Bloodfire Quest: The Dark Legacy of Shannara, Book 2

I own a copy of every Shannara book in the series, and every audiobook, as well.

Does that make me a bit prejudice? I confess that it COULD. Would I, as a reviewer, be more judgmental? Quite possibly.

Want to know more? Read on, Audible listener, as this will be a positive, yet mixed, review.

First, the Shannara series reflects Brook's attitude toward each work, sometimes strong and positive, sometimes not so much. As a whole, I truly LOVE his writing, and where he's taken, and is taking, the rich and complex characters within. I've had many conversations with his readers over the years, and some the conversations were quite, shall we say...demonstrative? It's just that people either LOVE his Shannara writings, or aren't as thrilled with them. It's pretty straightforward, and expected. When you have such a wonderful writer as Brooks to enjoy, this happens. Again, good writing causes minor but spirited controversy and major but good-natured arguments.

In this case, The Dark Legacy of Shannara, the second book in the Bloodfire Quest, I've already had two such conversations, and expect more. Why?

This book is VERY good writing, has VERY good character development, and it obviously comes from a heartfelt and creative period in Terry Brooks’ life. It's astounding to me how he can create such strong emotional plotlines with his characters and create such a sense of urgency in his writing. Regarding these aspects, this book is amazing, to say the very least, and I am pleased to have it, and to have read it/listened to it.

But. (Yes, there IS a but)...

Brooks employs a MAJOR part of the plotline that he already has used in one of his previous novels, "The Elfstones Of Shannara," and it's going to bother die-hard Shannara fans to no end. And. It starts right out of the gate. Right in your face. Once again, the mystical tree that holds off the forbidding is dying, and without giving the rest of the plotline away, something has to happen. Brooks' readers know what this "something" is, and some Brooks fans are not going to be overly thrilled at this. Please, no offense, but get over it, folks. This work is bigger than that - A LOT bigger.

Understand that this does in NO WAY take away from the wonderful work you will listen to herein - That is, if you're smart enough to crack open that dusty wallet or purse and squeak out that valuable Audible credit. BE PATIENT. As the plot unfolds, it's worth the wait, and if you're anything like me, you'll be glad you did!

As usual, I'm not giving anything critical away in this review. Again, the journey's the thing here, as important as the destination. Here's what I WILL tell you:

There is such solid, descriptive and engaging writing in this novel, that it you're like me, you'll be swept into Brooks' latest effort. I went into this very neutral, and frankly, I feel that I've made the right choice in acquiring this exceptional work, will read it again, and will wait with anticipation for the next in the series.

Also, Rosalyn Landor is a stand-apart narrator, and I for one, feel she adds to the work beautifully. If you've read my past reviews, you know I can be extremely harsh on narrators. Brutal. Unforgiving. They can enrich or ruin an audiobook. In this case, I feel there are very few narrators that could do this work (AND the previous narration work in the first of the Bloodfire novels) the justice it deserves as she has done here. Well done, Ms. Landor. VERY well done.

If you've NOT read the Shannara series, please begin a wonderful journey you won't regret! If you've read the first novel in the Bloodfire Quest series, buy this audiobook. If not, buy that audiobook first, and look for my upcoming review on book one. Hint: It's going to be a positive one!

So the verdict is in: In a word, awesome.

Once again, Terry Brooks delivers the goods!

Maybe because this book is the middle book in the series but I did not enjoy it as much.

Terry Brooks was my introduction into Fantasy, and I have been a long time fan since "The Sword of Shannara". I've enjoyed the world he created and the stories he told, but as the series grew on, they started to become formulaic. Certainly he's explored different aspects of that world, different politics and occasionally created some great events. Elfstones of Shannara was perhaps one of his very best (along with "Antrax"), and this latest trilogy builds on much of the elfstone mythology. However, the story arc of of this particular trilogy (to date) has been fairly predictable. The 2 "big reveals" in the past two books were evident (to me anyways) from very early on in Book 1, Wards of Faerie. The characters are still pretty much the same as he's written before with new names (although perhaps with some gender reversals this time, which is interesting). What is intriguing is the regularity with which main characters die in this book- much of this trilogy has been little more than a slaughter at times, which is certainly a departure from previous writings. But it does leave you with a sense of hopelessness that you never had in previous works- the original quest gets fairly lost, if not outright forgotten by the end of this book as the remaining characters struggle to just stay alive.

If you're a Books fan, you're going to get this regardless, because you're invested in the world he's created. I don't really see this work as better than it's predecessors, although Terry is trying to explore new ground here, it just feels that the tools he has are getting a bit long in the tooth- though perhaps that speaks more to my growth as a discerning reader as I've branched out into other authors and story lines than it speaks of Terry's career. Still, I am a fan and will get the next book when it comes out, more out of nostalgia than truly being invested in the characters or the storyline at this point (though I am curious to see where it winds up).

I have been reading Terry Brooks since Sword of Shannara was released. I have re-read the books and listened to all of them on audiobooks. The first book in this new series was okay. This one is an okay listen and I will still buy the next book in the series but this book seemed like several old books put together. Ellcrys is dying; go get the seed but chosen is ambushed; Ard Rhys captured in forbidding, go rescue her. Old Ard Rhys up in the far north, go save her. Presumably another Tannaquil will be needed.

Yes - In true Terry Brooks fashion the story is strong, the characters well developed and the plot intriguing. I would recommend listening to previous Shannara series to have the best background and not just the previous book in this series.

Well written, well read.

She’s a very good narrator; the only thing I had issue with is I can't listen to her at 2x or 3x speed for some reason. Not sure why.

Shannara, the saga continues..... just not in this film!

I liked this book and Brooks ranks up at the top on my list of favorite fantasy authors. That said, I feel like there wasn't enough closure to any of the story lines. If it wasn't for the indication at the end of part two that this was the end of the book I would have thought I'd forgotten to download the entire book. I feel like Bloodfire Quest’s true purpose was just to get me a bit further down the road in the story and to sell more books (which I'm completely fine with, by the way.) Now I'll have to endure the long wait until August for the wrap up but it will give me something to look forward to. I'm sure Witch Wrath will be well worth the wait. I'll be downloading it the first day it's available on Audible.com.

Feckless protagonists, poor character development and unoriginal story line. Honestly, they all deserve to get eaten by some creature because they behave so stupidly at every point in the story that I couldn't care much about their fate.

I'll probably get the last book of this series, but I won't be happy about it. Nothing more after that.

Overly dramatic, but her range of voices is quite good.

Annoyance

Brooks' portrayal of female characters borders on being sexist.

Terry Brooks is an amazing author, and his Shannara series is one of the best I have listen to.

I can not say there was one memorable moment, because this book is in the middle of the series and well unlike some series where the story ends and the character go on, this is really just one big book they cut in to three. don't get me wrong it is good it is just the middle of the story.

I did not like the narration as much in this book as the others he has used in the past, but it did not take away form the book.

this book is not a romance at all. I say this because if you are looking at the rest of my library there is a lot of that there. This story is deep into magic and fantasy and to really understand it maybe you should start at the very beginning several books ago. They are all worth the read and Terry Brooks is great at developing strong characters and deep story lines that keep your interest every step of the way.