A review by grogu_djarin
The Talismans of Shannara by Terry Brooks

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Overall Thoughts:
This was a great conclusion to the Heritage of Shannara tetralogy. It felt faster me with a lot of the book moving from scene to scene, many of them action oriented. This was impressive to me given how many story arcs the book juggles. Most of the scions don't even meet in this book, but the book still moves their stories along in parallel arcs to reach the conclusion. I think some people might find this overwhelming though, but it worked well for me. It's also more character oriented than the first three books and explores the main characters' thoughts and emotions and I felt that served the story well, especially when the stakes were high.

Likes:

• Wren finally shines and had the strongest storyline in the book, in my opinion, which is a significant improvement as I considered her the weakest and most undeveloped of the scions. She rises to the occasion of the throne and utilizes her Rover experience much more than in the other books. 
• The battle scenes between the elves and the Federation were well done and used clever tactics to even the odds between the two forces, given that the elves were overwhelmingly outnumbered.
• I liked the use of the Sword of Shannara. It had far better utilization and narrative integration than in the titular The Sword of Shannara.
• Coll really proves himself just as worthy of being one of the scions after doubting himself in the earlier books.
• The book revisits some locations from The Elfstones of Shannara and I liked the creative use of those locations.
• Since this is the conclusion to the tetralogy, there is some additional exploration of the Shadowen and the Federation. It's not a significant amount, but it still fleshes them out a bit more.

Dislikes:

• Padishar Creel is very underutilized for as significant of a character as he was in the earlier books.
• Morgan gets a new love interest and it feels a bit rushed/forced given how strongly he felt for Quickening.
• I have mixed feelings about the Four Horsemen. Narratively, they serve a shallow purpose of simply keeping Walker from joining the others too soon. Also, while I accept the explanation that they're simply named after the Biblical figures from legend (since the world of Shannara is post-apocalyptic Earth), they feel a bit out of place to have Biblical characters fitted into the story.
• The source of the Shadowen's power was a bit underwhelming and too abstract, but it's forgivable given the showdown around it was rather exciting.
• Some conflicts (captured characters), happen way too frequently. 

Other Notes:

• For as liberally as the early books in the tetralogy killed off supporting characters, there's very little of that here though the deaths that happen are still impactful. There's one that's an absolute tearjerker. 

Would Recommend To:

• If you enjoyed the previous books, The Scions of Shannara, The Druid of Shannara, and The Elf Queen of Shannara, this book ties together and concludes everyone's storylines.

Do Not Recommend To:

• Anyone who hasn't read the previous books, The Scions of Shannara, The Druid of Shannara, and The Elf Queen of Shannara, as this is the final book in that tetralogy and concludes all the story threads.