The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)

The third and final book in the Original Shannara Trilogy, The Wishsong of Shannara, was quite different from the first two volumes. This novel had much darker themes, and at times came across as far more of a supernatural horror or supernatural suspense story, than a fantasy novel. Oh, to be sure, it had all of the familiar themes of the fantasy genre, which are present in the first two books, The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara, as well. The heroes are given their quest (in the case of Sword, Elfstones, and Wishsong, by Allanon, last of the Druids of Paranor), and embark on their journes, where many intrigues and dangers befall them on the path to their eventual victory over evil.

To summarize, the mystical book called the Ildatch, an ancient tome of evil, has been rediscovered. The Ildatch is what helped give the renegade Druid Brona his power, and transformed him into the Warlock Lord. The new followers of the magic in that abominable book are called Mord Wraiths, and have created an impassable barrier called the Maelmord, to protect it from harm. Even the powerful Druid Allanon can not make it through the Maelmord, so he comes to the daughter of Will Ohmsford (hero of Elfstones) to ask for help. The Valegirl, Brin Ohmsford, and her younger brother Jair, have this latent Elven magic called the Wishsong, with which any desire of theirs can be made to physically occur (in Brin's case), or appear as an image (in Jair's case). With her control over nature that her song gives her, Brin is the only one that can make it through the barrier the Mord Wraiths have erected.

What made this book different was how depressing it was. Allanon is, quite frankly, wrong about so much from the beginning, unlike in the first two books. These miscalculations in judgement nearly cost everyone their lives. He leaves Jair behind, which he shouldn't, he doesn't realize that everything is a trap set for Brin, or of the true "nature" of the Ildatch. His actions nearly help the evil magic conquer the world, instead of preventing it from doing so.

Another difference was the high death count. I know that technically the first two books had more characters die, but most of those were secondary characters with a few main characters here and there. This story had main characters dropping like mayflies. This made a huge difference in the tone of the story. Also of note was how the characters again and again are faced with the possible negative consequences of their choices. This was just one of the many character-driven themes.

The book is so different from the previous two works that comparing it to Sword or Elfstones is almost like comparing C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength to the first two books in his Cosmic Trilogy. It can't really be done. I chose that analogy as, like with That Hideous Strength, it is time for the "final battle", if you will, to be fought between good and evil, at least for the current age or time in history. This is the "big stakes" event.

Terry Brooks clearly was coming into his craft, and his writing skills improved greatly by this point. He had gotten to the point of being an equal to other "masters" of the fantasy genre, such as Tolkien or Robert Jordan, for instance. I only had two real problems with the book.

The first problem was the above-mentioned darker tone. The atmosphere of the story is so different that I can't recommend it to anyone who wants the same type of story as the first two novels. I enjoyed it and think it a novel worth reading, but not if the first two books are the "type" of story you want. And the second problem was how little the "payoff" at the end is. Brooks showed the same lack of resolution with very little in the way of a conclusion in Sword and Elfstones, that it makes you feel frustrated. Wishsong leaves you feeling downright cheated in this regard. Some more emphasis on the aftermath and what happened to the characters, would have been greatly appreciated.

As for what I liked, well, that would be the characters, five in particular besides Brin, Jair, and Allanon. Those are Cogline, Kimber Boh, Whisper the Moor Cat, Rone Leah (descendant of Menion Leah from Sword), and the Gnome tracker Slanter (a rarity in the books so far in that he is a non-Stoor Gnome who is a good guy). The interactions of the characters with each other provided a lighthearted breather from the dark and somewhat depressing story line. This was particularly true of the case of Jair and Slanter.

As I said, if you like the "typical" fantasy story as found in Sword and Elfstones, then this book may not be for you. But if you want a fun story that is somewhat somber, but still an enjoyable fantasy story, and don't mind some horror thrown in, then you definitely want to read this book, and I encourage you to do so.

Recommended. ( )

SHANNARA

I found this book a real struggle, but then I have been reading the Shannara books quite regularly recently to try and clear some space on my book shelves and I think that with this book I have reached my limit. I love the whole idea of the timeline that Brooks has created from present day through the great wars to the creation of Shannara and the history of the kingdom beyond and the survival and creation of the races, but some of the individual books in this seem to have left me a little cold.
I really didn’t get on with the Word and the Void trilogy, although I really liked the idea of the Knight of the Word, enjoyed the Genesis of Shannara series and the first of the Legends of Shannara books and will probably read The Measure of the Magic when it comes out this year. I also quite liked the First King of Shannara but then I hit the Sword of Shannara and it all went downhill again for me. The Sword of Shannara is incredibly derivative although due to its age this is probably forgivable and although The Elfstones was a slightly better effort and the Wishsong started ok I just lost the will to live halfway through and the rest of the book was a struggle.
Apart from Measure of the Magic I think I will probably stop here with this series and I am debating whether I should start the Magic Kingdom of Landover series at all or whether I should just take them to the charity shop so that others can enjoy them and I can clear another couple of inches of shelf space… ( )

Great addition to a great series. ( )

Yes another very well done Shannara book. The story splits rather well between the 2 main heroes and culminates in a reunion that is quite rewarding for the reader. The book deals with death, duty, and an understanding of self the really makes you get inside the characters head. Not everything portrayed is completely thought out, but it's still done well enough that the book is quite enjoyable. ( )