A Curious Conclusion — A Fantasy Book Review of The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Books

Art by Darrell K. Sweet

The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks brings the original Shannara Trilogy to a pleasant close. It tells the stories of Brin and Jair Ohmsford, the children of Wil and Eretria from the previous book. Overall, I liked it. The Shannara books have a cozy, familiar, wholesomeness to them that makes them very enjoyable to read. However, this book seemed an odd choice for the "final" story because the stakes seemed so much lower than the previous titles. The Wishsong of Shannara doesn't reach the heights of the series' second book, but nor is it as messy as the debut.

The plot setup is familiar at this point: Allanon the Druid appears to a member (or in this case, members) of the Ohmsford family and they need to help him save the Four Lands from evil. However, Brooks deviates by having parallel adventures; with Brin traveling with Rone Leah (the descendent of Menion from the first book, which was fun) and Allanon and Jair going on an adventure fully of his own with a whole cast of new characters.

Both plot lines were quite enjoyable. I never found myself wishing I was reading the other, and just enjoyed each scene as it came. It could be argued that these would have made for stronger standalone books, but I particularly enjoyed how they came together in the end.

Brin's story had phenomenal character work. I really liked her. She has her father's thoughtfulness and her mother's fire. Rone Leah was a great character as well—maybe even a favorite of mine. His stubborn loyalty was endearing. As for Allanon, Brooks utilized his character a lot more in this book, and I think it worked.

Jair's story was a pleasant surprise. What starts as a small trip ends up a sweeping adventure. The side characters, particularly Slanter and Garet Jax, were very memorable. There are a whole cast of others, and I liked them all—though they didn't really get much time to be properly explored. Slanter was the standout, though his reluctant goodness (the constant back and fourth of "I'm gonna do the right thing, but I don't like it") got SO tiresome, but not enough to make me dislike the character. As for Garet Jax, I thought he was just the coolest. 12-year old me would have 100% pretended to be him with stick sword, playing in the woods.

By this point in the series, Brooks' has settled into his writing style. There are long, drawn out descriptions and a plethora of adverbs. Some might find these descriptions indulgent, but I typically enjoy them—even though they do tend to be a bit clunky at times. I particularly enjoyed the autumnal setting with lovely descriptions of the fading leaves, chill air, and scent of rain.

Perhaps my biggest "complaint" about this story was primarily just its place within the trilogy. Yes, there are big threats with the Ildatch and the Gnome armies, but these never felt as dramatic as the demons from The Elfstones of Shannara. In many ways, to me, it felt like a very fun side quest. There wasn't much wrong with it; Brooks' prose has improved, the characters are delightful, and the plotlines are engaging. However, I felt that the smaller scale of this book made it feel out of place in the wake of such an earth-shattering story in the previous book.

Overall, The Wishsong of Shannara is a curious conclusion to the original trilogy. It is written with far more competence than the original book, but the stakes are far lower than the second. However, as a standalone, it is an absolute joy to read. If you want a cozy, thoughtful adventure with fun character and a beautiful setting, I recommend reading this story and enjoying another adventure in the Four Lands of the Shannara series.

-H.