The Sorcerer's Daughter

The Sorcerer's Daughter by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third and final entry of author Terry Brooks’ Defenders of Shannara trilogy opens with the wicked gray-robed sorcerer Arcannen Rai wandering the streets of Arishaig, with his estranged daughter Leofur in Paranor, believing that Chrysallin “Chrys” Leah demonstrated potential as a future member of the Druid order, given her talents with the wishsong, although she finds herself kidnapped. Meanwhile, her brother Paxon serves as a guard for gathering Federation delegates, although a dark creature known as a Sleath kills many members, the Druid delegation managing to escape unscathed. A new character, the shapeshifting tracker Imric Cort, receives intricate backstory, and ultimately agrees to help Leofur track down the missing Chrys through a magical “safety line.”

Paxon finds himself and several Druids on the run from Federation officials, with the Leah Highlander teaming up with Miriya to return to Paranor, although a storm throws them off course. Leofur and Imric continue their search for Chrys, receiving major clues in the town of Grimpen Ward, where they hear about the culprit, Melis the Murk Witch, and meet a young man named Olin who has ties to her. Melis in the meantime keeps Chrys in a crate with airholes, with a battle ultimately erupting in the witch’s cottage. Paxon and Miriya return to Paranor, facing Arcannen in one of the final chapters, with a romantic twist in that which ends the book.

Overall, I definitely don’t regret reading The Sorcerer’s Daughter and its preceding books in the Defenders of Shannara trilogy, given their character development coupled with fantastical action in its believable fantasy setting, not to mention many twists in the third entry’s narrative. Granted, those unfamiliar with the franchise may wish to read previous subseries in the Shannara universe, given the scarcity of reference to the world as it was before the fantasy series, but those who have enjoyed entries chronologically prior to the Defenders books will most likely enjoy this one, and I very much look forward to reading the Fall of Shannara tetralogy that follows.

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