The Gypsy Morph (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 3)

I was very pleased to finally get my hands on this book. Every year, I go through and read the entire collection, just to update myself for the next book. I love how this book finally binds what the Word and Void started to the world of Shannara. Now there is so much room to grow from the end of this book to First King of Shannara. I anxiously await more. Terry Brooks is the current king of fantasy.

This was a good conclusion to a good series. I'm glad Terry has decided to bridge the Word and the Void and the Shannara series.

My only qualm is with the ending. There's not much of an epilogue. I would like to know a little bit about what happened to the characters. But then, maybe this is a bit premature, since there appears to be another series on the horizon.

This third part of the trilogy is sensational. The imagination and entertainement that this writer provides is first rate. If you have not read the first two books, go out and buy them, now you do not have to wait a whole year before the next book to come out.You can read one after the other. You have lost out on a original story that narrates the necessary merging of civilizations. That join the world we know with the magical and extraordinary world that together provide the basis for the next world. He grips the resder form the beginning and yarns a story to those of us who like to imagine and enter into adventures through books, you cannot lose. All his other books are equally entertaining and original.Sometimes the story seems a lot like what is really happening in our planet earth, we common people have allowed the so called dark forces in goverments and otherwise to do all over the world, just because they can get away with it. Read it, it will not disappoint.

I will try not to sound too much like an enamored fan but I have to admit that Terry Brooks is one of my all time favorite authors. When I think of well written epic fantasy, Terry Brooks immediately comes to mind. I have good reason. I continue to pick up and read his books because I know that the story will be memorable, that the characters will be well developed and within a few chapters I will care what happens to them, that the action scenes are going to be spectacular, and that no character is ever completely safe.

The Gypsy Morph and the entire Genesis of Shannara is no expectation. In this series, we learn of the post-apocalyptic beginnings of Shannara. We meet great characters like Hawk, a seemingly average boy who finds out that he is actually the gypsy morph, a mystical entity whose destiny is to save humanity or be consumed by it. We also meet Knights of the Word, Angel Perez and Logan Tom, two modern warriors that you'd hate to meet in a dark alley.

Of course, like any Shannara series there are Elves. Unbeknownst to humans, the Elves have continued to exist completely hidden from the human world. However, what is about to unfold is so big that even the Elves aren't safe.

The Gypsy Morph is the final installation of the Genesis series. In this book, we find out who is up to the task and who isn't, those who survive and those who don't, and the sacrifices individuals are willing to make for their friends. The big showdown.

I have enjoyed Terry Brooks' books for many years. One issue I had though is that he keeps coming back to the same situations over & over again. After awhile the main themes become predictable. Yes, the characters are different, the locales vary, but all-in-all, same stuff, different book.

So when I picked up book one of this latest trilogy I was very hopeful. The premise of showing the transistion from the old world to the new was very intriguing. And through the first book, Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1), that promise was fulfilled. Great new characters reacting to completely new situations. It didn't even seem to be a "Shannara" book at first, at least until the Elves show up about halfway though. The second book, The Elves of Cintra (Genesis of Shannara), also was very good, even though we began to see some of the old patterns emerging.

The Gypsy Morph though began to be predictable. It is still a good and exciting book, but I would have to say it is the weaker of the three. We're back to the elfstones being the tool to save the world, the city of the Elves being transported (again) to a safe haven and the true gifts of a magical being being realized. There were some curves thrown in, like the deaths of characters that you would not expect, and the final chapter was original for a Brooks book.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Am I interested in the next chapter of evolution in the Shannara universe? Not sure yet. We'll have to see what the plotline is. But I would definitely recommend this to the standard Brooks fan, and also to someone just starting out on his books. Overall, an enjoyable read.