Book Review: The High Druid's Blade by Terry Brooks

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In “The High Druid’s Blade ”, Terry Brooks brings his readers back to the magical land of Shannara and this time; instead on focusing on a quest, the approach is more personal.

As fans of Shannara know, almost all of the titles are part of a trilogy. And though all the books are standalone, the books are interconnected.

So, it’s not surprising that “The High Druid’s Blade ” is part of the trilogy “The Defenders of Shannara”, with books 2 and 3 already announced.

Just for a historical point of view, the first book, “The Sword of Shannara” was first published in 1977. Thirty-five years later, the legend continues and Terry Brooks has kept the storyline fresh in every book and in every trilogy.

Case in point is this book, “The High Druid’s Blade ” wherein the focus is Paxon Leah, who despite his royal lineage is just an ordinary young man in the Highlands. The Royal Leahs are gone; the kingdom is gone. What is left is a shipping business which is just makes enough profit for Paxon, his sister Chrysallin and their mother to live on.

But, when Chrysallin was abducted, Paxon went to rescue her and accidentally invoked the magic of the Sword of Leah which had stayed in the family even after the famous Leahs were dead and gone.

What follows is vintage Terry Brooks – fantasy-filled adrenaline rush as we followed Paxon not on a quest but a personal journey for his family and for himself.

For fans like me, reading “The High Druid’s Blade ” is like seeing the children of an old friend. There is gladness that their legacy lives on and there is also nostalgia to the point that I actually unearthed my copies of the first trilogy after being relegated at the back of my bookshelves.

For new readers, they will find Paxon, Chrysallin and the other characters very relatable. And though this is a fantasy novel, I would equate Paxon, Chrysallin and two other characters as the fantasy equivalent of Millennials.

In fact, I won’t be surprise if when Millennials read this book that they read the older volumes which were written before they were born!

Once again, a great addition to the Shannara series! I can’t wait for Books 2 and 3!

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