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varuna77 's review for:
The High Druid's Blade
by Terry Brooks
I had set aside the Shannara series. The newer novels, with the exception of the Genesis series, didn't interest me anymore. I also have some pretty severe criticisms for Terry Brooks' recent writing. I've read his books for decades now and there have been some huge changes between earlier and present works. In my opinion, the changes have not been for the better. The lushness of his world building that was so prevalent and enjoyable in the earliest books, has started to disappear. Granted, it's a highly familiar world and perhaps older readers don't need as much description, but gone are the days of the specific imagery of Walker Boh, the hideouts that you can envision hidden in the side of mountains, and picturesque valleys hiding dangerous secrets. It also feels in his later books, the trilogy aspect has stifled his writing, choosing plot, fluff, and shorter books over actual writing. This might be an issue with the overall industry, I'm not sure.
The plot is familiar to anyone who has read Brooks' before. Two siblings, unbeknownst to them, have great power at their fingertips. The Druids intervene in their lives, to train them and use this power to save the world. This particular story line follows the same timeline of the most recent Shannara books.
The interesting point is that it's focused on the Leah family, rather than the Druids or the Ohmsfords. It's a breath of fresh air, quite frankly. The focus on the Leah siblings, Paxon and Chrysallin, and their journey to discover their burgeoning powers, reminds me of the first stand alone books of Shannara and the Scion series. Since the Leah family members have usually served as important side characters, there isn't a huge mythology behind them. Rather it's just enough to be interesting to the familiar reader, but not too much for the new reader to pick up on.
The book still suffers from the criticisms I listed above about Brooks' recent work and follows a very familiar plot line for Brooks. However, the story about the siblings, their relationship, and their journey is interesting enough to keep me for at least one more book.
The plot is familiar to anyone who has read Brooks' before. Two siblings, unbeknownst to them, have great power at their fingertips. The Druids intervene in their lives, to train them and use this power to save the world. This particular story line follows the same timeline of the most recent Shannara books.
The interesting point is that it's focused on the Leah family, rather than the Druids or the Ohmsfords. It's a breath of fresh air, quite frankly. The focus on the Leah siblings, Paxon and Chrysallin, and their journey to discover their burgeoning powers, reminds me of the first stand alone books of Shannara and the Scion series. Since the Leah family members have usually served as important side characters, there isn't a huge mythology behind them. Rather it's just enough to be interesting to the familiar reader, but not too much for the new reader to pick up on.
The book still suffers from the criticisms I listed above about Brooks' recent work and follows a very familiar plot line for Brooks. However, the story about the siblings, their relationship, and their journey is interesting enough to keep me for at least one more book.