"Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest" and "Imaginary Friends"

I keep forgetting to update this blog; about half a week ago I read two short stories by Terry Brooks on my Kindle.  The first one was "Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest;" the second was "Imaginary Friends."  I was flying home when I read the two, and even though I was in the middle of another book, I just really, really wanted to read something by Terry Brooks.  So I started with "Allanon's Quest" because I've never read it before.  I just looked online and it is apparently the first of several Shannara short stories Brooks is publishing, with the next one due out this January.

"Allanon's Quest" was a really quick read.  It's been years since I read The Sword of Shannara, but I always did like Allanon as a character.  So being able to read something new about him was exciting for me. 

"Allanon's Quest" is a sort of prequel to The Sword of Shannara.  Allanon is desperately trying to find one of the Shannara heirs to weild the Sword against the Witch King, who has arisen once again in the Four Lands.  But the Witch King will not be so easily defeated; he is hunting down those heirs faster than Allanon can; all Allanon has found is death.  Almost all hope is lost, but Allanon has heard a rumour of a possible lost heir, and so he is desperately trying to track that heir down before the Witch King can.

I enjoyed the story, but it seemed kind of unnecessary to me, having read Sword.  I knew Allanon would find someone because that's the whole point of Sword.  But despite that, like I said, I enjoyed reading it.  I've always been a fan of Brooks' writing style and this story did not fail to disappoint.

So once I finished "Allanon's Quest," I wanted more Terry Brooks.  I thought about starting The Tangle Box, which is still my favourite book of his to date (and the only one I have on Kindle).  But then I remembered that I also had "Imaginary Friends."  I read "Imaginary Friends" years ago, but bought it on my Kindle in support of Brooks' Web Druid/friend who was battling cancer; Brooks sold the short story, with all the proceeds going to the cancer battle.  I thought it was a worthy cause, so I purchased it about a year ago.  "Imaginary Friends" was the story that really started Brooks' Word and Void series (many of the themes and ideas are similar to Running with the Demon, which was published several years after "Imaginary Friends").  Having read it so long ago, I didn't really remember what happened (although it was very familiar all the way through).

"Imaginary Friends" is the story of Jack.  The boy is dying of cancer.  He lives next to Sinnissippi Park, a place of magic where he has befriended an elf named Pick.  I don't want to say much more than that to avoid spoilers, but even though I haven't read it or Running with the Demon in a long time, I could still see how the two books are related (mostly through the magic of the park). 

Both "Allanon's Quest" and "Imaginary Friends" were good reads.  So if you're in need of something quick, consider giving either of these a try, particularly if you are a fan of his two series.

The Measure of the Magic

Like most of Terry Brooks' new series, The Measure of the Magic takes place right after Bearers of the Black Staff. So of course I started reading Measure right after I finished reading Bearers two nights ago. And don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Bearers a lot. But after writing my post here, I found a post on another blog, A Dribble of Ink, which nicely summed up many of my problems with it. There are many tropes which have appeared in many of Terry's books, and they can get rather tiring.

But I felt like all my concerns melted away with the Ragpicker.

As I've already said, Measure picks up where Bearers left off (so sorry for any spoilers). Prue Liss has just gotten away from the Trolls, and is hiding out in Deladion Inch's fortress. Sider Ament is dead, and his staff has passed to Panterra Qu. Panterra needs to track the traitorous troll Arik Siq, both out of the need to stop him from revealing the valley's entrances to his father, as well as for revenge. And all the while, the Trolls sit camped outside of the valley, ready to attack.

The very first chapter of Measure opens with the Ragpicker. He did not appear in Bearers, so I really wasn't expecting him. I absolutely loved his character! He was well written and just so different. I really felt like Bearers needed him to be a much better book.

Measure also seemed to flow a lot better than Bearers. Bearers seemed chaotic, flipping from character to character rather rapidly. In Measure, the focus seemed to stay on one character (or at the very least one plot strand) for a couple of chapters, giving you a better idea of what was going on in each case; the whole narrative seemed to flow a lot better.

But I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with the ending of Measure. The main problem was that I felt Measure wrapped up too quickly. I had about thirty pages left to go, and I found myself wondering how Brooks was going to end the whole story here. He did it, but I felt kind of cheated, like the story shouldn't really have ended where it did, and the way it did. It didn't feel properly ended. Especially after the King of the Silver River tells us that Pan has a great destiny to fulfill. I kind of expected to see more of his destiny, but got cheated with that as well.

Plus I think I expected some more closure, a bit more to tie the Word and Void series into Shannara. Where do the druids come from? What happens to the last staff? Are there more demons? How do the druids find (and start using) the Hadeshorn? (At least, I thought Pan and Phryne found their way to what would become the Hadeshorn. So there's another question: was that even the Hadeshorn?) I've never really believed that the two series should lead into one another, but now that they have, I feel like a lot more could have been done to tie them together. Or maybe he'll need one more series to bridge the gap (like something showing what brought about the beginning and end of the first Druid council perhaps?)

I also ran into problems with the characters (I felt like my favourites kind of got the short end of the stick in a lot of cases), but I don't want to complain about that here. That was more of a matter of personal taste (liking some characters more than others) than anything else.

So to make a long story short, I did enjoy reading both volumes in the Legends of Shannara series. I liked Measure a bit better than Bearers, but Measure really faltered at the end. Don't get me wrong, these are enjoyable reads, so if you're looking for a really quick fantasy story, these are for you. But be warned: these are fast books that don't go into as much detail as some readers might like.

Bearers of the Black Staff

It's been three years since I last read a Terry Brooks book. So I'm not going to lie, I was extremely happy to finally be reading Bearers of the Black Staff.

Five hundred years after the events of The Gypsy Morph, the wall of mist that has encased the valley and its inhabitants is weakening. The last Knight of the Word, Sider Ament, is the first person to see the outside world. Unsurprisingly, what has survived is a rather brutal and savage land. And that land is intent on intruding on the world the valley inhabitants have created for themselves.

Two human trackers and their elf friends are the next people to make their way out of the valley. And unfortunately for them, they stumble right into the middle of the outside world's attempts to get inside. A massive army of Trolls (the people who were formerly known as Lizards) are on the lookout for a new home. And they've decided that the valley is perfect for them. So it falls to one of the trackers, Panterra Qu, to try to organize a meeting of the valley's leaders with the troll leader by the next full moon. Unfortunately, the valley's people are not as unified as Pan made them sound to the trolls.

I have to say, I really enjoyed reading Bearers of the Black Staff. Sure, there were some things that seemed rather predictable to me. But I thought it was a great extrapolation of what life would be like for the valley people when their protective mist barrier finally failed. And of course, there are some great characters, like Prue Liss (the second of the human trackers), the elven twin brothers (friends of the human trackers), and Deladion Inch, the mercenary from the outside world. Bearers of the Black Staff was a great story, and I can't wait to see how everything ends in The Measure of the Magic!

And yes, it feels great to be reading a Terry Brooks once again.

As a side note, I wandered onto terrybrooks.net today, and found, among other things, that he is offering his short story "Imaginary Friends" for sale on the Kindle and Nook for only $2.99 for the next month and a half. All of the proceeds will go to helping Shawn, his faithful Web Druid, pay off his medical bills after successfully battling cancer. You can read more info and find the links to download the story here. (As a side note to my side note, if you don't have either ereaders, you can still read the book on the free Kindle app).

Gypsy Morph pg 285

Alright, after asking around a little bit, it appears that all of the copies of The Gypsy Morph cut out randomly on page 285. Brooks' official website says that the chapter was planned that way - the character doesn't make it, and ends mid thought. I'm of the opinion that it should have ended with a dash then, to signify that the thought was cut off. But if that was the way it was planned, then so be it! (I just think the way it is it looks like the printers made a mistake or something!)

The Gypsy Morph

This one took me a little longer to read; I've been extremely busy all week, and wasn't able to read the way I did last weekend.

The Gypsy Morph picks up at the end of The Elves of Cintra. Angel Perez has helped the elves Kirisin and Simralin find the Loden Elfstone. Yet Angel was badly wounded, so in it up to Logan Tom to help the Elves save their city and the Ellcrys.

Meanwhile, the Gypsy Morph is getting as many people together as possible so that he can lead them to a place of safety against the coming destruction. He knows with certainty that everything that has happened to date will pale in comparison to the coming storm. He knows what he has to do, but he is operating almost solely on instinct, which is making people question him. But he is the world's only hope for a future.

The demons and their army of once-men lie in wait for the activation of the Loden, and also ready to chase Kirisin wherever he may go. Logan Tom has to help everyone, and hopes that the Word's promise of revenge will be fulfilled. And Angel Perez, now healed with the help of an elf, helps lead the children and protect the Gypsy Morph. The final book of Terry Brooks' Genesis of Shannara series brings everyone together, sometimes in very surprising ways! I enjoyed reading it, but overall I think my favourite of this series was The Elves of Cintra.

Oh, as an afterword, my copy of The Gypsy Morph has chapter 25 ending abruptly. The last sentence ends in the middle of a word! I'm not entirely sure if this was a printing error or what, but I have asked around on the internet for what page 285 is supposed to say. When I find out, I will let you know!

The Elves of Cintra

Yes, I know. I read this book in just over 24 hours. I started reading The Elves of Cintra almost right after I finished Armageddon's Children at just before midnight last night. And I finished it about two minutes ago.

The Elves of Cintra picks up right where Armageddon's Children left off. Logan Tom has found the Gypsy Morph, but almost immediately lost him. Yet there is no time to worry about it right now; an army of demons and once men have appeared and are attacking the city. Logan has to fight his way free and help the Morph's family get away as well.

But as the title of the book suggests, most of its story is more concerned with Angel Perez, charged with helping the Elves save the Ellcrys. She has joined forces with a couple of Elves while the rest of the Elven nation tries to thwart their efforts by order of their King. With no one to turn to for help, and hunted by demons, they set out on their own to find the mysterious talisman that will save the Elven nation from destruction by the demons.

The Elves of Cintra continues the masterfully told blending of two of Terry Brooks' epic series. I cannot wait to see how everything ends with The Gypsy Morph!

Armageddon's Children

After two years of waiting, I have finally read Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks. Armageddon's Children is the first book in Brooks' Genesis of Shannara series. As I said in my last post, I have owned the book for almost two years, and I refused to read it until the final book in the trilogy was out. Now that The Gypsy Morph is out, I can read the whole story uninterrupted.

The reason I hoarded both Armageddon's Children and The Elves of Cintra until The Gypsy Morph was released is that the last trilogy that I read of Brooks' was also released over a period of two years; when I opened Straken and started reading, I couldn't believe that I had no clue who the first character that I encountered was! Prior to that moment, I was certain that, even with the time in between reading Tanequil and Straken, I remembered the story well enough to proceed. After that moment, I vowed that I wouldn't let that happen again; I would wait until all the books of any new trilogies were released before reading them. (This is much like I said I would do for the Harry Potter series if and when I ever decide to read it).

Armageddon's Children is the first in a series of books in which Brooks bridges his Word and Void series with his Shannara series. Armageddon's Children opens in disaster: the world and future that Knight of the Word John Ross was trying to prevent in the Word and Void has happened. War has destroyed civilization as we know it. The land, water and air lie poisoned. Mutants have evolved out of people as a result of the poisons. Those people unaffected by the poisons, for the most part, live in walled complexes, trying desperately to cling to life as it once was. Demons, the Void's servants who have evolved out of humans, and their armies of once men ravage the countryside, attacking the complexes and killing most while enslaving others. Those enslaved are brought to slave camps to live out a horrible existence at the hands of the demons and once men.

It is here that we find Logan Tom, one of the last Knights of the Word. Logan is given the task of finding the Gypsy Morph, the one born to Nest Freemark nearly a century earlier. The Morph is said to be humanity's last chance at survival. There is a larger disaster coming, and the Morph is the only one able to lead a handful of survivors, not all of them human, to a place of safety where they can survive. Logan is tasked with protecting the Morph so that it may complete its task.

Half way across the country is Angel Perez, herself another Knight of the Word, given the task of finding and helping a people born of legend. For with them lies the Ellcrys, which must be protected at all costs.

Armageddon's Children offers a terrifyingly bleak view of what nuclear war would do to life as we know it. Yet it also offers a view of the hope and determination that is the foundation of the human spirit. Even at the verge of total annihilation there are those who refuse to give up hope, fighting for survival, fighting for the future, fighting for love.

The Gypsy Morph is Here!!!!

I wandered into one of my local bookstores yesterday and I couldn't believe it: the final book in Terry Brooks' Genesis of Shannara trilogy was there! It was out several days before it was due to be released according to Brooks' site (August 26/08). I'm just excited because now I can finally read Armageddon's Children, the first book in the Genesis trilogy. I've been hoarding it until book 3 was released.