Customer Reviews

The Talismans of Shannara (Heritage of Shannara)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me start off by saying I LOVE Terry Brooks' books. I have been a fan since '77 when 'The Sword of Shannara' came out. With that said, I absolutely loved 'Scions', was a bit disappointed with 'Druid', and thought that 'The Elf Queen' was THE best of the series (bar none). In the opening chapters when Walker is plagued with the problem of being a captive INSIDE Paranor because the Shadowen have brought forth the Four Horsemen to sorta keep an eye on him and make sure he stays there...I felt that Brooks had a PERFECT beginning to a really great series. The way Walker went about defeating them was truly a work of creative art in my opinion. I was really thinking that 'Talismans' was going to out-perform 'Elf Queen' but it seemed as though the ending wrapped up a little too neatly a little too quickly. My reasoning was this: when you have a series of connected novels that span 4 complete books, and they aren't even close to wrapping up the war with the Shadowen with just a hundred pages left in the book...it seemed as though there was too much to finish in such a short amount of time. It just seemed as though Brooks' was writing against a deadline and tied up the loose ends much sooner than it seemed it should have. That isn't to say this book isn't great, but I have to say it ended almost too abruptly for me. Now with that said, read this book no matter what. If you enjoy Fantasy, and a fantasy series in general, do NOT miss out on the 'Heritage of Shannara' it ranks as one of the best in print (flaws notwithstanding). I still think 'Scions' and 'Elf Queen' are the best in the series, but all in all, Terry Brooks has done a great job of giving us all what we want most: a few hours of distraction with a little adventure, magic and intrigue thrown in.

I loved this book. The whole story comes to one final end, after 3 books full of running, screaming, and fighting. To date, I haven't had the chance to read The Sword of Shannara or it's sequels; I started with the scions of Shannara, Book 1 of the Heritage of Shannara. The story of the Ohmsfords and Leahs is like a history class to me. But that makes it more exciting, because it puts you more in the place of Par, Coll, and Morgan. All three have magic, created several hundred years ago, and eventually given to them, which they use to defeat the Shadowen. I love that. The whole book is almost like an AD&D adventure; some have magic, some have brute strength, and some have nothing but their wits and a dagger. It makes it really exciting, because the battles and the characters are described excellently. It's so possible to imagine Walker facing off against the four Horsemen, or Coll chasing Par through the wilderness. I love this book, and it's predecessors! I can't wait to get my hands on Sword of Shannara!

Teery brooks is a genius, this book that end the heritage series is an explendid book, it conlcudes everything that happened in the first 3 books of the heritage series and it leaves you with your mouth open wishing for more.

This book is so amazing it's crazy. It ends the Heritage of Shannara series and Brooks gets better with every book he writes. The characters, are still phenomenal! (And that's putting it lightly!) Seriously, though the characters are a total success. The battle scenes are cool as is everything else about The Talisamans of Shannara. Awesome book!

When I read the previous three books from "The Heritage of Shannara" I simply couldn't wait for this sequel to appear. I read it in about two days and when I finished i was a bit disappointed. Everything was great except the end. Pages and pages of fantastic adventures only to come to an end that deffinitively doesn't suit the rest of the book. After such exciting events the end should have been a bit more dynamic and exciting in order to mmatch the rest of the story. The explanation was simply a bit lame. Still, I would recommend this book to everyone because it is really worth reading and if you don't like the end just make one up.

Terry Brooks is my favorite author because, of the authors that I've read, he seems to have the most evil-seeming antagonists. The shadowen in the Hertige of shannara series just reek of evil. A swarming pestilence that surrounds and destroyes all that is virtuous.

The Talismans of Shannara is my favorite book period. It is a book of characters getting out of apparently impossible situations and accomplishing their goals. It gives all the other books in the series, (which are admittedly a little disappointing because they don't seem to go anywhere), an endpoint, making the whole adventure complete. Talismans of Shannara is basically a great ending to a great series. It is comparable to the ending in Independance Day or Return of the Jedi. Evil is thwarted, but it WASN't easy. In order to know what's going on I suppose you ought to at least read the other Heritage of Shannara books, but in my opinion, Talismans of Shannara is crowning jewel of the works of Terry Brooks. I'd give it six stars if I could. W.B.R.

I have been quite satisfied by The Heritage of Shannara.It has turned out to be just as good as the first series,but in some different ways.Finally,everything comes out suspensfully satisfying in the end.
Par is definately one of the best characters ever.He has so much conflict within him ,and his love with Damson is so vivid.He developes tons through the series ,as do Walker,Morgan,and Wren.
Even though I'm not the greatest fan of fight scenes,I have to say,Walker's struggle with the Four Horsemen is one of the greatest fight scene's in all literature.It's up there with the Fellowship of the Ring's struggle in Moria,with Risca's battle with the Northland Army,with the spectacular Dave Duncan scenes,with all those scenes in Dragonlance.It's truly the most exciting part in the book.
I was glad to see that Morgan finally got his girl.After his devastating experience with Quickening,it was nice to see him happy.
The Sword of Shannara has been found,the Elves have returned,Walker has become a Druid,all the tasks which Allanon commanded to the Scions of Shannara have been completed.Now Rimmer Dall,leader of the Shadowen plans a fate for each of them.He sets his army against Wren,he sends the Four Horsemen against Walker,and to Par,to Par he sends a fate of terror beyond imagining......................

This book besides what many critics may say is an excellent book. I must admit that it wasn't no Sword of Shannara- for I believe that was Terry Brook's greatest book. This book is not for everyone, people with toddler's attention spans for instance will die in some places of the book.

But here also lies a mix of battle, magic, and fast action that mkaes up for that. The one thing that some people just don't understand about the Shannara books is that it's lessons and themes also run within the characters as well as the plot. Which is why this book has a tad more dialogue then more books but not that much. But it really is not all that much more.

I believe if it was not part of a series, it wouldn't of gotten some of the bad reviews it got [which were not many to begin with]. For the sole reason that people were anxious and waited & waited for the conclusing series that they expected it to be the most magnificient written, flawless, and extraidionary book ever wrote in history.

This is human to do it, just like when you wait forever to get your birthday presents- constantly thinking & hoping about it you envision it to be greater & greater all the time. Until you reach a point of too high standards for it in the first place. And people were impatient to find out the conclusion. So if you extremely impatient with things this book may irritate you. But if you have a normal patience level it should not even hint to be a problem.

This is a book well thought out, strong in emotions, and well written. And seriously won't be the publisher's lost if you don't buy it but your own lost.

The conclusion to the four-book series wraps up the quests of all three main characters and their quests. Par has the Sword of Shannara...only he can't use it. Wren, now Queen of the Elves, has returned the Elves to Westland...only Arborlon is about to be attacked by a Federation and Seeker army ten times its size. And Walker Boh has transformed into a Druid and restored Paranor. The quests Allanon set for them have been fulfilled. Only problem? The Federation is still in power, the Shadowen are still killing people and the land is still dying. The charges have been met, but none of the characters actually know what fulfilling them was supposed to do to help. And now they have new sets of problems to deal with. Rimmer Dall, nonplussed about the fact that the trio completed their charges, has decided to send all three a special gift. For Walker, he releases the Four Horsemen (War, Pestilence, Famine and Death--VERY cool monsters!) who trap him in his castle at Paranor. For Wren, who lost her best friend Garth, he sends a Shadowen guised as a new "friend." And for Par he sends, let's just say, a sort of mental manipulation basically intended to drive the poor boy nuts. So all three not only have to overcome these obstacles, but at the same time also figure out what, exactly, their talismans are supposed to do to stop the Shadowen. And even worse, none of the three knows if the other has even completed their quest, as they've been separated this entire time.
As the final book in the series, this is definitely a good one. Now that we're back to covering all the different characters again, the pace is generally fast. Characters are captured and recaptured within pages of each other. Battles are fought, lost, refought and won in relatively short span. It gives less time for characters to brood and whine and overthink and spends a lot more time with the action.
All in all, I have to say, I do like Brooks work. He's definitely not my favorite fantasy writer, and I do need a break now after reading seven in a row, but I'm very excited to get started on his "modern" books and see how those are. I think any lover of fantasy should give Brooks a try if you haven't already, and I don't think you could be disappointed. I'd be curious as to why he'd be anyone's favorite, but certainly not why he'd be amongst the collection of authors you'd, at the very least, read and recommend.

In by opinion, though completely different to most other peoples it seems, is that this book is the best in the Shannara series. Why? Because instead of focusing on just one person or a specific group (par and coll, or wren) it gives you the very different stories of Par & Coll, Wren and Walker Boh in one book. I liked the way it was incorporated, it really grabs your attention. The ending was different, but I liked it:)