FANTASY REVIEW: The Fall of Shannara 1: The Black Elfstone - Terry Brooks

Release Date: 15/06/17
Publisher:  Orbit

SYNOPSIS:

The first book of the triumphant and epic four-part conclusion to the Shannara series, from one of the all-time masters of fantasy.

The age of peace that has reigned across the Four Lands is now at an end. An army of invaders, wielding a terrible new magic, is cutting a bloody swathe across the far north . . .

The fate of the world now rests on the shoulders of an exiled druid, a conflicted warrior and a young woman struggling to master a powerful magic. As the conflict grows, they will face dangerous adversaries and deadly challenges - and the consequences of their actions will determine the future of the Four Lands.

Through twenty-eight novels written over the course of forty years, Terry Brooks's Shannara series has entranced millions of readers around the world. Now, with the Black Elfstone - the first book in the Fall of Shannara - Terry begins to bring his epic vision to a grand conclusion.


REVIEW:

I always have a soft place in my heart for Terry Brooks and his Shannara series, as after David Gemmell, he was an author that I always shared with my Dad. We constantly vied to see who would get the next book first and as our saying went "He who buys it gets first read." (Although to be fair my Dad cheated as he'd nick my book when I went to school and read it for a couple of hours before he had to go to work.)

Each new addition to the series has added flavour and depth and with this new series we get to see the world fall as everything has a lifespan. How this will occur and whether this is a final death knell we'll have to wait and see but we know that the heroes within won't let it go without a fight.

As with his other books we get good solid pace, a good story arc and for me characters I not only care about but want to spend time around. Terry brings his A game with this outing and whilst its going to be gripping whatever happen in the future titles in the series, if this is the true end its going to be the closing of a large part of my life. All round a cracking start and one that will have me on tenterhooks until the final page.