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

Once again, Terry Brooks has written a masterful conclusion to another fine series. This book picks up immediately after the final events in "The Elves of Cintra", and there is no lack of action.

Kirisin, Simralin, and Angel Perez have managed to defeat the demons that were tracking them and have uncovered the Loden Elfstone. Now, they have begun their journey back to Arborlon to save the elven people and the Ellcrys. However, Angel is injured too badly to continue, and she remains with an elven healer.

Hawk and the other Ghosts have been journeying with the surviving children to the safe haven promised to them. However, a massive demon army, led by the notorious Findo Gask, has been shadowing them the entire way. Logan Tom has been aiding in the journey, but a massive being known only as the Klee has been luring children away from the group. Sent by Findo Gask, the Klee is to catch and kill the Gypsy Morph before the refugees can safely reach the haven. The demon army manages to catch up with the group, but Hawk manages to use his Gypsy Morph magic to cause the earth to open up and swallow the demon army; except for Findo Gask.

Findo Gask then takes it upon himself to try to kill the Morph. Will Logan, Angel, and Simralin be able to stop him, or will Findo Gask succeed in killing the Gypsy Morph before the group reaches the safe zone?

This is a first-rate book. Terry Brooks does an excellent job of finishing the story of the Gypsy Morph while at the same time providing a glimpse into future books with the story of the solitary man in the missile silo who will destroy the existing world. As with all of Brooks' books, the characters in "The Gypsy Morph" come to life, and the reader can readily embrace them. The story is well-conceived, and the action continues throughout the book.

I give this fine book my highest recommendation. I've read all of Terry Brooks' books, and they just keep getting better and better. I can't wait to read the new Magic Kingdom book next year, and I hope Terry revisits the Genesis of Shannara series somewhere down the road. Until then, read "The Gypsy Morph" and see how Hawk's, Logan's and Angel's story plays out.

If I could have given it 3 and a half stars I would. It really was a fun read and I am a huge Brooks fan, but some aspects of the story just seemed corny to me. For instance the guy in the missle silo. This was the forseen catalyst to the end of the world ... a very lonely and insane soldier in a silo ... really?

On a more postive side, the characters were great. You will enjoy this book, like you probably did the previous two in the series. I just wish there would have been a few more references to the rest of Shannara that this was to be the genesis of.

I've read nearly every book Terry has written, starting with the original Shannara series when I was in High School. My favorite was Wishsong until the Magic Kingdom of Landover series came out (which I think was his absolute best).

I cannot express my disappointment with this latest series and book. The Series answers very few questions about what "really happens" and the final book does nothing to tie the series to any other series. I know he's planning on writing more, but after 3 books, we should have SOMETHING that ties things together in some fashion. We don't Guess we'll have to wait until, what, 2011 until we get that? Please.

I think the final book (Gypsy Morph) is his worst yet. Not because of grammar or presentation, but because of content. It was so weak in creativity, naming of things, and situations it was truly boring in many areas. Plus the way he wrote some of the children was simply absurd. Also, I don't know if anyone caught his politically correct "life partner" reference (note this was him writing, not referencing to anything today) - the first time I've seen him do this in writing. Good job Terry, bring today's garbage political correctness into your "fantasy world" so readers won't be offended. What would you think if he had called the Ohmsford husband and wife "life partners"? Please.

Terry has always lacked passion and intimacy in his books, but made up for it with adventure and semi-believable storytelling. This book fails hard to make up for what it lacks.

When you finish reading the Gypsy Morth you feel empty and devoid of learning anything new about the "transitional time" between our time and Terry's fantasy world. In reality, it was like so many other post-apocalyptic worlds.

I can honestly say that Terry wastes your time with this series. As I mentioned, you leave this last book knowing nothing of how the trilogy ties into the other worlds, and no questions are answered. It's like he didn't even care by the time you're reading the last pages of the Gypsy Morph. You blink a few times after reading the last sentence and think "what... that's it? I read through all of this to end it like this?"

I see Terry's next novel will be a Landover novel (2009). I'll probably try this, but if he doesn't nail it, I think it's time to move on. Sorry Terry, but the Genesis series was just terrible, simply terrible.

I have read every book that Mr.Brooks has written and again I am not surprised at how well the book flows and ties up the lose ends.

In the third volume of the Genesis of Shannara Terry Brooks wraps up the story of how the last of the refugees from the apocalyptic wars survive bridging into the stories of the Four Lands. The Elves and Knights of the Word fight a losing battle to save the Elven people using the Loden elf stone even as Hawk and a growing group of homeless humans and mutants make their way toward the safe hold that will protect them from the cataclysm to come.

This is typical Terry Brooks with lots of hard choices, harrowing esapes, chases, and swashbuckling mixed with a heavy dose of mythical magic. The characters were not as well drawn as in the Elves of the Cintra (the second volume of this series) and the action was almost predictable, but it was still plenty of fun for long time fans of Brooks. This is not literature, but it was a fast, fun read for a rainy afternoon or a long plane ride.