Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks

As always, Terry Brooks delivers. He's my favorite fantasy author for many reasons: intriguing, varied, abundantly realized characters; interesting and creative plots; and above all, masterful suspense. I can sometimes predict what's going to happen, but only because I know his style well--and even then, I'm never sure, because Brooks is so skilled at managing expectations and bringing surprises (the best kind--ones you should have predicted). The Elves of Cintra is the second in the Genesis of Shannara set, and it's really exciting! He has three series--the Shannara series, the Word and Void series, and the Magic Kingdom of Landover series. I've known that the first two were connected, the fantasy world of Shannara being what emerges from the collapse of the modern world of the Word and Void. This set connects the two--the modern world in chaos and dying, demons out of hiding, fantasy creatures evolving... the King of the Silver River, a faerie as old as the world, even makes an appearance, guiding a character in this book as he does so many of the series' heroes. The Elves are here too, in hiding now, but that will change soon. The end of this book was completely unsatisfying--I can hardly wait for the next one!

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