This is the first "Shannara" related book i've read (read "The Magic Kingdom.... series some years ago)& thought it to be a very enjoyable book. I will now want to eventually read the other books in the "Shannara" storyline!

The Elf Queen, predictably, follows Wren in her quest to find the missing Elves and bring them back to the Westland. She and her Rover protector and friend, Garth, are taken by a Wing Rider to an island many hours off the coast, where she has learned the Elves relocated without word to anyone more than a hundred years ago. The island had been a reclusive paradise, an escape from the encroaching Federation rule and the dark Shadowen that had started infecting the land. But all is not well, anymore, on Morrowindl, the once-paradise refuge. While the Wing Riders and the Land Elves had corresponded for years during the Elves self-imposed exile, no Elf has come out of Arborlon (the relocated version of the city!) in decades. The island has become overrun with all sorts of horrendously bad demons, and the Elves are trapped in their city behind a wall of magic...which happens to be failing. Meaning soon, the demons could invade the city and destroy them. Wren insists on making her way to the Elves and fulfilling her charge. I won't give any more plot away, but this also is a fairly entertaining and unique book in the series. At times I felt there were actually too many deaths, and that the sadness for these deaths was a bit contrived. Characters that other characters had just met are horribly devastated over the loss. I mean, I've never been in a battle, facing deprivation, exhaustion and the constant threat of death. Maybe it's natural to form...unnatural...connections to people in a situation like that. But at times it just felt like Brooks was trying to pull my heartstrings. I think that's the only reason this wasn't my favorite over Druid, there was just too much insincerity.

Well, I read the Magic Kingdom series years back, and that was fun and lively story. I haven't read the original Shannara series. This is my first. Book 1 of the series was good with some action. Brooks did an average plus job of introducing the story line; enough to keep me wanting to read. Book 2 continued on with the average plus. Good story line and engaging characters. You can almost feel Walker Boh's plight. However, Book 3, the story of Wren, is nearly horrid in reading. This book made me want to quit reading the series. Poor Wren has to use some magic pebbles(the Elfstones) to get her out of trouble. And she must cry about it every time. The storyline would be pretty good, if Brooks would not stop every other page to show us Wrens crybaby attitude. OK already, we know her history, quit reminding us after every other scene. Brooks skips over much of the action, and fight scenes are usually done in a sentence or two, while Wren's continuous fretting over growing up and having to use magic goes on page after page. If you take out Wren's constant crying and descriptions of acacia trees, you might have 150 pages of story. Uggh!!! Boring!!! I'm just starting Book 4 and already we are back to almost good plot and action. I hope Wren dies in this book. Will be the last time I read Brooks. Anybody want these books???

I love Brooks, i love all his stories, but this one was no so great. I was so sick of Wren and Garth in the jungle by the end i almost couldnt take it. I love Brooks' descriptive writing but i think he should have shortened this series up a bit.

This book deals mostly with Wren and Garth and their struggles to follow Allanon's commands and move the Elves back to the four lands.

At first I didn't think I would like this book as much as I did because they were the most uninteresting characters in the first two books. However, I thought this book was very enjoyable. This book is mostly non stop action/peril sequences and will not go down in history as a literary masterpiece but it is very entertaining, the action is great (although a little less action and more character development would have been a little better)and the characters are for the most part well developed. It's a little predictable but still a good addition to the Heritage series.