Ah, so humble to return to that world of Shannara for another epic tale of magic and fantasy. This was one of those books that I bought way before I actually read it for the sole reason that I loved the first in the series so much. And I must say I am glad that I had this book on hand. It helped me remember why I love reading after having read two particularly low quality books.

            Anyway this new story is in fact the sequel to The Sword of Shannara however it doesn’t continue that story or its characters, for the most part. What I mean to say is that it is a story all on its own with new characters that you will grow to love just as much as the original cast.

            However there are relations to the original that fans will appreciate. For one thing, Allanon the mysterious wizard from the first book has returned, with a similar but much more daunting task set before him. The Ellcry tree, located in the land of the elves, is dying, and with it an ancient forbidding that has long since held millions of underworld creatures at bay. Unfortunately as the tree becomes weaker and weaker, more beasts begin to escape from the barrier and Allanon must find a way to restore the tree before the entire forbidding comes down.

            This task then falls upon Wil Ohmsford, the great grandson of Shea Ohmsford, the man who destroyed the Warlock Lord using the legendary Sword of Shannara.

            Now the reason Wil is appointed to this task is because his grandfather gave him the Elfstones of Shannara; three tiny blue stones that are of great magical power. Wil is now the only one who can use them and thus the task of protecting Amberle, the only Elf who can obtain the Elcrys seed, goes to him.

            I must admit that when I started this story I wanted nothing more than to see the characters from the first book more than I wanted to meet the new ones. You do somewhat get to see them again. Obviously Allanon is back as well as the king of the elves, and we even get to see a sort of cameo by Flick Ohmsford early on, which I enjoyed. Though we don’t get to see Shea again, it does mention that he is still alive, which was kind of nice.

            Anyway, after you get to know the newer characters, you really don’t mind that you don’t get to see any of the old ones. Wil and Amberle are just as interesting of characters as well as some other faces we get to see through.

            This book is truly what an epic fantasy should be; a magical weapon only the hero can use, love forged through hardship and trials, an epic battle that threatens to destroy the world. Everything you could love about this genre is in full force in this book, and in many ways it surpasses the original for entertainment and depth.

            There aren’t many flaws I can think of. There was part of the story that I wasn’t happy with, but it was an emotion that the author intended to give the reader, and I can’t say what it is because it is a massive spoiler.

            But anyway, this is a great book and I definitely recommend it to all fans of the first book and all epic fantasy fans. Just like before it is a complete story, so even if you haven’t read the first one, you can still appreciate what is here (Though I strongly suggest you read the first because it does enhance certain areas of this book.)