To the no doubt chagrin of his huge legion of fans, Terry Brooks brings an end to his Shannara series with this novel. Since 1977, thirty volumes about the world of Shannara have been published.

In this book, Brooks has several story lines to tie up from previous volumes. We start off with Drisker Arc and Tarsha Kaynin, the last Druids of Paranor, ostensibly the heart of the story. Drisker, the victim of a nasty magical battle, has been thrown into the mysterious land called the Forbidding which is gray, damp and filled with monsters mostly controlled by a similarly exiled Grianne Ohmsford. A land to which he is afraid he may be exiled forever. But, Grianne, as the Straken Queen, has access to a hidden black wand and if she finds it, the magic it contains could allow both Drisker and Grianne to break through the barrier and return to the Four Lands.

Meanwhile, there is the airship Behemoth flying to the kingdom of Skaarsland to fix the eternal winter that has all but destroyed the land and people. On the ship are Darcon Leah who has the powerful Sword of Leah and Ajin d'Amphere (she a princess of Skaarsland), Shea Ohmsford and the Elven Prince, Brecon Ellessedil who carries the Elfstones.

The Skaarlanders and the Federation of the Four Lands are at war and Belladrin Rish, ostensibly helping the king of the Federation is really a penetrator (a secret agent of sorts) for the Skaars and is doing everything to undermine the Federation to give the armies of Skaar victory.

There is the evil witch, Clizia Porse who wants power for herself and is hunting Tarsha. Clizia is the one who threw Drisker into the Forbidding after a long fight with the old Druid, Tarsha and Tarsha's brother, Tavo. Clizia fancies herself as the head of a new line of Druids.

So, we follow these characters on their various journeys to ultimately bring peace to the Four Lands and to tie off all these story lines. They are aided, as always in fantasy quests, by a handful of wonderful secondary characters who all have key parts to play.

The struggle throughout is vicious and all-consuming; so trust me, there is plenty of violence and death. The Forbidding as a nasty monotone monster fest and the extreme blizzard conditions of Skaarsland lends the whole novel a mostly somber tone.

On top of all the battles, skirmishes and clashes of magic, there's obviously a great deal of sadness and inevitability to the story since we know this is the last tale. Some of the storylines end with hope, and some end pretty grimly. Ajin and Dar's story has the most color. They get stranded on an island after an air crash where they discover cannibals and have to fight their way to the shore to meet back up with the others from the Behemoth who are looking for them.

And they're in love.

It was a bit hard, admittedly, to follow all these stories.

And is there a Last Druid?

You'll have to read this to find out. ~~ Sue Martin

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