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A review by weaselweader
The Last Druid by Terry Brooks
3.0
The conclusion to a literary fantasy saga, forty years in the making!
Forty years hence, thousands of pages later, and, for that matter, some forty books beyond its breathtaking debut to grateful readers of the fantasy genre looking for something to equal Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, Terry Brooks appears to have chosen to return Shannara’s Sword to its well-worn sheath and to bring the epic to a close. Peace returns to the Four Lands as its war with the Skaar invaders is brought to an end and a satisfactory peace. Magic’s position as its foil to the science, now burgeoning in the hands of the world’s population is at least tentatively assured as Tarsha Kaynin takes Drisker Arc’s place as the last Druid and the keeper of Paranor’s druid histories.
THE LAST DRUID is most assuredly NOT a stand-alone fantasy novel. If you haven’t read the preceding novels in THE FALL OF SHANNARA series, #1 THE BLACK ELFSTONE, #2 THE SKAAR INVASION, and #3 THE STIEHL ASSASSIN, then the plot of this novel will make absolutely no sense to you at all. Come to that, if you haven’t been a fan of the Shannara series since its inception and if you haven’t read a significant portion of the other novel’s in the Shannara canon such as WITCH WRAITH or TANEQUIL, many of the historical plot references in THE LAST DRUID will become meaningless and fly right over your head. Without an understanding of those references to past events in the Shannara universe, I suspect much of THIS novel’s plot will become meaningless.
It is with some degree of melancholy reluctance that I express the opinion that THE LAST DRUID, satisfying, workmanlike, complete, and entertaining, is definitely not compelling or breathtaking. I expect most fans of the series, having turned the final page, will simply sigh with a small measure of disappointment while, at the same time, mentally expressing their gratitude for forty years of enjoyment drawn from a magnificent fantasy series.
Paul Weiss
Forty years hence, thousands of pages later, and, for that matter, some forty books beyond its breathtaking debut to grateful readers of the fantasy genre looking for something to equal Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, Terry Brooks appears to have chosen to return Shannara’s Sword to its well-worn sheath and to bring the epic to a close. Peace returns to the Four Lands as its war with the Skaar invaders is brought to an end and a satisfactory peace. Magic’s position as its foil to the science, now burgeoning in the hands of the world’s population is at least tentatively assured as Tarsha Kaynin takes Drisker Arc’s place as the last Druid and the keeper of Paranor’s druid histories.
THE LAST DRUID is most assuredly NOT a stand-alone fantasy novel. If you haven’t read the preceding novels in THE FALL OF SHANNARA series, #1 THE BLACK ELFSTONE, #2 THE SKAAR INVASION, and #3 THE STIEHL ASSASSIN, then the plot of this novel will make absolutely no sense to you at all. Come to that, if you haven’t been a fan of the Shannara series since its inception and if you haven’t read a significant portion of the other novel’s in the Shannara canon such as WITCH WRAITH or TANEQUIL, many of the historical plot references in THE LAST DRUID will become meaningless and fly right over your head. Without an understanding of those references to past events in the Shannara universe, I suspect much of THIS novel’s plot will become meaningless.
It is with some degree of melancholy reluctance that I express the opinion that THE LAST DRUID, satisfying, workmanlike, complete, and entertaining, is definitely not compelling or breathtaking. I expect most fans of the series, having turned the final page, will simply sigh with a small measure of disappointment while, at the same time, mentally expressing their gratitude for forty years of enjoyment drawn from a magnificent fantasy series.
Paul Weiss