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A review by krillson
The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
3.0
I have seen a lot of people saying that this book is leagues better than the first, and I find myself in the unfortunate opinion of disagreeing. This book was even more of a slog to get through than the first book, with characters that felt tedious to follow, and many uses of magic that went completely unexplained that really took the stakes away being my chief grievances.
The main characters of this book are Wils, Shea's grandson, Amberlee, Eventine, Ander, and of course Allanon. I'm going to touch on him first, as to me he is this series greatest problem. He is this seemingly all powerful all knowing druid that reads as the height of convenience. The magic in this story is largely unexplained, as well as the supposed toll it takes. Allanon just creates too many plot convivences for me, as well as not being a terribly interesting character. For example, he is the only one with the secret knowledge of the druid histories that know how to save the Ellcrys, this magical tree from ages long past. But he is ambushed by demons, which now exist in this world and never came up in the first book, but of course he survives. Then he is able to effortlessly find Amberlee, who has been hiding from her people for years at this point. And then his magic is what saves her and Wils from the demons initially pursuing them. And he can talk to the Ellcrys, of course, and not only learns exactly what to do, but gets a magic staff to help the elves. He also just straight up solos a dragon, as well as being integral to the elven defenses in the later battles. With the magic system in this book, I never feared for Allanon in the several fake-outs they have of his death, nor do I think the good guys would lose with him helping them. So many of his actions serve explicitly to move the plot out of seemingly impossible situations that it gets frustrating to read. And his entire character is brooding, old, and knowledgeable. Like he feels like a cardboard cut-out of the strong mentor archetype in the most frustrating ways.
Wils and Amberlee are better in a sense, but they also feel woefully incompetent for the task at hand. Like they picked a healer and a school teacher pretty much for this all important, world-saving task, and it shows. Their characters are nice, they work well together and I like the friendship and then some that they form, but they really get carried at almost every point by the people helping them on their quests, whether it be the elves, Allanon, or the gypsy stereotypes thrown into this book. Wils got a little better when Eretria was introduced, as she was a much more compelling character and seeing him get flustered was fun. Like her backstory is that she was raised in a society that belittles and devalues women, was sold to this cruel man as a child, and all she wants to is do is escape. Like it sucks that apparently her love for Wils is a driving factor in her character, but still her backstory and character stand out so much more than the others.
The other plotline in this book revolved around the elf king and his attempts to defend his homeland. The king, who we meet in the first book of the series, is old and wizened at this point, and his attempts to save his kingdom are quite enjoyable to read. I will say that the dog being the shapeshifter was really beat over the reader's head; pretty much any time the spy was mentioned they cut to them petting the dog. His son. Ander, was my second favorite character, only to Eretria. He starts out fairly bland, but really shines in the battles, when his uncle dies and father is injured. Its not a wholly original story, but it is done masterfully here, seeing him rise to the occasion, as well as his friendship with Stee Jans was great. Again in this book the battle scenes were the highlights. Like Brooks does an amazing job writing clear and easy to follow battles that are intense and gripping, and these battles makes Ander shine all the more. Eventine's death is also a wonderfully badass moment, and another high point. Also writing about the battles makes me realize that there is no villain in this book. Sure there is the whole army of demons and the supposed mastermind of the army, but he doesn't do anything and the demons lack any kind of personality or form, instead just being nameless evils that is another notch against this book. That type of battle can work, but often requires some other compelling conflict, which for me this book lacked.
While this book certainty moves away from any claims of being a Tolkien clone, what it offers in this entry was to me sorely lacking. There were high points and characters that were compelling, as well as many who felt like their potential wasn't reached. Allanon, who is the main character of the series for sure, was tiresome for me with how many times he just solved problems with magic. I'm going to read the third book in this trilogy, but unless it is yards better than its predecessors I don't see myself continuing in the world of Shannara. 3.2 stars.
The main characters of this book are Wils, Shea's grandson, Amberlee, Eventine, Ander, and of course Allanon. I'm going to touch on him first, as to me he is this series greatest problem. He is this seemingly all powerful all knowing druid that reads as the height of convenience. The magic in this story is largely unexplained, as well as the supposed toll it takes. Allanon just creates too many plot convivences for me, as well as not being a terribly interesting character. For example, he is the only one with the secret knowledge of the druid histories that know how to save the Ellcrys, this magical tree from ages long past. But he is ambushed by demons, which now exist in this world and never came up in the first book, but of course he survives. Then he is able to effortlessly find Amberlee, who has been hiding from her people for years at this point. And then his magic is what saves her and Wils from the demons initially pursuing them. And he can talk to the Ellcrys, of course, and not only learns exactly what to do, but gets a magic staff to help the elves. He also just straight up solos a dragon, as well as being integral to the elven defenses in the later battles. With the magic system in this book, I never feared for Allanon in the several fake-outs they have of his death, nor do I think the good guys would lose with him helping them. So many of his actions serve explicitly to move the plot out of seemingly impossible situations that it gets frustrating to read. And his entire character is brooding, old, and knowledgeable. Like he feels like a cardboard cut-out of the strong mentor archetype in the most frustrating ways.
Wils and Amberlee are better in a sense, but they also feel woefully incompetent for the task at hand. Like they picked a healer and a school teacher pretty much for this all important, world-saving task, and it shows. Their characters are nice, they work well together and I like the friendship and then some that they form, but they really get carried at almost every point by the people helping them on their quests, whether it be the elves, Allanon, or the gypsy stereotypes thrown into this book. Wils got a little better when Eretria was introduced, as she was a much more compelling character and seeing him get flustered was fun. Like her backstory is that she was raised in a society that belittles and devalues women, was sold to this cruel man as a child, and all she wants to is do is escape. Like it sucks that apparently her love for Wils is a driving factor in her character, but still her backstory and character stand out so much more than the others.
The other plotline in this book revolved around the elf king and his attempts to defend his homeland. The king, who we meet in the first book of the series, is old and wizened at this point, and his attempts to save his kingdom are quite enjoyable to read. I will say that the dog being the shapeshifter was really beat over the reader's head; pretty much any time the spy was mentioned they cut to them petting the dog. His son. Ander, was my second favorite character, only to Eretria. He starts out fairly bland, but really shines in the battles, when his uncle dies and father is injured. Its not a wholly original story, but it is done masterfully here, seeing him rise to the occasion, as well as his friendship with Stee Jans was great. Again in this book the battle scenes were the highlights. Like Brooks does an amazing job writing clear and easy to follow battles that are intense and gripping, and these battles makes Ander shine all the more. Eventine's death is also a wonderfully badass moment, and another high point. Also writing about the battles makes me realize that there is no villain in this book. Sure there is the whole army of demons and the supposed mastermind of the army, but he doesn't do anything and the demons lack any kind of personality or form, instead just being nameless evils that is another notch against this book. That type of battle can work, but often requires some other compelling conflict, which for me this book lacked.
While this book certainty moves away from any claims of being a Tolkien clone, what it offers in this entry was to me sorely lacking. There were high points and characters that were compelling, as well as many who felt like their potential wasn't reached. Allanon, who is the main character of the series for sure, was tiresome for me with how many times he just solved problems with magic. I'm going to read the third book in this trilogy, but unless it is yards better than its predecessors I don't see myself continuing in the world of Shannara. 3.2 stars.