A Few Wards, Please

Every year in August, like clockwork, fantasy author Terry Brooks publishes a new novel. This year, he began a new trilogy in his epic Shannara series (now running over 20 books in all). The trilogy, known as The Dark Legacy of Shannara, will be released at roughly six month intervals, rather than the usual one year, meaning that it will be concluded by this time next year. The refreshing reliability of Brooks' output makes him one of my favorite authors, even if his books don't always hit the creative highs of some writers in his field.

But actually this new book, Wards of Faerie, is the best Brooks novel in several years. Set around 100 years after the last of his Shannara books (in internal chronology, not publication order), this book kicks off a quest to find the long missing sets of "elfstones" that are companions to the magic talismans featured in so many of the Shannara books. A new generation of Druids, Ohmsfords, and others are following a trail that may lead to the missing elfstones, but the journey won't take them where they expect.

My one complaint about the book would be that the journey does take them exactly to where I expected. There are enough contextual clues in the opening chapters, not to mention a few dangling hints from the earlier trilogy set 100 years prior to this book, that (being a long-time Brooks reader) I was able to crack the mystery about 50 pages into a 366-page book. The characters themselves didn't get there until past the 300 mark.

That said, this was one of those times where the destination was not as important as the journey, because this time, Terry Brooks did an extra good job on his characters and the subplots. Brooks often uses similar archetypes in his series, but there are just enough interesting twists on them here to really tweak the formula. There are more female characters of prominence (and ability) than he's ever featured before. He's featuring a pair of identical twins for the first time, as well as (a very minor spoiler here, only important to longtime Brooks readers) the first female member of the Leah family.

There's also a fair amount of action surrounding the Druid order this time out, and it's far more compelling than what was depicted in his "High Druid of Shannara" series. There are some interesting villains and henchmen in the mix, perhaps the most compelling since the "Heritage of Shannara" series. There are also some big siege moments, well-written, that come off at a grander scale than he's attempted in some time.

And perhaps most importantly, now that this book has reached the point I was expecting, I'm quite eager to see where the story will go next. I'm pretty sure I've deduced one piece of the coming tapestry -- again, knowledge from past Brooks novels has informed the structure. But I'm far less certain about the way new character relationships will unfold, and quite in the dark about the particular plot points that may show up along the way. Just as the subplots here surprised and entertained me, I'm expecting the same from the next two books.

I give Wards of Faerie an A-. That's a solid recommendation, even if you haven't read any of Terry Brooks' Shannara novels before. There are certainly rewards for longtime fans, but he has shaped his epic saga into more manageable sets of 2, 3, or 4 books that can really be taken in any order you wish. And this series seems like it will be one of the good ones. Now may be the time for you to give Terry Brooks a chance.