Hello everyone!
So, apparently, I really, truly need someon to make sure I keep my promises, and especially to make certain I do the blog posts that I say I'd do.
Also, for some inexplicable reason I was fairly, one hundred percent sure I'd done a blog post (or more) concerning The Shannara Chronicles, which is of course the MTV show that we are waiting on baited breath for with a promise for a second season.
But, apparently, that's a no go.
The only posts I could find were of the previous two books in the original Shannara series, so I suppose I WANTED to do the other post, but never got to it.
Sounds just like me, honestly.
Before I run over all the many reasons why I seem to be in desperate need of a Remembrall, let's first take a moment to go through the review of the second book in Terry Brooks' original trilogy, namely the one that the show was based upon.
For those of you who might be like me and have forgotten I ever did any of these reviews in the first place, the links to the prequel book and the first one are down at the bottom of this blog post, and you can go read those before you start this one, if that's what you prefer!
Me, I honestly just needed a refresher course about what the heck was going on in these books.
I've never actually been quiet about my dislike when it comes to these books. Oh, not exactly about the story - the story itself is actually enjoyable, especially once it moves away from the heavy Lord of the Rings influences.
The execution, however ...
I have in fact gotten into verbal spats with one of my best friends about this, because to me, being someone who writes fanfiction and generally sees a lot of English language either written or spoken, there is virtually no joy in reading descriptions about how tall the grass grows and how many leaves are on a tree branch over ten consecutive pages.
Okay, maybe it's five.
The point here being that even Tolkien knew something very important: which is to break the descriptions apart with either dialogue, a song, some sort of quoted text that is perhaps paraphrased, something.
Terry Brooks, however ...
He is undoubtedly a prolific writer and an author who I can honestly respect for the work he has done and the amount of it out in the world. Purely from a writing standpoint, however, I should probably shut up no.
Just in case.
So after establishing the Shannara bloodline and then kicking some basic bad guy bottom, Allanon, the resident Druid (who has it even worse than Gandalf, and you think Gandalf had a tough life, dying once as he did ...) is back at it again, waking from his Druid slumber because, obviously, he's needed.
But seriously thouh, I have a soft spot for Allanon because Manu Bennett is probably one of my favourite actors ever.
Anyway.
With evil once again afoot in the Four Lands, it's once again up to the Ohmsford family to prove a point.
But first, we make a stop in the kingdom of Elves, where their sacred tree, the Ellcrys, is dying.
Which wouldn't have been half so bad if not for the fact that this tree is the last thing that's keeping up an invisible barrier called the Forbidding, wherein all the worst demons and other sort of bad guys are imprisoned. Once it dies, the demons will go out into the world, happily burning it as they go.
Naturally, the Elves realize they kind of need to do something about it.
Their only choice?
A young princess, Amberle, who has run from her duties in Arborlon and is hiding out in the middle of nowhere, but must actually take the seed of the tree to Safehaven and immerse it in the Bloodfire, then bring it back to renew the Ellcrys.
Nothing to it, right?
Luckily, Allanon's on the case, not to mention Wil, although the Druid might have preferred his old pal Shea, but you can't be choosy when you take super long naps.
Anyway, Wil and Allanon split up after getting to Amberle, because the point is that Amberle must reach Safehaven, but the Druid is needed elsewhere to kick some demon butt.
At this point, the plot separates into three lines:
Uno are Will and Amberle on their quest, first accompanied by the Elven guard (who all get slaughtered by demons, of course), then kidnapped/accompanied by Rovers, then along with Peck, the rider who actually saves them in the end, finally an old man and his dog, and after all of it alone as they deal with the whole Bloodfire thing.
Due is Allanon, who stays behind with Eventine, King of the Elves, to prepare defences against the demons. As Elves are descendants of the Fae, they are the natural enemies of everything bad that's coming at them, so obviously they're going to fight. Not alone, however, as they also get the backing of a company of Men, a group of Dwarves, and an army of Rock Trolls.
No, they're not all friends, but when it's do or die, you usually do first.
This was my favourite part of the book, actually, seeing as I'm somehow a nut for anything battle-related and war-centered. Brooks really comes into his own with these descriptions and I gobbled them up one by one.
Unfortunately for the Elves, the Crown Prince ends up going bye-bye, as does Eventine, which is where plot numero tres steps in.
The demons, being cunning folk, had sent a shapeshifter ahead and it had gotten into the palace by masquerading as the King's favourite mastiff, which in the end led to his demise because ... no one ever suspects a poochie!
Ander, the King's second son, ends up taking the throne and leading the troops in a final stand.
Just when all seems lost, Wil and Amberle return with the seed, but unfortunately not how Wil had envisioned it ...
You see, Amberle becoms the next Ellcrys.
It was the main reason why Amberle was so afraid of the tree speaking to her in the first place: she sensed the truth, and with the Elven philosophy being what it is (give back to the land), she knew what she'd have to do. Even the first Ellcrys, way back when, had been a young woman. The reason why is because women can reproduce - ergo, the seed thing.
With the Forbidding reestablished and the demons vanquished, Allanon heads off to take another nap, while Wil has another run-in with Eritrea, the Rover girl, who seems to have loved him all the while despite him making puppy eyes at Amberle.
They head off together.
OH and I forgot about the Elfstones.
The three blue stones that Wil can partly use because of his Elven heritage (being a Shannara and all) but which normally give him headaches because his human side is trying to overrule the other one.
They're quite helpful along the way, but each time he does use them he gets more afraid to tap into his magic and they sap him of his strength, taxing him more and more because of how little Elven blood he has in comparison to Shea.
Luckily though, he generally has resourceful friends around him to help, and he's not too shabby himself.
I'm trying to sit down to read the last of the original trilogy with no luck, mostly because I have this feeling that I'm going to drag my feet throughout the book. But I have never before failed to finish what I started, so here goes nothing!
If you have yet to read any of Brooks' books, and like fantasy or liked The Shannara Chronicles, I do recommend them as the story is quite interesting once you get past the writing! Maybe you'll like it!
xx
*image not mine
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