7.4 /10 1 Votes
6.7/10 Fantasy Book Review Preceded by The Gypsy Morph | 4/5 Goodreads Originally published 24 August 2010 Followed by The Measure of the Magic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominations Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fantasy Similar Terry Brooks books, Shannara books, Other books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bearers of the Black Staff is a fantasy novel by Terry Brooks released on August 24, 2010 as the first of a two-part series called the Legends of Shannara. In the series' timeline, it falls between the Genesis of Shannara trilogy and the First King of Shannara. It takes place 500 years after the events of the final Genesis book, The Gypsy Morph. The people who were saved by Hawk's magic will be able to head out into the world once again now that the effects of nuclear holocaust have dissipated.
Contents
The sequel is the 2011 novel The Measure of the Magic.
Plot summary
As described by Cristina Donati of FantasyMagazine (translated),
The story begins about 500 years after the events of The Gypsy Morph. The heirs of the survivors of the terrible war with the Demons with the variant, the magical boy named Hawk, are facing a change inconceivable: the seals that have enchanted defended the valley from the horrors of global catastrophe have been disrupted. Humans, elves, and mutants are therefore devoid of that protective shell that seemed to last forever.
One day, Sider Ament - a direct descendant of the Knights of the Word - unknown predators seen in their own little paradise, and fears the worst: two men are in fact found brutally murdered. Make it clear to the other inhabitants of the valley lies the danger and the need to develop appropriate plans will prove to be not so easy, even if just across the border is amassing an army of ready Troll invasion.
Book Description
Five hundred years have passed since the devastating demon-led war tore apart the United States and nearly exterminated humankind. Those who escaped the carnage were led to sanctuary in an idyllic valley, its borders warded by powerful magic against the horrors beyond. But the cocoon of protective magic surrounding the valley has now vanished. When Sider Ament, the only surviving descendant of the Knights of the Word, detects unknown predators stalking the valley, he fears the worst. And when expert Trackers find two of their own gruesomely killed, there can be no doubt: The once safe haven has been made vulnerable to whatever still lurks in the outside wasteland. Together, Ament, the two young Trackers, and a daring Elf princess spearhead plans to defend their ancestral home. And in the thick of it all, the last wielder of the black staff and its awesome magic must find a successor to carry on the fight against the cresting new wave of evil.