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tarana's review against another edition
5.0
Concluding story. The new Bearer of the Black Staff has to battle trolls and face the Demon. Good finish.
nedjem's review against another edition
4.0
3,5 stars, rounded up to 4 since apparently I'm in a good mood.
Some parts really annoyed me and most characters seemed only copies of the ones in previous books. Still, particularly to the end, some of them did gain some depth and there were some turns that actually were quite intriguing. Still, there was more "hints at depth" in the story than actual depth in the story. A promising start - a little worrying though that this book isn't actually a start, it is in fact one of the newer ones...
Some parts really annoyed me and most characters seemed only copies of the ones in previous books. Still, particularly to the end, some of them did gain some depth and there were some turns that actually were quite intriguing. Still, there was more "hints at depth" in the story than actual depth in the story. A promising start - a little worrying though that this book isn't actually a start, it is in fact one of the newer ones...
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
andrea303's review against another edition
4.0
A good read. Continues the story from Bearers of the black staff.
waden34's review
2.0
Bearers of the Black Staff was a very promising start to this series. Skeal Eile was such an evil person that I was really looking forward to how things turned out in the sequel. The build up for the confrontation between the Drouj, the Seraphic, and the valley's inhabitants was quite exciting.
Then a demon was introduced and completely ruined any magic that the first book created. I believe that without the ragpicker, this book would have been far more powerful. I could see the plot going in more or less the same direction. The only difference being that the characters would have made the choices themselves instead of being in thrall to a demon.
It also felt like this book could have been released as a short story instead of a full length novel. There was a lot of wandering with not much happening. We've seen that before in this series, and I was sad to see a return to it here. I was truly hoping that with this being only a 2 book series instead of the typical 3, that it would be more intense and fast paced.
All that said, the characters Brooks writes about are still always top notch. I care about them even when they are meandering and not accomplishing anything. That certainly does show something for the author's creativity.
Then a demon was introduced and completely ruined any magic that the first book created. I believe that without the ragpicker, this book would have been far more powerful. I could see the plot going in more or less the same direction. The only difference being that the characters would have made the choices themselves instead of being in thrall to a demon.
It also felt like this book could have been released as a short story instead of a full length novel. There was a lot of wandering with not much happening. We've seen that before in this series, and I was sad to see a return to it here. I was truly hoping that with this being only a 2 book series instead of the typical 3, that it would be more intense and fast paced.
All that said, the characters Brooks writes about are still always top notch. I care about them even when they are meandering and not accomplishing anything. That certainly does show something for the author's creativity.
lilyghost's review against another edition
4.0
Just like all of Brook's Shannara books I didn't want it to end!
heregrim's review against another edition
4.0
Picks up where Bearers of the Black Staff ended and is a rare sequel in my experience which is better than the first book. I found myself much more attached to the characters and their troubles this time around. I was amazed at his further descriptions of the villion and look forward to reading more in the Shannara series! Fans of Shannara will not be disappointed.
grilledcheesesamurai's review against another edition
4.0
Another Terry Brooks book down, and once again I was not disappointed. The man sure can tell a heck of a story!!
This was easily my favorite out of the Genesis/Legends books. I really enjoyed it and found it to be a fitting conclusion to the beginning of the Shannara world! I am actually kind of sad that this draws the end of the beginning. I would like to follow these characters some more. Still - onwards and upwords, there are more Shannara adventures to be had, and for that I am one helluva happy camper!
squidlord23's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Better than the first book, but was definitely accelerated to completion. This could have been a trilogy to give some more follow-up that would truly bridge the end of this series to the next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Ableism
chelseabrianna's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5