Customer Reviews

The Druid of Shannara

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Written as the second part of a four part series, Terry Brooks' The Druid of Shannara continues a larger series begun by the author in 1977 with the publishing of The Sword of Shannara. In its second incarnation, the world of Shannara is thrown into chaos, not by evil magic seeking to dominate, but rather by evil magic that wishes to leech the life force from the Four Lands. This departure is the first of many characteristics that ensures the longevity of Mr. Brooks' career; a career that is still growing.

The first of these features is adaptation. Brooks is able to use the same setting for all of his stories. He spaces the events of the first and second series four hundred years apart so that he can continue to use pre-existing themes in new situations. He retains the Leah and Ohmsford families as the protectors of the Four Lands, but the evil they fight is not the evil of the Warlock Lord. In addition, new players are introduced to the story. These include the Federation and the Freeborn Liberation Movement, both of whom will have lasting effects of the Four Lands for centuries to come.

Mr. Brooks' ability to expand and revise his own creation ensures that the plot of his works are never boring. It the constant change also means that readers are always in the same place. What I mean is that someone who did not read the first series could easily begin the second series and not be completely lost (I should know because I started with the third series). The evolution of the world and the characters in the world leads to increased sophistication and development as the novel progresses.

Characters in the novel also portray unique elements in Brooks' style. Readers can easily connect with the druid Walker, who studies the ways of Paranor against his own will. Quickening, the daughter of the King of the Silver River, has the gift of healing, usually expressed by her calm, soothing, words which warm and inspire the company into action. There is also the rash character of Par Ohmsford who makes decisions irrationally and then suffers the consequences of hasty plans. Then there is Par's alter-ego and brother, Coll, who supports his brother and yet adds a hint of rationalism to the story.

Readers connect to characters. Brooks understands this concept and creates for each character a soul that mirrors emotions. It is very easy to feel the grief when a character dies in and Terry Brooks novel, because the reader follows that character from the beginning of their journey, where he or she is usually young and irresponsible, to an emotional maturity that is gained only through experience, and too often, loss.

Brooks writes in a style that moves from one event to the other. He does not waste time exploring unimportant information, and if an event has not bearing on the plot, he does not include it. This quick moving adventure enthralls most readers, who want more that nothing else, to see the conclusion of the novel to learn the fates of the characters.

Finally, Brooks has created a world for modern adventurers. The possibilities of one's imagination are endless, it only needs a jump start every once and a while. Brooks' continuing evolution of the Shanarra series is proof of the power of imagination. He has created a world that the reader has no map to except in his own mind. Brooks presents characters to fill this world that readers can easily associate with either their own lives, or the lives of someone they know. A combination of all of these factors has ensured he survival of the Shanarra series, and provides the foundation for its future growth.

This book is absolutely beautiful.

The first book I ever read of Terry Brooks was The Elfstones of Shannara. i then hopped onto Wishsong of Shannara (Being, as I was, afraid to tackle Sword of Shannara because there were just so many pages!) and then I started the Heritage of Shannara. No other book has left such an impact on me as the Druid of Shannara and I have read hundreds of books since then. I have since graduated onto the new Master of the Genre (George R R Martin) but this novel will always occupy the number one spot in my heart. The character of Quickening has got to be one of the most astonishing, anywhere in any kind of novel, and her tragic romance with Morgan Leah will make even the strongest of hearts cry. Even now, at the age of 24 a full ten years since I first read the book, I always pray that Quickening and Morgan Leah somehow get together. I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody. Excellent.

The Druid of shannara is perhaps the finest of the heritage of shannara series. While the entire series is an interesting, well written adventure, the Druid showcases Mr. Brooks' finest talents. In many ways darker and meaner than the rest of the series, it is not overly so. Pe Ell, a master assassin working for the evil Shadowen, is quite possibly the most sinister character Brooks has ever created. despite the heroism of the protagonists and the 'righting the wrongs' theme, the assassin's shadow looms over the heroes through the whole book. The line drawn between the members of the little band of people is often toes, sometimes crossed and never certain. It creates an excellent air of tension and provides for excellent dialogue and conflict for the characters. This conflict, coupled with the continuing self doubt and inner struggle of the druid, Walker Boh, provide for some of the best parts of the story. The characters always seem as though they are on the edge of personal and world wide tragedy, and remain human through out. The characters react as human beings would in every situation. The feeling of reality prevails and engrosses the reader totally. I cannot recommend this book enough.

By far the best book in the Heritage Series, Brooks paints a completely new story with none of the recurring threads of his others (except perhaps the ending, *ahem*). Although this book is a part of a series, it is written in such a way that it is not really necessary to read the others to enjoy this one. They add little to its plot anyway.

(+) A great new adventure, the characters are all new and fully 3D. Brooks paints great images of his landscapes, which does loads to draw the reader into the story. Walker's stuggle to understand his destiny, and his futile efforts to change it are great.

=Spoilers=

(-) Somewhat lengthy dialogues and descriptions. Time in Eldwist drags on, but this kinda adds to the feel of the story anyhow, cause thats what the characters think too. Giant rats is a rather stupid idea, and the character of Carisman, though a novel touch, is rather pointless. (except to get rid of the stupid rats!)

(=) Brooks really outdid himself on this one, and the other Heritage books don't have the same flare that this did. That's what makes this the best.

Walker Boh was given an impossible quest. A quest he swore never to even attempt. But his curiousity got the better of him and an ancient trap has left him battered and broken. Now he has accepted the quest whole hearted, for the sake of revenge, if nothing else. His companions are Morgan Leah, whose magic sword is now usless, Quickening the elemental, whose power cannot help him, and Pe Ell, the assasin who is just waiting for an opportunity to strike.

I have been a fan of Terry Brooks since I was 15 and consider this to be his greatest book. It is the second part of an excellent series, but if you are not the sort who reads series you can easily catch on to what has happened in the first novel and skip the chapters that do not directly affect the main plot (there are only three or four of them if memory serves), I have read this book over many times in that fashion. If you are a fan of fantasy this book is not to be missed.

The second book in the four-part series "The Heritage of Shannara", focuses on Walker Boh, the most unique and intriguing character that Brooks has ever created. In an ongoing series that is filled with grim wizards, plucky farm-boys, feisty love-interests, and bland members of the Leah family thrown in for good measure, Walker Boh is a breath of fresh air and makes a compelling protagonist for the best installment of Brooks's best Shannara-based series.

In the previous novel "The Scions of Shannara", three members of the Ohmsford family were summoned by the shade Allanon to complete three specific tasks in order to combat the rising threat of the mysterious Shadowen: to find the lost Sword of Shannara (Par), discover the hiding place of the lost elves (Wren) and restore the Druid Keep of Paranor - the mission appointed to Walker. But unlike his nephew and niece who accept the tasks, Walker has no interest whatsoever in doing what Allanon requires. Suspicious of manipulation and secrecy, he furthermore has no desire to help a world who treated him like an outcast.

But unforeseen circumstances are occurring at the edges of reality; the King of the Silver River as created a daughter out of his domain who is sent out into the world with a mysterious plan in play to assist the scions of Shannara. Her name is Quickening, and she gathers together a small band of followers to travel with her into the realm of Uhl Belk the Stone King, the King of the Silver River's brother, in order to retrieve the Black Elfstone that he so long ago stole from the Druids.

It is this Elfstone that is essential in Walker's task to restore Paranor to the physical realm, but it is also the talisman that has heightened the Stone King's power; the entire land of Eldwist has gradually succumbed to stone around him. But Quickening is resolute in her determination to gain possession of the Elfstone, and soon has recruited three men whom she says will be essential to the success of the quest: Walker himself, Morgan Leah (a friend of Par who was separated from him in the last book) and Pe Ell, a shady assassin who has been sent by the Federation to dispose of Quickening - but who has decided to halt this plan till he has ownership of the Elfstone. With each of these characters distrustful of each other, and yet inexorably bound to Quickening, they set off on their journey into dangerous territory.

"The Druid of Shannara" is a success because of its character motivations and interactions; in particular Pe Ell and Quickening, who have deeply laid secrets at work within the story. The uncovering of these secrets and the unravelling of the travellers' journey into the deadly Eldwist keep the reader sustained for the entire length of the book. There are a couple of side-issues that aren't really of much importance to the overall story arc (such as a character called Carisman who has been made king of a group of primitive gnomes; it doesn't really add much to the story) and a few silly bits (giant rats?!) but on the whole the threats are both credible and frightening. The city of Eldwist is haunted by the Stone King's monstrous child whose creeping influence changes everything around it to stone, as well as the formidable Rake, a creeper like the one seen in the previous book - only worse.

As well as this, a few chapters are devoted to what's going on with the other scions: Par is hiding out with the lovely Damson in the sewers of Tyrsis, convinced that he's responsible for the death of his brother Coll, whilst Wren and her companion Garth arrange a meeting with the mysterious Addershag who has information on the missing elves.

It is probably through Morgan's eyes that we witness most of the story, and though he isn't quite as interesting as Walker, he's a nice enough guy and has a crucially important part to play throughout the progression of the quartet (as opposed to other members of the Leah family that pop up in other books), and there is a bittersweet romance at work between Morgan and Quickening that is handled surprisingly well by Brooks (who tends to get corny when dealing with love-stories). Quickening herself is an enigma, childlike and yet devoted to her purpose, and her relationship with the members of the groups (not just Morgan, but Walker and Pe Ell as well) make for interesting character interactions.

Unfortunately, "Druid" suffers from a continual defect that appears throughout Brooks's work: a tendency to waffle on. If Brooks is going to remark on something within the text, he'll compose a lengthy paragraph that ends up repeating the same point several times. Take for example Walker's dialogue on the advantage they have over Uhl Belk: "It is true that we appear to be little more than beggars off some Southland city street, that we have nothing with which to threaten Uhl Belk, that we are as insignificant to him as the smallest insects that crawl upon the land. But that appearance may be an illusion we can use. It may give us the chance we need to defeat him. He sees us as nothing. He does not fear us. He distains to worry about us at all. It is possible that he has already forgotten us. He believes himself invulnerable. Perhaps we can use that against him."

This is but one example, but it is a trait that shows up in every single story that Brooks has written; a long-windedness that bloats the length of the books, repeats the obvious and almost makes it seem as though Brooks considers his readers idiots who have to have certain points hammered into their heads. It's intensely frustrating, especially when all Walker needs to say is this: "Uhl Belk considers himself so powerful that he'll underestimate our chances. We should use that to our advantage." There! I've probably saved at least seven trees!

But despite the fact that Brooks needs a more ruthless editor, "The Druid of Shannara" is good stuff, the best installment of the best quartet within the Shannara saga.

this book is one of the best shannara books. it is probably second only to talismans of shannara. Druid of Shannara is an excellent adventure/fantasy novel with plenty of suspense near the ending. The book is finished in a very unpredictable fashion and it adds to the excitement of reading the book. You don't expect the ending to be the way it is. If you skip reading this book, you are really missing out.

I finished reading Druid about 3 days ago, and it was just plain awesome. Scions, which I read probably a week ago, was far less engaging and uninteresting for much of the book. I liked Druid because it has much more action, drama, and is just overall more complete feeling. Walker Boh starts to finally be interesting, Morgan Leah matures, and Pe Ell and Quickening make excellent additional characters to the world of Shannara. Difficulties, conflicts, triumph, love, victory and loss, all of these can be found in Druid of Shannara and make for an excellent book. I had to give it a 4 out of 5 however because I found Elfstones to be far better, so to give Druid a 5 would be an injustice to Elfstones. So, though this book is awesome, you need to read Scions first for it to make much sense. If you didn't like Scions much, try Druid anyway, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

In this book Walker Boh goes out on his task given by the Druid Allanon. He has to regain the Black Elfstone and Recover Paranor. He goes out on his jornry with Pe Ell, and intriuging assasin, Morgan Leah, longtime family friend, and Quickening, the daugher of the King of the Silver River. This books starts out with Walker escpaing from the Tomb of Kings. He is really sick, but Quickening saves him. The group has to go into the North and get the Black Elfstone from the Stone KIng and they find out he is less human then anyone thought he'd be. They have to fight a bunch of things on thier way, like goofy troll-gnome hibrates and stone creatures. Pe Ell is the coolest guy in the book. He's got this cool weapon that kills basicly anything, and he seems to have some intersting thoughts about death which is good cuz he's and assasin. Quickening is the most mysterious character in this book because she seems to know everything. This book is great. Walker Boh is my favorite of the Scions because he seems to have the most magic in him and he has the coolest quest. He knows that he is special but he doesn't seem to like it. This book has some non-action parts but they lead to parts of great action. When you finish this book, you will want to read on to the next book because it leaves to many things to the imagination.

this book is great i couldn't put it down for minuteI likes this book better than The Scions of Shannara.