Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
Second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy
Publisher: Del Rey; Reissue edition (July 12 1988), Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0345356365, ISBN-13: 978-0345356369

Before humans walked the earth, Demons created a dark book of magic that became a living thing full of evil. The Warlock Lord’s human minions have utilized this knowledge to change themselves into the Mord Wraiths and their evil influence is threatening the world.  It is up to Allanon, the last druid and the inimitable Ohmsfords to destroy this atrocious book before it is too late.

Currently there are twenty-three books in the Shannara world. These comprise of six different series, a couple of standalone novels, a short story and a graphic book. Book number twenty-four is going to be released in August 2011 and a new trilogy is to be released over time from 2012 to 2014. Terry Brooks has also written 6 books in the Landover series, which is totally unrelated to Shannnara. Please see my review of these books at: https://books-treasureortrash.com/?series=the-magic-kingdom-of-landover. The Wishsong of Shannara is the third book in the Original Shannara Trilogy and it is in the high fantasy genre. It takes place in a non-technological age with reference to a world that was previously highly technological, but due to primordial great wars it has now once again reverted to simpler times with magic replacing technology. The story is told in the third person narrative from the various character’s point of view as the tale unfolds. The main protagonists are Jair and Brin Ohmsford.

There is plenty of action with lots of excitement. We are introduced to a new form of magic that is accessed through song, yet it has its price for use. I like how the characters are described and I enjoy reading how they react to the challenges they face. Most of them showed growth, which was required for them to attain their goals.  There were many new characters introduced, and one of my favorites was the Weapons Master Garet Jax. Once again we learn and read about the many different creatures, with most of the Gnomes being controlled by the evil wraiths. The ending was sad, yet it also left us with a sense of hope. The story had lots of twists and turns and left us wondering what was going to happen.

This is a standalone story that can be read without reading any of the other Shannara books and still be completely enjoyable. However it is best to read the books in the order they were written so you can know the full back story. I recommend this book as a good entertaining read.  If you enjoy reading high fantasy books then you will enjoy reading The Wishsong of Shannara.

To Purchase: “The Wishsong of Shannara” from Amazon, click here or on picture above