I wasn't a big fan of this third and final book in the Shannara trilogy. While it isn't necessary to read the first two books before this one as it can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading them just for some background. Actually, I'd probably read the first two and skip this one as it is not nearly on level with them.Brin Ohmsford and her brother Jair are greatly surprised when the mysterious and well known druid Allanon comes to their home to seek them out. You see, the two are able to use the wishsong, elven magic that responds only to them, and in Jair's case, only as an illusion. A new evil is on the rise in the form of the Mord Wraiths who are controlled by a dark book far to the east. Allanon requests (and demands as is his nature) that Brin come with him to destroy this evil as only she has the power to. She is accompanied by her friend Rone Leah who is to be her protector and they set off with the druid to try to put an end to this evil. Meanwhile, Jair, who is left behind to warn their parents, is taken by a roaming pack of gnomes who were searching for Allanon and they discover he holds the magic. After a rescue and then strange meeting with the Guardian of the Silver River (which has been poisoned) he is set out on a quest to cure the river and also assist his sister. This can only be accomplished by reading his destination before she can reach hers and then help her with his magic before she can fail in her task. With five helpers, he has to journey as well through the treacherous eastlands, not knowing what he may encounter.The characters in this had the potential to be interesting but were never really given a chance. They are not fully developed and I didn't even really like the main characters, Brin and Jair which made it hard to care about what happened to them in this novel. Once again, major motivations were not explained satisfactorily either. Brooks even makes note of one of my biggest problems with the series (the fact that Allanon doesn't share information) yet doesn't produce a good answer to why he makes his character do that (he does provide an answer, just not a good one).The writing drags in this book due to overuse of description and scenes that could have just been cut out. I found myself putting the book down multiple times just to get away from it and take a break, and since I read for fun, this didn't sit well with me. It just gets plain boring through most of the book and tedious in other parts. There is a redeeming feature to this book, however. I loved the idea of the wishsong and devoured any parts of the book that mentioned it. It was a neat idea for magic and well thought out and saved this book from being too much of a mess.I'll probably avoid Brook's books for awhile. He just isn't consistent on how well done or original they are and I like to try to choose books to read that I'll enjoy. Great fans of Brooks or the fantasy genre might appreciate this book, but most others probably will not.The Wishsong of ShannaraCopyright 1985504 pagesReview by M. Reynard 2011
I'm using the Wishsong to represent all of Terry Brooks' work, as it remains my favorite of the lot. I used to be a huge fan until I discovered R.A. Salvatore's work, but that wasn't what caused Brooks to fall by the wayside.Terry Brooks' first offering, The Sword of Shannara, was a straightforward tale of sword & sorcery, and I was willing to forgive the storyline that followed Lord of the Rings almost step for step, from flying black riders to the battle with a major monster on a bridge above a fire pit, to the final confrontation with the Big Bad using a magic weapon. After all, Lord of the Rings is great stuff, and I would be a literary snob to pretend that another retelling is somehow a sacrilege against the Master. Brooks had a talent for making up oddball magic, and that contained within the Sword of Shannara (the sword, not the book) is among the best plot twists it has been my pleasure to encounter in the world of fantasy. Note that I don't intend to spoil it here; if you want to see the magic, go read the book...The Wishsong, which was my favorite of his works, involved a girl who could think of a thing, sing a song about it, and bring it to pass. Vast power possessed by a child who was initially unaware made for a fabulous story. The Ilse Witch trilogy was a follow-on to this successful formula. The Ilse Witch is a descendant of Brin, the girl with the original Wishsong, who through a traumatic childhood event, has turned Bad - really, really bad - and is hated and feared far and wide. This takes place generations later, and people have learned to construct flying machines using arcane powers to hold them aloft, and the heroes go in search of her... Or is she pursuing them? Again, no spoilers, but there is twist after twist in this trilogy, and it is well worth a read by any fan of S&S.One fun aspect of Brooks' stories is that Shannara is our world a millennium in the future, and the characters occasionally find an artifact from our modern day and have no concept of what it is. Most of one book takes place in the ruins of a modern metropolis, and in another, they succeed in finding a library of legend only to discover that everything is on CDs, and they have no idea what they even are. What finally killed my interest in this ongoing series is that back when I was a member of the old Sci-Fi Book Club, their magazine arrived one month with a huge ballyhoo about how Brooks was going to explain how our world became Shannara, and especially how the elves, a very important race in the stories, originated. All would be revealed in Armageddon's Children, the first book of a new trilogy. (view spoiler)[Turns out they had been here all the time, living in the forests of Oregon. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about The Wishsong Of Shannara (1999)?
While mercifully shorter than Sword of Shannara, this felt like a remix of that book and the vastly superior Elfstones of Shannara. The opening act felt far too familiar, and once the adventure got going, I just couldn't find anyone to really latch onto from a character perspective. Of special note, Rone Leah was a total wet blanket whose emotional reaction to everything was cranked to 11. I can't believe that Brin decided to stay with him at the end of the book, and the writing of slang like "for cat's sake!" made me cringe on more than one occasion.The writing was serviceable, and there were sections where Brooks had the description down to an art, but it was fairly pedestrian for much of the adventure. I felt a block between myself and the book, as if I were watching these characters from behind glass and never really given a reason to connect to them. Still, I enjoyed parts of it, and at least it was over quicker than Sword.I won't be diving back into this world for a while, but I think it's safe to say that this trilogy can be ranked as such:1. Elftstones of Shannara-----2. Wishsong of Shannara3. Sword of ShannaraIf someone were to ask me whether or not they should read this series, I'd suggest just reading the plot summary for Sword of Shannara to get familiar with the characters, then read all of Elfstones of Shannara, and read the summary of Wishsong somewhere as well. This was likely more enjoyable 20-30 years ago than it is today, but being so far removed from that context, it's hard to recommend it over so many better books and series.
—Alex
I liked the idea. This had a better connection between the magic source of the second book than there was between the magic sources of the first and second books. The wishsong was also a much more interesting and versatile source than either the sword or the elfstones. But, as with the rest of the trilogy, Terry Brooks' writing remains something I cannot read easily. It's not that he uses difficult words, he just seems to use too many of them. He makes things unnecessarily wordy in my opinion, which is much noticeable when reading dialogue. The way he writes is just not how people actually speak. In any case, if you enjoy his writing, I think this is the best book out of the trilogy.
—Cathy Mardiguian
Well, I finally finished the original Shannara trilogy. I have to say that I really enjoyed all three books. Although The Sword of Shannara was obviously derivative of Tolkien's work there are a couple of unique and intriguing elements. The post apocalyptic angle was quite brilliant. I know that more than just a few reviewers of the Shannara books have harped on that. The fact is that after the first book he just keeps getting better. This last one was, in my opinion, the best of the three. Allanon was just as dark and brooding as ever. The other characters were well drawn out and each had his or her unique qualities. I especially enjoyed the relationship between the Gnome tracker Slanter and Jair Ohmsford. It was really interesting to watch Slanter's character arc as her struggled with the conflict of who he was, his feelings for Jair, and where he came from.The idea of the Ildatch was a good one as well. The fact that a book can have such power is one that resonates for anyone who reads a great deal. The whole premise of the Druids and the wealth of knowledge and power they kept in the fortress of Paranor for both good and evil supports this. All in all this was a great read and I would recommend all three in the series to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
—Travis
