In 1983 "The Sword of Shannara" was published and I soon got my hands on a copy and so began an almost 40 year journey through this epic fantasy series. It is now complete as I closed the last book. The series has explored how the arrogance of humanity and its unbridled use of technology in its greed destroyed the old world giving rise to the ancient world of faerie and magic once again. It is fiting that the story that began with Shea Ohmsford also ends with his descendant who is also Shea Ohmsford. As the serie progressed and magic grew in its power, science and technology also once again began to grow because not everyone could access magic. And now as the last druid reluctantly takes the mantle the question becomes one of balance between the two and how to achieve it. This is a fitting end to the series, with great characters, plenty of plot twists, and a great story that honors the entire tradition of these books. So glad to have made this journey! ( )

The Last Druid concludes the Fall of Shannara tetralogy as well as the entire Shannara series. While I started the Shannara series at the begining many years ago, the last book that I managed to read was the Isle Witch ... so most of the build up to this story I didn't have, and it was a little difficult to pick up in the beginning (having some background for the much earlier stories helped a lot).

The story opens with the resolution of what appears to have been a cliff hanger from the previous book (I generally dislike books ending with such cliff hangers, so the previous book would have lost a star for that). Most of the world builder has already happend in previous books, so that was minimal here; however, I did manage to pull together a lot of it from the story context and it appears to be rock-solid (like the majority of the Shannara series). The further tilt toward a pseudo-steampunk feel was a welcome trend (and puts into place a question of magic vs technology that was fun to explore). Add an environmental crisis and some political intrigue and you could vaguely make out a commentary of our current times without being too preachy.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of too; along with three or four separate sub-plots that were somewhat jarring for me to switch between (I tend favor a more linear story). The two main lines were Drisker being stuck in the Forbidding where he needed to team up with the Isle Witch (that was cool) to come back and Tasha bouncing back from her disastrous encounter with the evil Druid Clizia. Then we get just a little about the war between the Federation and the Skaar (frankly I found these minor sub-plots to be more interesting). After a slow and somewhat drawn out start, the story accelerates in the second half to actually become enjoyable ... and I can't argue with how it all ends ... pretty much as you would expect this time.

If you are a fan of Shannara, I would definitely recommend it. It would be better if you at least read the first three in this storyline though.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheLastDruid #NetGalley ( )

I was a bit hesitant to request this book. Having grown up in the world of Shannara, I was saddened to hear that this would be the last book set in that realm. Terry Brooks has done a marvelous job with all the books in this series, and this final one was no different.

Loved how the story moved along at a good pace, while even closing up all the "loose ends" that many writers tend to close off too early, or not at all. The writing style was easy to read, which is Mr. Brooks' style, and is great for young adult readers. Descriptive writing was good, and I felt the imagination fill my head with what scenes I was reading.

All in all, this was a great finish to a series. Thanks for an ARC in exchange for a review through NetGalley. ( )

With about 120 pages to go, I couldn't help but think that this series of books in particular could have been longer. I wanted more, only because after reading all 32 books in the Shannara series, I was desperately clinging to the notion that there would be more to it.

I think with this much history and weight behind it, I was hoping for something a little more grand, but what I read was really satisfying. The ending scene, in particular, felt really poignant and touched upon the magic vs. science theme present in almost every Shannara book.

There were a few shocks, in particular the Behemoth's fate in Skaarsland was really, really well done and I couldn't help but feel I was there watching along with Shea. Ajin and the Skaar were really a interesting new race, far more than the usual dark evil lord wanting to take over everything.

The section in the Forbidding was really, really strong. Easily my favorite part of the book. Brooks' does a fantastic job making you live in this disgusting world and fear all the creatures that live in it. We've seen the Forbidding before a bit, but not really like this.

I still wanted more! Maybe another few pages acknowledging all the major players in the Shannara history, but I wager that's just my nostalgia creeping in.

This is my most rambly review ever. If you're reading this and want to know it's good, or should you read it? - I wouldn't necessarily recommend Shannara to just anybody, but if you're new to fantasy, Shannara is a great place to start. And if you're fantasy fan, this is like fantasy comfort food. And if you're a Shannara fan, you already know the answer. ( )

Some people went places and did stuff. They had some straightforwardly overcome obstacles, unless they died of stupidity. I do so hope this is truly the last book. ( )