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Title: The Elf Queen of Shannara (Heritage of Shannara, Book 3) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0-345-37558-0 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 23 January, 1993 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.23 (39 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: * * FANTASTIC * *
Comment: I honestly don't know how Terry Brooks manages to keep capturing the reader's attention with his novels. Besides Tolkien, Brooks has become my second favorite author.
"THE ELF QUEEN OF SHANNARA" is the 3rd book in his Shannara heritage series. First of all, if you haven't read the other two ("SCIONS OF SHANNARA" AND "DRUID OF SHANNARA"), you definitely need to read them first to fully appreciate Terry's unraveling of the mysterious Shadowen creatures. That being said, this books is probably my favorite of the four. Reason: Wren Ohmsford. Wren is a very strong heroine who suffers through all kinds of nightmares and still manages to get through the deeds that Allanon assigns her.
Basically, Allanon is a "dead" druid who fears the worst might come to the Four Lands if his requests are not carried out. The Four Lands are already being plagued with the Shadowen (horrific creatures that haunt the living - btw - in this book, the origins of the Shadowen are revealed - I was shocked when I found out - I'm not gonna say a word more about them!) and the crushing policies of the Federation; the two combined have taken the life out of the land. Wren is given the task of finding the "Land Elves" and returning them to the Four Lands. It seems so impossible because they have disappeared for almost 100 years. She finally discovers that they are entrenched behind the walls of Arborlon on the demon-infected island of Morrowindl. And her journey into hell begins.
Besides the actions, Brooks does an excellent job of drawing out the characters. At first, Wren truly is an innocent but courageous girl. But Brooks uses the plot and other characters to bring out her innate qualities of strength and determination to paint her as a woman worthy of the title of Elf Queen. The secondary characters are incredibly depicted and you come to feel for them. (I cried buckets at the end when I first read this book! - they do die though - but it would be too mean for me to reveal who dies!).
I totally recommend this book for fantasy lovers or even for those who are just testing the waters. You won't be able to put it down! And don't forget to read the other novels in the series!!!
Rating: 4
Summary: Shannara Continues to Shine
Comment: As I read through the second book (Druid of Shannara) and this, the third book in the Heritage of Shannara storyline, I must admit that I was kind of disappointed that it seemed to be missing the grand scale of the original books. It wasn't long after these thoughts entered my mind that I realized I was being narrow minded. These Heritage books are FOUR books long, detaling ONE storyline! I was missing the big picture that when these four books are put together, THERE is the grand scale.
That out of the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the Elf Queen. Sometimes, I had to force myself to read through some of the endless journeying through wildlands, but it was worth it. If for no other reason, than the character of Wren. She goes through an entire journey of self discovery that is usually more heartbreaking than triumphant. You're there for every revelation and you can almost feel Wren's mixed emotions. She is definitely NOT a cardboard character and Brooks has you caring for her well being throughout the entire book.
Speaking of which, Brooks also makes clear that EVERY character is in danger. The journey is perilous and the creatures frightening.
Brooks has created an entirely uncomfortable sounding world of Morrowindel (I'm pretty sure I botched that spelling), which I'm sure accounts for a lot of my afformentioned sluggishness in reading some of these scenes.
Our main man Terry also has a gift of making the secondary characters shine, so when even a minor character may lose his life, it is disturbing. Especially when you see how it effects the others in the party. There's some dramatic stuff here, to be sure. So far, I would say it's Mr. Brooks' darkest book yet.
Amongst Wren's journey are a couple of chapters dedicated to the other characters in the Heritage saga that will make you want to pick up Book 4 as soon as you are through devouring this one.
Rating: 2
Summary: Boring
Comment: This is without doubt the weakest of all the Heritage books.
Whilst the book is true to Brooks' usual descriptive & detailed style, for me, it represents a missed opportunity to do something really interesting with an adventure away from the Four Lands.
Don't get me wrong, the book is relatively enjoyable to read, but is spoilt by Brooks' bad habit of constantly repeating the same thought narrative of the main character, which gets very boring. The other matter that lets this book down is the main character, Wren. Brooks has tried to create an inspirational, sensitive, yet no-nonsense female lead for the novel. However, as the story gets going, I found myself becoming less & less convinced by the overly-sentimental antics & thoughts of Wren to the point where she was becoming so corny & stereotypical I was beginning to lose patience. So then, when Brooks decided to introduce a small furry animal called a 'tree-sqeak' that lives in Wren's jacket (bringing to the book as much credibility as the Ewoks brought to Star Wars), I was seriously considering putting the book down for good.
However, the Heritage series on the whole, is excellent & I felt I owed it to Brooks to carry on reading, if for no other reason than to complete the picture regarding Wren & her Elven heritage. I needn't have bothered really.
This book offers little to the series in the way of storyline development and the character Wren is just too cheesy - Its hard to believe that its been written by the same guy who wrote the engrossingly dark Druid of Shannara - but there is just about enough else here to keep you interested in order to move onto the final book, Talismans of Shannara
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Title: The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345370740 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 13 February, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345396537 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 29 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345356365 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 July, 1988 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345285549 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 December, 1983 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Antrax (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 2) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345397673 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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