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Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML:From bestselling author Terry Brooks comes the final thrilling novel in a brand-new trilogy�??The Dark Legacy of Shannara! NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For centuries the Four Lands enjoyed freedom from its demon-haunted past, protected by magic-enhanced borders from the dark dimension known as the Forbidding and the profound evil imprisoned there. But now the unthinkable is happening: The ancient wards securing the barrier between order and mayhem have begun to erode�??and generations of bloodthirsty, monstrous creatures, fueled by a rage thousands of years in the making, are poised to spill forth, seeking revenge for what was done to them. Young Elf Arling Elessedil possesses the enchanted means to close the breach and once more seal the denizens of the Forbidding in their prison. But when she falls into the hands of the powerful Federation�??s diabolical Prime Minister, her efforts may be doomed. Only her determined sister, Aphen, who bears the Elfstones and commands their magic, has any hope of saving Arling from the hideous fate her captor has in store. Meanwhile, Railing Ohmsford�??desperate to save his imprisoned brother�??seeks to discover if his famed but ill-fated ancestor Grianne is still alive and willing to help him save the world . . . no matter the odds or the consequences. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The High Druid's Blade. Praise for Witch Wraith �??Terry Brooks has written a slam-bang conclusion to his The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy with the stellar Witch Wraith. . . . He has a keen eye for great world-building as well as unforgettable characters. . . . The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy is arguably his best work to date.�?��??Associated Press �??The final chapter in Brooks�??s latest trilogy set in his beloved world of Shannara peaks in a bittersweet conclusion that seems to set the stage for future books. A must for the numerous die-hard Shannara fans.�?��??Library Journal Praise for Terry Brooks �??The Sword of Shannara is an unforgettable and wildly entertaining epic, animated by Terry Brooks�??s cosmically generative imagination and storytelling joy.�?��??Karen Russell, New York Times bestselling author of Swamplandia! �??If Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Terry Brooks is its favorite uncle.�?��??Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Desert Spear �??I can�??t even begin to count how many of Terry Brooks�??s books I�??ve read (and reread) over the years. From Shannara to Landover, his work was a huge part of my childhood.�?��??Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind �??Terry Brooks is a master of the craft and a trailblazer who established fantasy as a viable genre. He is required reading.�?��??Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Angel Trilogy �??The Shannara books were among the first to really capture my imagination. My daydreams and therefore my stories will always owe a debt to Terry Brooks.�?��??Brandon… (more)
User reviews
The trilogy focuses the most on twin brothers who become separated by the Forbidding and how the brother on the outside will stop at nothing to save his trapped brother.
Despite numerous ominous warnings about how the quest will lead to almost
So he brings back Grianne from the peaceful paradise she had found for herself...essentially digging up his ancestor...consigning her to "live" as the Isle Witch to fight the big bad.
Then there is lots more crying...because all of the male characters seem to like to tear up...
All of my favorite chracters, like Cymrian, get killed. The Druid Order is decimated. But the two teary twins survive and recover.
Not my favorite books of the Shannara Series to say the least.
Witch Wraith is the final installment of the trilogy that put a closure
The majority of the book is quite predictable at this point. Although I enjoyed The Bloodfire Quest, I found Witch Wraith goes out of the way of the original motivation of the series and then only later the plot converge before throwing the readers off the loop again. As much as I try to gain some optimism of the story, I do find Terry Brooks perfecting the art of creating another form of sexual frustration. It started when it began with a lengthy detail of Railing Ohmsford’s storyline and his journey to find Grianne Ohmsford so that she would help him to bargain for Redden’s life. He was then taunted with potential quest failure while having some problem with his love, Mirai. At this point, I was convinced that Terry Brooks was trying his hand on Young Adult drama. It took a long time before the narrating came back to Aphenglow Elessendil who had lost his sister Arling to the Federation and found herself and Cymrian toward Arishaig. Then the narrating changed to Arling who found herself face-to-face with Edinja Orle. And then the narrating change again to Oriantha who was still in the Forbidding and was trying to save Redden Ohmsford. And then it change to Redden, Seersha and then some guy named Keeton who had a role in Arishaig’s siege and the story goes from then.
But therein lies the problem of the story, the plot structure. There were multiple of short plots that are not connecting to one another and multiple characters that are so interchangeable that Brooks seems to recycle the exposition and the rising action without providing a climax to each of the plot until later end of the book. There were time when I wonder if the author is just playing with me so that he could write about airship and dragon battles.
I lost interest in Keeton when I realize that the author simply using him to write long meaningless siege scenes at Arishaig. Even Oriantha subplot are used so that one could read the same marching to war scenes or shapeshifting fighting scenes and Railing’s repetitive plot was completely used to add teenage angst into the story while diverting the reader from the main objective of the whole thing – saving Shannara and find the lost Elfstones. For those who had followed the whole series and are familiar with Isle Witch, the book provide some resolution to the Starken Lord plot.
There were a wealth of information that can be expanded but I think the book seem to milk out the Shannara series. Although there were a lot of things resolved in this book, there were a bunch of plot holes that the characters suddenly find themselves realizing its paradox or something. By the ending, I already anticipate another Terry Brook’s mini Shannara series that centered particularly on the surviving characters and to resolve the continuation problems that remained unresolved in this series.
Although the book itself is filled with multitude of action plots that made the book satisfying to average fantasy readers. For me, the problem was with the uneven plot structure itself that made the book a disappointing end to what would have been a grand series.
The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review to come from RB: