The Wishsong of Shannara

infobox Book |
name = The Wishsong of Shannara
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover art of "The Wishsong of Shannara"
author = Terry Brooks
illustrator =
cover_artist = Darrell K. Sweet
country = United States
language = English
series = The Original Shannara Trilogy
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Del Rey Books
release_date = 12 April 1985
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback, Mass market paperback)
pages = 499 pp (hardcover)
512 pp (Mass market paperback)
isbn = ISBN 0-345-31823-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-345-35636-5 (Mass market paperback)
preceded_by = The Elfstones of Shannara
followed_by = The Scions of Shannara

"The Wishsong of Shannara", an epic fantasy [cite web |url=http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/index.html |title=Terry Brooks' official website|accessdate=2008-05-02 |last= Speakman |first=Shawn |authorlink= |year=2008 |publisher= ] 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.

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 the world 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.

"Indomitable"

"Indomitable" is a short story by Terry Brooks. Published in Robert Silverberg's "Legends II", it is an epilogue to "The Wishsong of Shannara" storyline.cite web |url=http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/indomitable.html |title="Indomitable" official site|accessdate=2008-07-21 |last= Speakman |first=Shawn |authorlink= |year=2006 |publisher= ] The tagline on the dust jacket reads:

Set after the end of "The Wishsong of Shannara", Brin has now married Rone and Jair is still with his parents, working in their business when Kimber Boh found him. She told him that Cogline has asked that he travel to the Eastland to destroy the last page of the Ildatch. He does, and so he traveled to the ruins of the Maelmord where the last vestiges of the Mord Wraiths are using their power. Jair found out that his Wishsong became more powerful, allowing him not only to create illusions, but to actually change his physical form. Jair destroys the last page of the Ildatch, by assuming the form of Garet Jax and returns home.

Dark Wraith of Shannara

"Dark Wraith of Shannara" is a graphic novel that was released on March 25, 2008.cite web |url=http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/darkwraith.html |title="Dark Wraith of Shannara" official site|accessdate=2008-07-21 |last= Speakman |first=Shawn |authorlink= |year=2008 |publisher= ] It is set a few years after "The Wishsong of Shannara" and "Indomitable". Its main characters are Jair and Brin Ohmsford, Kimber Boh, the Druid Cogline, and "the evil and dangerous" Croton Witch.

Characters

*Allanon
*Brin Ohmsford
*Browork
*Cogline
*Edain Elessedil
*Eretria
*Elb Foraker
*Helt
*Garet Jax
*Grimpond
*Jair Ohmsford
*Jeft
*Kimber Boh
*King of the Silver River
*Radhomm
*Rone Leah
*Stebb
*Slanter
*Spilk
*Stythys
*Whisper
*Wil Ohmsford

External links

* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/wishsong.html "The Wishsong of Shannara" official site]
* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/wishsong-chap1.html "The Wishsong of Shannara" excerpt (Chapter 1)]
* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/wishsong-note.html "The Wishsong of Shannara" author's note]
* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/indomitable.html "Indomitable" official site]
* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/shannara/indomitable-ex.html "Indomitable" excerpt]
* [http://www.terrybrooks.net/shannara/darkwraith.html "Dark Wraith of Shannara" official site]

Additional Cover

References