Apocalypse Soon?

Book Review:  The Skaar Invasion by Terry Brooks

The second book of The Fall of Shannara series begins with Paranor existing in a type of limbo, sent there by the Druid Clizia Porse.  Trapped inside, Drisker Arc roams its shadowy halls, seeking a way to return it and himself to the Four Lands.  Tarsha returns to Backing Fell and discovers the damage Tavo left behind.  And, Ajin d'Amphere, leader of the invaders, schemes to draw the Elves and the Federation into conflict with each other.  She intends to claim all of The Four Lands for her people, the Skaar.

Terry Brooks has been one of my Must Read Authors ever since I first read The Sword of Shannara when I was in high school.  That said, I wish he'd stop trying to write major romantic storylines into this series.  As I've mentioned before, he does well enough with it when it's a plot complication, but he doesn't do well with it otherwise.  Ajin, ruthless leader of the Skaar, determined to secure a new homeland for her people, determined to secure her father's respect, determined to ensure that her reputation is unmatched, spends her downtime speculating about Dar Leah as a potential mate.  Really?  And Dar!  I know he's conflicted about his career because the Druids are a hot mess without the leadership of Drisker Arc, but he's still spot on when it comes to making good security decisions.  Or he was.  Suddenly, when he realizes that the person who orchestrated the deaths of so many, including his beloved Zia, is a gorgeous young woman, he's incapable of action?  WTH???  He rationalizes it to himself later as a) well, she let him escape once so he owes her one and b) he doesn't have time to deal with the leader of an army that has wiped out two tribes of Trolls, plus the Druids, and is likely just getting started.  I ask again -- WTH???

All that aside, there's still reason to see this series through.  The mystery about Kassen Drue aka Kol 'Dre deepens.  Whereas most characters described him as unusually pale and blond in The Black Elfstones, his commander Ajin describes him as having a dark complexion, brown hair, and brown eyes.  We learn that he's been scouting The Four Lands for years and I wonder if he has anything to do with Fluken.  I am intensely curious about Kassen.  Is he the driving force behind everything?  If so, why?  

As much as Brooks appears to be revisiting aspects of the Shannara timeline that have engaged us from the beginning, one element missing so far is a driving supernatural baddie presence.  With the exception of the The Defenders of Shannara, in which a rogue Druid was the lead bad guy, our heroes have always been pitted against an assortment of demons, shadowen, and the like.  What if Kassen is something of that sort, manipulating Ajin?  If you look back to The Word and The Void series, it was this sort of manipulation that led to the apocalypse which transformed the world we know today into the world of Shannara.  If Kassen is a driving force behind the Skaar invasion, did he have anything to do with the weather-creating machine Rocan Arnas believes can change the world for the better?  Who will Shea Ohmsford find when he reaches Tindall's cell in Assidian Deep?

I'm anxious to see what happens with Tavo and Tarsha.  I still believe that Fluken is a key player, rather than an figment of of Tavo's imagination, but that question remains unanswered for now.  And I believe that Tarsha is critical to the outcome of the story.  My only hope is that she doesn't spend the better part of the next book mooning over Brecon Elessedil.  (I like an element of romance in my books -- Brooks just tends to be a bit heavy-handed with it.)