Witch Wraith: The Dark Legacy of Shannara

This book is the third and final installment in the latest trilogy it is, and things do happen in here that makes you not want to put it down.The story begins with Railing Ohmsford, on his way to rescue his twin brother Redden, sailing on the ship the Quickening, in search of Grianne Ohmsford, asleep in the Tanequil. Railing comes across an evil spirit, Grimpond, counterpart to the King of the Silver River, to ask for help. He gets advice after tricking Grimpond, but, like the King, tells Railing that he may find what he is looking for, but not in the way he desires. This is a lesson on life as well.Meanwhile, Redden himself is held prisoner in the Forbidding, and its walls were about to come down due to the dying Ellcrys. The demons all converge to return to the world of the four lands to conquer and enslave it. Oriantha and Tesla Dart attempt to rescue Redden from the clutches of the Straken Lord, but are all swept up back into the four lands, and then they decide to return to the Forbidding as a short cut to get to the main camp holding Redden prisoner. This is where the demons attack the four lands, and there are masses of them, being attracted like a magnet to Arling Elessendil, who was in Arishaig. These demons attack, and the inhabitants of Arishaig fight fiercely against overwhelming odds, even breaking out new sophisticated weapons, almost equivalent to the first atomic bomb, but to little avail. The soldiers are good people, but are lead by the evil prime minister Edinja Orle, who cares for no one but herself, and only wants to acquire more power.Arling is protected by her twin sister Aphen. These two, however, have problems of their own, with the seed to the Ellcrys stolen and their attempts to find it.There is a lot of suspense in this story, and a lot to imagine. The attacks of the demon hordes and the way they are repelled can make one imagine on how they are fought, and scenes on using the weapons on how to decimate them. One is surprised when one finally meets Grianne Ohmsford again, who originally wanted to stay where she was, but is forced out of her new home, in a surprising manner. Also, one might think that this is a repeat of the book, "The Elfstones of Shannara," but it isn't. Grimpen Ward and the Bloodfire are covered here like in the fore mentioned book, but the description is a lot more detailed in a way that is not in "Elfstones". One might imagine if Arling will make it back to Arborlon to become the new Ellcrys, or would someone else take her place. With Tesla Dart helping, will he get to stay in the Four Lands, as she so desires?There is a lot to cover here, but this book is definitely not boring. It is exciting from page one, and one asks a lot of questions that are not answered until the end of the book. There is also a lot to figure out, but it is easy to do so. Also, one of the morals, as previously stated, is that one may get what they want, but not in the way they want it.If you have read the other two books of this trilogy, read this one, the conclusion. There will be answers, and a lot of surprises, and you will hope for some of these characters that they will achieve their goals. Of course, some will, and some won't.

I'm undecided about what I think of this volume. I gave the previous two "Dark Legacy" books good marks because they've been somewhat better than the last couple of Shannara series, but I felt like this one rushed to a conclusion too much (a problem that's shown up in recent Shannara trilogies as well), and when it ended I kind of said, "That's it? You're blatantly leaving the door open for another sequel without resolving so many things?" One of my reviews of one of the previous two books said that I thought we might be seeing the summing up of the world of Shannara and the tying together of various plotlines over the years. I no longer think that's the case. Too many questions remain still to be resolved, and whatever sequel follows this book will have some dark questions of perceived betrayal and revenge hanging over the characters. This is also the first Shannara story I recall ending with a talisman's potential not fully explored (the one Railing received).However, shortly after finishing the book I saw a review somewhere online that suggested not viewing "Witch Wraith," and the "Dark Legacy" trilogy, as their own story, but rather as the conclusion of a story arc that began with "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy. The reviewer further suggested not viewing the parts of that story arc as three trilogies but rather as three individual books the publisher decided to chop up into trilogies (a la "The Lord of the Rings"); thus, essentially a three-book story arc divided into nine volumes for publishing reasons. When I viewed it in that sense, suddenly what Terry Brooks has been doing with these series made a lot more sense to me. I don't like to post spoilers in my reviews, but when I considered the books again from that reviewer's standpoint, I began to think of "Voyage," "High Druid," and "Dark Legacy" as being the story of Grianne Ohmsford in the same way that the Star Wars saga is the story of the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. It's been extremely rare in the past for Terry Brooks to carry over characters between trilogies other than occasionally a Druid (Walker Boh and Khyber Elessedil), and this is the first time I remember the same character appearing in THREE trilogies.In sum, reviewing a Shannara book on Amazon is a challenge because we're supposed to be reviewing the INDIVIDUAL BOOK, but it's impossible to do that in this case because the only practical way to view the book is in the context of the entire Shannara universe and history. I've been reading these books since 1986, when I was in the 7th grade, and there's no question that certain story lines echoed back through the books. Longtime readers will see "Witch Wraith" as repeating various storylines from "The Elfstones of Shannara," and it was readily apparent during "Bloodfire Quest" how those particular storylines were going to pose potential problems for the characters in "Witch Wraith." What I found myself wondering after finishing this book is whether the world of Shannara will ever reach a conclusion to some of those repeating storylines, rather than repeating history over and over again. I suppose I'll keep reading future sequels because I'd like to find out.(PS and a potential spoiler: A sex scene in this book takes place in a verdant valley. I wonder if any other readers thought that valley was the one from the "Legends of Shannara" duology.)

Terry Brooks has written a thrilling conclusion to the "Dark Legacy" series that will leave readers wanting more.There are several plot lines going on at once in this book. First, Railing Ohmsford, Mirai Leah, and the Rovers have set out in the hopes of finding Grianne Ohmsford. They hope that, if she is indeed alive, she can be persuaded to join them to defeat the Straken Lord. But what they get is nothing what they could have imagined.Aphen and Arling are in search of the Bloodfire. The walls of the Forbidding are collapsing, and the demons and other creatures imprisoned within are making their way back into the Four Lands. The city of Arishaig has already been overrun by the Straken Lord and his minions, and they have now set their sights on the Elven city or Arborlon. The sisters must find the Bloodfire so the seed from the dying Ellcrys can be immersed and a new Ellcrys born. But Federation Prime Minister Edinja Orle has her own plans for the sisters. Plus, Aphen will have to deal with a heartbreaking loss.Finally, Redden Ohmsford remains trapped inside the Forbidding. A prisoner of the Straken Lord, Redden, along with the demon army, comes through the Forbiding when the barrier is weakened. But someone is tracking Redden, hoping to set him free: Oriantha and Tesla Dart. But freedom will come at a price for Redden.I've read every one of Terry Brooks' previous books, and "Witch Wraith" rates as one of my favorites. The story is exciting and explosive, and the action is non-stop. The characters are well-developed and it's easy to cheer for the likes of Redden, Railing, Arling, Aphen, and Mirai as they struggle to save the Four Lands.I give this book and series my highest recommendation.

The storyline keeps you intrigued, paragraphs change so rapidly at times. I re-read a lot to keep myself sure that I was still on track, typical of Terry; once he has you you can't put the book down. So happy to find out Charis would be better remembered as a good character, for everyone knows that love makes people do thing's with one intention, that everyone else believed to be another

*Warning Potential Book 1 & Book 2 Spoilers*I have read and can fully agree with a lot of the other reviews in that this book did seem a bit rushed and in particular especially at the end where I felt it could have probably done with a few more chapters to tie everything up better but I still absolutely loved this book and the storyline in general. Yes the plot line is still very very similar to previous Shannara books and in particular the High Druid of Shannara trilogy but I did still enjoy it and another main positive was that the books were all only six months apart as opposed to the normal twelve months and so I still felt very connected to the first two books. For me the sign of an excellent book is where you are still sitting up in the early hours of the morning reading it when you were meant to be trying to get an early night and that was exactly how I was with this book so a definite five star marking from me. I've been a long time fan of Terry Brooks ever since my Uncle introduced his books to me in 1987 and the Shannara series and his excellent writing and story lines are what keeps me reading and what makes Terry Brooks my longest standing favourite author. I agree with a lot of the other reviewers in that his books do seem to be shorter than they used to be when compared to the likes of  The Sword Of Shannara: Number 1 in series  and it would be very nice for him to go back to writing a 'chunkier' read, but as he is releasing this trilogy a lot faster than normal (normally a book a year rather than every six months as with this series) I suppose you have to weigh up having a thicker book against being able to continue with the story line faster. An excellent read and I would definitely recommend it to both established fans and new readers. My review follows:The story continues with Railing Ohmsford continuing on his quest to Stridegate to see if the Tanequil would release Grianne Ohmsford from it's service in order for her to help rescue his brother Redden from The Forbidding. Railing feels in his gut that this mission should not be going ahead especially after being advised so by The King of The Silver River but not being able to see any other way to rescue Redden he decides he has to press ahead with totally unexpected results at the end. After the shock killing off of Khyber Elessedil in the last book, Redden is now the Straken Lord's only prisoner and has given up any hope of being rescued, however Oriantha is determined to rescue him and is just biding her time to seize the right opportunity but will the opportunity present itself or is Redden destined for another fate? Aphenglow and Cymrian are trying to locate Arling who was captured/given over to the Federation's soldiers at the end of the last book but it would appear that she will already be in the clutches of Edinja Orle before they manage to catch up and god knows what plans that woman has for Arling. But with the future of the Elven people and the people of the four lands hanging in the balance they know that they must free her if she is ever to immerse the Ellcrys seed in the bloodfire and restore the walls of The Forbidding trapping the demon kind who threaten to invade and kill them all. But will they reach her in time and will they all survive?A truly gripping read from start to finish and yes although a lot of the plot line seems to have been done before I still truly thoroughly enjoyed it despite the end feeling very rushed and incomplete. Thankfully my book did have the normal map of the four lands in it as with every other book except for book two in the series so I can only assume that this was a printing error by the publishers. A good read and looking forward to next years new series The Defenders of Shannara with it's first book in the series  The High Druid's Blade: The Defenders of ShannaraThe Sword Of Shannara: Number 1 in seriesThe High Druid's Blade: The Defenders of Shannara

I have read every one of the Shannara books and loved them all. I was therefore understandably thrilled when the third book of the latest trilogy was released - downloading the lot to read in one sitting. Sadly the book let itself down.The ending was poor, with far too many loose ends and convenient fixes. The beginning was also poor and far too drawn out, with a focus on word count, rather than quality. The middle was better written, but sadly only to the point of mediocre.The biggest let down though was the complete absence of plot - new plot, anyway. It seemed more like a mail-merge of the previous books than anything vaguely original. I have read the other books. If I want to read them again, then I can. I do not need to read what seems like a schoolchild's attempt to combine them into a new trilogy.Disappointed.

This is the first series by Terry Brooks that I've ever read and will certainly not be my last. There were so many things that I loved about this trilogy that I don't even know where to begin.The story was engaging and enthralling. There wasn't a single moment in this trilogy where I felt the urge to skip past a boring bit or consider taking a break from the book. I just couldn't put it down.The characters were the highlight of the series, though. They were memorable, likeable and relatable. I found myself genuinely caring about what happened to them. I was very pleasantly surprised when I began reading and found out that the main character was a woman that could defend herself. Used to fantasy books that revolve around men that save the damsels in distress, this made a very nice change. Aphenglow is a strong, talented woman who's brave, proficient in magic and cares deeply about those close to her, while still being a realistic, relatable and three dimensional character.Another reason that I was so impressed with this book is that it made me cry like a baby. Any author that can make me cry as much as J K Rowling did in The Deathly Hallows must be doing something right. The Dark Legacy of Shannara is an emotional journey, and it's a journey that I look forward to taking again and again as I read Terry Brooks' other series.

For any Brooks fan the plot and general flow of the book will be very familiar. The story line is similar to the Elf Stones of Shannara trilogy. Having read every thing that Brooks has written, this book along with the first two in this trilogy, has a sense of da ja vu about it. I don't care. I loved it. I could not put it down. Brooks brings the characters to life and makes you care about them. The way any good author can. I had tears in my eyes at one point. This is one of the best Shannara books since the Sword of Shannara published in 1977.If you have never read any Terry Brooks books then read this trilogy it does not matter that you have not read the earlier stuff. A lot of the Shannara books were written out of sequence anyway. This is as good a place to start as any.If you are a Terry Brooks fan then I don't need to tell you to buy it as you already have.