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Legends of Shannara #1
Bearers of the Black Staff
The first book in the new Legends of Shannara fantasy duology from international bestseller Terry Brooks.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published August 24, 2010
543 people are currently reading
9055 people want to read
About the author
Terry Brooks
420 books77.9k followersTerry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 550 reviews
May 23, 2010
Bearers of the Black Staff is, quite simply, one of Terry's best books. The first part of a two-book set, Black Staff is set 500 years after the events in The Gypsy Morph, where the the descendants of civilization's demise re-emerge from their protected valley into a world greatly changed and far more dangerous.
But not all dangers are in the world without. Some have been festering in the valley for centuries.
Terry has done a great job developing his characters in this first book. I guarantee Terry Brooks fans will fall in love with at least two of them, as they have the same cult feeling that Allanon and Garet Jax creates in readers. The other characters are alive as well and upon reflection I think two of the periphery characters will be beloved by certain groups of readers as well.
The story is very tightly knit. Not a word is wasted in this book. Fans will see glimpses of the Old World as well as those seeds that will become the Four Lands.
The reason this book is only a 4 star review is it is a bit slow on action in its middle. It is the set up book for the climax in the second volume, where I would imagine all hellfire is going to break loose. And true to Terry Brooks, the book ends in a cliffhanging fashion that will leave readers chomping at the bit for the next book to be published.
As I told Terry upon finishing the book, The Legends of Shannara duology could be Terry's finest Shannara story since The Druid of Shannara if he can find a way to fulfill all of the promise from the first book in the second book. I think he will.
But not all dangers are in the world without. Some have been festering in the valley for centuries.
Terry has done a great job developing his characters in this first book. I guarantee Terry Brooks fans will fall in love with at least two of them, as they have the same cult feeling that Allanon and Garet Jax creates in readers. The other characters are alive as well and upon reflection I think two of the periphery characters will be beloved by certain groups of readers as well.
The story is very tightly knit. Not a word is wasted in this book. Fans will see glimpses of the Old World as well as those seeds that will become the Four Lands.
The reason this book is only a 4 star review is it is a bit slow on action in its middle. It is the set up book for the climax in the second volume, where I would imagine all hellfire is going to break loose. And true to Terry Brooks, the book ends in a cliffhanging fashion that will leave readers chomping at the bit for the next book to be published.
As I told Terry upon finishing the book, The Legends of Shannara duology could be Terry's finest Shannara story since The Druid of Shannara if he can find a way to fulfill all of the promise from the first book in the second book. I think he will.
August 28, 2013
This was an interesting and entertaining story from the Shannara world history. This one tells us of events that occur a few centuries after the time frame of The Gypsy Morph. It gets us closer to the period of Brooks's classic work, The Sword of Shannra, but we're not there yet. This book does end with a lot unresolved, so I'll need to push on to The Measure of the Magic to get those answers.
But that said, this one is enjoyable. There are a few characters that stand out as particularly interesting (Prue, Inch, and Mistral), while others are likeable but fairly typical Brooks heroes. The story is solid, and though predictable in places for Brooks veterans, there are a few surprises here and there.
I wouldn't recommend this to a newcomer to the Shannara books (too much would be missed that happened before), but it is a good way to spend a few hours for a fan of Terry Brooks and his series.
But that said, this one is enjoyable. There are a few characters that stand out as particularly interesting (Prue, Inch, and Mistral), while others are likeable but fairly typical Brooks heroes. The story is solid, and though predictable in places for Brooks veterans, there are a few surprises here and there.
I wouldn't recommend this to a newcomer to the Shannara books (too much would be missed that happened before), but it is a good way to spend a few hours for a fan of Terry Brooks and his series.
August 16, 2024
Another great Shannara prequel, with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger.
Don’t get too attached to your favourite characters, folks…
Don’t get too attached to your favourite characters, folks…
February 26, 2014
Totally captivating plot that pulls the reader right in. Who couldn't love the characters? The 'Gray Man' who bears the magical black staff is Sider Ament. Panterra Qu, 17 years old and Prue, 15 years old are Trackers with special skills. All are sheltered in a valley with communities of Humans, Elves, Lizards (trolls) and Spiders that have been protected from the outside world for the past 500 years by a magical wall of mist. Everything changes when that world is threatened. I love how Brooks introduces his characters through action packed sequences that invoke the characters interior thoughts, motivations, fears, and desires. Secondary characters are well fleshed out. The fantastical world is described so well that the readers is immediately immersed in a believable alternate universe. One critique of Brooks that I've read is that his plots are formulaic. That may be. I have yet to read another Brooks novel. If it is so, the formula really works in this tale.
August 21, 2021
Simply brilliant, a thoughfully written book that fits perfectly in with the other books in the series and helps to further explain events to date and to come. Love it!
June 24, 2012
I first encountered Shannara during the Golden Age of SF—my golden age, that is. The Sword of Shannara was published in 1977, when I was just fourteen years old. Close enough. At the time, its shameless post-apocalyptic pastiche of Tolkien seemed new, and I happily picked up several more books in the series. Sure, it's the kind of thing EFP (Extruded Fantasy Product) was named for, but sometimes that's exactly what you want.
More than thirty years and twenty volumes later, though... well, Brooks has learned a thing or two about writing in the decades since. The prose here flows smoothly enough for the most part, apart from clunky names that seem to hover on the edge of meaningfulness (Panterra Qu, I'm looking at you), and the occasional solecism such as "a broad, wide passage" (p.166) or the part where a character does something "Without a word" (p.173) but then immediately utters several sentences. And then there's the mercenary who takes on a suicidal task without even a discussion of payment...
But anyway... that's not the worst thing. I can forgive plot holes, odd names and bad phrasing in the service of an enthusiastic story. With this novel, though, I realized about a third of the way in that I was just plodding through. I even put it down for awhile to read other things, then picked it back up... but still found myself reluctant to turn the pages.
It's just another story, you know? It's likeable enough, if you like this sort of thing—it's by no means the worst thing I've ever read—but... there doesn't seem to be anything deeper here, just Brooks filling in the backstory in a long-running series.
The novel also suffers from a disappointing lack of resolution—I suppose I should have guessed that this would not end well, but Bearers of the Black Staff is really only half a book, and aside from the implication hidden by that colon in the title, there's no indication on the cover that this is so. I don't like that kind of publisher's trick even when the author's someone of Connie Willis' stature, and I like it less from Brooks. I know, I know—my son tells me that this sounds like the old restaurant joke: "the food is terrible, and the portions are so small!" But really the only reason why I finished reading this book is because I thought it might actually have an ending.
The conclusion of this book is in a volume called The Measure of the Magic, should you care to pick it up. I won't be doing so.
More than thirty years and twenty volumes later, though... well, Brooks has learned a thing or two about writing in the decades since. The prose here flows smoothly enough for the most part, apart from clunky names that seem to hover on the edge of meaningfulness (Panterra Qu, I'm looking at you), and the occasional solecism such as "a broad, wide passage" (p.166) or the part where a character does something "Without a word" (p.173) but then immediately utters several sentences. And then there's the mercenary who takes on a suicidal task without even a discussion of payment...
But anyway... that's not the worst thing. I can forgive plot holes, odd names and bad phrasing in the service of an enthusiastic story. With this novel, though, I realized about a third of the way in that I was just plodding through. I even put it down for awhile to read other things, then picked it back up... but still found myself reluctant to turn the pages.
It's just another story, you know? It's likeable enough, if you like this sort of thing—it's by no means the worst thing I've ever read—but... there doesn't seem to be anything deeper here, just Brooks filling in the backstory in a long-running series.
The novel also suffers from a disappointing lack of resolution—I suppose I should have guessed that this would not end well, but Bearers of the Black Staff is really only half a book, and aside from the implication hidden by that colon in the title, there's no indication on the cover that this is so. I don't like that kind of publisher's trick even when the author's someone of Connie Willis' stature, and I like it less from Brooks. I know, I know—my son tells me that this sounds like the old restaurant joke: "the food is terrible, and the portions are so small!" But really the only reason why I finished reading this book is because I thought it might actually have an ending.
The conclusion of this book is in a volume called The Measure of the Magic, should you care to pick it up. I won't be doing so.
May 15, 2015
Bearers of the Black Staff is the book in which the world of the old Shannara classics truly begins to take shape after the destruction of the old world in the Genesis trilogy. The protective mist created by the now mythical Hawk is beginning to fail, and the people of the valley cease to live in peaceful isolation from an outside world they know nothing about. Threats are mounting from the outside and the inside both, from vicious power struggles to an invading army, as men and elves struggle to save themselves and the valley that has been their home for five hundred years.
This was another enjoyable tale from the world of Shannara. I found it to be a little different from the earlier books as it was more action oriented and contained lots of twists and turns. But at the same time it's also a typical Terry Brooks novel, with the same character types and of course the same races and magical artifacts. It's certainly worth reading, but only for those who have read the Original Trilogy and preferably a few other Shannara novels as well.
This was another enjoyable tale from the world of Shannara. I found it to be a little different from the earlier books as it was more action oriented and contained lots of twists and turns. But at the same time it's also a typical Terry Brooks novel, with the same character types and of course the same races and magical artifacts. It's certainly worth reading, but only for those who have read the Original Trilogy and preferably a few other Shannara novels as well.
August 17, 2017
I loved Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara. It was one of my earliest fantasy reads, way back when. Since then, he has continued to flesh out the world of Shannara, as well as add a few other series, like The Knight of the Word and Magic Kingdom For Sale, Sold. One of the things this book does is link the Knight books to the Shannara ones, which I had wondered about.
Five hundred years after the Great War (pretty much World War III, with nukes and all), one small part of the world has been protected by great magic, hidden by fog and warded against entry or exit. But, the barrier is finally weakening, and those inside must learn about the world outside their safe little valley.
Panterra Qu and Prue Liss are young Trackers who are among the first to find these strange new intruders. They survive, in part, because of the timely arrival of Sider Ament, last Knight of the Word, bearer of the titular Black Staff, and protector of the valley. They must warn the rest of the valley that change is coming.
But where you have groups of men, you have religion, and where you have that, you have people that fear change and attack anything that might contradict their beliefs. A simple warning turns into heresy, and plots and schemes are unleashed. Even the Elves who live in the valley are divided on what to do.
Add in mysterious mercenary Deladion Inch, elven princess Phryne, scheming priest Skeal Eile, and an invading Troll army, and things look bad for the valley. Will they pull together? Will the small amount of surviving magic find new heirs? Read and find out, as Brooks works his own magic in the realm of Shannara again.
Five hundred years after the Great War (pretty much World War III, with nukes and all), one small part of the world has been protected by great magic, hidden by fog and warded against entry or exit. But, the barrier is finally weakening, and those inside must learn about the world outside their safe little valley.
Panterra Qu and Prue Liss are young Trackers who are among the first to find these strange new intruders. They survive, in part, because of the timely arrival of Sider Ament, last Knight of the Word, bearer of the titular Black Staff, and protector of the valley. They must warn the rest of the valley that change is coming.
But where you have groups of men, you have religion, and where you have that, you have people that fear change and attack anything that might contradict their beliefs. A simple warning turns into heresy, and plots and schemes are unleashed. Even the Elves who live in the valley are divided on what to do.
Add in mysterious mercenary Deladion Inch, elven princess Phryne, scheming priest Skeal Eile, and an invading Troll army, and things look bad for the valley. Will they pull together? Will the small amount of surviving magic find new heirs? Read and find out, as Brooks works his own magic in the realm of Shannara again.
September 16, 2023
I found this a thoroughly engaging and entertaining entry in the strangely yet consistently evolving series. While I liked all of the POVs I would've preferred a single POV following Sider Ament as he was my favorite character.
March 23, 2024
Dopo un paio di libri dello zio Dosto, avevo proprio voglia/bisogno di qualcosa di leggero e scorrevole per staccare la spina, pura e semplice evasione. Con Brooks sapevo perfettamente a cosa andavo incontro. Diciamo due stelle e mezzo, più oggettivamente due, più soggettivamente tre. Fortunatamente è una mini-serie di due soli romanzi e proseguo subito con il secondo.
January 7, 2012
"Bearers of the Black Staff" (Shanarra x) guard the races of man, elf, lizard-troll, and spider (?) in a valley warded by magic 500 years before, when an apocalyptic Great War decimated the Earth. The protection has fallen. Sider's magic saves trackers: girl Prue 13 and boy Pan 15 from escaped monsters. But nobody wants to believe their warning. A power-hungry Sect leader and elf queen ally and send assassins. Vast Troll armies want their land. Betrayal, sacrifice, invasion, cliff-hanger.
I prefer self-contained stories. I plowed through long pages of Stirling, Rowling and Paolini to endings. The latter led me to try Terry Brooks. The two have a penchant for unrequited unhappy love. I already had Landover series requested - not much better. I prefer poor ignored kid makes world better to bored rich guy (makes) rules.
I prefer self-contained stories. I plowed through long pages of Stirling, Rowling and Paolini to endings. The latter led me to try Terry Brooks. The two have a penchant for unrequited unhappy love. I already had Landover series requested - not much better. I prefer poor ignored kid makes world better to bored rich guy (makes) rules.
July 10, 2016
#7/29 in my Epic Shannara Quest.
Another good story, if superficial, in fashioning the world of Shannara into what the original trilogy depicts it as. But this time around, Brooks lapses into the standard fantasy formula. And he seems to be repeating himself here: most noticeably with his Elven brothers Tasha and Tenerife mirroring the elven brothers Durin and Dayel from The Sword of Shannara and Deladion Inch subbing for Panamon Creel from TSoS. But it is engrossing and well-written.
Another cliff-hanger in my 2016 epic Shannara quest. Onto the sequel. Huzzah and Tally-ho!
Another good story, if superficial, in fashioning the world of Shannara into what the original trilogy depicts it as. But this time around, Brooks lapses into the standard fantasy formula. And he seems to be repeating himself here: most noticeably with his Elven brothers Tasha and Tenerife mirroring the elven brothers Durin and Dayel from The Sword of Shannara and Deladion Inch subbing for Panamon Creel from TSoS. But it is engrossing and well-written.
Another cliff-hanger in my 2016 epic Shannara quest. Onto the sequel. Huzzah and Tally-ho!
September 4, 2011
*phone rings*
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this faithful reader?"
"Uh, Yeah..."
"Hey, this Terry Brooks calling, just wanted to let you know I'm phoning it in on this one... Probably for now on really... Anyway, thought you should know."
*click*
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this faithful reader?"
"Uh, Yeah..."
"Hey, this Terry Brooks calling, just wanted to let you know I'm phoning it in on this one... Probably for now on really... Anyway, thought you should know."
*click*
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
November 4, 2020
This for me was the better book of the series {chronologically reading} thus far. I enjoyed the characters driven plot, which were easy to relate to. There was plenty of excitement and suspense making it into a swift read, with fewer open ended threads and connection than previous books. I am starting to see the world beyond the mists forming for the main body of work.
August 10, 2016
Bearers of the Black Staff is the first book in Terry Brooks' Legends of Shannara series, published by Del Rey in August 2010. This book follows on from the Genesis of Shannara series and continues to explore the post-apocalyptic evolution of our world, connecting the events from the Word/Void series with the fantasy world of Shannara. While this book can be read and enjoyed without any prior knowledge of Word/Void and Shannara, this is the 22nd novel to explore this universe and as such, avid readers will find and be enriched by the many references and connections to previous books.
At the end of the Genesis of Shannara series the young boy Hawk lead the remnants of Humans, Elves, Lizards and Spiders into an isolated valley, casting over them the protective magic of the Gypsy Morph while the rest of the world was devastated by the launch of all nuclear weapons. Bearers of the Black Staff picks up the story 500 years later, inside the valley where the people have developed their own culture full of political and religious intrigue, based on the belief that their valley will be protected forever.
The story follows Sider Ament, the last remaining Knight of the Word, who is tracking two demonic creatures that have breached the boundary. Two young trackers, Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, stumble upon these creatures while investigating the brutal killing of two of their colleagues and with the help of Ament they are able to escape. After confirming that the boundary has come down, it falls upon the two young trackers to spread the word among the rest of the valley while Sider Ament explores the outside world in an attempt to determine the sorts of dangers that may be lurking nearby.
I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. While the basic characters, setting, and plot all seem very familiar, as is usually the case with a Shannara novel, what makes this book more than just another Shannara novel is all the moving parts working in operation outside of the main storyline. Some quick examples; there is Panterra and Prue trying to convince people that the boundary has come down invalidating the religous beliefs of the majority of valley inhabitants which has unpredictable and far reaching ramifications, there are religious and governing organisations who are more concerned with trying to make the most of the situation in a play for power and control, and there is still the fracticious relationship between all the races that has a large influence over the decisions made by those in power.
This is a well written novel designed to be easy to read and hard to put down. Being easy to read means that there is not a lot of complexity in the writing and this did have a slightly detrimental affect when exploring the complex nature of the religous and political scenarios mentioned above. There are some pacing issues early on and you do get the feeling that you are reading a lot of pages and learning a lot about the world without much actually happening to progress the story. These are relatively small issues and they do not take anything away from what is the strongest piece of work produced by Terry Brooks in some time.
At the end of the Genesis of Shannara series the young boy Hawk lead the remnants of Humans, Elves, Lizards and Spiders into an isolated valley, casting over them the protective magic of the Gypsy Morph while the rest of the world was devastated by the launch of all nuclear weapons. Bearers of the Black Staff picks up the story 500 years later, inside the valley where the people have developed their own culture full of political and religious intrigue, based on the belief that their valley will be protected forever.
The story follows Sider Ament, the last remaining Knight of the Word, who is tracking two demonic creatures that have breached the boundary. Two young trackers, Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, stumble upon these creatures while investigating the brutal killing of two of their colleagues and with the help of Ament they are able to escape. After confirming that the boundary has come down, it falls upon the two young trackers to spread the word among the rest of the valley while Sider Ament explores the outside world in an attempt to determine the sorts of dangers that may be lurking nearby.
I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. While the basic characters, setting, and plot all seem very familiar, as is usually the case with a Shannara novel, what makes this book more than just another Shannara novel is all the moving parts working in operation outside of the main storyline. Some quick examples; there is Panterra and Prue trying to convince people that the boundary has come down invalidating the religous beliefs of the majority of valley inhabitants which has unpredictable and far reaching ramifications, there are religious and governing organisations who are more concerned with trying to make the most of the situation in a play for power and control, and there is still the fracticious relationship between all the races that has a large influence over the decisions made by those in power.
This is a well written novel designed to be easy to read and hard to put down. Being easy to read means that there is not a lot of complexity in the writing and this did have a slightly detrimental affect when exploring the complex nature of the religous and political scenarios mentioned above. There are some pacing issues early on and you do get the feeling that you are reading a lot of pages and learning a lot about the world without much actually happening to progress the story. These are relatively small issues and they do not take anything away from what is the strongest piece of work produced by Terry Brooks in some time.
September 21, 2010
Roughly 500 years have passed since Hawk led his ragged group of survivors to the valley and a shield of magic was put in place to protect them from the waves of destruction outside. Over the centuries, the humans, elves, and mutants living in this safe haven have apparently forgotten the shared struggle of their ancestors as they choose to live separated from one another, with little contact.
Sider Ament, the last Knight of the Word, is the first to discover that the barriers are dissolving. Trackers Panterra Qu and Prue Liss are the next. Unfortunately, few want to believe them: the weakening of the barriers goes against everything they’ve been taught, Sider has long been a recluse, and the trackers are teenagers. The three have some idea of what will eventually find its way inside the valley though, so, with the help of two Elven trackers (Tasha and Tenerife) and one Elven princess (Phryne) they venture into the dangerous land beyond the barrier to gather proof.
The basic storyline is solid but, diehard Terry Brooks fan that I am, I have a few criticisms. Phryne was just too scattered for me—I actually had trouble believing her as a character. She hates her stepmother, she thinks maybe she’s misjudged her stepmother, she never visits her grandmother, she loves her grandmother, etc. I know she’s a teenager but many of her actions simply did not seem to agree with her intelligence or temperament. Another detail that jarred me out of the story was the scene in which Phryne convinces her father to let her accompany the trackers—I have a difficult time believing he would agree. Even if he truly didn’t believe there was any danger, her stated interest in Pan seems like something that would have raised concerns.
Now on to the aspects of the story that make this a recommended read! Deladion Inch is an intriguing character and, considering his situation, I really hope we discover how he came to be the man we meet. I do question the equipment he’s managed to restore to working condition, despite the fact that the technology is over 500 years old. I was able to suspend my disbelief a bit though, simply because he is such an engaging character.
I love Sider and Aislinne. I can’t say that I love Arik but he’s certainly noteworthy. I’m curious to learn more of Bonnasaint.
Criticisms aside, I like meeting the new characters that Brooks creates and I love his descriptive writing style. I do miss the old days when each book was a complete adventure (as opposed to a part of the adventure) but c’est la vie. As a bridge between the various series, Bearers of the Black Staff provides enough backstory that newcomers won’t be lost, but not so much that the story is bogged down. Looking forward to The Measure of Magic!!!
Sider Ament, the last Knight of the Word, is the first to discover that the barriers are dissolving. Trackers Panterra Qu and Prue Liss are the next. Unfortunately, few want to believe them: the weakening of the barriers goes against everything they’ve been taught, Sider has long been a recluse, and the trackers are teenagers. The three have some idea of what will eventually find its way inside the valley though, so, with the help of two Elven trackers (Tasha and Tenerife) and one Elven princess (Phryne) they venture into the dangerous land beyond the barrier to gather proof.
The basic storyline is solid but, diehard Terry Brooks fan that I am, I have a few criticisms. Phryne was just too scattered for me—I actually had trouble believing her as a character. She hates her stepmother, she thinks maybe she’s misjudged her stepmother, she never visits her grandmother, she loves her grandmother, etc. I know she’s a teenager but many of her actions simply did not seem to agree with her intelligence or temperament. Another detail that jarred me out of the story was the scene in which Phryne convinces her father to let her accompany the trackers—I have a difficult time believing he would agree. Even if he truly didn’t believe there was any danger, her stated interest in Pan seems like something that would have raised concerns.
Now on to the aspects of the story that make this a recommended read! Deladion Inch is an intriguing character and, considering his situation, I really hope we discover how he came to be the man we meet. I do question the equipment he’s managed to restore to working condition, despite the fact that the technology is over 500 years old. I was able to suspend my disbelief a bit though, simply because he is such an engaging character.
I love Sider and Aislinne. I can’t say that I love Arik but he’s certainly noteworthy. I’m curious to learn more of Bonnasaint.
Criticisms aside, I like meeting the new characters that Brooks creates and I love his descriptive writing style. I do miss the old days when each book was a complete adventure (as opposed to a part of the adventure) but c’est la vie. As a bridge between the various series, Bearers of the Black Staff provides enough backstory that newcomers won’t be lost, but not so much that the story is bogged down. Looking forward to The Measure of Magic!!!
February 11, 2025
Ah yes, a cliffhanger but what a tale to get there. Bearers of the Black Staff is one of my favourite of Terry's work. Yes I know I say that a lot but it is true. Set 500 years after the The Gypsy Morph descendants of a lost civilization emerge to a dangerous and strange new world. But can they survive all that will be thrown at them.
December 31, 2017
This is my second introduction to Terry Brooks, and to be clear, it was a much better experience that my encounter with Wizard At Large.(NOT my cup o’ fantasy tea, as it turns out.) But I’ve since been told this was a poor choice of entry into the world of Shannara. I’ll have to concur with that, as starting here makes it feel as though I’m missing a LOT of pertinent history.
The book starts out promising enough. An isolated valley of woefully underprepared peoples, a gruesome discovery, a couple of highly skilled youths in way over their heads, and a mysteriously powerful hermit who may be the only hope for an entire population’s survival. The tension runs high for the first 1/4th of the book, and the stakes are sufficiently compelling. Brooks does a good bit of perspective jumping to get the story told, but he does so without jarring the reader. His descriptions are vivid and naturally placed.
I had two main issues that make me hesitant to read further into this series:
1. At the end, this didn’t feel like a book. It felt like half of a book.
And I don’t mean simply the fact it that it left off with a cliffhanger. (It actually left off with LOTS of cliffhangers. Cliffhangers for every main character we’d been following.) It’s the lack of satisfaction that annoyed me. The story seems to stop conveniently at a place where absolutely nothing is resolved for anyone—unless you count untimely character death as a resolution. The plot feels literally at a halfway point when it ends, forcing readers to go straight into the next book if they want to find out what happens with ALL OF THE THINGS.
2. I’m afraid I never really connected with any of the characters. Oh, I had a couple of favorites I HOPED I would grow more attached to. (Prue, Mistral, and Inch being curious personality highlights I found myself looking forward to.) But empathy was only halfway formed by the time this book ended. If I read on though, it will be to discover what happens with their character arcs.
From the get-go, I held a searing dislike for the character of Phryne—the rebellious, self-indulgent Elven princess. Her eventually hanging a self-ware lantern of ‘why-am-I-like-this?’ on it unfortunately did little to change my opinion of her. I spent entirely too much time wishing someone would just stand up to her majesty’s overreaching idiocy.
Bonus points if they would have taken this approach:
While I initially didn’t have any real sense for Panterra, my hope for liking him declined steadily in the second half of the book. His dithering and compromised sense for priorities seemed to morph into a self-pitying angst that countered all previous maturity he’d shown.
So, should go without saying, I’m less than excited about the implied start of a romance between Phryne and Panterra. >.>
I don’t mean to sound like I’m put off completely. I’m not. But I’m on the fence about when and whether I’d like to invest in the missing other half of this book.
Perhaps I’ll hop to Genesis of Shannara first…
The book starts out promising enough. An isolated valley of woefully underprepared peoples, a gruesome discovery, a couple of highly skilled youths in way over their heads, and a mysteriously powerful hermit who may be the only hope for an entire population’s survival. The tension runs high for the first 1/4th of the book, and the stakes are sufficiently compelling. Brooks does a good bit of perspective jumping to get the story told, but he does so without jarring the reader. His descriptions are vivid and naturally placed.
I had two main issues that make me hesitant to read further into this series:
1. At the end, this didn’t feel like a book. It felt like half of a book.
And I don’t mean simply the fact it that it left off with a cliffhanger. (It actually left off with LOTS of cliffhangers. Cliffhangers for every main character we’d been following.) It’s the lack of satisfaction that annoyed me. The story seems to stop conveniently at a place where absolutely nothing is resolved for anyone—unless you count untimely character death as a resolution. The plot feels literally at a halfway point when it ends, forcing readers to go straight into the next book if they want to find out what happens with ALL OF THE THINGS.
2. I’m afraid I never really connected with any of the characters. Oh, I had a couple of favorites I HOPED I would grow more attached to. (Prue, Mistral, and Inch being curious personality highlights I found myself looking forward to.) But empathy was only halfway formed by the time this book ended. If I read on though, it will be to discover what happens with their character arcs.
From the get-go, I held a searing dislike for the character of Phryne—the rebellious, self-indulgent Elven princess. Her eventually hanging a self-ware lantern of ‘why-am-I-like-this?’ on it unfortunately did little to change my opinion of her. I spent entirely too much time wishing someone would just stand up to her majesty’s overreaching idiocy.
Bonus points if they would have taken this approach:
While I initially didn’t have any real sense for Panterra, my hope for liking him declined steadily in the second half of the book. His dithering and compromised sense for priorities seemed to morph into a self-pitying angst that countered all previous maturity he’d shown.
So, should go without saying, I’m less than excited about the implied start of a romance between Phryne and Panterra. >.>
I don’t mean to sound like I’m put off completely. I’m not. But I’m on the fence about when and whether I’d like to invest in the missing other half of this book.
Perhaps I’ll hop to Genesis of Shannara first…
March 22, 2020
Bearers of the Black Staff is book 4 chronologically in the Shannara series. 3.5 stars.
I’ve realized that my re-read of the entire series is probably going to take me more than a year to complete. I don’t know, I guess I’ll see where I am at the end of the year. I’m really enjoying revisiting my all time favorite series. Fantasy as a genre, to me is one of the best ways to “escape” from all the craziness of real life.
Bearers of the Black Staff is set 500 years after the events of The Gypsy Morph. The basic gist of the plot is the protective mist barrier that had protected civilization for centuries is breaking down and the descendants of those that came to the valley with Hawk must deal with the encroachment of the outside world. Bearers of the Black Staff follows up on what happened to the two Knights of the Word that went into the valley with Hawk, and, more importantly, what happened to the black staffs of their office. Good, memorable characters, and the setting of the story is intriguing - discovery of a whole new/different world outside the protective valley is very well done.
This is another solid installment to the Shannara mythos. Now on to The Measure of the Magic...
I’ve realized that my re-read of the entire series is probably going to take me more than a year to complete. I don’t know, I guess I’ll see where I am at the end of the year. I’m really enjoying revisiting my all time favorite series. Fantasy as a genre, to me is one of the best ways to “escape” from all the craziness of real life.
Bearers of the Black Staff is set 500 years after the events of The Gypsy Morph. The basic gist of the plot is the protective mist barrier that had protected civilization for centuries is breaking down and the descendants of those that came to the valley with Hawk must deal with the encroachment of the outside world. Bearers of the Black Staff follows up on what happened to the two Knights of the Word that went into the valley with Hawk, and, more importantly, what happened to the black staffs of their office. Good, memorable characters, and the setting of the story is intriguing - discovery of a whole new/different world outside the protective valley is very well done.
This is another solid installment to the Shannara mythos. Now on to The Measure of the Magic...
November 19, 2012
Prior to reading Bearers of the Black Staff, I had not realized that his Shannara and Knight of the Word series were interconnected. One of the things that I especially liked about this novel is the way that Brooks presented the backstory that linked the stories following the time that Hawk, the Gypsy Morph delivered his people into the valley that had been protected by magical barriers, which are now down. The valley for the first time in five hundred years, exposed to the people and creatures that have survived the Great Wars. To make matters worse a troll army learns about them and is planning on invading.
Sider Ament, the last of the Knights of the Word, protects the valley with his magical staff. He is the first to realize that the protective barriers are down. He encounters two young trackers, Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, who are attacked by a couple of the creatures from the outside world. Sider Ament is there to protect them. Together they must warn the people of the valley. A common theme in Brooks' novels, the people they are trying to warn don't readily heed their advice. Absorbed in self-interest, greed and their own personal agenda, even those within the groups they are trying to protect thwart Sider, Panterra and Prue.
Reading Bearers of the Black Staff reminds me of why Terry Brooks is my favorite fantasy author. Reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series gives me a greater appreciation of Brooks. His story telling skills are top notch. His pace is excellent. Whereas Jordan is bloated and long-winded, Brooks doesn't waste time and words. Everything he writes adds to the plot, develops characters, or provides valuable backstory information that the reader needs. A very well written start to the Legends of Shannara series, and a book well worth reading.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
Sider Ament, the last of the Knights of the Word, protects the valley with his magical staff. He is the first to realize that the protective barriers are down. He encounters two young trackers, Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, who are attacked by a couple of the creatures from the outside world. Sider Ament is there to protect them. Together they must warn the people of the valley. A common theme in Brooks' novels, the people they are trying to warn don't readily heed their advice. Absorbed in self-interest, greed and their own personal agenda, even those within the groups they are trying to protect thwart Sider, Panterra and Prue.
Reading Bearers of the Black Staff reminds me of why Terry Brooks is my favorite fantasy author. Reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series gives me a greater appreciation of Brooks. His story telling skills are top notch. His pace is excellent. Whereas Jordan is bloated and long-winded, Brooks doesn't waste time and words. Everything he writes adds to the plot, develops characters, or provides valuable backstory information that the reader needs. A very well written start to the Legends of Shannara series, and a book well worth reading.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
August 27, 2012
Unlike other users 'Bearers of the Black Staff' was my first Terry Brooks book. I picked this up as a gift and I read the summary on the other side of the book and I found it to my liking. I wouldn't have read the book had I known that it wasn't the first book in the Shannara series. I did ask the clerk but my question wasn't well thought out and vague. 'Is this the first book?' which it was: The first book in 'Legends of Shannara'. But I digress.
The Bearers of the Black Staff is a very well written book and the ending set up things perfectly for Measure of Magic leaving you with wanting more. The story itself was intriguing and the beginning of the book already set things in motion which I personally liked. The main characters, side characters and the antagonists were quite interesting but when you read through the book some of the main characters seem identical to previous characters from Terry's other books like the High Druid Trilogy but nonetheless they were still well thought out and soon I cared about them. What I personally liked about the story itself was that readers like myself who haven't read much of the Shannara series can easily jump into this one. My main grip with the book though is that the very last page was not unexpected and also a little bit predictable. But it was and still is a very good read and I recommend Bearers of the Black Staff to readers who like fantasy books with an interesting storyline that involves friendship, hardship and deceit.
The Bearers of the Black Staff is a very well written book and the ending set up things perfectly for Measure of Magic leaving you with wanting more. The story itself was intriguing and the beginning of the book already set things in motion which I personally liked. The main characters, side characters and the antagonists were quite interesting but when you read through the book some of the main characters seem identical to previous characters from Terry's other books like the High Druid Trilogy but nonetheless they were still well thought out and soon I cared about them. What I personally liked about the story itself was that readers like myself who haven't read much of the Shannara series can easily jump into this one. My main grip with the book though is that the very last page was not unexpected and also a little bit predictable. But it was and still is a very good read and I recommend Bearers of the Black Staff to readers who like fantasy books with an interesting storyline that involves friendship, hardship and deceit.
October 27, 2016
I was an avid follower of Allanon,the Elves, Humans and Demons of the original Shannara books, so much so that I looked forward to watching the recent TV adaptation and quite enjoyed that too.
So it was with keen interest that I picked up 'Bearers of the Black Staff' (Legends of Shannara, #1) from my local library, but imagine my disappointment after reading what is basically a short story hotch-potch version of all that has been before.
Maybe I came away from the world of Shannara too soon, or left it too long to get back into it, but I feel like it's lost the thrall it held me in all those years before.
So it was with keen interest that I picked up 'Bearers of the Black Staff' (Legends of Shannara, #1) from my local library, but imagine my disappointment after reading what is basically a short story hotch-potch version of all that has been before.
Maybe I came away from the world of Shannara too soon, or left it too long to get back into it, but I feel like it's lost the thrall it held me in all those years before.
September 1, 2010
Solid book by veteran author Brooks, which a bridge between his Genesis series and the classic Shannara novels. The story is quite original and, as always, the author describes masterfully characters, emotions, his world and the battles which ravage it. My objection is that its first part was much too slow and low tension for my taste; however, in its closing chapters, the book was one awesome ride.
Brooks never disappoints me and although this is his not best novel, it still a testament about how good this master of genre is.
Brooks never disappoints me and although this is his not best novel, it still a testament about how good this master of genre is.
June 29, 2015
A very painful book to read with no new plot or style from an author without a new idea in 15 years that is riding on his name alone.
It feels like I am reading a book Brooks copied and pasted from a previously published book with some white wash. The author has fallen and produces drab work I can barley stomach getting through. I was temped to stop reading after the first 20 or 30 pages.
It feels like I am reading a book Brooks copied and pasted from a previously published book with some white wash. The author has fallen and produces drab work I can barley stomach getting through. I was temped to stop reading after the first 20 or 30 pages.
April 17, 2020
There isn't a wasted word. I didn't stop reading. I have been reading chronologically and have been waiting to find out what happens... And of course, I have more to discover. NEXT BOOK PLEASE!
June 14, 2018
A great step forward from industrialised post-apocalyptic remnants of civilisation of ours to medieval-like more-shannara type of living, a giant leap of 500 years into the future since the Armageddon's Children and Elves of Cintra have found their safe haven, this bridges the gap between W&V and OShT even further... Long have the escapees flourished in their magically fog-entombed valley, going there through the separation and animosities anew as soon as the sheltered lands were found safe. Elves, men, lizards and spiders diverged as if nothing changed. Quickly old ways and past were forgotten and replaced by dogmas skewed more and more by each passing generation. And here we are found, when only one black staff bearer keeps an eye on the whole valley, a pair of young human trackers follow a trail of weird creatures... From the onset we are shown what happened with the descendants of the children led to safety by the Gypsy Morph, how the "we stand together" idea quickly changed to "every group for themselves", how again the young ones with a cast of elders for support form the most predominant protagonists - two fairly unique young trackers with two friendly adventurous elves and their cousin, the elven princess, strive to wake up the unawares from their dormant existence so that they could prepare for the oncoming onslaught from outside the fog-covered mountains. Quickly petty squables turn to antagonisation, unfaithfullness to sheer betrayal, with more and more lives at stake. Politics and ambitions once again play with the lives of the book's characters. Combine this with magic not only not restored, thus breaking Kirisin's promise, but even more lost than before the exodus after the Great Wars, and the current generation finds itself broken, divided, unsettled, weak, unprepared and vastly outnumbered and outsmarted when confronted by the reality of the outside world. This gloom is however very well managed by the aspirations and resolve of the protagonists - their beliefs, devotions, natures and relationships make for a great adventurous company that plans to help the helpless, rally the lost and weak, and triumph over every obstacle... Unfortunately, rather better for the book, this is not a story of chivalrous never-ending success against the hardest of adversities that fate and opponents can serve as the protagonists and antagonists are as believable, "normal", and quite likeable, as Brooks paints elsewhere. What they do and why they do it is fairly understandable. Even better, the characters' background, especially of the remaining Black Staff Bearer, are given throughout the book in separate fragments, stories told between the cast and flashes of memories. Some enigmas are present as well, the further into the book the more of them pop out and the more interesting and plot-setting they are. Together with really well written descriptions and depictions, the plot, though pretty straightforward in principle, and the cast make this a pretty compelling read, one a reader of W&V and OShT really oughts to have on his/her 'read' shelf. For those who have not read the great Shannara cycle series, you still need to finish W&V and GoSh trilogies first before attempting to sit down to this book - otherwise one is bound to grasp nigh on only tiny shreds of the deep universe that the Gray Man tries to protect. For all the readers - bear in mind that this is very open-ended story as many threads are taken on in the second installment to the LoSh subseries, therefore jumping from the Bearers to the Measure feels just like turning another page to the next chapter.
July 30, 2019
So this is the first book of the duology that will finally link the Word and the Void to the Shannara series. It's set five hundred years after Genesis of Shannara and the barrier that has protected the descendants of that series is failing and they are about to interact with the survivors of armageddon. As usual with Brooks we have a couple of young protagonists, Panterra (terrible name, keep thinking of the band) a human tracker and Phyrne (another terrible name), an elven princess. We also have Sider (and another terrible name), the last of the black staffers from the Word and the Void. Panterra is your typical Brook's hero, young but mature and full of great responsibility. Phyrne is actually more realistic but that makes her quite annoying and I didn't enjoy her sections as much, hopefully she'll grow a bit in the next books. Sider is older and is the better for it, a more rounded character though still somewhat stereotypical. There are a few other minor POV's that bring a bit more scope to the story.
If you've read any Shannara books before you'll probably enjoy this. Nothing to shake up the genre but the pace and action is good and the world is definitely starting to feel more familiar. The prose is functional and it's tropey as hell but I don't always mind that, it is not ashamed to be what it is and runs with it. It's a quick read and though I wasn't exactly breathless with excitement to find out what happens I still read it in a few days so that's always a good sign. It was a fun, non-challenging read and I look forward to starting the second part.
If you've read any Shannara books before you'll probably enjoy this. Nothing to shake up the genre but the pace and action is good and the world is definitely starting to feel more familiar. The prose is functional and it's tropey as hell but I don't always mind that, it is not ashamed to be what it is and runs with it. It's a quick read and though I wasn't exactly breathless with excitement to find out what happens I still read it in a few days so that's always a good sign. It was a fun, non-challenging read and I look forward to starting the second part.
December 7, 2022
I am not impressed.
There was just a tad too much deus ex machina and suddenness in this book for me to get into it.
I can see why Deladion Inch would rescue Sider. Not a problem, he likes people enough and hates the creatures enough and cares for his own skin enough that he would rescue Sider out of a desire to see if he could possible get some money out of him. That I can totally see. What I can't see is him deciding to save Prue for no reason and walk into a Troll camp completely sure of himself without having a true death wish. I can't see Prue being able to find and control his entry into his hideaway based on only a hurried description. Not at least and survive very long, or are we saying that her voices are enough to guide her in that place too, that she's never seen?
But...the thing that really got me is the outside world. 500 years have gone by after every nuke in the arsenal of the United States has been set off. Some parts of the world are clear and pretty, and then right next to them are no man's land that is dead and hasn't recovered at all. I don't think that's how it would work. At the very least, it wouldn't be clearly demarcated. Nature is tenacious, it would have started making inroads by that time and there would be scraggly life on the edges of the dead zones. I also don't think there would be a working solar battery after 500 years, let alone a working tracking transmitter. How would Deladion have learned how to operate these things? He didn't have anyone to learn from.
Not to be undone by all the outside world stuff, I was happy that the trolls had developed their own language, that is what would happen in 500 years. But what wouldn't happen in 500 years is that Deladion and Sider could communicate. That's pretty farfetched. There should have been at least some miscommunication.
The long rants delivered by characters was very wooden and boring and unlikely. Deladion, in all his acting as a mercenary, wandering around and problem solving for various villagers and such, wouldn't really have had the time or inclination to go about looking into the history of all that he knew. In 500 years it would be at the level of myth. I mean, our foundation occurred a mere 250 years or so ago, we already can't understand what people wrote and have foundation myths about them that never happened, so it's seems pretty weird that he's so accurate.
I think my brain has become more literal as I got older, I find these things to be irritating now, when before I didn't even notice them.
There was just a tad too much deus ex machina and suddenness in this book for me to get into it.
I can see why Deladion Inch would rescue Sider. Not a problem, he likes people enough and hates the creatures enough and cares for his own skin enough that he would rescue Sider out of a desire to see if he could possible get some money out of him. That I can totally see. What I can't see is him deciding to save Prue for no reason and walk into a Troll camp completely sure of himself without having a true death wish. I can't see Prue being able to find and control his entry into his hideaway based on only a hurried description. Not at least and survive very long, or are we saying that her voices are enough to guide her in that place too, that she's never seen?
But...the thing that really got me is the outside world. 500 years have gone by after every nuke in the arsenal of the United States has been set off. Some parts of the world are clear and pretty, and then right next to them are no man's land that is dead and hasn't recovered at all. I don't think that's how it would work. At the very least, it wouldn't be clearly demarcated. Nature is tenacious, it would have started making inroads by that time and there would be scraggly life on the edges of the dead zones. I also don't think there would be a working solar battery after 500 years, let alone a working tracking transmitter. How would Deladion have learned how to operate these things? He didn't have anyone to learn from.
Not to be undone by all the outside world stuff, I was happy that the trolls had developed their own language, that is what would happen in 500 years. But what wouldn't happen in 500 years is that Deladion and Sider could communicate. That's pretty farfetched. There should have been at least some miscommunication.
The long rants delivered by characters was very wooden and boring and unlikely. Deladion, in all his acting as a mercenary, wandering around and problem solving for various villagers and such, wouldn't really have had the time or inclination to go about looking into the history of all that he knew. In 500 years it would be at the level of myth. I mean, our foundation occurred a mere 250 years or so ago, we already can't understand what people wrote and have foundation myths about them that never happened, so it's seems pretty weird that he's so accurate.
I think my brain has become more literal as I got older, I find these things to be irritating now, when before I didn't even notice them.
Read
October 27, 2017In many ways the Shannara setting seems to be exhausted with the plethora of books that are now in that series. The saga spans generations and now includes Brooks' urban fantasy trilogy The Word and the Void as well as the post-apocalyptic trilogy, The Genesesis of Shannara, which reveals the High Fantasy setting of Shannara to be in the future of our earth. However, this is a new type of setting in many ways as it explores a part of the Shannara timeline that has not been seen before. It bridges the gap between the post-apocalyptic dark fantasy of The Genesis of Shannara with the Epic Fantasy of Shannara proper. While Brooks is sometimes criticized for being derivative of Tolkein and other fantasy writers, his writing continues to be lively and vivid. What makes Brooks' vision so unique is the evolving blending of genres with fantasy. While many writers see magic and folklore as part of our distant past, Brooks presents such things as something that is continuous and that never really leaves us and our psyches. The unique blending of post-apocalyptic fiction with epic fantasy is something I have only seen done in the Ralph Bakshi film Wizards, but in a very different way.
September 23, 2017
I want the next book! Really enjoyed the first in this two book series. Terry Brooks books just keep getting better.
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