Welcome, readers of Shady Vale, to this week’s instalment in our reread of Terry Brooks’ classic epic fantasy, The Elfstones of Shannara. If you’re unfamiliar with Elfstones, Brooks, or this reread, be sure to check out the introductory post, in which we all become acquainted.
Last week, we were introduced to the Elven lands, ruled over by the Elessedil family—King Eventine and his sons, Ander and Arion—and the Ellcrys, a sentient tree responsible for maintaining the Forbidding, a magical barrier that keeps the Four Lands safe from Demon invasion. Unfortunately, the Ellcrys is dying, and it’s up to Ander and the Chosen to find a way to save her before it’s too late.
This week? The Chosen meet a grisly end, a Druid returns, and the secrets at Paranor are threatened by the Dagda Mor’s schemes.
Chapter 4
What happens?
The search for Safehold continues. Further questioning of the Ellcrys has met only silence from the sentient tree, and Eventine’s desperate search of the Elvish histories has coughed up nothing more than a single relevant passage. Lauren approaches Ander suggesting that Amberle might be the key to contacting the Ellcrys, but Ander dismisses the idea as being more difficult than hunting for a needle in a haystack. Discouraged, Ander retires for the night. He wakes refreshed, but finds the Gardens of Life curiously empty. Beset by fear, Ander races to the Chosen’s lodging and finds their corpses “ripped apart as if by maddened animals.”
Quotable
“It’s about Amberle. My Lord, after her choosing, she spoke with the Ellcrys many times—long conversations.” The words came slowly. “It was different with her than with the rest of us. I don’t know whether she ever realized that. We never really talked about it…”
Dramatis Personae
- Ander
- the Ellcrys
- Eventine
- Gael
- Lauren
- Went
- the Changeling
Analysis
Of the many emotions explored throughout Elfstones, the most overriding are resignation and fear. This chapter is rife with these raw emotions, making for a daunting read. Ander’s futile attempts to communicate with the Ellcrys come across as desperate, Eventine’s words and actions are weary, troubled.
Eventine had always been so sure of himself, had always been so supremely confident that a solution could found to any problem. But now, in the two visits Ander had made to report his lack of progress, the old King had seemed lost somewhere within himself.
As Ander takes so much of his energy from those around him, the king’s sinking depression is an anchor weighing him down. His father—King and personal guardian—is failing, and Ander must find it in himself to provide strength to his people, to be a shield against the Demon threat. Both Ander and his father spend time sleeping in this chapter, which, it appears, is Brooks’ way of pointing a finger at the blanket of depression settling over the Elvish royal family, summed up in one thought:
Sometimes hopelessness and despair were even more fatiguing than physical labour.
There is so much heartbreak in this novel—from Lauren’s declaration that he feels personally responsible for delivering the Elves to safety, only to be brutally killed later in the chapter, to Eventine’s fall from grace, to poor Went. Brooks drags you through the mud early and often.
Now, let’s talk about the source of their despair: Safehold and the Bloodfire.
“Then shall the One Seed be delivered unto the Bearer that is Chosen. And the Seed shall be borne by the Bearer to the Chambers of the Bloodfire, there to be immersed within the Fire that it might be returned to the earth. Thereupon shall the Tree be Reborn and the Great Forbidding endure forever. Thus spake the High Wizard to his Elves, even as he did perish, tat Knowledge be not lost unto his people.”
First. Good lord. That Ye Ol’ English™. Thank goodness Brooks dropped that from later Shannara novels. Also, is that the only time a High Wizard is mentioned? I don’t remember anyone in the series referring to themselves as a Wizard (though admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve read some of the novels.)
I’m going to ask you for a moment to play along with my assumptions that the dying Ellcrys is one of many in the long history of the Elvish people. (Not only do I believe evidence for this theory exists both in the Dark Legacy of Shannara and Genesis of Shannara trilogies, but Shawn Speakman, Brooks’ longtime friend, webmaster, and continuity editor, confirmed as much when I asked him following the discussion in last week’s reread post.) With that in mind, I’ve always found it difficult to believe that the secret of Safehold’s location has been wholly lost. Not just lost, but completely and irretrievably erased from the Elves’ recorded history. Ander explains that the omission is not unusual for his people:
His ancestors had seldom placed the secrets of their magics in writing. Such things were handed down by word of mouth so that they could not be stolen by their enemies. And some sorceries were said to be so powerful that their use was limited to but a single time and place. It might have been so with the sorcery that had created the Ellcrys.
I appreciate Brooks’ effort to justify this poor record keeping by the Elves, and it’s clarified in later novels that Safehold was lost due to shifting geography as the Four Lands underwent tremendous changes between necessary trips to the Bloodfire, but it’s a bit of a stretch to believe that a long-standing, literate society that obviously has meticulous archivists simply forgot to pass along the location of a magic so vitally important to the safety of the Four Lands. Not to mention they’ve managed to organize and maintain a group of Elves whose sole purpose is to care for the Ellcrys for hundreds of years, yet there was no protocol established for ensuring that they understood the steps necessary when the Ellcrys inevitably had to be reborn? (Keeping in mind that the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy retroactively establishes the fact that the Ellcrys has a finite lifespan.)
I know Brooks is making it all up as he goes along, and that a lot of retconning happened when he decided to link the Word & Void trilogy to the Shannara series, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing he’d developed this part of the story a bit further. An Elvish monarch who had tried to erase the Demons from history and burned all books containing reference to Safehold. An adventurer who pilfered the only known map leading to the Bloodfire. The Dagda Mor torching the Elvish archives along with murdering the Chosen. I dunno.
*gets a beer*
Okay. I feel better now.
The final scene in this chapter is brilliant. Ander’s discovery of the Chosen corpses is chilling and marks the moment I first realized that Brooks wasn’t messing around. He’s written other dark works, especially the Word & Void books, but this is one of the darkest moments in Shannara history. If you weren’t certain before, it becomes all to clear upon seeing that room scattered with corpses that the Dagda Mor’s armies are coming to the Four Lands. So many fantasy novels establish plots involving world-ending threats, but few manage to really drive it home as well as Elfstones. With every chapter, the Demons seem to gain strength, and the Elves fall further into disarray.
And, man, if that scene of Went-the-Changeling doesn’t send a shiver up your spine…
Chapter 5
What happens?
Leaving the home of the Chosen, dead at the hands of the Changeling, Ander is confronted by the Druid Allanon, who demands to be taken to see the King. To preserve secrecy, Ander and Allanon sneak into the King’s study through a back window (because what monarch needs secure living quarters during such harrowing times?), startling Eventine, who studies the ancient Elvish history books.
Though early pleasantries are exchanged between the old friends and allies, tensions quickly grow between the King and the Druid. Eventine, despairing at the death of the Chosen, sees no escape from the Demon threat. Allanon believes he can find Safehold’s location, and offers another solution that stabs at the King’s heart: the location of his grand-daughter, Amberle, last of the Chosen.
Eventine cedes diplomatic immunity to Allanon, accepting his offer of help at the cost of giving the Druid free reign to act outside the will of the royal family. Allanon departs for Paranor, the ancient seat of the Druid Order.
The Dagda Mor, sensing the Druid’s awakening, plots a trap for Allanon.
Quotable
“Now as to the Chosen, Eventine, you are mistaken entirely. They are not all dead.”
For an instant, the room went deathly still. Amberle! Ander thought in astonishment. He means Amberle!
“All six were killed…!” Eventine began, then stopped abruptly.
“There were seven Chosen,” the Druid said quietly.
…
“I do not know where she is.” The King’s voice turned suddenly bitter. “I doubt that anyone does.”
The Druid carefully poured a measure of the herb tea and handed it to the King.
“I do.”
Dramatis Personae
- Allanon
- Ander
- the Dagda Mor
- Darden
- Eventine
- Gael
- Manx the wolfhound
- Rhoe
Analysis
Allanon! Of all of Brooks’ creations—from the Elfstones to Pe Ell, Airships to Grianne—I think this tall, dark, handsome, and brooding man is one of the best—perfectly showcasing his love of recognizable fantasy tropes with a Four Lands twist.
Wanderer, historian philosopher and mystic, guardian of the races, the last of the ancient Druids, the wise men of the new world—Allanon was said to have been all of these.
Allanon was obviously a Gandalf clone in The Sword of Shannara, and continues to play the role in Elfstones, but there are two things that set him apart from fantasy’s most famous wizard.
First, he’s approachable and vulnerable in a way that most Big Goods rarely are, especially later on in the novel when we see parts of the story through his eyes. Brooks does a tremendous job of portraying him as a lone wolf with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Second, he’s chaotic good, rather than neutral or lawful good, as the mentor-type character usually is. His intentions are focused on bettering the greater good, and he’s willing to compromise anything and anyone to meet his ends, even at the cost of his moral standing. This often means manipulating his allies and withholding vital information, showcased most obviously when Allanon asks Eventine for permission to act independently (also illustrating how desperate Eventine has become to find an ally in his fight against the demons):
“What aid I can offer, I offer freely. But there is one condition. I must be free to act in this matter as I see fit. Even though you disapprove, Eventine Elessedil. Even then.”
The King hesitated, his blue eyes studying the dark face of the other man, searching for answers that clearly were not to be found there. At last, he nodded.
But, more on that next chapter.
If there’s one thing I miss in later Shannara novels, it’s that first moment when Allanon arrives in each novel. It’s always ominous, charged with tension and mystery. You can’t help but be intrigued and terrified by the surly Druid. I mean, just consider this visual:
“Peace, Ander Elessedil.” The voice was soft but commanding. “I am no enemy of yours.”
The shadowy form was that of a man, Ander saw now, a tall man, standing well over seven feet. Black robes were wrapped tightly about his spare, lean fame, and the hood of his traveling cloak was pulled close about his head so that nothing of his face could be seen save for the narrow eyes that shone like a cat’s.
…
[His face] was craggy and lined, shadowed by a short, black beard and framed by a wide, unsmiling mouth and by hair cut shoulder-length. The cat’s eyes piercing and dark, stared out from beneath heavy brows knit fiercly above a long, flat nose. Those eyes stared into Ander’s, and the Elven Prince found that he could not look away.
From the moment Ander meets him, Allanon is portrayed with benevolence and power. He’s commanding, but makes you feel comfortable and safe from your enemies—even as he’s using his subtle Druid magic to coerce you into doing his bidding.
One of the most interesting bits in the chapter occurs when Eventine tells Allanon, in a typical epic fantasy monologue, the history of the Ellcrys and what must occur to ensure her rebirth. Eventine says:
“In order to save her, one of the Chosen in service to her now must carry her seed to the Bloodfire, immerse it in the flames and then return it to the earth so that rebirth might be possible.”
“I am familiar with the history,” the Druid interjected.
The King flushed.
I’m not sure if it’s intentional (and when Elfstones was first published it might not even have been relevant), but this is a lovely and amusing little jab at the exposition-heavy tendencies of epic fantasy. Additionally, it also serves as an effective way of portraying the tense relationship between these two powerful allies.
It’s becoming clear by this point that one of the Dagda Mor’s most potent weapons is his ability to sow discord and mistrust in his opponents. He preys on an Elvish royal family that is divided, emotionally raw, and the Demon feeds off of the natural animosity that exists between them as the result of Aine’s death and Amberle’s self-imposed exile.
Chapter 6
What happens?
With Ander’s assistance, Allanon acquires Artaq, a fiery horse with a reputation for challenging his riders. The Druid and the stallion become quick friends. Allanon leaves for Paranor.
Paranor has changed since Allanon’s last visit—no longer surrounded by poisonous thorn bushes or guarded by packs of wolves, peace lays across the surrounding land. Allanon gains easy access to to the citadel, and quick ascends to the study, a hidden room filled with the Druid Histories—comprehensive encyclopaedias about the Four Lands, its people, and its magic. Within hours, Allanon learns the location of Safehold, but many more of his fears are confirmed, including something so big that he vows to keep it secret from all those involved in the quest for the Bloodfire.
Before he can leave Paranor, Allanon is attacked by the Dagda Mor and a small army of furies. Thanks to his magic and a bit of luck, the Druid escapes Paranor by the skin of his teeth.
Quotable
Here the histories of the old world, written and spoken, were set down in the Druid records, to be preserved for all the generations of man yet to come. Here the mysteries of the old sciences were explored, the fragments patched together, the secrets of a few restored to knowledge. For hundreds of years, the Druids lived and worked for Paranor, the wise men of the new world seeking to rebuild what had been lost.
But their efforts failed.
Dramatis Personae
- Allanon
- Ander
- Artaq
- the Dagda Mor
Analysis
Outside of Bag End or Hogwarts, I can’t think of a location from a fantasy novel that I’d love to explore more than Paranor and all of its secrets. Labyrinthine and ancient, it’s a place of many secrets, and witness to so many important historical events in the Four Lands. Allanon’s first look at Paranor in decades is breathtaking:
The aged castle sat atop a great mass of rock, rising above the forest trees as if it had been thrust from out of the bowels of the earth by some giant’s hand. It was a breathtaking vision from a child’s fairy tale, a dazzling maze of towers and walls, spires and parapets, their weathered white stones etched starkly against the deep blue of the night sky.
The Druid castle is many things throughout the breadth of the Shannara series, but this ghostly ruin is one of my favourite iterations.
The castle of the Druids had become a tomb. It had the smell and taste of death in it. Once it had been a place of learning, of vision. But no more. There was no longer a place for the living within these walls.
The idea that this place of learning, once vibrant and filled with the best minds in the Four Lands, is now empty, haunted by a sentient magic, is utterly fascinating. I like that at once it’s a place that inspires fear, but also a haven of information. Spending time in this version of Paranor also makes it that much more fascinating to see it in its livelier variations later in the series.
Considering all of my complains about the Elves’ poor record-keeping, I’m happy to see that the Druids are more responsible in keeping the Four Lands’ most vital landmarks in order. Brooks also provides us with a plausible explanation for the Ellcrys’ inability to parlay Safehold’s location to the Elves:
[Allanon] had constructed this vault to protect these histories so that they might be preserved for the generations of men and women who would one day live upon this earth and would have need of the knowledge the books contained.
At the end of the first hour, he discovered the location of Safehold. … He had told the Elven King that he had gone first to the Gardens of Life and that the Ellcrys had spoken with him. But he had not told the King all the she had revealed. In part, he had not done so because much of what she had shown had been confusing and unclear, her memories of a time and a life long gone altered beyond anyone’s recognition.
Whether this is the first Ellcrys, or only the most recent in a long line, we now know that she was born into a world that was much different than the one we see today. She does not know the location of Safehold because the world has been altered geographically around her. This doesn’t entirely allay my concerns about the Elves having failed to record anything about Safehold, but it does provide enough of a band-aid that I’m able to continue on (accepting that there are some small holes in Brooks’ massive timeline.) The Druid Histories being much more comprehensive than the Elves’ archives also makes sense, given their prerogative of maintaining knowledge of the Four Lands great mysteries and magics.
The first confrontation between Allanon and the Dagda Mor is intense, setting the stage for a fabulous rivalry throughout the rest of the novel. One of my favourite moments in the chapter is Allanon’s trickery during his fight with the furies:
Then, without warning, Allanon simply disappeared. … The torch still hung suspended in the haze of darkness, a beacon of fire that held [the furies] spellbound. Then it dropped to the floor of the hall in a shower of sparks. The flame disintegrated and the corridor was plunged into blackness.
Allanon so often chooses to meet force with force, so to seem him apply his Druid magic in such a clever, comical way is both amusing and creatively showcases the depths of his abilities. We also learn that he’s not afraid to turn tail and run when he knows he’s overpowered.
On a reread, the most difficult part of this chapter, by far, is dealing with Allanon’s heartbreaking decision to withhold the truth of the Ellcrys’ rebirth from those involved in the quest. In a moment of surprising self-awareness, Allanon reveals his misgivings about the way he hid the truth about the Sword of Shannara from the heroes of Sword.
Alone with the ghosts of his ancestors, the last of his kind, he questioned this decision. He had chosen to conceal the truth from Shea Ohmsford. … In the end, he had come to believe that he had been wrong to do so. Was he wrong now, as well? This time, should he not be candid from the beginning?
I said to a friend once that if the protagonists of epic fantasy novels actually talked to each other, instead of hanging onto their secrets, we wouldn’t have a genre. Brooks’ Druids are prime suspect number one for this crime. So many of his plots revolve around the Druids possessively guarding their secrets, unwilling to trust their companions until the final hour (which usually involves some sort of sacrifice.)
Allanon ponders the dilemma. “It was not for him to tamper with the natural order of things,” he decides. I vehemently disagree with Allanon here. He does nothing but tamper, although with the good intentions for the greater good. As thoughts like this illustrate, the Druid chooses to let the most emotionally wrought circumstances of his quests play out via the “natural order of things” because he does not want to get emotionally involved—it would humanize the tools he uses too much, and make the coming sacrifices too personal. So, instead, he plays with people’s lives like a puppeteer plays with marionettes, through smoke, mirrors, and strings.
Elfstones is packed with emotion, and I think it would be a weaker novel if we knew of Amberle’s sacrifice ahead of time, but it’s also fun to consider how things might have occurred if Amberle and Wil had had full knowledge of the situation. Brooks explored this to great effect decades later in Bloodfire Quest.
Also of note, Bremen, who helped to forge the Sword of Shannara, is noted as Allanon’s father, which, as we find out in later volumes, isn’t biologically true. I like that when Brooks writes about the time of Bremen and Jerle Shannara in First King of Shannara, he takes the spirit of this revelation and fleshes it out in a way that remains true, yet also runs deeper and more complicated. One can understand how Allanon would consider Bremen to be his father, considering circumstances of their relationship, and Brooks handles their first meeting with a lot of care and thoughtfulness. It’s really quite beautiful to think about.
Next Time on the Reread
A familiar face, a rude interruption in Storlock, and a history lesson.
Aidan Moher is the Hugo Award-winning editor of A Dribble of Ink, a blog about science fiction and fantasy, and author of Tide of Shadows and Other Stories. He lives on an island in British Columbia with his wife and daughter.
I agree that the whole retconning this is the first Ellcrys thing does not hold up as well, but I would suggest that for the purpose of this novel and reread we consider the dying Ellcrys the first incarnation, as Brooks clearly intended when he wrote the book. The retconning could be considered when those works that contain it are under discussion. It just does not make any sense that the records would be so thoroughly lost otherwise; maybe if the last time was before the Great Wars, I could stomach the change. But that would but the life span of the Ellcrys well beyond fifteen hundred years at minimum; too soon for Brooks to be writing about it again after four or five centuries.
Maybe this preference for the first Ellcrys version of the story can also be explained as a desire to keep the story more firmly connected to the mythic, magical past with all its ancientness and glory of the ‘Elder Days’ that can be so alluring to fantasy fans. I don’t know, maybe?
I believe it was the ever creepy Reaper that was sent to destroy the Chosen, not the Changeling as we are told of several Elven patrols being ambushed and killed in the same manner, while the Changeling murdered Went was killed in what is described as ‘a wholly different manner’. The roles are different here: the Changeling’s purpose is largely infiltration and spying, the Reaper’s is to kill stuff really, really dead. And then kill it some more.
On Allanon vs Gandalf type. I remember, as youth, reading these books and finding Allanon a jarring change from the usual Gandalfian mentor-guide, as he was so volatile and intimidating: huge (over seven feat tall), dark, brooding, etc. I guess I needed to familiarize myself with the genre more. That said, I’ve never really bought into the whole lawful-neutral-chaotic spectrum of more/ethical categorization, it always struck me as nonsensical way excusing certain behavior, or giving the appearance of variety for varieties sake. But old Allanon’s decision does make for a far more suspenseful story though!
I always thought that Allanon wasn’t merely Gandalf but a Gandalf/Aragorn mashup. (I felt that LOTS of characters in Sword of Shannara were mashups of LotR characters, as though that would do anything to hide the influence!) “Approachable and vulnerable” and “lone wolf with the weight of the world on his shoulders” are just so Aragorn to me. Plus, I mean, his actual *name!*
@gadget #1
That’s exactly my plan. There won’t be much more bellyaching from me at this point, and frankly, moving forward, I don’t think the plot is much concerned with whether the current Ellcrys is the first or the 800th.
Huh. Every time I’ve read the book, I’ve assumed it was the Changeling, in the form of Went, that killed the Chosen. I think you’re right though. *ponders*
@EllaV #2
Isn’t he just?
One of the things that I love the most about Allanon is that though he’s obviously constructed from a recognizable trope, Brooks takes many opportunities to add depth, separating him wholly from his influences. To go back to the LotR comparison, I think there’s also a bit of Faramir and Boromir in there, too–a sense of justice that won’t allow him to do anything but work doggedly to protect his people, but also a cutthroat tendency to sacrifice others and make bold moves for what he perceives is the greater good. Brooks does a tremendous job of making all of this (sometimes conflicting) emotions and behaviours work beautifully.
So when I first read about the Dagda Mor, the Reaper, and the Changeling, I knew they would wreak some havoc at some point, but “poor Went” was when I realized they didn’t come to play.
And you are so dead on with this:
When I read these books when I was younger, this was the moment I knew the book would kick into high gear. Really looking forward to see how they visualize this in the TV show.
Finally, I loved the Paranor sequence. Each time I read about Paranor, I look for hidden clues as to what is in there. Every mention of a stone, wooden door, secret chamber, etc. gets me back into “epic fantasy” phase. I also liked how Terry made Allanon vulnerable in this sequence and not all powerful. Allanon comes off as foreboding and all powerful to others who meet him, but against the Dagda Mor, he is just another object in his way. Really showed how big and powerful the antagonists will be in the story.
One of the weaknesses of this novel is that Amberle didn’t know, in my opinion. I think it would have been more impactful if the reason that Amberle ran away in the first place was because of this knowledge. It could have made the quasi-love story between Wil and Amberle even more poignant in retrospect as well. I’m ok with keeping this knowledge from Wil and the reader, however.
Just imagine the reveal, if she had known, if it was the reason she ran away, the reason she pushed Wil away in the beginning, then the reason she embraces him in the middle. It gives her much stronger motivations for her whole character arc. Handled subtly, this is the kind of thing that takes a novel from really good to amazing. She could have been dropping hints to the reader all along, and in her reveal to Wil, placed while he’s loopy from pain medication, the reader can have several hundred pages of what they thought they understood completely flipped.
Oh well.
@@@@@anthonypero #5 Interesting thought. Amberle acting as a bit of an unreliable narrator.
Allanon fits the Lone Wolf archtype as previously mentioned. I never thought of him as handsome until I saw the actor who will be Allanon on the show, who looks totally different than who I’ve been imagining in my head.
@@@@@radiantflower #7 — I’ve always thought of him as handsome in that non-traditional Javier Bardem-sorta way.
From a writing perspective, Chapter 6 has some issues. It illustrates why almost no one uses third-person omniscient anymore.
A modern fantasy reader would read this chapter and assume that it is from Allanon’s perspective. But when Dagda Mor more appears the chapter 1. refers to Dagda by name and 2. refers to his companions (the Furies) by name and gives their backstory. To a modern reader that implies that Allanon knows these demons and their history, and thus their powers and abilities.
The rest of the book makes clear that this is definitely NOT the case. Exactly what information Allanon has about the demons is completely unclear. I found this quite frustrating in a modern reread.
Echoing playing with the tropes, the initial appearance of Allanon is always reminiscent of the Black Riders from LotR, yet he’s a good guy?
I mean, Gandalf might descend on Frodo at night in panic, but we’ve already met him in daylight. Allanon emerges fully formed out of the darkness, in hooded cloak, with almost glowing eyes. That’s really not what we expect from our heroes.
@5, honestly, I’d argue that your scenario is actually pretty close to the real novel. Does Amberle know in a completely thought-out, formulated-into-words sense? No. But the plot, especially her flight and her general behavior, only make sense if it’s not really that she knows nothing, but that she knows enough, in an imagistic, pre-verbal, intuitive way, to frighten her out of her mind and compel her to make choices that hurt and baffle everyone around her because she has no way of verbalizing what she is afraid of (and the verbalization would make no sense culturally to other Elves if she tried). I remember when I first read the book, and was a LOT younger, being gripped and baffled by why Amberle would be so afraid of something as beautiful as the Ellcrys.
For that reason, I wonder if Allanon’s “nature will take its course” can be seen a little more charitably as intentionally lame, trope-laden and non-spoilering self-justification on Allanon’s part, when what he really meant was “If I tell the truth Amberle will not be psychologically able to go through with this, so the only chance for success is to lie by omission”. Evidence: in Dark Legacy we do actually get a fully self-aware female Chosen, and she does descend into panic attacks and spends much of the trilogy not unable to find the Bloodfire, but psychologically unable to complete the transformation.
But if Wil and Amberle knew, then we’d end up with that awkward laughing scene from Final Fantasy X halfway through the book!
Seriously though, it would be a very different novel if Allanon had been open with the characters about what was in store for them, and not necessarily to its detriment. I prefer the book the way it is though. Allanon’s cardinal flaw has always been the way he kept his distance from those around him, and how that ended up negatively affecting his charges when the hamster hits the fan. Pretty much every druid that follows ends up taking a similar route, and I loved how the Heritage series explores that mindset a bit more with Walker Boh.
In any case, Bloodfire Quest was mentoined in the article . . . was Dark Legacy any good? The Genesis series was a huge disappointment to me, and soured me on Brooks’ newer work, but if Dark Legacy is worth checking out I might give it a try.
@10, Mayhem: It may not be what we expect from *Gandalf,* but as far as sinister first appearances, hooded and with glowing eyes… “in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits.” That’s our first introduction to Strider, of course, just bolstering my Aragorn point a little, hope you forgive me. :)
As I am reading the discussion above, now keep in mind it has been like 15 years since I read this or any other shannara book and I am only as far as chapter 7 at this point, I am wanting to believe that Amberle has a bit of a clue as to her fate. They mention that she has long discussions with the Ellcrys and then she suddenly leaves her duties as a chosen, I believe that the Ellcrys might have known the necessity from keeping her away from the others. I have a theory about how some of this Ellcrys/chosen/lost history business might work. I think that it might be possible that the Chosen is basically there as explained to keep the tree healthy and take care of the business of rejuvenation when the lifespan of the tree is up and that maybe the effects of the communication and the information received by the tree only last throughout the 1 year that they are chosen, that is why a new chosen is selected each year (sort of like how a tree will lose its leaves each year and new leaves grow the next). The information of how and where the chosen are to go might only be revealed to the chosen that is there during its natural lifespan, but this Ellcrys is dying because the demons are basically poking holes in the forbidding, so I think it is dying prematurely, so upon it realizing it was dying it communicated with the chosen, but they were killed before really being able to interpret what it was saying or to maybe get more messages from it. The Ellcrys might have felt it some time ago that the forbidding was beginning to fail and thus started communicating with Amberle and gave her instructions to leave. In the past, whenever the tree’s lifespan was coming to an end it might have just told the chosen where to go and what to do and they might have just done that without discussing with the elves or their historians how it was done (sort of in a secret society manner), but the current chosen probably discussed this with the king because of the urgent state of how rapidly the Ellcrys was wilting.
@Walker Allanon does recognize the furries, it states that he remembered them from the old stories, as for the Dagda Mor, he has a pretty distinctive look and he was pretty much the big baddie when the demons got locked away so I would not be surprised if there was history on him as well, but I agree that if later on it does show that he is unclear on who the Dagda Mor was it would have been interesting if Allanon recognized him as a demon and noticed his appearance and Brooks left it to the reader to deduce that it was the Dagda Mor.
One thing I am not getting, and maybe this is explained later and I don’t remember, is Allanon’s predicament. So I get that he is the last of the Druids and that is important and all, but why? He has decades between each book where he is just resting and being alone, why doesn’t he use that time to try rebuilding the order. Take on some apprentices, teach people up and make it what it was. Is it because he is worried about a bad seed like Brona being selected and pretty much given the knowledge and power to eventually end the world and he doesn’t want to be responsible for that? What do you guys think?
@14,
I’ve just recently reread the part where Amberle finally comes to understand what is going to happen. She most definitely does NOT understand prior to entering the Bloodfyre. The Ellcrys tries to prepare her, and it is this preparation that drives her off, but she is not aware in any sense of what it means. When she tells Wil about why she left, she thinks its that the Ellcrys tried to make her an extension of herself–which is definitely a NARRATIVE clue, but its not presented in a way that leaves any room for Amberle understanding.
I just wish she had understood, and that’s why she had left. If this book was edited and released today, it would be in 3rd person limited, and then Amberle COULD know the truth, and not be an “unreliable narrator”, because the author could stay in Wil’s head for her scenes.
@14:
RE: Allanon.
I don’t think he’s “sitting around resting”. He’s in a state known as the “Druid’s Sleep” I believe. I think when he goes into the Druid’s sleep, no time passes for him. He’s not aging slower than a normal man, he’s living his 100 odd years over the course of a 1000, or 500, or whatever it is. There is no chance for him to rebuild the order while doing this. The question is, WHY is he doing this instead of rebuilding the order in the first place? I can’t remember. I’m sure its detailed in First King of Shannara, but its been a loooong time since I read that, and I only read it once.
@14
Allanon never once refers to Dagda Mor in a conversation with another person. Furthermore, Allanon’s incomplete knowledge of demons is pretty crucial to the plot. That is the only way the Changeling could have hidden in its obvious place for so long.
Aidan Moher @3: I’m with gadget @1; it was absolutely the Reaper that killed the Chosen. (I seem to remember some more-or-less direct confirmation later in the book, although, to be fair, I haven’t read it in well over a decade—maybe two!) And I was going to chime in last week about how this book’s plot really only makes sense if this actually is the first time the Ellcrys dies, but I guess at this point there’s no need to belabor it.
And like mutantalbinocrocodile@11, I think Amberle’s attitude makes perfect sense as described in the book, as something that she knows at most on some unconscious level.
Well, that turned into much more of a “me, too” post than I intended. I’ll try to be more original next time.
So far I don’t have much to say yet. I did read on after ch 3 and just finished.
However, I do remember somebody mentioning Darrel K Sweet’s bad cover art, and I must say I agree. Wil could be Luke Skywalker’s twin brother, Amberle seems like she went out partying all night (check the eyes; it’s more lack of sleep showing than fear of the Reaper) and Crispin’s beard looks too well taken care off for somebody crossing the wilds to Pykon. After Wheel of Time this is was the second time the cover art did not draw me to picking up a book (that could just be me of course). It was reviews.
I, too, am sure it was the Reaper that killed the Chosen.
And, sorry but I just cannot resist saying this, the Dagda Mor is about as cool a name as an antagonist can have. He is not only (a) Dagda Mor, he is the Dagda Mor, the Demon version of the Fonz…
Yeah, the Dagda Mor recruited the Reaper to be the killing machine, and the Changeling for espionage purposes. ….though The Changeling is quite capable of killing too….
Walker@17 I’m not sure this is the case. Allanon seemed to have a lot of knowledge about Demons, and if he does not mention the Dagda Mor by name, he refers to him several times, IIRC, with something like: “The one who leads these demons has power to match, if not exceed my own”. Elventine himself recognized the Changeling at the end, when it finally revealed itself; and when Allanon is asked about it he confirmed that there was such a demon called a changeling.
Now, Allanon suspected a spy in the King’s Council and it is unclear who he thought the spy could be. It may be he considered a changeling, among other possible means of spying by the demons, but had no way to ferret it out and did not want to cause a panic.
@5 anthonypero – very astute observation about Amberle’s knowledge. But that would kind of make her abandoning her people to certain destruction, when she could have saved them. An easy accusation to make from the outside, to be sure, but it might have made her less sympathetic as a character.
And, man, if that scene of Went-the-Changeling doesn’t send a shiver up your spine…
I actually thought that that line was some pretty bad writing on Brooks part. There were enough clues already, along with the fact that they find Went’s body in the next chapter, for the reader to figure out that it was the Changeling without spelling it out. I was of the same opinion as @@@@@ 3 that it was the Changeling that killed the Chosen. It just seems to me like it was a covert type assassination which seems more up the Changeling’s alley. Plus the whole Occam’s Razor thing.
ETA: As you can see by my comment later in this thread I was wrong about the Changeling killing the Chosen. I still think the way the scene was written leads you to suspect that it was the Changeling though.
I also have to agree with the commenter above @@@@@ 9, that the omniscient POV is pretty clumsy. I was going to point out that very same part of the chapter, lol. Just right out stating that it was the Dagda Mor threw me right out of the story for a moment or two. It would be interesting to see how this book would be written today in Third Person Limited.
So on to the big secret that Allanon discovers and decides not to tell anyone. It seems pretty obvious that Amberle is going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice and become the new Ellcrys (first time reader here, I’ve only ever read Sword). I was assuming that Amberle knew this through her many conversations with the tree and that it was the reason why she ran away but I see from the comments above that I was wrong on that score.
So far I am enjoying this book a lot more than Sword (despite the omniscient POV, lol).
@@@@@ZetaStriker #12
Honestly. I think that the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy is the best thing Brooks has written since Ilse Witch, and just a smidge under The Heritage of Shannara in quality. I wrote three extensive reviews of the books, which might help to convince you: Wards of Faerie, Bloodfire Quest, and Witch Wraith.
They retroactively make some of the earlier Shannara books better, tying up the storyline that originally begins in Isle Witch, and act as a pseudo-sequal to The Elfstones of Shannara. Great characters, scope, and thematic explorations. Unfortunately, the follow-up series, The Defenders of Shannara, has proved to be one of Brooks’ weakest efforts.
Oh, and you folk have totally changed my mind about who killed the Chosen. It seems obvious to me now, after all these years, that it was the Reaper. So, thanks!
@24
**SPOILERS**
I’ve just listened to the audiobook. I’m pretty certain that when the Reaper kills the Elven scouts, the Home Guard guy says it was just like the Chosen.
@@@@@ 24 & 25
Just in case, lol, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Yeah, I’ve been reading ahead (I can’t keep the slow pace of the reread, lol) and it was definitely the Reaper that killed the Chosen. When Eventine tells Allanon, Wil & Amberle about the killings around Arborlon Allanon says it was the Reaper. And then, as anthonypero mentioned above when the party of elven hunters, Wil & Amberle get ambushed after travelling down river Amberle calls it the Reaper.
It also pretty much had to be the Reaper just from conservation of bad guys – The Dagda Mor is in Paranor, and the Changeling is spying on the king. The Reaper is what, hanging out in a pub?
Actually that’s a pretty great mental image.
@25 audiobook: cool so can you tell me how to pronounce Amberle? I’m been saying “Amber-lay” mostly because I have a sister named Amber, so I naturally see “Amber” then the “le” at the end. But I have a suspicion that it might be pronounced “Am-bearl” (rhymes with “pearl”) or maybe it’s Amber-lee? Overall I’m just not a fan of this name.
Re: Allanon and everything: I am again reminded of why I was not much of a fan of Brooks works, because they are so cookie cutter fantasy. At the time I had already read Tolkien and other imitations, so this was just another amalgam of all those things. Druid/Wizard shows up to give heroes a quest, for some reason not much is known about Insert-Evil-Scary-Place-Here because it’s been “lost”, Druid/Wizard is able to command a specific “fiery” horse that no other rider can tame! All those things and more are just so cliche, even then and even to my young mind.
Not that Tolkien imitators are necessarily bad, it’s just that this was one in the line of many and it never resonated with me because of that. But, rereading again, I can still enjoy the story and hopefully will retain a bit more of it this time.
@5: I agree it was a missed opportunity to have Amberle know about the sacrifice. But maybe it wouldn’t have worked with the third person omniscient narrator? Like, it would seem that at some point the narrator would have to admit she knows, and that would kill all suspense for us as readers? If the narrator never admitted her reticence, then it would seem a cheap ploy by the author at creating tension.
I’ve never listened to the audio book, but I pronounce her name Amber- lee, in my head
I was looking for a suitable place to ask about the pronunciation of “Amberle” myself. All these years it’s been “AM-berl” in my head, but now they’re saying “AM-ber-lee” in the TV show, and I’m wondering how I could have been so wrong.
One of my favourite aspects of LOTR was that JRRT provided extensive background information including how to pronounce everything: did TB ever do anything similar for these books?
It’s interesting going back to the early Shannara novels after having spent the past few months going through the Wheel of Time series, as while the tendency for characters to keep secrets is prevalent in both, it’s how they’re applied that makes a significant difference. In the Wheel of Time, characters hoard their secrets like a pack of starving dogs fighting over scraps; everyone is convinced that they’re the only ones who know what they’re doing, that everyone else is either too self-serving or incompetent to be trusted (if not an outright Darkfriend), and their own secretive tendencies are for the greater good (while everyone else’s are self-destructive and manipulative). It’s that pride that winds up causing so many problems for the characters, and only amplifies the divisions between them as the Last Battle approaches.
Conversely, Allanon keeping the true nature of the Ellcrys’ rebirth from Wil and Amberle come across more like a father whose child is struggling with their homework. He wants to help them and see them succeed, but knows that he can’t do the work for them if they’re ever going to grow and stand on their own two feet. It fits in well with the more classical Hero’s Journey that the novels engage in; it’s another threshold the heroes must cross, rather than being kept in the dark simply because the plot demands obfuscation.