exciting convergence of two series This is a book I've been waiting for--a continuation of the demon series, connecting it to the Shannara series. I'm calling it horror instead of fantasy, because that's what the tone feels like to me--and because the demon trilogy was horror. Barnes & Noble calls it "dark fantasy," but isn't that really just another term for horror?
It's a post-apocalyptic world, a hundred years or so after Angel Fire East. Humankind has gathered into small groups for safety and survival, living in abandoned sports arenas or office buildings. And then there are those on the outside, like the boy Hawk and his little band of children. Mistrusting adults and mistrusted by them, the children form a family of their own, and live by scavenging and bartering.
The humans are in danger from territorial disputes with each other, but also from the demons who've gained ascendancy in the lawlessness. The demons have slave camps in which they experiment on humans and turn them into creatures known as once-men. And all that stands between humans and the demons are the Knights of the Word: Logan Tom and Angel Perez.
Logan Tom's been waging war against the slave camps, but he has a new mission: to find and protect the gypsy morph--a sort of savior that first appeared in the demon trilogy.
Angel Perez's mission of protecting children is also changed, when she's tasked with finding and assisting elves in their quest for the loden stone, with which they can protect and preserve the Ellcrys--a sentient tree that figures prominently in several of the Shannara books.
And there are the elves themselves. Young elves serve the Ellcrys for a year, and it's usually an uneventful life, but then the Ellcrys speaks to Kirisin, warning him of impending doom and telling him the steps to save the Ellcrys and with it the elves.
Armageddon's Children is quite definitely the first in a trilogy--some issues are resolved by the end of the book, but most are not. I wasn't specifically aware of that when I started reading, but I wasn't surprised--most of Terry Brooks's books come in trilogy form.
I found each of the plot threads exciting, and the characters engaging, if tending toward the young-ish side.
The only thing that really gave me pause was the romance between Hawk, who's in his late teens, and a young settlement girl, who's 11. Creeped me out a bit. Still, it's not a huge part of the story, and most of the time I could pretend she was a few years older, so it didn't ruin the book for me.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Elves of Cintra (Genesis of Shannara).
snooze Having just read Elves of Cintas I can only wonder how Terry Brooks really makes a living. Same story line, just different characters, same endless descriptions of bad weather journeys etc. If you cut the needless fill from his books you would have one good book for each of his trilogies.
To little to soon.... The plot of the story starts with magic already in the world. I was expecting the story to go over the evolution/birth of the magic not to just jump in with it already as an established part of the environment. The characters seemed to be just following a script with little personalization on their parts.
Worth the read I actually read book 2 first and was glad to read book 1 to fill in the holes that I had. Very enjoyable.
Regarding this book and the trilogy I just finished reading this trilogy and just finished writing a review for book 3, "The Gypsy Morph".
"Armageddon's Children" was the best of the 3 books because the other 2 were bogged down with too much character introspection and flashbacks to events from this book and book 2.
I got these books from the library and recommend others to as well.
As others have mentioned, this book ends with a cliff hanger, but if you are getting the book and it's sequels from the library, this isn't a big deal.
Having read this series, and having read others comment that the series before this was Brooks best (The Word and the Void series), I am inclined to read that series and maybe read "The First King of Shannara" as well as reread "The Sword of Shannara".
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
