Straken

(11th book for Once Upon a Time)

Straken by Terry Brooks

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Del Rey; (August 28, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0345499409

From Booklist

Brooks concludes the High Druid of Shannara trilogy, which begins with Jarka Ruus (2003) and continues with Tanequil (2004), in an equally rich and riveting high-fantasy style. Young Pen Ohmsford, now armed with the darkwand he obtained from the ancient sentient tree Tanequil, is taken to Parador by Druids who have been pursuing him, is imprisoned, and is deprived of the darkwand, his only means of crossing over into the Forbidding to rescue his aunt Grianne, held captive by a demon. Can Khyber Edessedil, wielder of the Elf Stones, rescue him? The demon that passed through to the Four Lands when Grianne was taken is still working to destroy the barrier between the two worlds. Shadea, the false leader of the Druids, and Federation prime minister Sen Dunsidan continue their machinations aimed at destroying the elf and dwarf populations and expanding their sovereignty. All characters remain true to their already established identities, and Brooks unerringly weaves the many threads of his complex saga into an intricate and colorful tapestry that, taken with the previous books, casts the expected magical spell over the reader

As with any well written adventure trilogy, by the time you get to book 3 you can’t put it down for any length of time!

Pen takes the darkwand and finds his way into the Forbidding. Meanwhile, treachery abounds in Parador as Shadea’s minions begin to fall.

Pen’s parents escape Parador and go find the companions that helped Pen only to find out that they have to return to Parador so that they can help Pen and Grianne when they find their way back from the Forbidding.

And for something you couldn’t see coming… the last chapter holds a surprise!

It is a really good 3rd book.  It pulls all the strings together, lets you know what happens to the, oh so many, great characters before coming to it’s conclusion.

I can’t say enough good things about this trilogy… many people say that when an author writes a really good trilogy (Sword of Shanarra) that the following books never really measure up to the “originals”.  I have to say that I think this comes in a close second!  There aren’t many “sequels” that I care for but this one is a good one for sure!

If anyone is interested in knowing the books of Terry Brooks they are as follows:

The Original Shannara Novels
•The Sword of Shannara
- In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord – first 1/3 of The Sword of Shannara
- The Druids’ Keep – middle 1/3 of The Sword of Shannara
- The Secret of the Sword – last 1/3 of The Sword of Shannara
•The Elfstones of Shannara
•The Wishsong of Shannara

A Shannara Novella
•Indomitable – An epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara
A Shannara Graphic Novel
•Dark Wraith of Shannara

The Heritage of Shannara
•The Scions of Shannara
•The Druid of Shannara
•The Elf Queen of Shannara
•The Talismans of Shannara

A Shannara Prequel
•First King of Shannara
The Word & Void Novels
•Running with the Demon
•A Knight of the Word
•Angel Fire East

The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara
•Ilse Witch
•Antrax
•Morgawr

High Druid of Shannara
•Jarka Ruus
•Tanequil
•Straken

Genesis of Shannara
•Armageddon’s Children
•The Elves of Cintra
•The Gypsy Morph

Legends of Shannara
•Bearers of the Black Staff (in stores)
•The Measure of the Magic

The Dark Legacy of Shannara
•Wards of Faerie (forthcoming August 21, 2012)
•The Bloodfire Quest (forthcoming March 19, 2013)
•Witch Wraith (forthcoming August 2013)