This concludes my return journey, via audiobook, to the Four Lands where I spent so much of my childhood. If you’re interested, here are my thoughts on The Sword of Shannara (TLDR: not good) and The Elfstones of Shannara (TLDR: surprisingly good). I actually liked Wishsong more than I remember liking it back in the day. I’d put it about on par with Elfstones, though for different reasons. It’s not as tightly plotted as Elfstones, not as adrenaline-pumping exciting, but it’s characters are better. It balances out.
This is about the kids of Wil Ohmsford, who have been born with the magic of the Wishsong at their command as a result of Wil’s use of the Elfstones in Elfstones. Danger once again stalks the Four Lands, Allanon needs an Ohmsford to help him, yada yada yada we’ve been here before. I’m going to skip on past the plot and get to the characters, because this is a character-driven book in a way that the previous two were not.
Specifically, I want to talk about Brin Ohmsford, Garet Jax, Slanter, and Allanon. Plus a little about Menion Leah v2.0 Rone Leah.
I’ll start with the Weapons Master, Garet Jax. We don’t really know anything about him or where he comes from (there’s a fan theory that he’s Stee Jans from Elfstones, but that doesn’t really make any sense). We know that he’s a living legend who’s never lost a fight. He’s going to the Eastland to help against the Mord Wraiths because it’s something to do. He saves Jair Ohmsford from the company of gnomes that have captured him because it’s something to do. But when the King of the Silver River promises him the fight of his life if he serves as Jair’s protector, suddenly Garet Jax is not only going on the quest, he’s leading it with a determination that not even Jair really has. The prospect of an actual challenge is what drives him. Is it cliche? Sure. But it’s damned compelling anyway.
Then there’s Slanter, the only gnome character of any significance in any of the Shannara books. He’s another cliche - the cynical outcast who isn’t quite as gruff and uncaring as he appears on the surface. But again Brooks makes it work quite well. It helps that Brooks takes the trope to its logical extreme, with the gnomes being the foot soldiers of the bad guys in Wishsong. There’s a good number of times where Slanter could, if he wanted, simply walk away unchallenged, cause it’s not like the bad guys are going to be suspicious of a gnome. You never really get the feeling that Slanter is actually going to abandon Jair, because this isn’t a book about bucking expectations, but the journey is still a very good one to read.
Allanon. One of the ways that Brooks broke the LotR mold in Sword was that Gandalf Allanon didn’t fall into the abyss of Khazad-dûm and get taken out of the story (for a while). Well, that karmic escape finally catches up to Allanon here, two books and a century or so later. Allanon was always secretive, and what’s great about him here is that we get to see him struggle with that in a way we never do in the previous two books. He reflects on it at least a bit in both, but he was never close to Wil and Shea in the way he is with Brin.
Brief aside on Rone Leah: he’s Brin’s self-designated protector, and Allanon levels-up his sword so he can fulfil that role, but what’s interesting to me is how swept up in his role Brin gets. He starts seeing his role as Brin’s protector as more important than the actual quest he’s supposed to be helping Brin pull off. It’s never really something that Rone deals with, though Brin thinks about it a lot. Rone never really has to grapple with it or experience growth to any real degree. But it’s interesting.
Which leads us to Brin. I didn’t like Brin as a kid, and frankly I still don’t, really. Jair is much more likeable, but likeable ≠ interesting. At the start of the story Brin doesn’t take the Wishsong seriously - it’s just a toy. Allanon shows her otherwise, which terrifies her, but she doesn’t really think it through. She avoids using it. Until the night she uses it - without conscious thought - to drive off a bunch of would-be rapists, and then to save Rone’s life. I never really got how powerful that juxtaposition was. “Savior and destroyer” indeed. And then with Allanon gone and Rone obsessed with protecting her, she’s left to twist on her own and just goes to darker and darker places.
So having revisited the original Shannara trilogy in its entirety, what’s my overall feeling? It’s a good gateway. Sword is a good book for an excited 12 year old who doesn’t know any better. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother. It’s an important book for the history of the fantasy genre, but it’s kind of like the Wright brothers’ plane in that respect. It’s important, sure, but I don’t particularly want to try flying in it. Elfstones and Wishsong are both much better, but still not books that will have a significant impact on a veteran reader. If you’re a reading veteran, don’t bother. There’s much better uses of your reading time. But totally get your kids a box set when the time is right.