The Wishsong of Shannara
From The World of Shannara
The Wishsong of Shannara, an epic fantasy[1][2] novel by Terry Brooks, is the third and final novel in the Original Shannara Trilogy, with the other two being The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara. The story revolves around Jair and Brin Ohmsford, the children of the main characters from The Elfstones of Shannara: Wil Ohmsford and Eretria. The siblings, each possessing an inherited magic, must save the Four Lands from the evil magic within a tome called the Ildatch.
| The Wishsong of Shannara | |
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| 1985 First Edition Cover | |
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| Author: | Terry Brooks |
| Cover Artist: | Darrell K. Sweet |
| Series: | Original Shannara Trilogy |
| Genre(s): | Epic fantasy[1][2] |
| Publisher: | Del Rey Books |
| Publication date: | 12 April 1985 |
| Pages: | 498 pp |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-345-31823-4 (First edition) |
| Preceded By: | The Elfstones of Shannara |
| Followed by: | The Scions of Shannara |
Contents |
Plot summary
Prelude
Before the dawn of mankind, Demons created a book of dark magic. This book was so full of their essence that it became a living thing, with a will of its own. When the Druids gathered all knowledge and lore to themselves in the aftermath of the Great Wars, the book of Ildatch was uncovered after countless millennia. It remained harmless until the Druid Brona found it in the halls of Paranor and began to read its secrets. Brona was eventually subverted by the very power he sought to control and thus the Warlock Lord was born. Allanon thought that the dark book had been buried in the destruction of the Skull Kingdom after Shea triumphed over the Warlock Lord in The Sword of Shannara, but several of Brona's human servants recovered the book, and began to read.
The Beginning
Allanon returned to Four Lands due to the presence of a new evil, and once more he needed the aid of another generation of Ohmsfords. It is revealed that the Ildatch possessed a new generation of mortals, the Mord Wraiths, to pick up where the Warlock Lord left off. From their stronghold in the Eastland, the Mord Wraiths enslaved many Gnomes and sent them against the Dwarves. Allanon needed Brin's magic, the Wishsong, to enable him to enter the Maelmord, which is a living jungle that kills anyone who sets foot in it, and destroy the Ildatch. Helping her is Rone Leah, who is the great-grandson of Menion Leah. He wields the Sword of Leah, which is an "ordinary" sword until Allanon dipped it into the waters of the Hadeshorn to help him to protect Brin. Jair was left at home, despite his pleas to go with his older sister, but he ran north when Gnomes begin searching Shady Vale itself.
Jair's Odyssey
Jair met the King of the Silver River here; the ancient faerie creature informed him that unless he went to the Eastland, Brin would die. He offered Jair his help, as long as Jair agreed to purify the Silver River at its source; as the Silver River was being poisoned by the Mord Wraiths. Jair went on his quest, joined by the Gnome Slanter and a group from Culhaven, including the "Weapons Master" Garet Jax.
The End of Ildatch
Meanwhile, Brin and Rone watched helplessly as Allanon was killed by an ancient Demon, a Jachyra, that had been summoned by the Mord Wraiths. The creature was destroyed, but Allanon, the last of the Druids, was mortally wounded. Before he died, Allanon marked Brin's line to succeed him. Rone and Brin pressed on, hopeless. They met Cogline, a partially insane old man who tamed a Moor Cat named Whisper, and his granddaughter, Kimber Boh, who helped them on their journey. After a long trek, they finally reached the Ildatch. Brin found herself unable to destroy it because first, she became entranced and then she was possessed by it. The tome coveted her power and wanted to use her body as a tool to wield its destruction. At the last moment, as he had just purified the Silver River, Jair appeared, and the love of her brother snaped Brin out of her trance. She finally destroyed the book, and the siblings returned home, but at a price: Allanon was dead, along with nearly all of Jair's companions (all but Slanter). At the end, the shade of Allanon came to Brin and reminded of her trust, and informed her that magic would soon fade from the world again.
Characters
Major Characters
- Allanon
- Brin Ohmsford
- Cogline
- Edain Elessedil
- Elb Foraker
- Helt
- Garet Jax
- Jair Ohmsford
- Kimber Boh
- King of the Silver River
- Rone Leah
- Slanter
Minors Characters
- Browork
- Eretria
- Grimpond
- Jeft
- Radhomm
- Spilk
- Stebb
- Stythys
- Whisper
- Wil Ohmsford
References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 "Once Over" (Nov. 1977). The English Journal 66 (8): 82. National Council of Teachers of English.
- ^ 2.0 2.1 Speakman, Shawn (2008). "Terry Brooks' official website". Retrieved on 2008-05-19
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at The Wishsong of Shannara. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with The World of Shannara, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
| Characters in The Wishsong of Shannara |
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Brin · Jair · Allanon · Cogline · Kimber · Rone · Garet · Mord Wraiths · Minor Characters |
| Novels of Terry Brooks’ Shannara universe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Book I | Book II | Book III | Book IV | |
| | ||||
| Word & Void : | Running with the Demon | A Knight of the Word | Angel Fire East | |
| Genesis of Shannara : | Armageddon's Children | The Elves of Cintra | The Gypsy Morph | |
| Legends of Shannara : | Bearers of the Black Staff | The Measure of the Magic | ||
| Prequel to Shannara : | First King of Shannara | |||
| Original Shannara Trilogy : | The Sword of Shannara | The Elfstones of Shannara | The Wishsong of Shannara | |
| The Heritage of Shannara : | The Scions of Shannara | The Druid of Shannara | The Elf Queen of Shannara | The Talismans of Shannara |
| The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara : | Ilse Witch | Antrax | Morgawr | |
| High Druid of Shannara : | Jarka Ruus | Tanequil | Straken | |
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| Shannara in The World of Shannara | ||||
| Characters — Creatures — Events — Places — Objects | ||||
