From: ss1@kepler.unh.edu (The Rink)
Subject: The Elf Queen of Shannara -- Thoughts, and the like -- SPOILERS
Organization: Turkey Hall
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 17:04:14 GMT

I read the Elf Queen of Shannara (by Terry Brooks) over the summer.  Great
book -- IMHO, the best he's done so far....

Stop here, if you don't want to read any spoilers....



A couple speculations that I'm wondering what people think of:

1.  Do you think Morgan and Wren are going to start something romantic in
	the last book?  Consider this:  we saw their meeting in the Scions
	just before the gang talked with the Shade of Allanon.  I may be
	dreaming, but Brooks seemed to throw some subtle hints out, without
	trying to be too obvious.  Upon first meeting, they were a little
	reserved, but after parting, she hugged him as she did Par and Coll.
	Of course, this is inconclusive in and of itself, but consider this:
	Both have been through failed romances, and to have the two of them
	getting over those lost (Quickening & Gavilan) would make a good
	piece of a plot.  Thoughts?

2.  Who is the stranger that confronted Par at the end of the book?  The
	obvious guess is Coll.  But remember where Padishar said he was going
	at the end of the Scions?  To Tyrsis to find Par and Coll.  Padishar
	would also be more likely to know the location of the windmill where
	Par & Damson were hiding.  However, the strangeness of the stranger's
	entrance implies it was more likely Coll, attempting to corner Par
	and nab him (remember Coll's red eyes, just before this scene??).

3.  Does anybody know why the Sword of Shannara burned Par's hand at the end
	of the Scions just after Par used his magic?  This implies that Par's
	magic is something of a lie.  To some extent, we know why the Sword
	didn't phaze Rimmer Dall.  I don't believe that the Sword that Par
	has is a fake, but then again, I can't think of any reason why Dall
	would let Par have the real one, nor can I imagine why Par seemed to
	get some violent reaction from it after using his magic.

4.  Back to number 1.  A relationship and eventual marriage between Wren and
	Morgan Leah would create a rather interesting effect....
		Consider:
			Assuming Par and Damson end up getting hitched,
			there will be a union between the Ohmsford and Creel
			lines.  (Remember, Damson (we think) is Padishar's
			daughter).
			This parallels several other such unions:  Wren,
			both Ohmsford and Elessedil, and Walker, both Ohmsford
			and Boh.  The only line not yet joined with Ohmsford
			blood is the Buckhannah line, and that died out after
			Balinor.

5.  What DID happen to Damson anyway??

6.  What REALLY happened to Coll?  Obviously it did not do what Rimmer Dall
	said it did -- the people walking by Coll when he was making his
	escape didn't even notice him.  Certainly if he appeared to them as
	someone they trusted, they'd notice him, wouldn't they?  Except for
	this, Rimmer Dall actually made quite a cunning move.  Undoubtedly,
	he instructed his fellow Shadowen to pretend to search for him, but
	ignore him when they saw him.  He told them to stick around for quite
	a while, so Coll would be forced to wear the Mirrorshroud long enough
	for its magic to take effect.  So is Coll irreversibly a Shadowen
	now?  This would certainly explain Allanon's ignorance of his
	presence at the Hadeshorn -- if he knew this would happen to Coll.
	But what still remains is the King of the Silver River's comment in
	the beginning of the Druid:  (paraphrased)  "Four, not three.  There
	were still some things Allanon did not fully see."  So besides Par
	and Walker and Wren, there is one more.  This may or may not be
	Coll.  If it is Coll, it still explains Allanon's ignorace of him,
	since Allanon obviously didn't see his role in it.  But what if the
	fourth is someone else?  Who, if not Coll?


Just some thoughts on the finale to the "Heritage".  I can hardly wait.
Let me know if anyone out there has any more ideas or speculation about the
upcoming book....

-- 
Sam.                                             ss1@kepler.unh.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An egotist is a person of low taste--more interested in himself than in me.
-------------------------------------------------Ambrose Bierce----------------