A Return to Form

I recently finished reading The Elves of Cintra, Terry Brooks' newest book, and the middle volume of his current trilogy linking his well-known Shannara series with his less well-known Word and Void series. "Middle installments" of trilogies are often the weak links of stories, doing little more than setting up epic conclusions for the final volume, while offering little satisfaction on their own. There are exceptions to this, of course, but it's often the rule.

Not this time. I found The Elves of Cintra to be a very engaging and suspenseful read. This was one of those books that pulls you through at a rapid pace. When you finish a chapter, you don't want to put it down until you've read "just one more." This was not just meandering to wait for the third book, it was exciting, tense, and fun.

After a positive but slightly reserved response to the first book, Armageddon's Children, and true disappointment in the book Terry Brooks wrote prior to it, Straken, I'm pleased to say that one of my favorite authors is back in his best form here. This is his most enjoyable book in the last five or six he's written.

I do have to reserve a little judgment, I suppose, until I see how the story finishes. Fortunately, of all the authors I read who are leaving me hanging in the middle of a series, Terry Brooks has never been one to do so for long. Every August, the man publishes a new book -- like clockwork. Odds are he'll finish this series and another after that before George R.R. Martin finally finishes A Song of Ice and Fire. (Sigh.) Though with books like this one, I don't think he's having to sacrifice quality for this relative speed.

It's not quite up there with my favorite books of his (The Heritage of Shannara four-book series), but it's well worthy of an A- in my view. I recommend this series to fantasy readers, particularly any who have enjoyed Terry Brooks in the past.

Though I suppose I'd understand if you wanted to wait until next year for the final book to arrive.