The High Druid's Blade

The Defenders of Shannara

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Simon Vance

New York Times Bestseller

Legend has it that Paxon Leah is descended from the royals and warriors who once ruled the Highlands and waged war with magical weapons. But those kings, queens, and heroes are long gone, and there is nothing enchanted about the antique sword that hangs above Paxon’s fireplace. Running his family’s modest shipping business, Paxon leads a quiet life—until extraordinary circumstances overturn his simple world . . . and rewrite his destiny.

When his brash young sister is abducted by a menacing stranger, Paxon races to her rescue with the only weapon he can find. And in a harrowing duel, he is stunned to discover powerful magic unleashed within him—and within his ancestors’ ancient blade. But his formidable new ability is dangerous in untrained hands, and Paxon must master it quickly because his nearly fatal clash with the dark sorcerer Arcannen won’t be his last. Leaving behind home and hearth, he journeys to the keep of the fabled Druid order to learn the secrets of magic and earn the right to become their sworn protector.

But treachery is afoot deep in the Druids’ ranks. And the blackest of sorcery is twisting a helpless innocent into a murderous agent of evil. To halt an insidious plot that threatens not only the Druid order but all the Four Lands, Paxon Leah must summon the profound magic in his blood and the legendary mettle of his elders in the battle fate has chosen him to fight.

©2014 Terry Brooks (P)20114 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“High adventure, lots of action, and appealing [characters] . . . a good place for new readers to jump into the author's world.”—Library Journal

“Terry Brooks is a grandmaster of the fantasy genre, and his latest will both captivate and surprise readers. . . . It’s truly magical.”—Associated Press

“Brooks once again gifts readers with a breathless adventure in this new Shannara trilogy, the Defenders of Shannara. The action begins in the first chapter and doesn’t end until the last page.”—RT Book Reviews

Good intro

Good reintroduction of the fabled Sword of Leah, and the heritage of the Ohmsford bloodline. The antagonist is a definite strong point, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with him going forward.

awesome book

I love how he combine the Leah family and the Omsfords. I also love how the sword of Leah becomes utilized more significantly.

yet another great book :)

I've loved these books since I was a girl still loving him hope there are many many more to come.

excellent

as always Terry Brooks delivers an Epic Fantasy Adventure full of Sword fights magic and intrigue

incredible Terry Brooks novels as as usual.

this is my second time listening to this book. just as fascinating as it was the first time. Terry Brooks weaves such a fascinating tail in the reading was spot-on. can't wait to read the next book in this series. I can't imagine it being any less spellbinding is every other book in this series. mr. Brooks as such an imaginative mind that he can write spellbinding books one after the other without fail. read on you cannot be anything but fascinated.

Excellent Story and Narration

Overall story was pretty good but most impressive was the narration by Simon Vance. The last book was narrated by some lady that just didn’t cut it to keep my interest but Simon absolutely does a wonderful job.

Great story

This was a great book to listen to! I loved the performance. Some of the descriptions were almost to graphic. Just when I felt like I had enough he changed topics. The only thing I didn’t like was the length of the book.

WONDERFULLY DONE

I love this book and the reading as well
I have gotten all the books and I am enjoying them all

great story telling but typical Shannara plot.

loved it as all of Brooks work. great story teller. his same story line as all of the Shannara books

love these books

love all the books in this series. Terry brooks is a great author. hard to put down once you start!