Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara, Book 2) [Hardcover]

Terry Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Series: High Druid of Shannara | Publication Date: August 31, 2004

Events that began in Jarka Ruus, Book One of High Druid of Shannara, come swiftly to a head in this second thrilling volume. Alliances are made, trusts are betrayed, and prices are paid. Through it all, Terry Brooks orchestrates the action with the flawless hand of a master mythmaker– fashioning another exquisite link in his chain of bestselling epics.

Loyal to none but herself and lethal even to those closest to her, Shadea a’Ru now holds sway as High Druid of Paranor–her ascension to power all but unchallenged in the wake of Grianne Ohmsford’s sudden, mysterious vanishing. Only Shadea and her catspaw–the treacherous Prime Minister Sen Dunsidan–know the secret fate of the true Ard Rhys . . . for it was they who engineered it, by means of dark magic. And now Grianne languishes in the fearsome and inescapable netherworld called the Forbidding.

Their bloodless coup a success, the corrupt pair, and their confederates within the Druid Council, seeks to make their dominion over the Four Lands absolute–with the aid of a devastating new weapon. But it could all be undone if Grianne’s young nephew, Penderrin, succeeds in his frantic quest to rescue her. Shadea’s airship-borne minions and the relentless assassin under her command continue their fierce pursuit of Pen and his comrades.

Eluding death is only half the battle for Pen. To breach the Forbidding and bring Grianne back to the natural world means finding the fabled Tanequil . . . and the talisman it alone can provide. That means journeying into the Inkrim–a dreaded region thick with shadows and haunted by harrowing legends. It also means striking a bargain more dire than Pen could ever imagine. But there can be no turning back. For in her unearthly prison, the Ard Rhys faces a demonic plight too hideous to countenance. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

War threatens the Four Lands, and Shannara's only hope lies in Penderrin Ohmsford, but it's a dreadfully slim hope. To save his world, Pen must restore his aunt, the former Ilse Witch, to her rightful position as High Druid of Shannara. But first Pen must free his aunt Grianne from the Forbidding: the world of the demons. To have the slightest chance of freeing her, he must find the mystical tree called the Tanequil, and somehow craft a talisman from its wood. But Shadea a'Ru, the treacherous usurper of his aunt's position, will do anything to stop Pen--and she has already captured Pen's parents and forced them to reveal their son's whereabouts. Sen Dunsidan, the monstrous Prime Minister of the Federation, has armed his greatest airship with a horrible new weapon. And Pen is just a boy, accompanied on his dangerous quest by only a Dwarf, a young Elf, and a blind Rover girl.

Filled with action, treachery, and sacrifice, Tanequil will enthrall Terry Brooks's millions of fans as it roars to a shocking conclusion. However, newcomers to the Shannara series should not begin with Tanequil. It's the middle book of the High Druid of Shannara trilogy, and the thirteenth novel of a complicated high-fantasy series with numerous characters and sentient races. Newcomers should start with Jarka Ruus, the first book of the High Druid trilogy--or, better yet, with The Sword of Shannara, the first book of the series. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

Make a wish on an Elfstone and anything can happen, including a fresh second installment (after 2003's Jarka Russ) in Brooks's bestselling High Druid fantasy trilogy, part of the long-running Shannara series whose magic has been showing signs of wear. As the Free-born Federation war continues in the Four Lands, life is packed with peril for the Ohmsford family. While High Druid Grianne Ohmsford languishes in the Forbidding, a demon tracks her gifted nephew, Pen, with orders to kill him from the Druid responsible for her banishment, the evil Shadea a'Ru. Young Pen and his followers—perky Elven Elfstone carrier Khyber, grumpy dwarf Tagwen, blind Rover girl Cinnaminson and helpful Rock Trolls—seek the tanequil, a mysterious tree from which a "darkwand" must be formed that will aid Pen in rescuing his aunt from the Forbidding. Pen's parents, Bek and Rue, are also ensnared by Shadea, an uneasy ally of Sen Dunsidan, the Federation's prime minister. New readers may feel a little disoriented by unfamiliar references, but Brooks's efficient pacing, skillful characterizations and suspenseful plotting all bode well for the trilogy's conclusion.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1ST edition (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345435745
• ISBN-13: 978-0345435743
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terry Brooks is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including the Genesis of Shannara novels Armageddon's Children and The Elves of Cintra; The Sword of Shannara; the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy: Ilse Witch, Antrax, and Morgawr; the High Druid of Shannara trilogy: Jarka Ruus, Tanequil, and Straken; the nonfiction book Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life; and the novel based upon the screenplay and story by George Lucas, Star Wars(R): Episode I The Phantom Menace.(tm) His novels Running with the Demon and A Knight of the Word were selected by the Rocky Mountain News as two of the best science fiction/fantasy novels of the twentieth century. The author was a practicing attorney for many years but now writes full-time. He lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A formual fanasty, September 25, 2004

By 

S. L Schmock - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara, Book 2) (Hardcover)

TANEQUIL is the second installment of the story of Penderrin Ohmsford and his quest to free his aunt. Mr. Brooks has supplied Penderrin with a host of characters that are either out to stop him or aide him.
Overall, the book was a typical second volume - the go between. It picks up where the first left off and then leaves the reader waiting for the conclusion. This book is not for the first time reader of Mr. Brooks. My suggestion would be to start with the Heritage of Shannara and continue on to Tanequil. His earlier books are his best offering.

Also it is a typical offering from Mr. Brooks of late. His recent plots and characters have become flat. Penderrin lacks the dimension of his earlier ancestors from the Heritage of Shannara. I found story to be told, not as involving as in the earlier books. Surprises are in the character development or plot are minimal and rarely interesting.

Tanequil and a hot cup of tea is ideal for a winter night.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and suspenseful, September 14, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara, Book 2) (Hardcover)

This is the second book in Terry Brooks' newest series, picking up immediately after Jarka Ruus. Penderrin Ohmsford and his friends are running for their lives from the Druids, now led by unscrupulous Shadea a'Ru. The only hope for them and Grianne Ohmsford (erstwhile Ard Rhys of the Druids) is to make it to the Tanequil and fashion a darkwand, which will enable Pen to retrieve Grianne from her exile in the Forbidding. But, can Penderrin keep himself alive long enough to complete his quest, and what will the cost be?

Even though this is the second book in a series, and as such has no true beginning and end, Terry Brooks succeeds in building a fascinating and suspenseful story. I have enjoyed this series so far, even more so than the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series. I found this to be a gripping and fascinating story, one that I highly recommend to all fans of fantasy literature. Buy this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good gets even better!, May 7, 2006

By 

Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara, Book 2) (Paperback)

In Jarka Ruus (Book 1), Grianne Ohmsford, struggled with the inner demons of her former evil life as the Ilse Witch and the politics of her new role as Ard Rhys, High Druid of Paranor. A faction of dissenting druids on the Council led by Shadea a'Rhu, succeeded in a Machiavellian plot to lock her behind impenetrable magic walls in the land of the Forbidding. Her trusted servant and aide, Tagwen, narrowly escaped Paranor, relentlessly pursued by Terek Molt, another rebellious Druid on the Council and Aphasia Wye, a deadly assassin. Tagwen sought help from the only people he could think of - Pen Ohmsford, Grianne's resourceful, young nephew and Ahren Ellesdil, a self-exiled elf Druid and master of no small amount of magic himself! The Trolls, led by Kermadec, a faithful long-time friend of Grianne's, have been blamed for her disappearance and have retreated for now to the safety of their fortified mountain homeland.

The story continues in Tanequil (Book 2), as the small company of stalwarts - Pen Ohmsford; his blind, young love, Cinnaminson; Ahren Ellesdil, druid-in-exile and his apprentice neice, Khyber Ellesdil; Tagwen; and Cinnaminson's father, the Rover Captain, Gar Hatch - follow the cryptic instructions of the King of the Silver River. With the assistance of the banished trolls, they seek the Tanequil, a magic darkwand made from the branches of an ancient sentient tree in Stridegate who must be persuaded to willingly part with a piece of itself. They also strive to avoid certain cruel death at the hands of Terek Molt and Aphasia Wye who relentlessly track them using the residual trail of magic they leave behind them. The Tanequil is the only magic that will somehow open the doors of the Forbidding and allow Pen to enter in an attempt to rescue Grianne from the clutches of the banished Warlock Lord. In the meantime, a rather slimy Sen Dunsidan, Prime Minister of the Federation, fully revealed as a conspirator in the Druid's plot to eliminate Grianne, wages open war against the Freeborn elves to control the four lands and struggles for his political life with Shadea a'Rhu, now sitting as Ard Rhys of the Druid Council.

If Jarka Ruus announced Terry Brooks' re-emergence as a master of the fantasy genre, then Tanequil pushes that envelope further and showcases his skills as a writer that can add realism, extended character development and thoughtful, probing philosophical discussion to an exciting, perfectly-paced action filled plot! For example - not being female myself, I couldn't swear that he got it right - but Brooks provided a thought-provoking discussion on a female's perception of violence and rape! His compelling portrayal of the sibling rivalry between Kermadec, the leader of the Trolls, and his younger brother, Atalan, added high drama and real life characterization to the Trolls' flight from their mountain hideout to Stridegate. When Shadea a'Rhu murders a co-conspirator, the evil that was psychopathic is made even more frightening by its presentation as stunningly banal. Grianne's imprisonment and torture is convincing, to say the least, and demonstrates the depths of despair to which someone in her position can plummet! The exciting climax to Cinnaminson's and Pen's search for the Tanequil in Stridegate provides an inspiring example of how love, of necessity, often means sacrifice. His physical descriptions of the ephemeral, fluid magical landscape of Stridegate are ... well, magical ... I don't think any other word does it justice! Sheer poetry.

This time, he also got the ending right! The second novel ends at a precise turning in the plot and provides a natural starting point to leap into the third installment Straken - which I will be eagerly looking for! He's set the bar mighty high this time but, if he can clear the standard he's set for himself with the final part of The High Druid of Shannara, this will be a trilogy for the ages!

Paul Weiss