Review: Dark Legacy of Shannara

A while ago I posted a review of the first book in the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy.  Now, having just finished reading the second and third installments of the story, I thought it time to comment in a completely full-of-spoilers way.  So be warned: you should really really read the books before reading this.  Not just the most recent trilogy, but all of Terry Brooks’ books.  If you like them half as much as I do, you’ll be very happy.

The biggest thing I kept thinking while reading the trilogy was how hard the plot was to figure out.  Brooks set up certain things in a way that made me think he was going down familiar paths.  For instance I was sure finding the missing Elfstones was going to be critical to defeating the Demons. But in the end, it was rather inconsequential.  Which begs the question of why Allanon thought the quest was so important to undertake.  I’m sure Brooks has a reason why it was so important.  Perhaps because it was the only time the Elfstones could be retrieved, it was important to get them now.  But why was it important to get them?  And was retrieving the crimson stones enough?  It seems like there must be purpose in all of this.  It also seems that the demons and the forbidding are going to be important in the future.

I also enjoyed the philosophical quandary of the demons all being imprisoned due to their race and not their individual deeds.  We have seen a lot of evil humans and elves and other races in the four lands, and we have now seen that some of the demons, like Tesla, are not totally evil.  Therefore, shouldn’t there be a way to free demons who don’t do bad things?

 

The final thing I’ll discuss today is the return of the Ilse Witch.  She didn’t really accomplish much to stop the demon except for defeating their leader.  But he would have been stopped by the reestablishment of the forbidding anyway.  But now he’s not inside the forbidding planning revenge.  The quest to free Grianne was about as useless as the quest for the missing elfstones.  And I was surprised in the final use of the magic ring.

Terry Brooks is my all-time favorite author, and this series shows he’s getting better and better!  I await his next creation with great anticipation!