High Druid of Shannara: Straken

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

The King of the Silver River has charged young Penderrin Ohmsford with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt, Grianne, Ard Rhys of the Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of all things damned: the Forbidding. With the noble dwarf Tagwen and the prodigal elven princess Khyber Elessedil by his side–and with the outcome of the bloody war between the Federation and the Free-born at stake–Pen has accepted his mission without question. But not without risk…or sacrifice.

Shadea a'Ru, the ruthless Druid responsible for imprisoning the true Ard Rhys, has sent her agents and assassins in relentless pursuit of Pen and his comrades. Now if the Free-born forces should fall, Shadea's domination of the Four Lands will be assured. Pen's challenge grows greater when he learns that his parents have fallen into Shadea's hands. He must try to help them–but once within the walls of Druid's Keep, where Shadea's minions and dark magic lurk at every turn, Pen's survival is far from assured. Yet it will all pale in comparison to the horrors that wait inside the Forbidding….

"A great storyteller, Terry Brooks creates rich epics filled with mystery, magic, and memorable characters. If you haven't read Terry Brooks, you haven't read fantasy" –Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon and Eldest©2005 Terry Brooks; (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for Terry Brooks

“A great storyteller, Terry Brooks creates rich epics filled with mystery, magic, and memorable characters. If you haven’t read Terry Brooks, you haven’t read fantasy.”
–Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon

“Terry’s place is at the head of the fantasy world.”
–Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass

From an avid audio book listener

I listen to 4 or 5 audio books a month and "Straken" the 3rd book in this series peaked my interest from beginning to end. I usually get bored after the 1st few books in a fantasy series, but never with Terry Brooks. I would suggest reading (or listening to) all of his prior works 1st, but it is not necessary. I love how he develops the characters, the realistic fantasy setting and the plot along with a great ending. I have listened to some audio books from as many 3 different readers for the same book, and I think the reader makes all the difference in the world. I give this book and the reader both 5 stars.

Great book. Wrong narrator

Narrator pronounced names and other words differently than previous narrators. Distracting. And the voice used for young girl was just annoying.

Awesome

The whole series have me sitting on the edge of my seat, Terry Brooks is so awesome

Good story, bad narration.

The narration was very bad and made listening to it unenjoyable. Love the story and the author.

You can breathe again when the story ends!

A fantastic ending to an epic story! Terry Brooks delivers again! Can't wait til the next installment!