Pages: 374pp
ISBN 9780345484130
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Fifty years from now, our world looks very different. Governments have fallen. Thousands live in fortified strongholds; others roam the landscape as either predator or prey. Standing against the forces that have tipped the balance from good to evil are a very few heroes: men and women imbued with powerful magic and sworn to a high destiny.
Logan Tom is one of those heroes. He's on a desperate quest to deliver the street kids he rescued in Seattle to safety. So, too, is Angel Perez, who is leading a second group in the Oregon wilderness where she encounters the long-hidden Elves of Cintra. And Hawk - just learning his magic - has an encounter with the mystical King of the Silver River, who promises safety for both humans and elves - if only they can reach him...
It’s been a little over a year since I read “Armageddon’s Children” the first novel in the “Genesis of Shannara” trilogy by Terry Brooks. I normally enjoy reading all the novels in a trilogy in one go, but at that time the library only had the first novel available. I was pleasantly surprised when, during my latest library excursion, I noticed “The Elves of Cintra” and “The Gypsy Morph” on the shelves and immediately grabbed them so I could finish the trilogy.
They say time heals all wounds, but something else it’s very good at is making you forget what happened in the novels you have read previously. Unlike most novels in a series, “The Elves of Cintra” doesn’t include a handy summary of the events in the preceding book, so I struggled to pick up the storyline and I had only a vague recollection of the characters and events in the first novel.
The story picks up where “Armageddon’s Children” ended and follows the Ghosts, a group of children, and Logan Tom , a knight of the Word, as they try to survive in a decimated world where demons and other horrible creatures roam. Like the title would indicate it also adds another group of characters to the mix – the elves of Cintra. These include Erisha, Kirisin, Simralin and Angel Perez, a human and also a knight of the Word, who joins the elves in their task to find the lost Elf stones in order to protect the Ellcrys, a magical tree that acts as a barrier against the Forbidding where the demons are locked away.
The focus is largely on the Elves and their search for the Elf stones, but jumps between the two groups on their separate journeys that will ultimately lead them to the same destination. One interesting aspect is the flashbacks that most of the characters have of their past. This fleshes out the characters more and helps the reader understand their background a bit more.
The Verdict:
“The Elves of Cintra” is a dark fantasy novel. It depicts a cruel world where every day is a struggle for survival and even the heroes of the tale can’t magically snap their fingers to make everything right. They also have to struggle through each day and make some very difficult decisions.
The characters are endearing and you quickly find yourself growing very attached to the members of the Ghosts. The Elves are somewhat less likeable, but I think that’s mainly due to them playing a much smaller role in the first novel so you don’t have that much history with them.
The novel features some gripping battles that keep you wanting more. The ending is not a huge cliff-hanger like in the first novel, but it will still keep you wanting to find out what happens next.
My major caveat is the names of some of the characters. Some of the names feel as if they were an afterthought cobbled together by finding interesting names in a telephone book. A brief recap of the events in the previous novel would also have gone a long way in refreshing my memory and I’m sure lots of other readers would have appreciated a recap too.
In the end this is a captivating fantasy novel. It could almost pass as a YA novel with the major characters being teenagers. Some of the storyline seems clichéd, but in the end it’s the details and vivid picture of a devestated world that Terry Brooks paints that makes it a good read.
Rating: 6.5/10
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