In the three hundred years since the death of the Druid Allanon, the evil Shadowen have seized control of the Four Lands. If they are to be saved, the black Elfstone must be retrieved, at whatever cost to life or love....

The second installment of Brooks's new series, after The Scions of Shannara , follows Walker Boh as he reluctantly seeks the Black Elfstone, needed to bring back vanished Paranor, a quest laid on him by the shade of the Druid Allanon as part of the effort to save the Four Lands from the wraith-like Shadowen. Walker is rescued from a Shadowen attack by the beautiful and tragic Quickening, daughter of the legendary King of the Silver River. Walker and Quickening, with Morgan Leah and Pe Ell, travel to the land of the Stone King, who has stolen the Elfstone and is determined to turn the world into his own element. As the small band struggles though hostile terrain, Pe Ell's secret mission to assassinate Quickening complicates the battle with the Stone King's minions and his awesome powers. While this volume briefly touches on the fortunes of other questers, it appears that they will form the basis of future installments. Broadening the landscape of his magic world, Brooks has produced a deep and thoughtful fantasy.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

YA-- This book in the second trilogy about Shannara, which began with The Scions of Shannara (Ballantine, 1990), is set over 300 years after the end of the first trilogy and the death of the Druid Allanon. The evil Shadowen still retain their hold and continue to drain the Four Lands of the magic that had been their lifeblood. The King of the Silver River, a fabulous being as old as mankind, creates a daughter named Quickening and sends her to assist. She joins Morgan Leah and Pe Ell, an assassin who plans to eventually kill her, on a journey to the far north to recover the lost magic, a process that involves the need to capture the Black Elfstone. Brooks weaves an intricate tale with a richly detailed fantasy world peopled with multidimensional characters. As with the previous four books about Shannara, fans will not be disappointed with this wonderful fairy tale. This should be an automatic pur chase for collections serving fantasy readers.
- Barbara A. Lynn, Econo-Clad Books, Topeka, KS
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.