The Elves  of  Cintra by Terry Brooks; 2007; 379 pages; Del Rey Books, New York, NY; 978-0-345-48411-6; 7/16/2009-7/18/2009

Many of the elements from Armageddons’ Children are beginning to come together in this middle book of the Genesis of Shannara trilogy.  Hawk finds out who he really is and begins to find out what he is capable of.  The Ghost find they are capable taking care of themselves, Logan Tom and Angel Perez discover some inner strengths.  The demons within and without are discovered and conquered.  Kirsin discovers the elf-stones and the Lodestone and what they are to be used for.  Each of the small groups has adventures as they begin to come together into larger groups.

I first encountered Terry Brooks in the ’80s’ when the Shannara books first came out.  I really enjoyed them then and I think part of the reason I am enjoying this series is two fold, 1) it is showing how Shannara came to be the place I knew back then and 2) its’ locale, it started in Seattle at Safeco Field and has moved up and down I5 from Seattle to Los Angeles.  I can identify some of the places the cast is going from the descriptions, the story is playing out in my own back yard.  Plus the story is exciting and the characters are all different enough and well rounded to make them people I would like to meet, especially Bear.  RRRR