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The Dark Legacy of Shannara
Wards of Faerie - Book I
Terry Brooks

Orbit (Little, Brown)
23 August 2012/ ISBN: 9781841499772
Fantasy
Amazon

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde


The world of Shannara needs no introduction to seasoned fantasy readers. It first burst onto the scene back in 1977 and has been popular ever since. But to those who are not so seasoned, or who, for whatever reason, might not have read it before, this is a long and daunting series to break into. So now comes a new beginning in the shape of this new series giving readers not previously au fait with the tale to start reading it. Aphenglow Elessedil is a minor member of the elven royal family, who is unpopular after becoming a druid. It is her task to scan ancient records to find a way of locating the long-missing elfstones and she has at last managed it. After a year of searching, she has come upon the thousand-year-old diary of a young princess that explains why they went missing, but not where they are. Aphenglow and her fellow druids must discover their location before the Federation’s preoccupation with rediscovered science destroys the world they know.

I confess to being one of those people who, though a dyed-in-the-wool fantasy fan, is not very familiar with the Shannara novels. 1977 was a bit long ago for me to have read them first time around and since then I have been reading whatever is the latest in fantasy. I always wanted to read them so the idea of this being a way in had me eagerly reading. I wasn’t disappointed; this is real fantasy with elves,dwarves, and a dragon, people on quests, and ancient sorcery. You won’t find any vampire lovers in here but neither is this quite the retro read some people might not fancy. The inhabitants of this world are torn between magic and science, traveling around in airships that give it all a steampunk feel. The Federation appears to come from a more SF angle and to have it clashing with the D&D style elves and their allies makes this book something out of the common run. Is it suitable for a Shannara virgin? I confess to wishing I had read all the previous books as tantalising snatches of conversation revealed some great stories, but maybe this serves as a hook to do just that. The Federation was never explained very satisfactorily and I found that knowing more about how the world worked would have enhanced my understanding. However, I can see what I have been missing so maybe there might be time before the publication of part II in summer 2013 to hunt out a few of the earlier books?

 
Reviewed 2012
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