Bearers of the Black Staff

Book Description

For more than three decades, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks has ruled the epic fantasy realm with his legendary Shannara series. With each new novel the mythos has deepened, ever more fascinating characters have arisen, and increasingly breathtaking vistas of magical adventure have emerged. Now the evolution of one of imaginative fiction's most beloved worlds continues in the first book of the new series Legends of Shannara: Bearers of the Black Staff.

Five hundred years have passed since the devastating demon-led war that tore apart the United States, leaving nothing but scorched and poisoned ruins, and nearly exterminating humankind. Those who escaped the carnage and blight were led to sanctuary by the boy savior known as the Hawk--the gypsy morph. In an idyllic valley, its borders warded by powerful magic against the horrors beyond, humans, elves, and mutants alike found a place they believed would be their home forever.

But after five centuries, the unimaginable has come to pass: The cocoon of protective magic surrounding the valley has vanished. When Sider Ament, the only surviving descendant of the Knights of the Word, detects unknown predators stalking the valley, he fears the worst. And when Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, expert Trackers from the human village of Glensk Wood, find two of their own gruesomely killed, there can be no doubt: The once safe haven of generations has been laid bare and made vulnerable to whatever still lurks in the wasteland of the outside world.

Together, Ament, the two young Trackers, and a daring Elf princess race to spread word of the encroaching danger--and spearhead plans to defend their ancestral home. But suspicion and hostility among their countrymen threaten to doom their efforts from within--while beyond the breached borders, a ruthless Troll army masses for invasion. And in the thick of it all, the last wielder of the black staff and its awesome magic must find a successor to carry on the fight against the cresting new wave of evil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly The horrors of a war-ravaged world again invade a hard-won peace in Brooks's intense follow-up to 2008's The Gypsy Morph. Five hundred years have passed since Hawk led a tattered band of survivors into a valley protected by a magical barrier. Now the wall has been breached by demons. The last known Knight of the Word, Sider Ament, wields a powerful black staff that he hopes to pass to a new leader. After rescuing talented teen Trackers Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, Sider asks them to warn the Children of Hawk. Unfortunately, their council leaders don't share Sider's certainty of an impending invasion. While Sider explores the other side of the barrier, the young Trackers find help from Arborlon Elves in this superlative Tolkien-style fantasy tweaked with a contemporary vibe. Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist This first volume of Legends of Shannara opens five centuries after the worldwide holocaust that ended the Genesis of Shannara trilogy. Elves, humans, and other races are slowly restoring a modest civilization in a mountain valley protected by their combined magic. Now this sanctuary is threatened by the assault of monstrous creatures that seem to be either magic wielders or creations of magic greater than the valley's and of mysterious origin. Another stalwart band of heroes, the title characters, is drawn from all the races to fight--although this time they are not marching out on a quest but fighting in the last ditch. The forthcoming sequel, The Measure of the Magic, will, as it were, measure their degree of success--for the time being. The author's success needs no measuring anymore--it is enormous, thanks to a growing gift for characterization, pacing, and world building, not to mention magic that may not be supremely original in conception but manages to be increasingly enthralling to literally millions of readers over what is approaching two generations. --Roland Green