THE TALISMANS OF SHANNARA

Concluding the second series of Shannara yarns (The Elf Queen of Shannara, etc.) as the scions of Shannara—namely, the newly made Druid, Walker Boh, the Elf Queen Wren Elessedil, and the magical Ohmsford brothers, Par and Coll—somehow must unite their efforts in order to bring a final end to the evil Shadowen and their leader, Rimmer Dall. The latter, of course, has other ideas: he will send the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse against Walker Boh; he will confuse Wren with a seeming friend who will betray her; Coll—even if he escapes the magic Shadowen cloak that is corrupting him—will seize the Sword of Shannara, to the consternation of Par, who thought the Sword intended for him; and Par, his magic wishsong growing ever more uncontrollable, will be seduced into believing that his true destiny is to become Shadowen himself.... Flabby and predictable work, not helped by the whole increasingly threadbare Shannara concept, now clearly past its sell-by date. Still, fans of the series won't be dissuaded.