Book Review #10: Wards of Faerie: The Dark Legacy of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Hello Dear Reader!

I’ve finally finished another book, and it’s a classic fantasy read by Terry Brooks, Wards of Faerie, Book 1 of The Dark Legacy of Shannara. I came across this book in a bookstore and thought it would be a good read, and it really was! While it was a really good read, there was also a lot crammed into it, and I can’t possibly address every single thing into this single review, so it’s probably going to be pretty short because I don’t want to spoil any part of this story. .

But before I get more of that, here is the book’s synopsis (from Amazon):

Tumultuous times are upon the world now known as the Four Lands. Users of magic are in conflict with proponents of science. The dwindling Druid order is threatened with extinction. A sinister politician has used treachery and murder to rise as prime minister of the mighty Federation. Meanwhile, poring through a long-forgotten diary, the young Druid Aphenglow Elessedil has stumbled upon the secret account of an Elven girl’s heartbreak and the shocking truth about the vanished Elfstones, which once warded the lands and kept evil at bay. But never has a little knowledge been so very dangerous—as Aphenglow quickly learns when she’s set upon by assassins. Yet there can be no turning back from the road to which fate has steered her. Whoever captures the Elfstones and their untold powers will surely hold the advantage in the devastating clash to come.

End synopsis. Time for the review!

There are many, many different parts to this story, so there isn’t really one main character. Though, there are two characters I believe are the main protagonists of the book because of how crucial their roles are, and those characters are Aphenglow and Khyber Elessedil. Both are Druids in the story, the first being a regular member and the second the Ard Rhys, basically the leader, of the order. Both Elven women are similar in the ways they keep a level-head and are phenomenal at thinking ahead and considering the possible risks of every action they take and taking into account every way a situation might play out. They are also both really adept at using magic, which I believe is characteristic of the elves in the world. Though usually showing patience, they do have times where they snap, which makes their characters have more depth.

And speaking of characters, there are a lot of minor ones in Wards of Faerie, and each has their own defined personality, which is really amazing. There weren’t any characters I truly hated, but there were definitely characteristics of characters that I disliked, which makes them all the more realistic.

The world that Wards of Faerie takes place in is massive! There are already four lands that make up the bulk of what has already been placed on the map, but there’s an entire unknown, dangerous land that hasn’t been explored beyond a point called the Breakline, and it just blows my mind. It would be impossible to explore all of the four lands and the unexplored area within just one book, probably even the entire trilogy.

I really enjoyed this book, but it took a while for me to get into it, which was the same issue I had reading one of Terry Brooks’s previous books, but after I got past the first two or three chapters, I found myself getting into the story and its characters. Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience into such a vast world with tons of lore and a rich history.

So, Wards of Faerie rating:

10/10 and will definitely search for the next book in this trilogy! If you’re a fantasy lover, I definitely recommend reading this book. It’s a bit of a dense read, at least for me, but if you’re really into worlds with a lot of lore and rich history like this one, then you’ll definitely enjoy it!

Thanks for reading!