Customer Reviews

The Elves of Cintra (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 2)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So many middle books lag -- just look at A FEAST FOR CROWS by George RR Martin -- but this one doesn't! It goes somewhere with likable characters that develop with each page turned.

The Elves of Cintra takes the characters from Armageddon's Children -- characters who are wholly unique -- and pushes them along toward the inevitable conclusion to come in the third and final book of the series. But unlike some author's middle books, this book has a climax all its own for most of its characters. No cliffhangers here, folks! I was satisfied with how the story unfolded and finished up.

The characters are fantastic and despite what one of the other reviewers said are new and invigorating. There has been no character like Angel Perez in Terry Brooks's other stories -- a hispanic woman who speaks in her native tongue sometimes and has been given great power. Angel must overcome her own doubts, doubts that have plagued her since the beginning in this deteriorated world, and she grows over this middle volume to a great final confrontation with evil.

Logan Tom is another example of a new character for Terry Brooks. He is no John Ross, no Allanon, no Balinor. He is a man destroyed from losing his family and conflicted with the new family he has been given despite not being able to follow the command of the Word. Revenge drives him. This is unlike anything Brooks has tackled before and allows him to talk about responsibility in dark times -- times much like we are living in now.

Then you have the street kids, the Ghosts. All of them are unique, all of them have never been in a Shannara book or Word/Void book. Terry spends time with each of them as they travel from ruined Seattle southward, and as this trilogy unfolds all of them will have their individual stories told.

The only drawback I could see in The Elves of Cintra is the absence of Hawk. Hawk is maybe only in the book for three chapters. He will undoubtedly be in the third book a great deal -- this middle book is the story of Angel Perez and the Elves for the most aprt -- but I felt his absence. Time will tell how his story unfolds and completes.

There were also real moments in this book when I had to reread the passage because I couldn't believe what Terry had done! No one is safe in Terry Brooks's work, and he really surprised me at times with the avenue he took the story. So be prepared for that!

Anyone who loves the Word/Void books should read this series. Anyone who loves the Shannara Elves should read this series. I look forward to reading the third book in this series!

I have been an avid fantasy reader since grade school, but have not touched a Terry Brooks book since Sword/Shannara 20 + years ago. Unlike many books in the fantasy genre, Cintra is an extremely well written book , with outstanding character development woven throughout. A must read, especially for those fantasy buffs looking for a little intellectual stimulation along with their fire, spells and brimstone. Definitely a must read. I can't wait to rediscover the other books in the Shannara series. Enjoy!

Following in the footsteps of Armageddon's Children, the first book in the Genesis of Shannara series, The Elves of Cintra (2007) seamlessly advances the major plotlines from before, and brings about new truths, excitement and character history to an already great story.

In the previous book, the reader is left with a literal cliff-hanger. Logan Tom has found Hawk, the leader of the Ghosts and also the powerful gypsy morph, only to realize that Hawk is to be executed by being tossed from a compound's high-level wall. Just as Logan gained entry to the complex, Hawk and Tessa were being tossed to their death from high above.

Logan Tom realizes this too late, but during a frenzy at the compound he learns that when Hawk and Tessa are thrown from the compound wall, a great burst of light emerged, whisking them away into nothingness. After learning of this, Logan Tom seeks to regroup with the Ghosts sans-Hawk, and protect them/travel with them towards a safer destination. While doing so, he looks upon the harbor and realizes that hundres, if not thousands of ships approach to take on the compound. He knows that the ships carry once-men and demons, and it's time to leave.

Meanwhile, Panther flees the compound without Logan Tom, seeking to reunite with the rest of the Ghosts. He meets up with Sparrow at Pioneer Square only to be swarmed by croaks, feeders, and all sorts of other madness. It appears that the oncoming attack at the compound has all in the area in complete chaos. They finally escape to meet up with Logan Tom and the rest of the Ghosts.

Later, the Ghosts and Logan Tom encounter incredible battles, death, freaks, a long lost Knight of the Word, and a group of mutant kids. Throughout these ordeals, the reader is privy to further life history from each one of the Ghosts. Where they are from, what brought them to the Ghosts, and a deeper understanding of their character.

As this is occuring, the other Knight of the Word, Angel Perez, is travelling with the tatterdemalion, Ailie, towards the elven domain. As they are traveling, however, they are aware that the demon Delloreen is steadfast in pursuit, and determined to kill them.

Once at the elven domain, Angel and Ailie meet up with Kirisin and his older sister, Simralin, who is an elven tracker. The group minus-Kirisin meet with the king and the High Council to find out that not only will the council not assist them in saving the Elcryss, but there is also trouble amiss at the High Council; there is an intruder of sorts.

Despite the king's wishes, the group alongside the king's daughter Erisha, decide to learn about the elfstones and the Loden through the elven histories, and travel to the elven cemetary, Ashenell, to uncover more facts about the powers with which they are dealing. While there, the group faces terrible tragedy, incredible discoveries, and an understanding about the next step in their quest.

Last but not least, the reader finally learns of Hawk's powers, responsibilities, and goals as the encounter with the King of the Silver River fills in the details of the past as well as Hawk's destiny.

The Elves of Cintra (2007) ends with Angel Perez and her group discovering the Loden and its powers while dealing with the demons; Logan Tom and the Ghosts searching for Hawk; and Hawk, Tessa, and Cheney, along with Helen Rice and the rescued compound children with whom Hawk was joined making their way towards the Ghosts.

It's a highly enjoyable read that easily ties the loose-ends together, providing new excitement and new character development, and leading easily to the finale of the series. Like Armaggedon's Children, I plan on reading The Elves of Cintra at least one more time before the third volume of this series is released. I highly recommend this book.

The world as we know it is coming to an end plagued by disease, once-men, and demons. As a Knight of The Word, Logan Tom has been charged with protecting the only one who can lead the innocent safely into the new world. In order to find him, Logan must lead a group of street kids on a dangerous journey that will challenge them at every turn.

Another Knight of The Word, Angel Perez, has been charged with helping the Elves to find an important talisman that will protect them in the face of imminent danger. Despite her doubts and fears concerning this mythical race, she allows honor and duty to guide her on a dangerous trek into the unknown.

Terry Brooks is one of the premiere storytellers of our time, and he has proven it once again in this gripping installment of the World of Shannara. In Armageddon's Children, Brooks began the challenging task of connecting his Word & Void Series with his epic Shannara Series. The Elves of Cintra takes us deeper into the world of the Elves and the plight they find themselves in as their very existence is threatened. Here Brooks gives us even more insight into the origins of the Ellcrys, the Elfstones, and Elven magic.

Connecting two series that were never meant to be connected is no doubt a daunting task, but Terry Brooks has seamlessly made the transition. As always we are treated to the core foundations of Brooks's superb writing: engaging dialogue, strong characters, commitment to story, and breathtaking action sequences. Surprises and twists lurk around every corner also adding to the richness of the story.

The Elves of Cintra marks 30 years as an author for Terry Brooks, and he has proven once again that he belongs on the throne of the fantasy genre. Just like every time I finish a Terry Brooks novel, I simply cannot wait for more.

As is the case with so many titles that are the middle stretch in a trilogy, this book suffers from being highly anticipated with a sense of trepidation at the fact that even before reading it you already have a good sense of the outcome, at least in broad general terms. An author who writes knowing, essentially in advance, that they are producing a trilogy must accept that certain plot points cannot be resolved by the end of book two though some others must be drawn further out.
With that said, I am not diminishing this book at all. Terry Brooks does a solid job in carrying the story that bridges the gap between his trilogy about the Word and the Void and the huge sweeping epic which is the Shannara realm. We get to see the story started with Armageddon's Children carried forward, with a great deal more involvement from the elves. As a reader of this entire mythology, the links start to take shape with this book--how we get from the world in which we human beings live in to the world that is the basis for the many Shannara stories that Brooks has told us over the past thirty years.
But alas, it is the middle book. Sometimes the middle story is the best but usually it just does not have the same magic as the beginning or the end.
I still hesitate in trying to imagine the breadth that the final book will have to have to really meld the two different universes together. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the questions that come to mind have to do with those creatures that have not shown their faces yet...in partcular dwarves, trolls, druids...etc. Now I am sure that it will all be sorted out (and perhaps Terry has in mind yet another trilogy that will slide in between the first Shannara books and this set to give us even further detail) but I hope that the last book is not crammed to the rafters with a lot of unsubtle "glue" to bind it all together. Another way of putting that would be this: he completes the story of Hawk, Kirisin, Angel, Logan, and all the others, and then spends thirty pages spilling out the next one hundred years...how the dwarves boil up from the earth, how new magic was formed, etc. in such a way that it is just crammed in there. I have faith that Terry Brooks will avoid something like that, but you never know.
The trilogy still has, in my mind, a lot of promise, but I also have high expectations for the third book and hope that it will do justice to the idea of bringing these two different worlds together as one. Until I have the chance to read that book in another year I honestly cannot judge this series effectively. As it stands, as a single novel, this book is solid. It moves the story along, keeps you interested in the characters, and you can start to see how everything is going to start coming together in the end.
I liked the book, despite the "middle" book issues that I already mentioned. It has certainly whetted my apetite for the final chapter in this trilogy.

In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, "The Elves of Cintra" continues the story of a world ravaged by nuclear war, plague, pestilence, famine, mindless zombie-like creatures, demons and terrifying creatures born out of devastating mutations. Deaths have numbered in the billions and humanity teeters on the very brink of extinction. Most of those few humans who have survived have reverted to a dark age in which they remain walled up in fortified compounds brutally scavenging from one another and scratching out a mean subsistence life in much the same fashion as tribes would have done during the earliest periods of mankind's existence.

Long, long ago, the Elves conquered the demon hordes wandering Earth and sealed them away in a bleak existence called "the Forbidding". But current events on the earth - the wars, the nuclear radiation, the burgeoning evil that mankind is both experiencing and causing - are weakening the walls between Earth and the Forbidding. As evil's grip on the earth tightens, its defence has been reduced to the last two remaining Knights of the Word - Angel Perez and Logan Tom - two warriors carefully chosen by the Word for their indomitable spirit who have been given a magical staff and special powers to be used in the fight against demons and "The Void".

In "The Elves of Cintra", Brooks has woven an impossibly compelling magical spell, tightly drawing together the widely disparate story threads begun in "Armageddon's Children".

Hawk, one of the Seattle street child gangs who call themselves "The Ghosts" magically re-appears at the side of the King of the Silver River after his near execution. He learns of his role as the Gypsy Morph whose destiny is to lead thousands of the remaining children of humankind to a nebulous and as yet undefined promised land. Knight of the Word Angel Perez teams up with the young elf Kirisin to help him, his warrior sister and their blue Elfstones in an all-important search for the Loden Elfstone. This stone is as critical to the survival of the Elven nation as the Gypsy Morph is to the humans. Although far from certain of their ultimate destination and fate, Logan Tom continues to lead the remainder of The Ghosts in their flight from a devastated Seattle. The blood-thirsty, driven demons and other minions of The Void remain pledged to the annihilation of every living thing on earth and plague the children, the Knights of the Word and the Elves with their foul attacks at every turn.

"Armageddon's Children" and "The Elves of Cintra" tell a powerful epic tale. Far more than a simple story of the unending and timeless conflict between good and evil, they spin a positively magnetic saga of love, commitment, honour, dedication, trust and so much more. For example, the tale of orphaned children attempting to raise themselves in a bleak, nuclear-blasted world without reference to parental guidance, while astonishingly reminiscent of Golding's "Lord of the Flies", is fresh, exciting, heart-wrenching and most definitely not derivative in any way. The excruciating cataloguing of our human weaknesses and failings - selfishness, greed, despair, racism, lust and covetousness, to name only a few - serve as a bleak reminder of the problems which might ultimately be the foundation for humanity's eventual demise. Brooks' descriptions of a troubled world are graphic and breathtaking. His character building is deep, complex and utterly convincing.

If I can find even a single criticism, it is that the story ends on an excruciating cliff-hanger. To be sure, it constitutes a natural end of the book and a sensible break point but I'm still going to be holding my breath until I can find a copy of "The Gypsy Morph". What a fabulous story, Mr Brooks. I continue to be one of your biggest fans!

Paul Weiss

Addictive. Not as as epic as some of his earlier work. But for long time fans it is both comfortable and novel.

Terry Brooks has done something extremely unusual in fantasy trilogies. He made a great middle book. Brooks picks up where he left off in "Armageddon's Children" and whisks the reader into the harrowing world of a future earth in the process of being overrun by demons, once-men, and monsters of ancient Faerie. Weaving four stories together so tightly that he doesn't skip a beat, Brooks continues the stories of the Ghosts, Angel Perez, the Cintra elves and the endangered Elcrys, Logan Tom, and Hawk, the boy/gypsy morph in their fight against the forces of the Void. There is barely time to breath and you won't be able to put this one down. In the midst of all of this the noble human element shines through in heroism, self-sacrifice, and the struggle to stand up for what is right even in the face of ridicule and danger to oneself. Bravo Mr. Brooks. I can't wait to read the next installment.

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

I've been a Terry Brooks fan since i read The Sword of Shannara when i was real young. So i've read just about all the fantasy he's written and i think the idea of tying the elves and the world we know in the Shannara books to a modern near future apocalypse world was a great idea. I for one had always felt like the Shannara books took place in the future and wondered about how it all went down. The book itself is pretty good kinda predictable in a way, i wish it was less about getting there and more about the journey....feels kinda rushed but all in all a good book, besides if your reading these reviews you'll read the book anyway lol.