Review: A bit difficult to follow, too many characters.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 27, 2013
Not a terrible book, but I felt it was not as good as the first book..  The writing isn't bad - certainly not - it's simply that things were not memorable, and in some ways the contents of this book could likely have been attached to the third book to extend it, rather than call these events out in a separate book.Picking up almost directly from where the first book left off, the future has been told: Draeken is going to send his fiends to destroy the races.  In order to combat this threat, the races must come together to build up a defense long enough for Taryn to fulfill his destiny.The main problem of book spilled over into the next: there is simply too much going on and too many people involved.  With the exception of a few key characters who stand out due to excellent introductions, there isn't anyone whose name you will remember by the end of the series, which is unfortunate.  The intent of the book clearly is to introduce all of these characters who will play a pivotal role in the actual war, yet by the time you finish, you'll end up scratching your head at it all.The Oracle, Siarra, is portrayed in this book so similar to a druid in Shannara that you're almost left wondering if that was the inspiration.  That's not a bad thing - except that her predecessor (found in book 4) acts nothing like this, so you're just trying to sort the character out in your mind.Taryn, who this time isn't really the protagonist but is a main supporting character, starts to show more abilities and power than he did before.  The problem is that the reason for this is never explained.  (Book 4 may provide a theory, but it's a distant theory at best).If I had to sum it up, I would say that too much information was given without enough explanation or quantification.  It's worth a read, but I personally felt it was not up to the caliber of the first book.