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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Trying to Cross
the Bridge over the Columbia River
Hawk's whole
being was attuned to and connected with the earth upon which he
stood and to the plants that rooted within, and in that instant he
was changed forever. No longer a boy, a street kid only, he was a
creature of magic, too, a gypsy morph come into being, its potential
realized.
The result
was instantaneous. Vines and brush and grasses erupted from the
earth at both ends of the bridgehead, exploding all around the
barricades and weapons and the men who staffed them. They shot out
of the earth as if starved, as if reaching skyward for the sunlight,
for the air, for the rain, for whatever they were lacking in their
dormancy. But their emergence was his doing alone, and they were
obedient to his command. They fell upon the barricades and the
defenders, upon metal and human alike, enfolding them in ropes of
green that wrapped about like cables to make them all fast.
The militia
never had a chance. They never even managed a single pull on their
triggers. The handguns were ripped from their fingers, and the tanks
and cannons were throttled in place. The men themselves were bound
as if by ropes, the greenery first making them fast and then
climbing the entire bridge, wrapping about the metal spans and
struts, about everything that formed the body of the structure until
nothing remained visible. In the end, there was only the bushy,
dripping green of plant life extending end-to-end, the whole of the
bridge and its barricades and its defenders become part of a vast
jungle. The entire swallowing took only minutes and left the
onlookers standing with Tessa and Cheney starting in shocked
silence.
"Oh, my
God!" whispered Helen Rice softly, speaking for them all.
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Synopsis |
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Hawk and Tessa are thrown off the wall
of the compound in Seattle and vanish in a flash of light. He awakens in the
beautiful garden of the King of the Silver River. The King tells Hawk
that he is to lead a large group of children to safety from the
onslaught that is coming. Logan Tom, a Knight of the Word, has returned
to the compound to save Hawk. Being to late, he returns to the Ghosts
and they begin a journey south, hoping to find Hawk eventually.
Angel
Perez flees north from Los Angeles toward the Elves with Ailie, a fairy
tatterdemalion, by her side. Delloreen, a transforming demon, is hot on
their trail and determined to kill this Knight of the Word. When they
finally arrive in Cintra, the Elven king does not believe Angel or Kirisin.
Kirisin has been secretly working with Culph, the Elven king's
historian, on tracking down the blue Elfstones. After a harrowing
adventure in the caves of the dead, Kirisin is able to find the blue
Elfstones and uses them to show him where the Loden Elfstone is. It is
far to the north in a cave on the slopes of Syrring Rise. So, with the
help of Kirisin's older sister, Simralin, an Elven Tracker, and Angel,
they escape in the night and head north, with both demons and elves on
their heals.
Meanwhile, Logan Tom and the Ghosts enter the former city
of Tacoma, Washington. Two of the Ghosts have caught the plague and
Logan Tom goes foraging for medicine near the Tacoma Dome. He runs
across and 18-year of girl, Catalya, who started to turn into a lizard,
but the process has stopped. She tells Logan Tom and she will take him
to the medicine if he promises that she can leave with him. After
stealing medicine from the Senator, they continue south on the old
highway until they are stopped by a blockade. Men come out and take
Logan Tom to Krilka Koos, another Knight of the Word.
Krilka Koos wants
Logan Tom to join him in helping to prepare for the end of the world.
When Logan Tom refuses, Krilka Koos challenges him to a battle to death
after showing him the wall with three other Knight of the Word staffs on
it. If he kills Logan Tom, he will add Logan Tom's staff to his wall of
trophies. Meanwhile, Angel, Simralin and Kirisin have taken a hot air
balloon north to the the base of Syrring Rise.
While hiking up the
slope, Angel senses a demon in the trees and sends Simralin and Kirisin
up the slope into the cave where the Loden Elfstone resides. While Angel
battles Delloreen in the snow and rocks, Kirisin enter the dragon's maw
in hopes of finding the Elfstone that will save his people.
The Elves of Cintra
is the second book in the Genesis of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks.
This Shannara fantasy tale takes place 1500 years before the Sword of
Shannara. It is a story of a post-apocalyptic world where demons have
killed off most of the humans and the Elves are next.
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Review |
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The Genesis of Shannara series started off with a
bang in Armageddon's Children and continues with a explosion in
The Elves of Cintra. I am now started to remember why I loved
Terry Brooks when I first discovered him in the mid-1980's and read his
first published book. This series has excellent character development,
exciting action scenes, and wonderful plot advancement.
Where as the
first book in this series was really great,
The Elves of Cintra is stupendous. Wow! I just couldn't get
enough. The second half of the book rocks and kept me turning pages late
into the night. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.
The majority of the story revolves around Kirisin seeking the Elfstones,
both the blue and the Loden. Fine by me. That is probably my favorite
story arc in the series. Don't get me wrong, the story arc dealing with
Logan Tom and the Ghosts is also nail-biting and wonderful.
I love that
I am learning more and more about how the Earth and humans were
devastated. The Shannara series mentions it, but not in great detail.
This is a story that needed telling and ties the Shannara World with The
Word and and Void series.
Overall,
The Elves of Cintra is an excellent tale in a gloomy world
that brings hope to us all. Will the Ghosts be able to find Hawk, the
gypsy morph? Will the Elves be able to escape the evil clutches of the
demons that surround their forested home? Will the Knights of the Word
be able to help rescue thousand of children and the Elves and bring them
to safety? Man, that is a lot of great questions. So, if you are looking
for an electrifying series, pick up the second book in The Genesis of
Shannara series,
The Elves of Cintra. You will love it as much as I did.
Now, how
will this whole thing conclude? I don't know about you, but I cannot
wait to find out in The Gypsy Morph, the final book in this
trilogy.
I rated this book a 9 out of 10. |
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