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Summary: What a TRIUMPH for Shannara fans
Review: After being somewhat disappointed with 'The Druid of Shannara' I was VERY pleased to find that not only had Terry Brooks NOT lost his supreme talent for writing, 'The Elf Queen' came out to be one of his all-time best books. I LOVE the Shannara series, perhaps more than any other in print today, and Wren's search for the lost Elf City of Arborlon on a dangerous island in the Blue Divide is beautifully written, with everything one could want in any fantasy story. Evil demons, good guys, bad guys and a spy...WHO is it??? EVERYTHING a great novel needs to be. Without a doubt the best in the 'Heritage of Shannara' series. If you fancy yourself a Terry Brooks fan, waste no time and grab this entire series and devour it as quickly as possible. Also, do yourself a BIG favor and pick up 'The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara' quite possibly THE BEST of ALL THE SHANNARA novels... I know that is saying a lot, but this book is fantastic...just be aware that it leaves you with a monumental cliff hanger...
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Summary: Another Brooks Masterpiece
Review: Again, Terry Brooks totally shatters the limits of fantasy... the battle scenes are awesome, the characters- lovable, and the story- one of those you will never forget. Terry Brooks killed off like eight out of ten main characters. Strangely, I WANTED them to die. Dunno.. I can't really explain it. But this was pretty much the only Brooks book where Brooks killed off so many main characters. Anyways, an awesome book. Go read it!
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Summary: Shannara Continues to Shine
Review: 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.
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Summary: The Lost Elves
Review: At the beginning of the Heritage of Shannara, one discovers that the Four Lands have majorly changed from the one that the reader knew (if they read the previous three book cycle) . One of the things that has changed- the disapperance of th elves is finally answered. This book is overall, at least in my opinion, about friendships. And the betrayal of false friendships... All through out, friendship is tested and poked. Even until the act of sacrifice... "What? Who? Why?" you may ask, but go buy the book and find out yourself- this isn't a book spoiler afterall :-p
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Summary: ELFQUEEN OF SHANNARA
Review: Different. That pretty much sums up this book. It is different then all the other Heritage books. Its not some big jorney with a bunch of country bumpkins lead by some mysterious figure wielding incredible magic powers. It is the jorney of Wren and Garth the same the Elves. She finds out that they are on an island. She and Garth get to this island by flying on a Rook. (Giant Birdy thing) She finds out that the whole city Aberlon was moved via a crystal cane. On the island the Elves are fighting demons and the demons make it hard for Wren and Garth to get to the city. The only way to get the Elves back is to put them all and thier city into the cane thing-a-ma-bob and carry them back to the Four Lands. Once at the four lands, they can be brought out of the cane. The jorney off of the island is similar to the rest of the books except for one thing. In this book, Brooks doesn't seem to be as afraid to kill of characters which it similar in this seris only to Elfstones. I liked this book more then Druid or SCions. Its a lot more interesting. The island the Elves live on is lush and full of goofy little animals that Wren makes friends with. Garth is also cool. He can't speak but he and Wren are still really close. He is her mentuor kinda. This book has a great last 75 pages so if you are feeling let down by the biggining, read on. It gets great at the end.
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Summary: not as good as the other shannara books
Review: Elf Queen was somewhat boring to read. i didn't have the interest to read it like i did with all the other shannara books. Elf Queen wasn't very well written. What made it boring was that there isn't really any suspense or big battle scenes. The book is like reading a mario game. It's just going around to different places figuring out how to get to the lost elf kingdom.
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Summary: not as good as the other shannara books
Review: Elf Queen was somewhat boring to read. i didn't have the interest to read it like i did with all the other shannara books. Elf Queen wasn't very well written. What made it boring was that there isn't really any suspense or big battle scenes. The book is like reading a mario game. It's just going around to different places figuring out how to get to the lost elf kingdom.
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Summary: The Last true Elf? A quest for Heritage and Life.....
Review: Ellenroh searches for her heritage and her Race, in a world of madness, constantly under attack from forces that wish to rip her apart. This one will make your teeth clench, as you travel with her, on the journey to reclaim her people--lost to the world of mankind. There are many surprises in this book, things that you would not expect, but will draw you deeper into the story. I would love to mention a few things...but, I don't want to give them away. I deeply respect and admire Terry Brooks, a man who dissed a career in Law to take-up a quill and parchment. His writing is very enticing...his words draw you into the story, and you cannot escape his world. Tolkien got me through Middle school and Terry Brooks helped me survive High School, although I must admit I read Tolkien again and again--however, Terry Brooks is the only author I feel that I can mention beside the name of the master. This novel is not a "Lord of The Rings" nock-off, it is completely original. If you are looking for copy-cat stories, you should look else-where--although, the series does contain some of the same creatures and humanoids (sort-of), they are very original and exciting. I agree with the Future scenario, because of certain buildings and such that are encountered during the journey....our world devastated and rebuilt with Magick. One aspect of Brook's series that I feel very attracted to is the character Allanon, a Druid that sleeps for centuries or decades and awakens when he is needed. I have always felt a strong connection with this character.... Interestingly, this mysterious character guards a secret Storehouse of Knowledge and strives to save humankind from the Demonic Forces that want the world to live in Ignorance and Despair.
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Summary: A Somewhat Dull Book
Review: For those of you who have a great passion for books filled with action and adventure, and those of you who have a fairly short attention span, I would not suggest this book. It doesn't have much action, and one can lose interest very easily unless really resigned in the task of finishing the gosh darn thing.
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Summary: A let down from a great author
Review: I am a Terry Brooks fan and I love the Shannara books, but The Elf Queen fell far short of my expectations. Wren's character isn't develope enough and I don't really like her anyway. The one misgiving of all the heroes in the Shannara books is that they are afraid to use the magic. Why not just use it?! Gavilan and the Owl were the best characters of this book, along with Cort. I don't like how Mr. Brooks always kills off the minor characters. They are the coolest ones. I wish Par would die...Maybe Mr. Brooks will do a follow up of Talismans and kill off Wren and Par. Walker Boh is the only cool main character. The Elf Queen is the worst in the series besides The Sword of Shannara.
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