The Elves of Cintra (Genesis of Shannara)

Another great novel from Terry Brooks.I wait in anticipation for every book from this author.sometime even go back and read the book from before and never get bored.if you like the likes of terry Pratchett you will love this writer AAA+++

Upon reading the first of the Shannara series, you have an understanding of a previous world and the war that ravaged civilization at some far point in the past. This current trilogy is an excellent link to that past, with all the thrill, suspense, and enjoyment that you've come to expect from Terry Brooks.

I have always loved Terry Brooks. The Shannara series is one of my all-time favorites. I really enjoyed the Word and the Void series and to see how he has masterfully spun that series into a prequel to Shannara is fantastic. This book is up there with everything else he has done.

Dark depressing continuation of the Genesis trilogy. Superb character development. Adds great depth to the history of the Shannara universe. Sets stage for Tragic/Heroic/Conflicted Druid characters of future Shannara series. I highly recommend this series and anything related.

I was OK with Armageddon's Children, but I was very happy with the second installment. It felt similar to Elfstones in style, and that is a very good thing.

As a long time Terry Brooks fan, I've seen good and bad things happen with the Shannarah series. The first three novels were classics. Scions was a great series. Voyage was less so, but pretty good. High Druid ended in a train wreck.

This series nicely blends Word/Void and Shannarah. It feels fresh and inspired. I've managed to care about someone in each of the subplots.

I only have two problems and they're both small. First, Panther's speaking is a struggle. Obviously, Mr. Brooks cannot lace a book like this with profanity. Also obviously, that is what Panther is doing. I can only tolerate words like "frickin'" as a joke. It is hard to take that seriously.

Second, I have aged outside of this book's intended demographic, I think. At 35 years old, I cannot really identify with any of the characters. Really, they're all a bunch of kids, even if they do have grown up problems. A neat thing about fantasy reading is being able to insert yourself into the story, and I have no place in this one.

Book missing outside cover, many pages were folded over, not as described. Will not order from again. I appreciate it when people are honest about the items they sell, those that are not shouldn't be allowed to sell.

In “The Elves of Cintra” we continue the story of Logan Tom and Angel Perez, two knights of the word, intent on their own individual missions.
Logan seeks to recover an ancient talisman of wild magic – the gypsy morph – and icon that can prevent humanity’s destruction. In doing so, he inadvertently becomes the surrogate protector of a ragtag bunch of street kids fleeing south from Seattle in their search for a safer place to live.
Meanwhile, Angel Perez is heading north, escorting the ephemeral ambassador of the fey – the tatterdemalion – to the elves of Cintra. Though isolated from mankind’s affairs for centuries, the elves are also in danger and need to take drastic measures to ensure they are not also swept away in the coming destruction. But will they listen?
If their job wasn’t difficult enough, both knights are forced to contend with the dross of a ruined civilization, mutants, freaks, once-men and demons. They also have to battle their own shortcomings, proving once again that in the post apocalyptic world of the future, the streets are always paved with so many hidden traps and snares, you never know who to trust…until it’s too late.
A thoroughly enjoyable romp through the seeds of the Shannara legend. I look forward to the next installment.

Very well done. I didn't like Armageddon's Children (the first book in the series; this is the second) all that much -- I found myself skipping sections of it. It just didn't hold my interest very well. But this one is different. Terry Brooks really hits his stride here. All the interesting elements of the story start to gel early in the book, and they held my interest to the end. I don't want to spoil things, so I won't say more. Just that I was very pleased with this book. The last few Terry Brooks' novels I'd read had fallen a little flat for me, but I think he hit the nail on the head with this one. Good themes, good characters, emotionally moving moments, heroism, sacrifice, big stakes -- all the things you want in a Terry Brooks novel, with a crisp pace. Well done.

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 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

Hawk and Tessa have been thrown off the walls of the compound in the preceding book, Logan Tom has joined up with Hawk and the Ghosts too late to save Hawk and Angel Perez is meeting with Simralin and some other trackers, planning on having them escort her to Arborlon. Here Brooks seems to have made a mistake, later in the book the tatterdemalion says she can sense the presence of a demon if she is close to him, there is one present in this group but Ailie does not discern him. I also could take contention with Brooks over many other things but I will grant him author license and pass; he writes a good story,
Now having summarized the first book, the second book proceeds to save Hawk and Tessa by external intervention before casting them back out from the safe spot. Logan Tom takes up the job of safeguarding the ghosts and joining up with the waiting contingent on the Columbia River. Angel goes to the elves city but can not help Tirisin in his efforts to save the Ellcrys. Here the tatterdemalion does sniff out a demon but again she does not know which elf he is. Tirisin talks it over with his sister Simralin and hash through several possibilities but conclude nothing. Kirisin gets the three elf stones that do the seeking and decides to go look for the loden. A demon kills the king's daughter and Kirisin, Simralin and Angel must flee. They travel to Syrring Rise to find the loden, guided by Simralin and with faith put into the Seeker elf stones. There they find two demons, fight and conquer both, and get the loden.
Logan Tom also fights his way south to the Columbia, finding a turned Knight of the Void and fighting him, winning but is struck with poison. Panther and Cat find him and take him back to his vehicle, he is unconscious. We are now ready for the conclusion.

This is the second book in the "Genesis of Shannara" trilogy, a series that holds the interesting position of being both a prequel (to the extensive The Sword of Shannara series) and a sequel (to The Word & the Void trilogy). Though there have been little clues strewn about various Terry Brooks books that hinted at a connection between the epic fantasy of the former and the urban fantasy of the latter, it was with more than a little excitement that I picked up Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1), knowing it to be the first of a trilogy that bridged the two series.

The Knights of the Word are in the service of the Lady, a powerful spirit that arms them with magical staffs and guides them with dreams in their fight against demons and "once-men" that have ravaged the world and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Elves of Cintra (what humans call Oregon's Cascade Mountain Range) are hiding away in their city, determined not to get involved with the human world that is dying beyond their borders. Finally, a street kid called Hawk learns of his extraordinary identity as a "gypsy morph," a creature made of wild magic that is destined to lead the survivors of this apocalyptic world into the Promised Land.

In the previous book, there were four main storylines pertaining to these central concepts from the "Shannara" and "The Word/Void" books; here that has been whittled down to two as plots and characters begin to collide. After Knight of the Word Logan Tom (given the task of protecting the gypsy morph by the Lady) witnesses Hawk thrown from the walls of a compound only to disappear into a blazing white light, he takes Hawk's family of street kids and begins the march to a rendezvous point in which he hopes to be reunited with his original charge.

Meanwhile, fellow Knight of the Word Angel Perez joins with the Elvish siblings Simralen and Kirisin (continuing Brooks' odd trend of bestowing feminine names on male characters) who have been charged by the mystical Ellcrys tree to - in this order: find the Elfstones so that they might find the Loden so that they might contain the city in its depths and carry it to the place of safety that the gypsy morph will lead them to. Further complications arise when it becomes clear that a demon is hiding in their midst, anticipating their every move...

Finally, in a plot that's so short it's barely worth mentioning and disappointingly minor for the character who is ostensibly meant to be the main character, Hawk is transported from his execution and awakens in the gardens of the King of the Silver River (another major character from "Shannara") and told of his lineage, powers and destiny. Hawk, the savior and subject of the final book's title, does absolutely nothing proactive in this installment.

As the title would suggest, the book is mainly concerned with the plight of the Elves and the search for the Elfstones, and (though tastes may differ) this segment makes up the most enjoyable part of the book, despite the slight repetitiveness of the plot - it seems as though every "Shannara" book has a group of Elves trying to find the long-lost Elfstones. In comparison, Logan's journey from point A to point B with a gang of street kids known as the Ghosts is frustratingly slow and - speaking with the authority of hindsight, having read the final book - fill of pointless events that come across as needless padding. With a couple of exceptions, the Ghost are too numerous to be individualistic and so there is little emotional impact when they are used as cannon fodder in order to drive home the point of how dangerous the situation is.

They fight killer robots, come up against a rouge Knight of the Word, search for medicine when others get sick, mourn over the dead, try to rescue a disfigured boy who ends up kidnapping one of their number, meet a random character called the Senator and a girl who decides to tag along with them, scavenge and bicker with one another, but nothing is all that important in the long run. It is a survival story as they traverse inhospitable territory, running up against various obstacles on the way to their reunion with Hawk, and although it is all told at a break-neck speed (in fact after Candle is kidnapped and escapes her captor, her reunion with the Ghosts is relayed in *hindsight*), none of it really amounts to much. None of the dangers are specifically linked with anything that occurs in the next book, or in the "Shannara" books to follow.

I suppose I was simply coming into this book with misconceptions. When I think of a prequel I automatically assume that it's going to take advantage of two things: the opportunity to explore the origins of certain people, places and objects, and the fact that there is a foregone conclusion at work. We already *know* how this particular story is going to end: with the death of one world and the beginning of another. What's (supposed to be) interesting is how it gets there and what we learn on the way. To me, the whole point of these types of stories is so that the readers can recognize foreshadowing, smile knowingly at in-jokes, see the characters in a "before-they-were-stars" angle and discover the origins of certain ideologies and artifacts.

There are little touches here and there, such as a visit to the Oronyx Experimental Robotics Systems that hints at the main antagonist of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy, as well as the emergence of mutated humans nicknamed Croaks, Spiders and Lizards that are presumably the prototypes of the Gnomes, Dwarfs and Trolls of later books. But take for example, the Elves. If the mutants in this book are the forerunners for the fantasy species of "Shannara", then why couldn't the Elves have been some sort of genetically mutated and superior race? How about instead of finding the Elfstones and protecting the Ellcrys (two plots that have already been done to death, most predominantly in The Elfstones of Shannara and The Elf Queen of Shannara) Brooks instead explores the *origins* of these two iconic Elfish talismans?

I had this pet theory before cracking open "Genesis of Shannara" that the Lady of the "Word/Void" trilogy would end up being the first incarnation of the Ellcrys tree and the one who (with a little help from the newly crafted Elfstones) sealed up the demon hoards in the oft-mentioned Forbidding of the "Shannara" books. However, this story opens with the Ellcrys, the Elfstones and the Forbidding already in existence, giving us no clue whatsoever as to where these iconic Elfish talismans originated from, or what the difference is between Shannara's demons and the Word/Void's once-men that roam the post-apocalypse landscape (I had always assumed they were one and the same species). It just felt as though Brooks is robbing himself of the opportunity to explore and explain his own created world in more detail.

But for the most part, this is a rewarding story, which is also surprisingly self-contained considering Brooks' usual tendency to leave a reader hanging with a cliff-hanger. The pacing is fast and the action is almost non-stop, and for the most part "The Elves of Cintra" avoids "middle book syndrome," in which nothing starts and nothing finishes: in this case, the protagonists get plenty of work done, though still have their main objectives left to achieve in the final book. As always, the main characters are likeable enough, though they indulge themselves in plenty of needless pontificating, repetitive introspection and a tendency to state the obvious.

Certainly epic in scope and apocalyptic in nature, "The Genesis of Shannara" may not be completely rewarding reading for those hoping have illumination thrown on the deep history of the Four Lands, but it's certainly doing its job in bringing the world as we know it to eminent destruction and pushing the survivors forward into a brave new world.

In the Elves Of Cintra, the storyline that was started in the Armageddon's Children continues and develops. It starts out with nary a pause as the final chapter of the previous book is reprinted in whole. Logan Tom tries to save Hawk (the Gypsy Morph) while he is being thrown from the walls of the Seattle compound only to get there too late, and after some sort of magic whisks the boy and his girlfriend away. From this point on we follow three threads with Logan Tom and his Ghosts charges coming down from Seattle towards the Columbia River, Angel Perez and her Tatterdemalion friend Ailie continue their escape from the demon by riding north of Los Angeles towards the Elves, and the Elves themselves are trying to figure out what to do about the stunning realization that the Ellcrys is feeling threatened and is asking for help.

All three threads continue in this story with the most emphasis being placed on the Elves and their stories. The lead characters are young elves who find it difficult to get anyone in the elf hierarchy to believe them. However, all proceeds as one would expect with the young elves figuring out what needs to happen and moving their part of the plot along. One of the weak points of this particular book is that it feels somewhat recycled and obvious as only one elf youngster seems to have the power that has been lost for thousands of generations and manages to find not only the seeking elfstones, but also the Loden Stone within a matter of days.

Evil is also a part of the story as the armies of once-men and the demons stalk the various groups and seem to always know what the various people and elves are planning on doing. You always wonder - when reading Terry Brooks - how come evil is always ahead, yet manages to lose to the good side with all that preparation time? No matter, this is a signature of Brooks's writing style and if you did not like it in any of the other books, it is no different in this one.

Because this is the second in a trilogy, none of the main threads are resolved, but clearly they are starting to take on the shape of the final resolution of the story. There are moments of brilliant writing and fun and imaginative concepts that make this worthwhile, and quite a bit of predictable action as evil looms large. Some of the more pedestrian writing involves which of the characters get killed and in what ways, and I wish there was a better way to do this - but that is why I am not a writer and Terry Brooks is a very successful one. Nonetheless, this is a good story and a fun book to read and if you are a Terry Brooks fan, then it is one that should be in your library. Enjoy.

"The Elves of Cintra" has both strengths and weaknesses. Brooks is capable of gripping narrative. Some episodes in the book are irresistible -- the kind of gripping style that keeps one`s light burning until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the characters also seem believable and genuinely interesting. The successes of the book come through excellent narrative writing, great description, and a wonderful evocation of atmosphere, tone, and mood. This is the "plus side" of the novel.

But I would be remiss if I did not point out some troubling weaknesses. The book seems fragmented -- less a unified novel at times than a chain of short stories or vignettes. To be sure, many large novels break back and forth between a series of loosely linked narratives -- with the reader proceeding forward in faith that all threads will be woven together at the conclusion. In this novel, I think Brooks carries this "multiple threads" style too far -- snapping us back and forth between disconnected characters and settings to the extent that the continuity of the story is compromised. We lose our bearings. And worst, at the end of this novel, the fragments have NOT been welded together -- we are still working with pieces of a story. I realize this is a trilogy, but I DO think the reader should have some sort of at least interim resolution after persevering with Brooks for 350 pages.

The novel also has problems with flow. Midway through the novel, Brooks suddenly begins a series of flashbacks into the past of the major characters. Now bear in mind, we have already journeyed about 500 pages with these characters -- I'm including the first novel of the trilogy -- and so we have gotten to know them pretty well. Why stagnate the flow with these blocks of "embedded stories" at THIS point? Moreover, all the embedded stories are about the same -- describing sad, disrupted, and often tragic childhoods: children abandoned, and struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic world of the novel. In other words, these flashbacks are all clones of one another -- essentially boring. They arrive far too late in the narrative to be of much value to the book as a whole. They just kill the pace. I suspected padding -- fattening the book just to meet the editor's guidelines.

Why almost all fantasy books today have to be trilogies is beyond me. In most trilogies, the second book is the most difficult to really bring alive. Nothing really starts, and nothing really finishes. So much for this, the second volume. I am still in hopes the final novel will satisfy. The story has potential, and at least a few of the characters are generally interesting. And, of course, Brooks' considerable power as a writer of the individual episodes is still very much in evidence.

Terry Brooks has done something extremely unusual in fantasy trilogies. He made a great middle book. Brooks picks up where he left off in "Armageddon's Children" and whisks the reader into the harrowing world of a future earth in the process of being overrun by demons, once-men, and monsters of ancient Faerie. Weaving four stories together so tightly that he doesn't skip a beat, Brooks continues the stories of the Ghosts, Angel Perez, the Cintra elves and the endangered Elcrys, Logan Tom, and Hawk, the boy/gypsy morph in their fight against the forces of the Void. There is barely time to breath and you won't be able to put this one down. In the midst of all of this the noble human element shines through in heroism, self-sacrifice, and the struggle to stand up for what is right even in the face of ridicule and danger to oneself. Bravo Mr. Brooks. I can't wait to read the next installment.

Ok, so after starting this two years ago, setting it down and picking it back up last week to restart it, it may sound like I lost interest in it. Actually, no. I just got sidetracked on reading other stuff. So, this is as good or better than part one. This was a great fleshing out of the story after such a great setup in book one.
As stated in my review for part one, I was a little skeptical about the whole concept of a "Genesis" story for Shannara. Granted, it had to start somehow. But as I get into part three, this is worthy (not just this book, but the trilogy in general) of the name Shannara. There were a few surprises for me in this one as well. It will definitely worth the read, as you don't want to put it down.

I must confess, I starting reading Armeggedon's Children because I was desperate for something to read, and I have read most of Terry Brook's works, so I picked it up. When I finished, I didn't think it was all that good (but not bad). However, I push on because I like to finish a series once I start to read them.

I don't give five stars often, but this book was really worth it. I was surprised many times, but always pleasantly (even when a couple of the storylines left me thinking that they were certainly going to be dumb). The story introduces a few new characters that are well developed, both good and bad.

About the only negative thing that I can say is that Brooks has never been very good at disguising the "mystery demon". In this story, identifying the demon is not nearly as suspense ruining as it was in Night of the Word.

I can't wait for book 3!

It's been 20 years since I last visited the world of Terry Brooks. As with almost all other Brooks readers, I was introduced to his writing in junior high school when I discovered the Sword of Shannara. That story enraptured me, and filled my 13 year old head with dreams of high adventure, swords and sorcery, and **you get the picture**. I read the Elfstones at age 15, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I read the Wishsong at 17 ... good but didn't quite meet my expectations. Magic Kingdom For Sale - Sold was a stake through my heart. Total garbage from someone I worshipped.

I didn't get back to Brooks' writing until I was 20 and in college ... I read the first two novels of the Heritage series, and was absolutely disappointed. Those were the last Terry Brooks novels I had read since then. A multitude of other Brooks novels came and went, and I ignored every one of them ... not wanting to feel that sense of disappointment again.

I came across Armegeddon's Children at the public library last week. It looked interesting ... a story set in a post apocalyptic society. I figured I'd give Brooks another chance. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was a trilogy ... and the hardcover library cover made no mention of Shannara. I finished the first book rather quickly. It was a light read ... almost like a children's book.

I figured I'd read book 2 since I started. The Elves of Cintra isn't a bad book, but it doesn't do anything to recapture that Sword of Shannara magic. Maybe elves, demons, magic stones, powerful staffs, solar powered vehicles with rockets and laser guns, good and evil (and nothing in between) are better suited for the 13 year old junior high school kid.

I think too much time has passed by since I was that young boy engulfed in the pages of the Sword of Shannara. Supposedly, Terry Brooks' writing has improved since then. But to me, the magic is gone. Age, life, and time have whittled away my imagination.

First the positives:
1)It's definitely a worthy follow up to Armageddon's Children, and frankly it moved even faster.
2)The story was never boring, and was actually incredibly engaging.
3) Upon finishing, I have to say I'm looking forward to the last installment this August.
Downside:
1) Overall this feels like a book that adults enjoy but is really intended for young people. Some might say that's a plus, and I wouldn't argue that. I guess what I'm saying is the story and characters are very simplistic, some feeling like devices to propel the plot, with two pages of back story to explain who they are.None of this makes for a bad book by any means, and again I really enjoyed it. Having never read terry Brooks before these novels, it just comes across slightly sophomoric.

It is always a pleasure to read Terry Brooks. His prose is clear and easy, and unlike so many other SF authors, his books revisit his fantasy world again and again, telling fresh stories without repetition, and creating fresh, well-defined characters.

But Brooks' PC preaching, especially in the first book of the series, is a distraction and prevented me from becoming immersed in the story.

In the story line, the world is nearly destroyed in the near future. One would think that the few survivors, and especially the children in this story, would have little, if any, reliable information as to what actually happened to cause the destruction. Brooks could have used this uncertainty as part of his plot: conflicting rumors leading to ill-advised decisions, perhaps.

Instead, we get a direct lecture from the omniscient author about what nearly destroyed the world, and there appears to be no disagreement among the characters in the story as to what happened, either: The world was nearly destroyed, not by terrorists, but supposedly by America's foolish response to the terrorists. The armies of evil are the former US military personnel, whom we are told were the most susceptible to evil. And of course, they are led by a demon. And in case this is too nuanced, the dog is named "Cheney", after a politician who always spoiled for a fight.

If you happen to disagree with Brooks' world view, this is uncomfortable and not pleasurable to read.

Now, here's what's so odd: the story itself conflicts with this world view. The instincts of Cheney the dog are unfailingly correct. Cheney is indeed good in a fight, and the story's hero gets into serious trouble only when he decides not to rely on Cheney. The heroes in the story are all self-reliant individuals, avoiding wherever possible the remaining collectivist governments. And the heroes fight back against the bad guys, which is okay, unlike the earlier fight against terrorists, which somehow was not okay.

By the way, Brooks' inventions of solar powered airships and now a solar powered high performance car seemingly are offered up as alternative energy solutions, yet violate the laws of physics without any possible theory offered for how it could possibly work. Another distraction from a well-written and otherwise enjoyable story.

Whereas Book One of this trilogy focused on Logan Tom and Angel Perez on Earth and basically ignored the elves, this book focuses mostly on the Elf Community. The story tells about the elfquest for the Elfstones and the Loden stone, and features many an exciting battle between elves and demons. Logan Tom's role has some thrilling moments as well, including a battle with an outcast Knight of the Word. The kids from the Ghost tribe are featured in small vignettes, and each one is given time to shine.

Largely, this book serves to set up the finale. I recommend reading this to anyone interested in the series, but not as a stand alone book.

Picking up right where Brooks left off, the literal cliffhanger as it has become to be known, EoC continues the suspenseful and dramatic scene where the children are being thrown from the walls and the army is marching toward the compound while Logan is desperately trying to reach them. It's really hard to follow such a series of events by trying to build on Angel and the Elves' storyline. Had I not been stoked from the first bits of the book, maybe it would have seemed less boring.

Nonetheless, it is still a good piece of writing. Angel's character really builds, as I had hoped at the end of AC, and the storyline of her and the Elves is believable (well, as believable as a fantasy book can get). The demon's identity is somewhat predictable, but more so if you are familiar with Brooks' writing.

I realize the point of the book was focused on Angel and the Elves, but Hawk's two brief appearances disappointed me. I think Brooks should have given him just a little bit more attention to build our expectations for book three. The introduction of the King of the Silver River, in my own opinion, was predictable, but it definitely helps bridge these pre-Shannara books with the originals.

Logan Tom's story is FRUSTRATING! Not in the sense that it's frustrating to read, but you truly feel the frustration that he feels, along with the street kids. So many hold-ups and obstacles that really don't seem to have a point other than to wear down the Knight of the Word and his charges. It really shows the post-civilization world as it could be, everyone fighting to stay alive and keep what they have. The street kids' individuality comes in handy with Fixit driving, Panther's aggression, and Sparrow's inner warrior; this really adds quality to the story.

The demons were not as well tracked by Brooks as the were in AC either. It's good to build the bad guys just as much as the good guys.

It's not often I rate Brooks below 5 stars, but this one just didn't keep the pages turning like the Word/Void series, Armageddon's Children, and the first two Shannara series.

Terry Brooks continues to deliver edgy science fiction in this volume of The Elves of Cintra. Using a real world venue, he creates an alter world that is so believable that one feels immersed in the actions and adventures of the travelers found within. It is a must read; but a word to the wise, if you aren't the type of reader who doesn't mind jumping into the book in the midst of a series of books, start with the first Terry Brooks' book and work your way through his whole sci fi collection of works.

As is the case with so many titles that are the middle stretch in a trilogy, this book suffers from being highly anticipated with a sense of trepidation at the fact that even before reading it you already have a good sense of the outcome, at least in broad general terms. An author who writes knowing, essentially in advance, that they are producing a trilogy must accept that certain plot points cannot be resolved by the end of book two though some others must be drawn further out.
With that said, I am not diminishing this book at all. Terry Brooks does a solid job in carrying the story that bridges the gap between his trilogy about the Word and the Void and the huge sweeping epic which is the Shannara realm. We get to see the story started with Armageddon's Children carried forward, with a great deal more involvement from the elves. As a reader of this entire mythology, the links start to take shape with this book--how we get from the world in which we human beings live in to the world that is the basis for the many Shannara stories that Brooks has told us over the past thirty years.
But alas, it is the middle book. Sometimes the middle story is the best but usually it just does not have the same magic as the beginning or the end.
I still hesitate in trying to imagine the breadth that the final book will have to have to really meld the two different universes together. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the questions that come to mind have to do with those creatures that have not shown their faces yet...in partcular dwarves, trolls, druids...etc. Now I am sure that it will all be sorted out (and perhaps Terry has in mind yet another trilogy that will slide in between the first Shannara books and this set to give us even further detail) but I hope that the last book is not crammed to the rafters with a lot of unsubtle "glue" to bind it all together. Another way of putting that would be this: he completes the story of Hawk, Kirisin, Angel, Logan, and all the others, and then spends thirty pages spilling out the next one hundred years...how the dwarves boil up from the earth, how new magic was formed, etc. in such a way that it is just crammed in there. I have faith that Terry Brooks will avoid something like that, but you never know.
The trilogy still has, in my mind, a lot of promise, but I also have high expectations for the third book and hope that it will do justice to the idea of bringing these two different worlds together as one. Until I have the chance to read that book in another year I honestly cannot judge this series effectively. As it stands, as a single novel, this book is solid. It moves the story along, keeps you interested in the characters, and you can start to see how everything is going to start coming together in the end.
I liked the book, despite the "middle" book issues that I already mentioned. It has certainly whetted my apetite for the final chapter in this trilogy.

The Elves of Cintra (2007) is the second fantasy novel in the Genesis of Shannara series, following Armageddon's Children. In the previous volume, Logan Tom gave Nest Freemark's finger bones to Hawk, then left him in the compound lockup and returned to the Ghosts. Owl had decided to leave the Pioneer Square quarters and Logan Tom encouraged this move. After a few hours, Logan Tom took Panther with him and returned to the compound. While Panther kept the guards busy watching his antics, Logan Tom snuck into the stadium and reached Hawk's cell, but it was empty.

Hawk had been taken from his cell well before the time of the execution, maybe to build more terror within him. He tried to talk Tessa into jumping before the guards could touch them, but she was already terrified and clung to Hawk. Then the guards grabbed the couple and threw them off the wall.

Meanwhile, Angel Perez and Ailie the tatterdemalion learned that the demon Delloreen was chasing them on the Harley Crawler that they had left behind. Angel turned off onto a logging road and tried to slow the demon down and to throw it off her scent. However, the demon persevered and eventually caught up with them.

Angel fought the demon, but she seemed to tire faster than it did. Finally, she knocked it aside and reached the Mecury-5 ATV. Then she charged the demon and zipped down the highway when it flinched.

After King Arissen failed to recontact him, Kirisin confronted Erisha and forced her to admit that she had already passed the warning on to the king. Although she defended her father's actions, Erisha was convinced to help Kirisin look for more information about the Loden in the histories. As they were searching through the volumes, someone challenged them from the darkness.

In this novel, Logan Tom is climbing the steps of the stadium to the west wall when he hears cries of shock and excitement. Near the top, he overhears comments indicating that Hawk and Tessa had disappeared without a trace. He asks a young girl about the couple and she describes the throwing of Hawk and Tessa off the wall and then the flare of a bright light surrounding them. When the light faded away, the couple were gone.

On his way out of the Compound, Logan Tom sees a fleet of boats carrying the once-human toward Seattle. Although he looks and calls for Panther, the boy is nowhere to be found. Deciding to rejoin the Ghosts in their flight, he heads toward the freeway.

Panther has fled the compound to avoid a group of hunting Croaks. He meets Sparrow in Pioneer Square and both of them flee from the pursuing Croaks. Everywhere they go, the Croaks are there waiting. Finally, Logan Tom appears and they drive off the Croaks.

Heading down a freeway entrance ramp, the Ghosts draw near to Logan Tom's vehicle, but are faced by a group of mutant street kids. Owl is beginning to get through to the strangers when a sudden movement causes the leader to shoot her with a shockgun. The electrified leads hit Squirrel instead of Owl, but Owl also receives a lesser shock since the boy is on her lap.

Bear rushes at the youngster with the shockgun and knocks him senseless. Chalk receives a minor shock from the wheelchair handles, but recovers quickly. Owl recovers more slowly, but is soon able to tell them that Squirrel needs more aid than she does.

River checks out Squirrel and finds that he is not breathing. She starts CPR, but Squirrel still isn't breathing after many minutes. Owl stops her, but Logan Tom arrives shortly after that and tries more CPR. Finally, they have to give up. They load up the Lightning S-150 and head south out of the city on the freeway.

In this story, Angel flees on the Mercury-5 ATV with Ailie. Behind them, the demon howls and follows. In her new shape, Delloreen is cat-like, but with scaly skin and a body over ten feet long. The demon concentrates on following the scent of the Knight as she runs through the night.

In Cintra, Kirisin and Erisha have been discovered by Cluth, the keeper of the histories. He soon falls in with their plans and provides more information about the elfstones and the Loden. He tells them that a queen and sorceress of long ago had been buried in Ashenell -- the elven burial ground -- with a trio of blue search stones.

Elsewhere, Hawk finds himself in a great garden, with profuse greenery stretching out of sight in all directions. An old man -- the King of the Silver River -- tells him that his memories have been edited and fills in some of the missing memories. Hawk is told that he will be the one to lead thousands of humans and elves to safety. Hawk has trouble believing the old man.

This story has Angel and Ailie finally reaching the elven domain and waiting for Simralin, the older sister of Kirisin. After their mission is explained, Simralin blindfolds the Knight and guides them to the meeting hall. She also sends messengers to the king and the elven High Council. Angel is given an opportunity to tell the Elves of their danger and the need for escape to another sanctuary.

Kirisin is still thwarted by the Elven King and forced to search for the Loden Stone with few companions while being pursued by demons. The Ghosts continue on toward a rendezvous with Hawk, Tessa and Cheney. Helen Rice and the rescued compound children reach the Columbia River and camp on the south bank.

This volume ends with the discovery of the Loden Stone and its aftermath. Presumably this subseries will conclude with the next volume. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Brooks fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of demonic conflict, magical quests, and familial love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I have been a Brooks fan since the age of 11. I have just went back through the entire series including all shannara books and the Night of the Word series. I love how he has tied the Shannara and Word&Void together. I have about eighty pages left in Elves of Cintra...then I am going to be craving for his upcoming Gypsy Morph. If you are a Shannara fan and haven't read the Word & Void series yet, I SERIOUSLY suggest that you do, then move on to the Genesis of Shannara series. It is brilliant how he has tied the two worlds together. This book delivers and leaves you hanging. I love it!

I like Terry Brooks, really I do, but more often than not I find myself getting irritated with his repetitive plot exposition and descriptions. A character will go through an action, decision, or discovery then in the rest of the story he will revisit this, describing it again and again as if we missed it the first time! The elves of Cintra was good and I liked it, but I grew tired of characters remembering how it felt when in the chapter just before bla bla bla happened and it made them feel bla bla bla.... Also it's strange how many times a character knew "instantly" what they should do or how the elf stones reacted "instantly" or the demon was "instantly" on it's feet. Lots of "instantly" happening things going on here! A lot of descriptions left me rolling my eyes due to the purple prose that weighs them down! Compare how Neil Gaimen can create a whole mood and setting with one simple sentence (he is a master at it!) where Terry Brooks goes through unnecessary paragraph after repetitive paragraph of descriptions, dialog, or exposition (mostly that he has already covered in the previous chapters!!!)

I love the involved complex story and characters, but he really needs a better editor!

The Elves of Cintra makes for good, light, quick entertainment. The plot arcs of the previous installment (Armageddon's Children) are steadily advanced towards what seems like a mostly-predictable conclusion (that is, beyond whatever can be predicted from the existence of the rest of the Shannara series). This book focuses mostly on the Elven fetch quest, though the stories of the other characters outside of Elfland are tended to as well. Complaints of middle-book-syndrome are, I feel, inappropriate, as the book is just as self-contained and story-advancing as the first one (which is to say, "not very" and "fairly so," respectively).

The book's primary flaw, to my eyes, is the consistently uninteresting and often (for me) off-putting writing style. Brooks writes to keep you engaged, but it is simply the fact that you just want to know what happens -- rather than how he tells the story -- that gives any incentive to continue. I will also admit that I am a fan of consistent POV throughout a section, and the fact that Brooks shifts POV within sections (i.e., within a span of text that is not blocked off by a few line breaks or three asterisks) is distracting. It (1) prevents getting emotionally involved with the focal character, and (2) sometimes results in very unnatural language (like people referring to "the Elves" rather than "you" or "you Elves" when addressing Elven folk). I'm not even sure if he knows he's doing it, but whoever edits him should tell him to get a clue (either that, or I'm just too picky).

he is one of my favorite authors, one reason being i can never anticipate what he may or may not do to his characters. most books, i can pick it up knowing that the main characters will succeed and get out of the situation alive and happy. this is not the case with brooks. i never know what he will put his characters through!
i really enjoy this series, can't wait for the least book, and really enjoy the future destruction human world/faerie relm mix. the characters are likeable and believable, no character is too sure of themselves (which i have found in other "hero" novels) fear and doubt are abundant, but so is hope.
it didn't end leaving me on my seat at the end so much as the last one did, but it was excellent!

Five decades into the future earth is a terrible place to live as pollution is everywhere with plague being the norm. Most humans live inside fortifications never venturing outside the walls if they want to live as human predators are everywhere, but along with these "once-men" are powerfully magical evil Void demons.

A few good souls remain with the strength to keep dwindling humanity safe, but these Knights of the Word are realistic as they know they are slowly losing the fight. Still they adhere to their pledge so that the remaining twosome Logan Tom and Angel Perez risk death or worse protect children. However, they are losing the battle of Seattle where they and a child with magic Hawk try to keep the Ghosts children of the street safe from the demons and their once-men minion. Hawk vanishes; ending up in the mythical Garden of Life. However, there is no time to worry about the young practitioner as Logan and Angel split up in hopes of saving at least one group. Logan assisted by Cat the lizard girl lead one horde of kids out of the city; Angel takes another group into hiding in the nearby woods where they meet Kirisina Cintra elf hiding there also. Hopes are slim, but Kirisin offers an idea, find the blue Elfstones that will lead him to the powerful Loden Stone.

The second Word and Void fantasy thriller (see ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN) is a terrific bleak epic tale of an earth destroyed by human excesses especially the inability to see beyond the immediate bottom line of the "it's the economy stupid" philosophy. The post-apocalyptic world seems genuine even with magic working as the audience will accept Terry Brooks' theory that we of today killed the earth. Thus in this nightmarish future, readers quickly understand the courage of Logan and Angel, who could easily walk away to a safer nicer lifestyle.

Harriet Klausner

So many middle books lag -- just look at A FEAST FOR CROWS by George RR Martin -- but this one doesn't! It goes somewhere with likable characters that develop with each page turned.

The Elves of Cintra takes the characters from Armageddon's Children -- characters who are wholly unique -- and pushes them along toward the inevitable conclusion to come in the third and final book of the series. But unlike some author's middle books, this book has a climax all its own for most of its characters. No cliffhangers here, folks! I was satisfied with how the story unfolded and finished up.

The characters are fantastic and despite what one of the other reviewers said are new and invigorating. There has been no character like Angel Perez in Terry Brooks's other stories -- a hispanic woman who speaks in her native tongue sometimes and has been given great power. Angel must overcome her own doubts, doubts that have plagued her since the beginning in this deteriorated world, and she grows over this middle volume to a great final confrontation with evil.

Logan Tom is another example of a new character for Terry Brooks. He is no John Ross, no Allanon, no Balinor. He is a man destroyed from losing his family and conflicted with the new family he has been given despite not being able to follow the command of the Word. Revenge drives him. This is unlike anything Brooks has tackled before and allows him to talk about responsibility in dark times -- times much like we are living in now.

Then you have the street kids, the Ghosts. All of them are unique, all of them have never been in a Shannara book or Word/Void book. Terry spends time with each of them as they travel from ruined Seattle southward, and as this trilogy unfolds all of them will have their individual stories told.

The only drawback I could see in The Elves of Cintra is the absence of Hawk. Hawk is maybe only in the book for three chapters. He will undoubtedly be in the third book a great deal -- this middle book is the story of Angel Perez and the Elves for the most aprt -- but I felt his absence. Time will tell how his story unfolds and completes.

There were also real moments in this book when I had to reread the passage because I couldn't believe what Terry had done! No one is safe in Terry Brooks's work, and he really surprised me at times with the avenue he took the story. So be prepared for that!

Anyone who loves the Word/Void books should read this series. Anyone who loves the Shannara Elves should read this series. I look forward to reading the third book in this series!

Excellent read! Terry Brooks is indeed a master story teller and weaver of tales. When I first heard Mr. Brooks was going to meld the story lines of Shannara and Knights of the Word I was concerned about how the storyline would evolve. With Terry Brooks at the helm I should not have worried in the least. Holding true to each story line in Mr. Brooks blending technique has been amazing to watch, how strand after strand lays into place and the blend becomes more of a single storyline instead of two different ones. I have enjoyed reading Terry Brooks for over twenty years now. I look forward to his works every year and will continue for as long as Mr. Brooks chooses to share with us. To Mr. Brooks, Thank you sir for many years of fun and fascination. I look forward to sharing your works with my children and grandchildren.

Brandon McKinley

I'm very disappointed that the cover image I got for my Kindle is not the same as what's advertised. All I get is a generic picture of the publisher's logo. I'm disappointed the publisher didn't felt including the cover image is necessary for digital copy of the book, as it limited my enjoyment of Kindle services.

Five decades into the future earth is a terrible place to live as pollution is everywhere with plague being the norm. Most humans live inside fortifications never venturing outside the walls if they want to live as human predators are everywhere, but along with these "once-men" are powerfully magical evil Void demons.

A few good souls remain with the strength to keep dwindling humanity safe, but these Knights of the Word are realistic as they know they are slowly losing the fight. Still they adhere to their pledge so that the remaining twosome Logan Tom and Angel Perez risk death or worse protect children. However, they are losing the battle of Seattle where they and a child with magic Hawk try to keep the Ghosts children of the street safe from the demons and their once-men minion. Hawk vanishes; ending up in the mythical Garden of Life. However, there is no time to worry about the young practitioner as Logan and Angel split up in hopes of saving at least one group. Logan assisted by Cat the lizard girl lead one horde of kids out of the city; Angel takes another group into hiding in the nearby woods where they meet Kirisina Cintra elf hiding there also. Hopes are slim, but Kirisin offers an idea, find the blue Elfstones that will lead him to the powerful Loden Stone.

The second Word and Void fantasy thriller (see ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN) is a terrific bleak epic tale of an earth destroyed by human excesses especially the inability to see beyond the immediate bottom line of the "it's the economy stupid" philosophy. The post-apocalyptic world seems genuine even with magic working as the audience will accept Terry Brooks' theory that we of today killed the earth. Thus in this nightmarish future, readers quickly understand the courage of Logan and Angel, who could easily walk away to a safer nicer lifestyle.

Harriet Klausner

So many middle books lag -- just look at A FEAST FOR CROWS by George RR Martin -- but this one doesn't! It goes somewhere with likable characters that develop with each page turned.

The Elves of Cintra takes the characters from Armageddon's Children -- characters who are wholly unique -- and pushes them along toward the inevitable conclusion to come in the third and final book of the series. But unlike some author's middle books, this book has a climax all its own for most of its characters. No cliffhangers here, folks! I was satisfied with how the story unfolded and finished up.

The characters are fantastic and despite what one of the other reviewers said are new and invigorating. There has been no character like Angel Perez in Terry Brooks's other stories -- a hispanic woman who speaks in her native tongue sometimes and has been given great power. Angel must overcome her own doubts, doubts that have plagued her since the beginning in this deteriorated world, and she grows over this middle volume to a great final confrontation with evil.

Logan Tom is another example of a new character for Terry Brooks. He is no John Ross, no Allanon, no Balinor. He is a man destroyed from losing his family and conflicted with the new family he has been given despite not being able to follow the command of the Word. Revenge drives him. This is unlike anything Brooks has tackled before and allows him to talk about responsibility in dark times -- times much like we are living in now.

Then you have the street kids, the Ghosts. All of them are unique, all of them have never been in a Shannara book or Word/Void book. Terry spends time with each of them as they travel from ruined Seattle southward, and as this trilogy unfolds all of them will have their individual stories told.

The only drawback I could see in The Elves of Cintra is the absence of Hawk. Hawk is maybe only in the book for three chapters. He will undoubtedly be in the third book a great deal -- this middle book is the story of Angel Perez and the Elves for the most aprt -- but I felt his absence. Time will tell how his story unfolds and completes.

There were also real moments in this book when I had to reread the passage because I couldn't believe what Terry had done! No one is safe in Terry Brooks's work, and he really surprised me at times with the avenue he took the story. So be prepared for that!

Anyone who loves the Word/Void books should read this series. Anyone who loves the Shannara Elves should read this series. I look forward to reading the third book in this series!

Excellent read! Terry Brooks is indeed a master story teller and weaver of tales. When I first heard Mr. Brooks was going to meld the story lines of Shannara and Knights of the Word I was concerned about how the storyline would evolve. With Terry Brooks at the helm I should not have worried in the least. Holding true to each story line in Mr. Brooks blending technique has been amazing to watch, how strand after strand lays into place and the blend becomes more of a single storyline instead of two different ones. I have enjoyed reading Terry Brooks for over twenty years now. I look forward to his works every year and will continue for as long as Mr. Brooks chooses to share with us. To Mr. Brooks, Thank you sir for many years of fun and fascination. I look forward to sharing your works with my children and grandchildren.

Brandon McKinley

I'm very disappointed that the cover image I got for my Kindle is not the same as what's advertised. All I get is a generic picture of the publisher's logo. I'm disappointed the publisher didn't felt including the cover image is necessary for digital copy of the book, as it limited my enjoyment of Kindle services.

If you enjoy a good, predictable fantasy story, this book is for you. The characters are not well developed. As stated in one of the other reviews, the author makes too much use of characters "pulling their knees to their chest and rocking" as the means of explaining that the character is feeling upset, scared, reflecting on the past, or whatever. Unfortunately, this seems to happen about 10 times in the course of 40 pages and then other times scattered throughout the book. At least we don't hear about every restroom break like the author had a habit of doing the first book. However, I enjoyed the book because it tells a fun story. Don't dwell on the shortcomings in the writing. If you generally enjoy reading Terry Brooks' books, I am sure you will enjoy this book.

I have been an avid fantasy reader since grade school, but have not touched a Terry Brooks book since Sword/Shannara 20 + years ago. Unlike many books in the fantasy genre, Cintra is an extremely well written book , with outstanding character development woven throughout. A must read, especially for those fantasy buffs looking for a little intellectual stimulation along with their fire, spells and brimstone. Definitely a must read. I can't wait to rediscover the other books in the Shannara series. Enjoy!

As the second piece in the Genesis of Shannara series I found this book did not dissapoint. Once again Terry Brooks displays his mastery of fantasy by weaving mulitple characters, plots, and events into one cohesive story. As per his usual style this book is a smooth read, easy to follow, has well defined characters, just the right amount of descriptive narrative, and plenty of action. In addition for you Shannara fanatics who have feasted on this wonderful world since the 1970's, Brooks seems to be giving a rare look into how he developed the Shannara story. The pieces fit too nicely for this to be a stand-alone story and to me it seems this background has been in place for some time, we have just never seen it, until now.

All in all this was an excellent book. Enjoy!

Terry Brooks does it again. It is amazing how he could take two different series and make a bridge to connect them. The only thing left to do is to connect this series with his Landover series, which is a much lighter series. Perhaps the survivors of old earth could go to Landover until the world of Shannara could appear. (also a charactor with the last name of Shannara should be in this series to really connect them.)

Terry is a great author who loves his fans. I wish all of the authors were like him.

I've been a Terry Brooks fan since i read The Sword of Shannara when i was real young. So i've read just about all the fantasy he's written and i think the idea of tying the elves and the world we know in the Shannara books to a modern near future apocalypse world was a great idea. I for one had always felt like the Shannara books took place in the future and wondered about how it all went down. The book itself is pretty good kinda predictable in a way, i wish it was less about getting there and more about the journey....feels kinda rushed but all in all a good book, besides if your reading these reviews you'll read the book anyway lol.

So for a year I have been eagerly awaiting this book, as I usually do whenever Terry is working on something new. The Word/Void books are second to none and Armageddon's Children was excellent.

But this book was not that great. Sure there was an interesting story and somewhat interesting characters, but it failed to really get me fired up and excited about what was going to happen next. We instantly went from Word/Void to Shannarra, and although I am a huge fan of both I think the transition should have been a little smoother.

I think the biggest difficulty I had was with Angel. In the first book she was struggling to accept anything about the fact that there were elves in the world, yet here that is totally gone. She asks very little about their world and I would have thought she would have had a lot more curiosity about them.

I guess I will just have to wait another year and see how this series ends out. Maybe in the grander scheme of the story arc this one will not be so bad. But right now I am very disappointed with where this is going and I surely hope that Terry can turn it around.

In this series, there is a lot less of characters constantly second guessing themselves and the author endlessly droning on about it than in the original Shannara triligy.

The biggest problem I have with both series is the author's tendency to say in 100 words what could be said in 50. This is repeated time and again with different situations a character encounters.

Having said all this, I still like this series a lot. I found myself switching from audiobook format to book format so I could skip all the repetitive text. I do wish I had waited for the third book of this series to be published before I started it.

I love Terry Brooks. I've loved him since I cracked open The Sword of Shannara. But lately the man has fallen behind in his ways to amaze me. This book the second book after Armageddon's Children is a luke-warm follow up to its predecessor. At times it just plays like a bridge between the first book and the climax.

Logan Tom has found the gypsy morph of Nest Freemark's time but now the boy Hawk has disappeared. Step in the King of the Silver River, who has been in almost every Shannara novel and frankly I'm tired of the man. No offense Terry. Anyway, Hawk learns of his mission and then is sent back. But we don't pick up that story thread until 200 pages into the book. The rest of the plot is the Ghosts traveling south to meet up with Hawk. Many pitfalls happen along the way (my personal favorite is the Senator) but it has a mostly happy outcome.

Angel Perez has trouble of her own. She must convince the elves that they are in danger, elves that do not trust humans. Kirisen Belloruus with blue elfstones in hand goes with Angel and his sister to find the mysterious Loden elfstone. But a demons are tracking them. Who the demon is, is a mystery worth savoring. Flaws in this plotline are that we have already explored the blue elfstones' and the Loden's capibilities. I would have liked to have seen some different ones.

In closing: there is a glimpse of the future with the demon that Findo Gask summons and a question of what will Hawk actually do? All and all it is a good and fast-paced read. And I still love Terry Brooks.

Assault vehicles, superheroes, elves and demons.

This is a poor book, and certainly not as good as the first in this section of the saga.

Multiple threats throughout, one for each of the Knigths of the Word, Logan Tom, and Angel Perez, demons, the elves, etc.

Very flat writing, seems almost simplified - perhaps this is designed to make it more appealing to young children.

Just an episode of the overall piece, and the two young lovers executed at the end of the last book and magically saved only appear briefly.

You would want to be keen on Brooks or this storyline to pick it up.

I got sucked into the Knight of Word series and followed Terry to this series and have really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next in the series and going back to reread all the Shannara books from the beginning!

That's the problem with reading a series that has yet to be completed, and that takes roughly a year between installments. I finished the book in about 2 days, and that only because I had to go to work both days and couldn't spend as much time reading. It's a great story, and it really fun to see Terry's creativity manifest itself in connecting the stories of the Word and the Void with the Shannara books. Great read!

I thought that this book was great! It was much less depressing than the first one of the series (Armageddon's Children). The thing that I love most about this series in general is how it is connecting the other series that he has (Shannara and Running With the Demon). I love Terry Brooks as an author, and this book, like his others, did not disappoint. Now I just have to wait for the next one to come out! I think if you like fantasy, you'll love this book.

Great follow up book. Now eagerly anticipating book no:3.

I only discovered Terry Brooks as an author this year, but feel a little like when I first read The Lord of The Rings way back in the late 60's. Fortunately he seems to have written a great many more books so lot's of treats in store.

I had to spend the whole day reading it!

I've always been a fan of Brooks, and have often scratched my head on his move from the earlier books of Shannara to the Knight of the Word series, and so this is giving me an 'aha!' to all that.. which is sort of like solving a 10-year mystery series with that excitement at the end of a complex puzzle.

Wow, I love the way that Terry Brooks is tying together the worlds of Shannara and ours. It is very interesting to read his perspective of what our world will be like post apocalyptic and it being set on the west coast and the Pacific Northwest I am able to identify with it as I am also from the Pacific Northwest. Way to go Terry, I am anxious for the next one to come out so that I can read it!

As usual Terry Brooks has me spellbound with his wonderful stories! I have 14 of his books and I am planning to continue with the next set of Shannara books. I love it, I read them so fast by the time the next ones come in I am ready to start the next book!

Assault vehicles, superheroes, elves and demons.

This is a poor book, and certainly not as good as the first in this section of the saga.

Multiple threats throughout, one for each of the Knigths of the Word, Logan Tom, and Angel Perez, demons, the elves, etc.

Very flat writing, seems almost simplified - perhaps this is designed to make it more appealing to young children.

Just an episode of the overall piece, and the two young lovers executed at the end of the last book and magically saved only appear briefly.

You would want to be keen on Brooks or this storyline to pick it up.

Warning: If you are a Brooks sycophant this review is going to cause your Elf Stones to glow blue, or your Wishsong to rise in your throat.

This thing tastes like a dish with expired ingredients.

What happened to the journey? This book (series) moves at breakneck speed, in fits and starts, to a predictable end.

What happened to dialogue? Is character development through interaction and dialogue "old school"?

Where is the cadence, the rhythm, the muse? Too many "scene changes", which brings to question the editing?

How many times can a character pull knees to chest (the universal posture of an impending monologue) and tell us what the author couldn't show us.

Where is the art? Van Gogh's "Sower with Setting Sun" is not the figure in field beneath a sun. It is the artist moving us intellectually and emotionally through the execution, choice, and application of the pigment; a unique vision masterfully expressed - the art.

Perhaps, if someone could effectively wield the seeking stones we could find answers to these questions before the finale.

I think I know what has happened here. Terry has transitioned from a literary artist to a business man, and in business there is always an end game. The end game here is a movie deal. And that clarifies it form me. This is not a book; it is a screen play on steroids. This series is devoid of all the artistic nuisances of literature, and streamlined for the screen.

Compare this book to "Running with the Demon"; the amount and quality of the dialogue, the extended development and interaction of the characters, a fulcrum (Nest Freemark), and the effective blending of reality with the "otherness". It works there. But not here.

This whole Elf and Faerie thing is juxtaposed out of context, compare the original Shannara (1977). To the point, an impressionist (e.g. Monet) painting flowers in the context of an emerging Industrial Age has a different meaning/impact on the psyche than an artist executing that same painting today, at the dawn of the Cyber Age. The time is past, the world moves on. It is almost ironic that this is a prequel to a piece of literature that worked 30 years ago.

I am thinking the whole elf and faerie thing has burned through; mating them with these new characters of the new (or is it old) apocalypse in a new (or is it old) socio-politically charged landscape is by turns aggressive and absurd.

Importantly, Terry in these books fails to show the other side of the story (mutants / demons) and treats them merely as archetypes. The energy in contemporary thought explores the lack of boundaries between good and evil; that it is not so black and white.

Perhaps if he would have left out the whole Shannara thing, and worked on the new characters, while at the same time exploring with objectivity and humanity the Void and its characters, he would have had a more compelling and relevant story.

Want some really good heady reading, pick up Terry Pratchett.

He does this whole fantasy genre as satire in his Discworld series. Brilliant man - big on anthropomorphic personifications like DEATH (no kidding, DEATH TALKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS). Pratchett delivers gems like:

Give a man fire and you keep him warm for a day, Light a man on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life.

First of all I need to say that I was once a huge fan of Terry Brooks in fact I have read every book he has every published beginning with the Sword of Shannara( a blatant plagerism of Lord of the Rings) And I really loved his books. But that was back in seventh grade now I realize they are complete crap.
His novels have stupid simplistic plots and this one is no exception. But I think the main thing is Terry's complete lack of skill as a writer. His characters are boring and there really is no character development also this story is only a few hundred pages long and lacks any depth whatsoever. This is the last Terry Brooks book I will ever read I really dont care what happens with the rest of the story. The whole idea to tie the Word and Void to the Shannara books was an idiotic idea only terry brooks could have thought of.

I was OK with Armageddon's Children, but I was very happy with the second installment. It felt similar to Elfstones in style, and that is a very good thing.

As a long time Terry Brooks fan, I've seen good and bad things happen with the Shannarah series. The first three novels were classics. Scions was a great series. Voyage was less so, but pretty good. High Druid ended in a train wreck.

This series nicely blends Word/Void and Shannarah. It feels fresh and inspired. I've managed to care about someone in each of the subplots.

I only have two problems and they're both small. First, Panther's speaking is a struggle. Obviously, Mr. Brooks cannot lace a book like this with profanity. Also obviously, that is what Panther is doing. I can only tolerate words like "frickin'" as a joke. It is hard to take that seriously.

Second, I have aged outside of this book's intended demographic, I think. At 35 years old, I cannot really identify with any of the characters. Really, they're all a bunch of kids, even if they do have grown up problems. A neat thing about fantasy reading is being able to insert yourself into the story, and I have no place in this one.

The Elves of Cintra is book 2 of the Genesis Of Shannara series. The characters are well liked and Terry Brooks made them very believable. The book is very hard to put down all you want to do know is what will happen next. I recommend this book to everyone who likes fantasy and Terry Brooks.