One thing I absolutely love about Terry Brooks is that his writing and storytelling improve with each book. The Druid of Shannara, the second book in the Heritage of Shannara series is no exception.
After the events of the first book the King of the Silver River decides to take a direct hand in proceedings. He creates an avatar; a daughter named Quickening, made from ingredients of his garden and his own magic and charges her with the task of recovering the black Elfstone. The Elfstone was stolen by Uhl Belk, another fairie creature left over from the dawn of time and warped by the passing of eons. To fulfill her purpose Quickening sets about recruiting a small band of followers including a maimed Walker Boh and a virtually powerless Morgan Leah, as well as a mysterious assassin Pe Ell. Convincing each of them that all of their magic is required to recover the lost talisman.
The majority of the second book focuses on the exploits of the aforementioned characters and there are only brief glimpses into what Wren, Par and Coll are up to. In the first book there was almost a sameness about the characters in that all of their intentions were always crystal clear. Even the dark uncle Walker Boh’s motivations were fairly simple; wanting to avoid being ensnared in the machinations of the druids. This problem is rectified by the addition of two fairly complex characters in Quickening and Pe Ell. Both are much more than they appear on the surface and their motivations are murky right up until the end.
Overall I felt this book was a big step in the right direction and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. 8/10.
I liked this book a lot. It was written well and i couldn't wait to read the others. I wish i could be as creative as he is with his writing, but then it wouldn't be anything special. Thumbs up Terry Brooks! :)
ReplyDelete