The Elves of Cintra

I find this trilogy to be a bit curious to read. We know where it came from, and we know where its going, somehow, the end result of this trilogy will be the Four Lands and the world of the Sword of Shannara. How we're going to get there is what this book is about, and even with all that knowlege, it was still interesting to read. Not very cheery, but still good.

Posted to my Livejournal in March 2008, saved here for posterity:

This series bridges his Word and the Void series and his Shannara series, and in a pretty clever way, too. In this one, Hawk, who is a street kid trying to survive in a (pre? post?) apocalyptic Seattle, turns out to be the Gypsy Morph, a magical being who is supposed to lead his chosen people to a safe haven where they can wait out the war happening between humans and demons. (Ya got that?) He has Logan, a world-weary Knight of the Word to help him and Hawk's street family to safety. Meanwhile (you knew there was a meanwhile, right?), the elves are starting to notice that the world around them is going to hell, because the Ellcrys has told young elf Kirisin that she needs show more to be moved to safety. For that, they need the blue elfstones, which are essential to find the Loden Stone that can move the Ellcrys. And they have Angel Perez, another Knight of the Word. And there are demons on all their trails.

Okay, that's all plot, and overly simplified, at that. I think that this series takes place before the Shannara books and chronicles the beginning of the cataclysmic war that remakes the Earth that they mention in The Sword of Shannara. (I might be wrong though, so if anyone knows, clue me in.) This book moves fast, very fast, and has a great deal of action: lots of fights, near death experiences, chase scenes, and betrayals. Characterization is also fast but strong, so that all of the major players are distinctive, if not totally original in terms of fantasy conventions. Also, I love it when disparate plot lines come together in a big, grandiose plan, and that's what this is promising. I'm looking forward to the third book. (Sadly, I attempted to reread The Sword of Shannara, a book I'd loved as a child, and all I can say is, it does not wear well with time. I could not slog through the pages of wordy scenic descriptions and the long-winded character expositions, and the "here's an elf!", "here's a dwarf!", "here's magic sword!", element, though I know that back in 1977, this stuff was not a cliche. Mostly, though, it was the poor writing: the story I loved was still there, but buried under tortured prose. I guess you can't always go back to your childhood, huh?) show less

Very enjoyable. Logan takes the Ghosts under his wing, Hawk/Morph is rescued by the River Master and told his destiny. Angel meets the elves and goes off with one of the Chosen and a tracker to find the Lodenstone. They find it and 2 demons are destroyed. This story just continues to show how humanity completely fell apart. Because of the spiritual aspect of it, I can really relate. It is the worst of humanities nightmares brought forth without the hope of Jesus. Thank God there is a God and not just demons.

Brooks is back on form after the last Shannara trilogy was a bit of a damp squib (and I'm a huge fan!) Armageddon's Children had a lot of promise and seemed to be a bit of a departure from the Shannara world, with Brooks choosing instead to go back to the Word and the Void trilogy world which had so much promise - this new book links the two worlds together in a brilliant way, keeping the pace, throwing in some twists, and some great fights and suspense, which is what I used to love about the earlier Shannara books. Can't wait for the next one!

The Elves of Cintra is the second book in the Genesis of Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I've been a Brooks fan since I first read Sword of Shannara back in Junior High School. While I haven't absolutely loved all of his books, I've really enjoyed most of them. Over time, he's had two series that take place more or less in "our world." The first was the Landover series which was generally more light-hearted fun with some tongue-in-cheek elements (not as farcical as say the Xanth series, but also not your sweeping epic fantasy, although some of the Landover books have some moderately engaging depth to them).

His other venture into our "modern world" started with his Word and Void stories. The idea being that there are two basic forces in show more the world…the Word, which reigns over the good elements and the Void which reigns over the bad. Starting in the late 90s, he put out a trilogy following some encounters between the Word and the Void in modern day America. In the series he set forth some intriguing elements such as Knights of the Word (who are servants of the Word and strive to maintain goodness and order under the direction of the Word), the Demons and Once-Men (servants of the Void who try to subvert the world of Man and bring us into darkness and destruction) and the Feeders (invisible forms that prey on negativity and thrive on chaos, anger and other disagreeable emotions and actions of humanity).

The Genesis of Shannara series picks up years after the Word and Void series and the world is in an essentially post-apocalyptic state. The government has collapsed…in fact, any real sense of civilization is all but gone. Most of humanity is huddling together for their survival either hiding in more remote areas and hoping to be left alone, or fortifying themselves in "compounds" created inside large structures such as sports arenas. Meanwhile, a variety of Demons and Feeders are subverting the land and creating an army of "Once-Men" to help seek out and exterminate mankind. Not a very pretty picture.

The first book in the series (Armageddon's Children) primarily followed Logan Tom, a Knight of the Word, on a quest to travel across the country and find a "creature of faerie" masquerading in human form as a teenage boy. The first book ended with a rather climactic cliffhanger that raised uncertainty about much of the successful progress made in the first book.

This second novel continued the story of Logan Tom but also, as the title suggests, brings in a new race of faerie creatures…the Elves. Apparently, the Elves have been essentially hiding out and living their lives for centuries, ignoring (and largely despising) Man. For those who have read some of the other Shannara books, you'll recognize some of the family and city names as well as the idea of Elcrys and the Chosen. For those unfamiliar, the Elcrys is a magical tree cared for by the Elves. This special tree has a very special function where it creates a sort of shield/barrier, called the Forbidding, behind which an immense population of extremely evil and ancient faerie creatures are trapped. Basically if the Elcrys/Forbidding fail, then our world will be overrun. With the fall of mankind, the Elcrys needs to be protected and so a quest is set out for a Chosen (one of those who cares for the Elcrys) to find a particular talisman and move the Elcrys and the Elves to safety.

Meanwhile, Logan Tom escapes from the cliffhanger ending at the end of book 1 and begins a trek southward with the ragtag family of the Gypsy Morph Hawk (the faerie creature he went to save)…to try and reunite with Hawk and lead the kids to safety.

In the style very well-known to Brooks readers, we get to follow multiple groups of characters on a variety of quests. Another Knight of the Word comes in to help the Elves. We're also given some close attention to a couple of Demons hunting the Knights, the Elves and the Gypsy Morph. So there are always at least two primary groups each on their own adventure and at times we are given some attention to the smaller groups as they slowly converge on their individual plans and get closer to one another.

This book had a lot of intricate moments of suspense and intrigue where we are made to question the motives and trustworthiness of some of the individuals. This is another hallmark of Brooks's work that I enjoy…the fact that his heroes are never perfect, often quite flawed, and they also usually tend to be faced with such odds that it truly is questionable whether or not they will succeed. There is some foreshadowing in the book that definitely suggests some or many of the key characters will NOT survive through the entire series but will end up sacrificing themselves for the good of the others. Because of this, it added the tension to each suspenseful moment or action sequence because it was always very possible that one of the key characters could be killed off as part of this sacrifice. Thus the suspense felt more real…rather than the suspense often felt where you feel on edge but you know in the back of your mind that the hero will prevail because, well, he's the hero and that's the way it works.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm having fun with this series both as a continuation of the Word and Void series and as a bridge to the world of magic and fantasy in the main Shannara series. I really like the ideas presented in the Word/Void series and the way they continue to develop here. It provides interesting theories and ideas related to the nature of morality, good/evil, and the overall psychology and mindset of Mankind.

As this is the second book in a series, you need to be sure to at least read the previous book before starting this one (I'd suggest the Word/Void series as well, though it's not vital). Like book 1, this book ends with plenty of things unraveling. That said, the cliffhanger in book 1 was far more dramatic than the ending of book 2. In book 2 there is actually a lot more resolution and a greater sense of hope…although there is still plenty of despair hanging over the various groups since many of their key members hang on the verge of death.

I definitely have a certain bias towards Brooks's work…as I said, I generally like almost everything I've read by him so I really feel like my own personal reading styles and tastes are very closely fitted to his writing style and stories.

Still, I feel like I can recommend this series to a somewhat wider variety of readers, especially considering the recent influx of "urban fantasy" books. I'm not a reader of urban fantasy per se, so I don't know how well this relates to that genre, but I can say that this has a feel of post-apocalyptic dystopia blended with elements of epic fantasy. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is a very fun melding and one I definitely recommend. And with that, I now need to go read the final book in the series.

****
4 out of 5 stars show less

I have long been told that Terry Brooks was a writer i would enjoy, but i really had no strong desire to start reading his mammoth Shannara series. 19 books is quite a commitment to a single author, as such, i just never got around to reading any of them.

About six months ago, i ran across a copy of Armageddon's Children on the cheap. I read the inside cover and it was pretty clear that this was a standalone book, and a nice introduction into Brooks, with out having to commit myself to a mass reading project. i picked up the book and read it, enjoying the whole plot. Unfortunately, the book ended up not being a standalone. Instead, it was the first book in a standalone TRILOGY. the prequels to the Shannara series... damn you publishing show more house.. damn you. The other two books are "The Elves of Cintra" and "They Gypsy Morph"

I searched out and found matching hardback copies of the rest of the trilogy and got sucked into the story with absolutely no effort.

The series is pretty solid. it details the journey of a band of children living in the pac nw after the world has essentially ended. radiation has created waves of mutation in humans. healthy people are holing up in fortresses for safety, often times made out of the largest populace centers available, stadiums.

One band of children, led by a boy named Hawk, live in the pioneer square area of seattle. they are fending for themselves and eking out a moderate existence as a surrogate family.

Hawk has a dream that he will lead the children to a safe world where they can thrive in safety. the children follow him almost like a father figure.

From an alternate location, Logan Tom, is a Knight of the Word. he hunts demons that roam the planet, seeking to destroy all that exists, seeking dominance over the world. Logan Tom is sent by the essence of existence, the "Word" to find Hawk and help him achieve his goals. He must do this before the world in engulfed in a flaming apocalypse which will destroy everything.

There are a lot of sub plots and a large number of characters i do not make mention of. I would highly suggest this series. even if you have no desire to read the whole Shannara series, this prequel set is a solid read and is written in a way that you are never forced to moe on. Shannara is not even mentioned by name.

funny, i finally get why people spout off at the mouth about Terry Brooks. Perhaps i will pick up his novelizations of Hook and The Phantom Menace and read those soon. show less

This book suffers from being the middle book of a trilogy, and makes abundantly clear how much Brooks re-uses the same plot devices over and over. If you read Armageddon's Children, you'll want to read this one, but there's not much to recommend it otherwise.

Although a post-apocalyptic world should allow Brooks to work with new themes and new ideas that would go beyond what he's done with Shannara so far. It should also fill in some more of the backstory for the world. This book doesn't really do either, instead doing little more than continue the various quests begun in the first book. I'm hoping for a better finale.