire plot was extremely transparent and some key areas were just skimmed over.

[Albert Riehle]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Brooks is much better in long fiction than in short--he admits as much freely and without reservation. These short stories are more marketing tools than anything else. And they work. This story is just okay for me. As a long-time fan, I like getting to go back and visit with "old friends" like Shea and Flick Ohmsford and Panamon Creel. But it also feels a bit off. In the short fiction format, a great deal of the color is missing from Brooks' writing and so that's the first complaint. The second is that with this particular story not much actually happens. There's a side plot about Shea being troubled and tormented after the quest for the Sword of Shannara that really serves no purpose to the story itself. And the story itself sees Shea and Flick being pawns in a Creel scheme. Shea goes along almost knowing as much and not caring.

I think I'd have rather seen this as a Shannara meets Ocean's 11 caper. I'd have rather Shea and Flick be involved instead of just along for the ride. I'd have liked to see some ingenuity in the caper. I'd have liked to see the whole Shea is sad element of the story cut out. My biggest complaint is that everything that happens in this story, happens without the reader--we only learn about it having happened later.

Still...it's hard to argue when you get to see old friends again and remember the times you've spent together over the years, reading and re-reading them. A little freshness is always appreciated. So, I'm giving this short story 2.5 stars (3 because Goodreads doesn't let us use half stars) and telling fans that for $0.99--why not? It's not going to blow you away but it beats not having anything at all between books.

[Candice Paulson]

It's very good to get me back into the Shannara world!!

[Scott]

Decent tale that tells of a quick adventure with Shea, Flick and Panamon Creel. Entertaining if you like the Shannara world...if not, you might find it lacking.
I found it to be a good way to spend a free hour but honestly I'm not 13 anymore and I've moved beyond Shannara and the limited skills of Terry Brooks.

[Msjodi777]

Another short story about Shannara. Follows The Sword of Shannara with some of the same characters from The Sword. Only available as a kindle book, well worth the half hour to 45 minutes it takes to read it. <><

[Remy G]

Great Short Story

This short story by Terry Brooks takes place one year after the events of The Sword of Shannara, following Shea Ohmsford as he teams with a thief to find the titular Black Irix, and begins and ends satisfactorily.

[Katy]

Short piece for the fan.

[Max]

Great quick read for fans. Always love to read about my favourites.

[M.A. Kropp]

This is the third in the Paladins of Shannara series and is set just after the events of Sword of Shannara. Shea and Flick Ohmsford are back in Shady Vale, but Shea is still weak and sickly from his battle with the Warlock Lord. He is not getting any better, and so, against his own convictions, Flick goes to see a witch/healer who gives him a potion to have Shea drink to make him better. She also tells Flick that Shea is going on another quest, and that Flick should let him go. Flick dismisses this last because Shea has been adamant that he will not do anything of the sort ever again. The potion works, Shea gets better, and life goes on. Until Panamon Creel, the thief and con man who was part of the Shannara quest, comes to ask Shea's help in retrieving the Black Irix, a medallion sacred to the Trolls that Keltset had with him when he died. The Irix has fallen into the hands of a collector of precious items and Creel wants to get it back and return it to the Trolls. He needs Shea to use the Blue Elfstones to locate the Irix. Shea agrees to help, and Flick eventually joins them. The Stones lead them to the fortress of Kestra Chule, who knows Creel. When they get there, the Ohmsford brothers discover that Creel has betrayed them. Or has he?

This is the one of the three Paladins stories that feels the most like a Brooks tale to me. Probably because it is the one that is set up like most of the novels- a fairly classic quest story. Like all of Brooks' tales, it's not so much the plot but the characters that bring you in and keep you reading. Here, we have Shea and Flick, arguing and stubborn as always, but also always there to support and help each other through anything. And Panamon Creel, the con man with a heart, who always has something up his sleeve. The strength here is the characters, not the action (there is very little) or the plot twists (it's pretty straightfoward). But it is good to revisit old friends and see them being themselves and still getting into a spot of trouble now and again. Worth the short time it takes to read it.

[Remy G]

In this short story, set a little over a year after the end of the events in Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara, a wayfarer named Audrana Coos gives Flick medicine to secretly give his brother, who consequentially feels better, although he’s reluctant to embark upon any more quests. Panamon Creel visits Shea and informs that a merchant named Kestra Chule has the eponymous Black Irix, supposedly lost when a mountain collapsed upon Creel’s Rock Troll friend Keltset, and sure enough, Shea is drawn into another adventure, even if briefer.

Flick joins his brother and Panamon on the new quest, which takes them to the lower Northland, finding that creatures known as Harrgs can’t stand pepper root. Shea finds the Irix through use of the Elfstones and find themselves at Kestra’s place, although getting the medallion certainly is not an easy task. All in all, this is a short but sweet tale that adds a little to the original Shannara trilogy, although those who haven’t read the greater novel it chronologically follows will certainly be lost, and only those with sufficient knowledge of Brooks’ fantasy franchise will enjoy it better.

[Tony]

A year after the events in The Sword of Shannara, Shea encounters an old friend who asks him to embark on another quest. Black Irix is wonderfully nostalgic for Shannara fans, as it takes place in the memorable settings of the original Shannara book, and it's fun to see old characters come back to life after so many years.

The story spans hundreds of miles but is hurriedly told. Oddly enough, there are a few plot elements inserted that don't lend well to the overall narrative.

Overall, if Brooks keeps writing them, I'll keep reading them.

[Joe Pranaitis]

Author Terry Brooks brings us the last in the paladins of Shannara trilogy with Shea Ohmsford coming back from the Sword of Shannara quest. After only being slightly healed his friend and the one master thief that went with them on that quest returns and asks him for a favor. This favor is another quest but a short one and one that will cost him the elfstones. This is a great short story and you get a real sense of the characters. If you enjoy the Shannara chronicles on tv I recommend picking up this trilogy you won't be disappointed. 

[Alessandro]

“Life’s a chance, isn’it?” This is one of the preferred phrases of Panamon Creel, one of the best detailed characters of the Sword of Shannara. A thief of some renown, and instrumental in helping Shea accomplishing the titanic feat of defeating the Warlock Lord, this tale is centered about him, the search for the Black Iris, the fabled talisman sacred to the trolls, the help he asks Shea (and Flick, of course) to do all that, and the game of chance that the three quasi-friends take to accomplish this new adventure in the Four Lands, now free of the danger represented by the Warlock Lord.

[Gilda Felt]

I found this story more fulfilling than Allanon’s Quest, probably because it was nice to find out more of what happened to Shea after Sword of Shannara. That book’s sequel picks up years later, during the time of his grandson. Also, there’s a bit more meat to this story. It’s a good story, but not a great one.

Not sure why this one is considered #3 in the Paladins sequence, since it takes place before The Weapon Master’s Choice.

[Laurel Jackson]

An assumed bridge between the the two books acting as its companions. I couldn’t finish the first one due to suffering a bout of Tolkein fatigue at the time so at the same time it a) tells me nothing and b) might help me understand character dynamics or actions better. The plan is to return to its previous book chronologically.

In short: does a shrug of the shoulders count as a review? I hope so because I don’t know. At least it was free.

[Kristen Nelson]

Panamon has another deal for Shea

Flick Ohmsford is watching his brother suffer, slowly dying from his encounter with the Warlock Lord. In desperation, he goes to a local seer to get help. She gives him a potion and a vision of a quest that Shea will take that he must not be stopped from.

[Rachel]

I was excited to see this Shannara short ("Kindle Singles Exclusive") as I thought I had read all of Terry Brooks' Shannara series. Ultimately, due to the length of the novella/short story, it really is one basic story with a pretty simple plot line. So, certainly not as engrossing as the traditional novels. Still, it's nice to see some familiar characters back in action.

[Marc Chénier]

Well... It's Shea and Flick. Right off the bat I had to like this short story.... Right? Well not quite. It feels so rushed that even with these "historical" characters I could only give it a passing rating. I think Terry Brooks should stick to epic adventures in which he excels.

Next Kindle book: Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1747). A "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" novel.

[James Norton]

Short shorts

The beauty of the short story is that it's not one of his full stories. The story is done much like a full novel except we don't have the four hundred page travel log of marching back and forth across the land through mud and snow and blood spray. Kind of a spoiler but near as I can figure all this takes place around the Idaho area.

[Mary Jane]

Fun, quick read. It helped that I had just re-read The Sword of Shannara so that I was very familiar with the characters and details of the character's previous exploits that led to this adventure. I also liked that this one added a bit more depth and "what happened after" information.

[Paul Hathcox]

This one is a quick read starring some old favorites, Shea and Flick.

It's good for those of us who need a Shannara fix between books but it didn't seem necessary in advancing the overall Shannara storyline.

Still....I did enjoy it.

[Ian McGaffey]

Another great short story. It was fun going back on another adventure with Shea Ohmsford. I would definitely like to see more of these short stories going forward as they are neat little looks into the lives of the characters outside their main novels.

[Wrecker]

I'm reading through the entire series in the story's chronological order. I love these short 20 page fill-in short stories. They had so much flavour and intrigue to the entire story. The specific story I read every single word. I loved it.

[Ben Rowe]

Fun story bringing back characters from the first book for one last adventure. For a series with books so long it was nice to see a shorter story work even if it all felt like something I might have seen before.

[William]

An excellent read
The Black Irix is an excellent read with interesting well developed characters. The story is fast moving with lots of twist and turns leading too an unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novella too anyone who is looking for a quick read. Enjoy reading 2016

[Khari]

Well, that was an easy read.

Better than Galaphile. I think that will become the yardstick by which I measure all Terry Brooks books from this point forward.

Ended on a patently obvious cliffhanger.

[Gef]

scoundrel makes good....

[Rose Boyer]

this short story was too short. :)

[Keith Akright]

Terry Brooks

Continues to write stories that draw the reader in and make it part of their world. Shannara is a land you always want to return to.

[Stan]

A decent entry into the Series .