The last places that provided a not-very-safe haven for humans have fallen to demons and their once-men, leaving a small band of survivors. These consist of humans (mainly children) led by Hawk and a few elves from Cintra and they travel northward to a better place, as described by the magical King of the Silver River. They have two Knights of the Word as their protection and they will need it—everything has changed and nowhere is safe.

It’s time to sort out the wheat from the chaff in the final instalment of this trilogy, and set the scene for the well-loved Shannara books. Expect plenty of post-apocalyptic action as humans and elves pit themselves against the enemy, and not everybody lives to tell the tale. This is a pacy tale, not containing any big surprises but a good conclusion to an interesting idea—the merging of post-apocalyptic style fantasy into a traditional Tolkeinesque setting. For me, this has been the biggest treat about this particular trilogy and it has far more impact that it would have if the "genesis" had taken place wholly in the same world as the later books. Tying his Word and the Void series to the Shannara books has taken considerable imagination, and allied with the thrilling narrative it is easy to see why this author makes the bestseller lists over and over again. Impressive, effective stuff.