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January 2, 2005
Brooks' Elfstones of Shannara
To my friend Joey. This entry is a book review, come back tomorrow.
To everyone else. I started on Elfstones of Shannara right after I finished Sword. The thing that struck me most about Sword was the question, “Why are there no women in this story!” Apparently Terry Brooks heard that question later on, and he mentioned that his first attempt at a sequel was sent back by his editor, with one of the concerns being, “Needs a strong, central, female character.”
Elfstones has a strong female character, and although Amberle Eledissil rarely enjoys the point of view in the book, she certainly is central to the story. Very central. The storyline is rather as enjoyable as Sword, and yet altogether different, bringing a radically different enemy to the land of Shannara: Demons who had been trapped beyond a "Forbidding" wall since long before the time of man, were starting to break through as a result of the dying of the magic that created the "Forbidding." Amberle must bring a seed of the magic to germination and is accompanied by Wil Ohlmsford, the grandson of our hero in Sword, Shea.
The writing has dramatically improved since Sword, although I was so intrigued by Brooks' imagination in Sword that I easily overlooked the book's deficiencies. Since I waited a couple of days before posting this, I'm already more than halfway through the third book, Wishsong of Shannara.
Brooks has me hooked.
To get the books:
Amazon links are here: The Elfstones of Shannara, and The Sword of Shannara Trilogy.
Posted by Bastique at January 2, 2005 11:18 PM