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The Talismans of Shannara
Cover of The Talismans of Shannara
The Talismans of Shannara
The fourth volume of The Heritage of Shannara, which continues one of the most popular fantasy series of all time.
The Shadowen still swarm over the Four Lands, poisoning everything with their dark magic. And their leader is determined to destroy all the Scions of Shannara. For Walker Boh, he dispatches the Four Horsemen. For Wren, he sends an untrue friend. And for Par, he devises the most terrible fate of all. With these traps cleverly laid, the charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon are doomed to failure—unless Par can discover a way to harness the power of the Sword of Shannara.
Thus continues the enthralling Shannara epic, a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth…
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
The fourth volume of The Heritage of Shannara, which continues one of the most popular fantasy series of all time.
The Shadowen still swarm over the Four Lands, poisoning everything with their dark magic. And their leader is determined to destroy all the Scions of Shannara. For Walker Boh, he dispatches the Four Horsemen. For Wren, he sends an untrue friend. And for Par, he devises the most terrible fate of all. With these traps cleverly laid, the charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon are doomed to failure—unless Par can discover a way to harness the power of the Sword of Shannara.
Thus continues the enthralling Shannara epic, a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth…
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB eBook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    0
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    6.6
  • Lexile:
    970
  • Interest Level:
    UG
  • Text Difficulty:
    5 - 7


Excerpts-
  • From the book Dusk settled down about the Four Lands, a slow graying of light, a gradual lengthening of shadows.
    The swelter of the late summer’s day began to fade as the sun’s red fireball sank into the west and
    the hot, stale air cooled. The hush that comes with day’s end stilled the earth, and leaves and
    grass shivered with expectation at the coming of night.

    At the mouth of the Mermidon where it emptied into the Rainbow Lake,
    Southwatch rose blackly, impenetrable and voiceless. The wind brushed
    the waters of the lake and river, yet did not approach the obelisk, as
    if anxious to hurry on to some place more inviting. The air shimmered
    about the dark tower, heat radiating from its stone in waves, forming
    spectral images that darted and flew. A solitary hunter at the water’s
    edge glanced up apprehensively as he passed and continued swiftly on.

    Within, the Shadowen went about their tasks in ghostly silence, cowled
    and faceless and filled with purpose.

    Rimmer Dall stood at a window looking out on the darkening countryside, watching the color fade from the earth as the night crept stealthily out of the east to gather in its own.

    The night, our mother, our comfort.

    He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, rigid within his dark
    robes, cowl pulled back from his rawboned, red-bearded face. He looked
    hard and empty of feeling, and had he cared he would have been pleased. But it had been a long time since his appearance had mattered to the First Seeker—a long time since he had bothered even to wonder. His outside was of no consequence; he could be anything he chose. What burned within mattered. That gave him life.

    His eyes glittered as he looked beyond what he was seeing to what one
    day would be.

    To what was promised.

    He shifted slightly, alone with his thoughts in the tower’s silence.
    The others did not exist for him, wraiths without substance. Below, deep within the bowels of the tower, he could hear the sounds of the magic at work, the deep hum of its breathing, the rumble of its heart. He listened for it without thinking now, a habit that brought reassurance to his troubled mind. The power was theirs, brought from the ether into substance, given shape and form, lent purpose. It was the gift of the Shadowen, and it belonged to them alone.

    Druids and others notwithstanding.

    He tried a faint smile, but his mouth refused to put up with it and it
    disappeared in the tight line of his lips. His gloved left hand squirmed
    within the clasp of the bare fingers of his right. Power for power,
    strength for strength. On his breast, the silver wolf’s-head insignia
    glittered.

    Thrum, thrum, came the sound of the magic working down below.

    Rimmer Dall turned back into the grayness of the room—a room that
    until recently had held Coll Ohmsford prisoner. Now the Valeman was
    gone—escaped, he believed; but let go in fact and made prisoner
    another way. Gone to find his brother, Par.

    The one with the real magic.

    The one who would be his.

    The First Seeker moved away from the window and seated himself at the bare wooden table, the weight of his big frame causing the spindly chair to creak. His hands folded on the table before him and his craggy face lowered.

    All the Ohmsfords were back in the Four Lands, all the scions of
    Shannara, returned from their quests. Walker Boh had come back from
    Eldwist despite Pe Ell, the Black Elfstone regained, its magic fathomed,
    Paranor brought back into the world of men, and Walker himself become the first of the new Druids. Wren Elessedil had come back...
About the Author-
  • Terry Brooks has thrilled readers for decades with his powers of imagination and storytelling. He is the author of more than thirty books, most of which have been New York Times bestsellers. He lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest.
Reviews-
  • Publisher's Weekly

    February 1, 1993
    Brooks brings his best-selling tetralogy, which began with The Scions of Shannara , to a resounding, action-filled conclusion. The three quests set by the Druid Allanon to save the Four Lands have been fulfilled, but the results are endangered or useless. One of the questers, Shannara scion Par Ohmsford, flees Federation soldiers and Shadowen Seekers with his love, Damson Rhee, only to be hunted by his brother Coll, made mad by the Shadowen leader Rimmer Dall. Par carries the powerful Sword of Shannara but cannot use it; the magic of his wishsong intensifies but becomes increasingly uncontrollable. Walker Boh, Allanon's heir, is trapped inside the restored Druid fortress of Paranor by four powerful Shadowen who have taken the form of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The third quester, Wren Elessedil, now queen of the elves, has brought her people back to the Four Lands, but they face extermination by the Federation. The three searchers must be tempered by disaster, conquer their self-doubts and discover within themselves the true nature of their quest and the means of salvation for their peoples. Cutting from one group to another, Brooks builds tension and suspense, weaving a rich and complex tale. 215,000 first printing.

  • Publisher's Weekly

    January 31, 1994
    Brooks's resounding, action-filled conclusion to the Heritage of Shannara series was a nine-week PW bestseller.

  • Rocky Mountain News "If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat."
  • Santa Cruz Sentinel "If you were delighted and entranced by Michael Ende's The Never Ending Story, you will definitely want to sample one of more of Terry Brooks's books."
Title Information+
  • Publisher
    Random House Worlds
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Terry Brooks
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