This is the third and final book of the original Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks, published for the first time in 1985. And this is a better book than all four of the others that went before it, including the prequel.
It’s possible to read this as a standalone fantasy novel, as Brooks follows his pattern of concluding the plotline by the end of the book .
This book sees the return of the Ohmsford heroes, and one of them is a girl this time around, who team up with the druid Allanon to save the Four Lands once again. This time the evil is a magic book. (No it’s not the diary of a teenage dark lord) We also find that said magic book is responsible for most of the bad things that went on in the previous books of the series. It is mentioned that the Warlock Lord, the enemy in the first book and the prequel, was corrupted by this book. And there is a connection between the evil book and the demon army in the second book of the trilogy. Imagine, the ultimate enemy in the setting is a book. No one ever suspects a book. No wonder it could get away with it’s evil plans!
The story follows two primary plotlines as the heroes once more race to save the world, with the minions of the book hot on their heels. These minions consist of gnomes and the Mord Wraiths (Any resemblance to Mordor and Ring-wraiths are entirely coincidental). The characters are better developed and the plot is far more complex than the previous books. In fact this book was quite good. Too bad it only got good at the end of the series.
I would recommend this book if you are a fan of the series and if you want to read a good standalone fantasy novel with a bit of background research done beforehand.
