The Talismans of Shannara

This is the conclusion of the Heritage of Shannara series. This wasn't a bad series, but this book seemed to wrap it up too neatly and easily. Once again, the Elves, Druid and Ohmsfords must again save the Four Lands from evil, and as usual, only the Elves are really dependable. Its a very familiar formula for Brooks. Its done well and is still good reading, but there's really not much new in this book that hasn't been done before in his earlier books.

I want to preface this review by writing that Terry Brooks is my favorite fantasy writer of all time. I enjoyed the previous three novels in this series and I thought that Talismans of Shannara did a good job of wrapping up the series. It brought the three story lines together. There was a good deal of action. The pace was well set. The writing as always was strong. The only thing that stops me from giving it a five star review is that the ending left me feeling a bit empty. Not to give it away, but it felt a bit of deus ex machina for me and it was a bit too convenient. Brooks really tried to explain the ending but I just wasn't buying it. All the same, the novel was very enjoyable.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

The Talismans of Shannara by Terry Brooks is the fourth (4th) and final book in the series, The Heritage of Shannara. Once again, Brooks brings alive the magic of Shannara in this fine series. The series has some drawbacks. Brooks draws from the History of his first Shannara series which sometimes confuses the reader due to the characters mentioned. The book also wraps up the story too quickly for my taste. The first three books move along at a delightful pace, each one dealing with a particular quest, while still moving the entire plot along in chronological fashion. However, in this final book, there is too much to deal with for the action to take place within its pages. This leaves this reader with a sour taste of having everything show more finished just when it was getting good. However, I look forward to the newer Shannara series from Brooks as I spent many enjoyable hours reading the Heritage of Shannara series. show less

The Scions: Par, Walker, and Wren must unite to defeat the Shadowen, who are poisoning the Four Lands. Par Ohmsford harnesses the power of the Sword of Shannara to destroy the Shadowen leader, Rimmer Dall, restoring the stolen earth magic and saving the lands.
The Final Stand: The Shadowen swarm the Four Lands, with their leader, Rimmer Dall, aiming to destroy the Scions of Shannara. The heroes win the final battle, destroying the Shadowen and restoring balance, though with significant personal losses.

Par, having discovered the Sword of Shannara, struggles with his identity, fearing he is partially corrupted by the Shadowen. Par learns to use the Sword of Shannara, which proves to be the key weapon to cleanse the land of dark show more magic.

Walker Boh, Wren, Queen of the Elves, and their allies confront the Shadowen stronghold, Southwatch, to rescue Par. show less

In this book, all the separate groups of people and different events come together to fuse into the conclusion of the series, which makes for alot of jumping back and forth between settings. Definately a book that should be read after the first three.

I liked Terry Brooks mainly because of the mystical and magical feeling of his world. I probably would not like him if I stumbled upon his books today.

Great addition to a great series.