Part of Series
Events that began in "Jarka Ruus," Book One of High Druid of Shannara, come swiftly to a head in this second thrilling volume. Alliances are made, trusts are betrayed, and prices are paid. Throughit all, Terry Brooks orchestrates the action with the flawless hand of a master mythmaker- fashioning another exquisite link in his chain of bestselling epics. Loyal to none but herself andlethal even to those closest to her, Shadea a'Ru now holds sway as High Druid of Paranor-her ascension to power all but unchallenged in the wake of Grianne Ohmsford's sudden, mysteriousvanishing. Only Shadea and her catspaw-the treacherous Prime Minister Sen Dunsidan-know the secret fate of the true Ard Rhys . . . for it was they who engineered it, by means of dark magic. And nowGrianne languishes in the fearsome and inescapable netherworld called the Forbidding. Their bloodless coup a success, the corrupt pair, and their confederates within the Druid Council, seeks to maketheir dominion over the Four Lands absolute-with the aid of a devastating new weapon. But it could all be undone if Grianne's young nephew, Penderrin, succeeds in his frantic quest to rescue her.Shadea's airship-borne minions and the relentless assassin under her command continue their fierce pursuit of Pen and his comrades. Eluding death is only half the battle for Pen. To breach theForbidding and bring Grianne back to the natural world means finding the fabled Tanequil . . . and the talisman it alone can provide. That means journeying into the Inkrim-a dreaded region thick with shadows andhaunted by harrowing legends. It also means striking a bargain more dire than Pen could ever imagine. But there can be no turning back. For in her unearthly prison, the Ard Rhys faces a demonic plight too hideous tocountenance...
Author
Terry 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.
