SUMMARY:The High Druid of Shannara trilogy draws to a thrilling close as a young hero nears completion of his trial by fire, a banished ruler fights for her life in a wilderness of dread, and forces of darkness and light square off in a battle unto death for the right to absolute rule. Prepare to be spellbound by the masterly hand of bestselling legend weaver Terry Brooks, conjuring at the peak of his skills.For reasons known only to himself, the King of the Silver River has charged young Penderrin Ohmsford, barely more than a boy, with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt, Grianne, Ard Rhys of the Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of all things damned: the Forbidding. With the noble dwarf Tagwen and the prodigal elven princess Khyber Elessedil by his side–and with the outcome of the bloody war between the Federation and the Free-born at stake–Pen has accepted his mission without question. But not without risk . . . or sacrifice.Because Shadea a’Ru, the ruthless Druid responsible for imprisoning the true Ard Rhys and usurping leadership at Paranor, has sent her agents and assassins in relentless pursuit of Pen and his comrades. And in securing the talisman he needs to breach the Forbidding, Pen has paid a devastating price. Now if the Free-born forces–already decimated by the Federation’s death-dealing new weapon–should fall, Shadea’s domination of the Four Lands will be assured. Nothing short of Pen’s success can turn the tide. But Pen’s challenge grows greater when he learns that his parents, Bek Ohmsford and Rue Meridian, have fallen into Shadea’s hands. He must try to help them–but once within the walls of Druid’s Keep, where Shadea’s minions and dark magic lurk at every turn, Pen’s survival is far from assured. Yet it will all pale in comparison to the horrors that wait inside the Forbidding–horrors poised to break free upon the Four Lands when the time is right. . . .From the Hardcover edition.
A great end to the trilogy. Pen has sacrified a lot to get the Darkwand, but now faces capture by the Druids he has managed to evade for so long. But being back at Paranor gives him the best chance to use the magic to return his Aunt from the Forbidding. He goes in search of her and finds out that his inate magic is linked to the wand and is a lot more powerful than he thinks.Grianne struggles to escape her prison and keep the darkness inside her at bay, while Bek and Rue find unexpected help in escaping the Keep. Meanwhile, the Moric continues it's plan to burn the Ellcrys and so set free the demons from the other side, with only a ragtag band of Elves to stop it. And they don't even know who he truly is.As usual, Brook's style is entertaining, engaging and keeps you reading to the very last page. I enjoyed this immensely, although felt a little sad at the end. Somehow I got the feeling that there was more summing up here than usual, as if the author was not planning to return to this time frame in the Shannara series, but we'll have to wait and see.
What do You think about Straken (2006)?
Ben scritto e scorrevole, come del resto c’era da aspettarsi da Terry Brooks. La conclusione di una trilogia e in teoria anche della saga...Ma ora comincia ad annoiare.Ormai ricicla le sue stesse idee, come molti hanno notato. Sempre la stessa storia. Dopo qualche centinaio d’anni di eredità Ohmsford, forse sarebbe il caso di piantarla con il canto magico e le pietre magiche degli Elessedil.Il libro è affrettato nella sua conclusione. E anche i due precedenti. L’idea era buona, caro Brooks, ma d
—Eleclyah
Lol, it's just that (view spoiler)[Grianne Ohmsford dissolves the entire Druid order and leaves everything behind to become a spirit of the air in the middle of nowhere.Probably not that big a deal. I was just so disappointed because she had become my favourite character by then, and I expected her to be reinstated as High Druid (and was already looking forward to reading about her in the next trilogy). Also, because the entire trilogy is about her trying to find acceptance and forgiveness for her past actions, but in the end failing. (hide spoiler)]
—Markus
So I am done listening to all of the Shannara audio books and while most of them were very enjoyable they started to get a bit predictable and repetitive. This final book included. It was a decent story and I do like how Brooks managed to continue to include elements from previous books in a mostly believable way. But this last story just wasn't all that gripping even though it was better than a couple of the others. I know the pattern by know and could almost predict exactly how this was going to end. I wouldn't have been too far off. This was a good read for fans of the series but other than continuing the story there is not much reason to recommend it. Good book but somewhat unnecessary.
—Kevin
