In the latest Shannara trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks revisits one of the most popular eras in the legendary epic fantasy series that has spellbound readers for more than three decades. A perfect jumping-off point for new readers that’s sure to delight dedicated fans, the entire Dark Legacy Shannara adventure is now available in one thrilling eBook bundle:
WARDS OF FAERIE BLOODFIRE QUEST WITCH WRAITH Also includes the Paladins of Shannara short stories: “Allanon’s Quest,” “The Weapons Master’s Choice,” and “The Black Irix”!
When the world was young, the power of magic ruled—and the Elfstones warded the race of Elves and their lands, keeping evil at bay. But when an Elven girl fell hopelessly in love with a Darkling boy of the Void, he carried away more than her heart.
Thousands of years later, tumultuous times are upon the world now known as the Four Lands. Users of magic are in conflict with proponents of science. Elves have distanced their society from the other races. The dwindling Druid order and its teachings are threatened with extinction. A sinister politician has used treachery and murder to rise as prime minister of the mighty Federation. Meanwhile, poring through a long-forgotten diary, the young Druid Aphenglow Elessedil has stumbled upon the secret account of an Elven girl’s heartbreak and the shocking truth about the vanished Elfstones. But never has a little knowledge been so very dangerous—as Aphenglow quickly learns when she’s set upon by assassins.
Yet there can be no turning back from the road to which fate has steered her. Whoever captures the Elfstones and their untold powers will surely hold the advantage in the devastating clash to come. But when the Druids mount an expedition to locate the missing stones, they quickly discover there may be even more at stake than they ever expected.
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.
It was an excellent trilogy in which it started out in search of some elve stones that were lost 1000 or so years earlier and ended up in multiple quests including the failing of the Forbidding once again and the loss of friends over the course of time. The storyline was great I just didn't care for the ending between the twins and thought it could have ended a little better.
Book 1 >>>> Book 2 > Book 3. The third book sucked (could have broken the book into two and paced it better). The second one was filler. The first one was nice.
Overall review: if you've been reading this series for years, carry on. If not, find something else to read.
Terry Brooks always writes enjoyable books and these 3 certainly were. Was worried that the story wasn't going to end properly as seemed to be running out of pages but need not have worried!
The trilogy so worth reading again love them I have read for the third time ! I do not want to spoil them for you but like all of Terry Brooks books 📚 I have them all!
I did enjoy it, but overall, The Dark Legacy of Shanarra is the series’ weakest entry thus far, even if Oriantha and Tesla Dart are my favorite characters in the whole mega-series so far.
I enjoyed listening to it, and Rosalyn Landor is a top-notch narrator. Like all of Brooks’ books that I have read, it moves swiftly and provides a good adventure; this accessibility and adventure is, in fact, the main reason I keep reading Terry Brooks. On the other hand, Dark Legacy is definitely the most mixed of the series I have read so far, with some really good bits, some downright dire moments, and a sense of opportunity wasted.
Just so you know: There are definite spoilers for the trilogy below.
Let’s face it: This is basically Elfstones of Shannara retold in three-book format, complete with dying Ellcrys, misused Elfstones that are changing the protagonist, an unidentified shape-shifting spy, a demonic invasion, and a quest for the Bloodfire. This is not, in and of itself, a bad thing: It offers Brooks the chance to complicate matters a bit and to point out that, perhaps, the original people of Faerie were a little too quick to banish entire nations and peoples to a wasteland without hope of return. To an extent, he does so, giving the love story between Aleia Omarosia and her “Darkling Boy” as one powerful argument that the peoples were not so different and the guide Tesla Dart for a more nuanced look at the group.
This premise is largely wasted, however, as aside from those two individuals, everything in the Forbidding is, in fact, trying to kill the heroes, usually very unpleasantly and apparently mindlessly. Mostly, everything there looks evil as well. Once the Forbidding opens, the result is an immediate invasion by Tael Riverine (not mindless) and his hoards, all of whom fling themselves at whomever they are fighting with the same careless regard for life and limb as their predecessors did in Elfstones and who bring the same waves of destruction. With no indication that some diplomatic alternative was possible or any other outcome likely, the moral ends up being “Yes. Lock them all away.” Granted, Brooks might follow this up in a future trilogy, but this was a giant, three-book chance that didn’t get taken.
The rest of the review can be found here, on FangirlNation. Stop by the site for additional reviews, entertainment news, and general geeky goodness.
The character development is superb. The plots run very smoothly. The writing it getting predictable and by a formula. The fantasy lasts only for so long. If strong female protagonists are your cup of tea you'll enjoy this book. Die hard Shannara fans will always enjoy this book. The land of Shannara is getting boring for me.
This is an engaging trilogy of books. It was enjoyable to read, not overly predictable, with well-developed characters. I found it more expertly written than the original trilogy in the series. Suitable for teenagers.
Now if you would only get a kindle omnibus version of the Word/Void together so I could read it on long car rides. Loved the extra short stories in here too.