Title: The Elves of Cintra
Author: Terry Brooks
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: August 2007
Format: Hardcover, 379 pages
Age Group: Adult
Series: The Genesis of Shannara (Book 2)
Spoiler Alert: The Elves of Cintra picks up immediately where Armageddon's Children ends. If you have not read that book, please do not continue with this review. I reviewed Armageddon's Children in October.
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Terry Brooks continues the story of the end of the world, started in Armageddon's Children, in The Elves of Cintra. Hawk and Tessa have been separated from the Ghosts and Logan Tom, neither group knowing if the other survived the attack on Seattle. Angel Perez found the elves, along with more demon trouble. The Elves must recover lost knowledge of their history and magic in order to survive the chaos but they are being guided in their quest by an enemy.
The Genesis of Shannara series is dark and depressing. Humans continue to fight each other as well as the demons and once men and the humans are clearly losing the battle. The elves have internal political workings that could cost them their chance at survival as well. It seems the fate of both the humans and elves lie in the hands of two Knights of the Word and the children they protect. One magical creature, disguised as a human teenager, must gather the survivors and lead them into their next world.
Although the action slowed a bit in The Elves of Cintra, Brooks keeps the stakes high as each group must fight for their own survival and to accomplish the task they have been sent to do. Doubts creep in for many and the way is nearly lost yet somehow most keep going.
Anyone who has read the Shannara books already knows where the Genesis of Shannara story must end but Brooks has captured my attention in taking us there. The only reason the second book took me so much longer to complete than the first was simply a lack of reading time and an increase in interruptions. I am eager to read the final installment in the trilogy, The Gypsy Morph, but unfortunately I have a few other books that need reading before I will be able to get back to Shannara.
Terry Brooks continues the story of the end of the world, started in Armageddon's Children, in The Elves of Cintra. Hawk and Tessa have been separated from the Ghosts and Logan Tom, neither group knowing if the other survived the attack on Seattle. Angel Perez found the elves, along with more demon trouble. The Elves must recover lost knowledge of their history and magic in order to survive the chaos but they are being guided in their quest by an enemy.
The Genesis of Shannara series is dark and depressing. Humans continue to fight each other as well as the demons and once men and the humans are clearly losing the battle. The elves have internal political workings that could cost them their chance at survival as well. It seems the fate of both the humans and elves lie in the hands of two Knights of the Word and the children they protect. One magical creature, disguised as a human teenager, must gather the survivors and lead them into their next world.
Although the action slowed a bit in The Elves of Cintra, Brooks keeps the stakes high as each group must fight for their own survival and to accomplish the task they have been sent to do. Doubts creep in for many and the way is nearly lost yet somehow most keep going.
Anyone who has read the Shannara books already knows where the Genesis of Shannara story must end but Brooks has captured my attention in taking us there. The only reason the second book took me so much longer to complete than the first was simply a lack of reading time and an increase in interruptions. I am eager to read the final installment in the trilogy, The Gypsy Morph, but unfortunately I have a few other books that need reading before I will be able to get back to Shannara.
I had to skip your review because I haven't read the first book. I haven't read any of his books . . . yet. I bet I'd love them.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to read Terry Brooks for quite some time, but I'm a little confused as to where to start. I mean, there is the original Shannara, then the prequels and sequels, so I'm wondering whether to read the books in the order they were published or in the timeline order.
ReplyDeleteHazra, check out Terry Brooks' website for his suggested reading order for the books http://www.terrybrooks.net/readingorder.html
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to pop in almost anywhere but I would suggest following the author's recommended reading order.