This is a great book, and a great ending to a trilogy! I love Terry'S books! He's my all-time favorite author.

Greate read! I have to say that the chapters about Wills haunted me for a few nights.

I enjoyed the Genesis of Shannara series and the The Word and the Void series as much or even more than the rest of the Shannara books.

I highly recommend all of them. I hope there are more to come.

terry brooks just gets better and better.you cannot put the book down like all his books.

The Gypsy Morph (2007) is the third fantasy novel in the Genesis of Shannara subseries, following The Elves of Cintra. In the previous volume, Hawk and Tessa returned from the gardens of the King of the Silver River. Logan Tom was unconscious after his fight against the Krilka Koos. Angel Perez was severely wounded in her fight with the demon Delloreen.

Simralin was injured by the demon posing as Culph. Kirisin was under the demon's power until Sim stabbed the demon in the leg. When the demon lost his concentration, Kirisin used the elfstones to burn him to dust.

In this novel, Wills is the last survivor in the US Missile Command. His higher authority was destroyed by nuclear attacks, disease or other fatal incidents. His peers died of biological weapons or suicide. Now he is alone and cannot even find the code to release the locks on the exits. Still, he has the capability of firing one or more of the remaining nuclear missiles.

Angel Perez has been pulling herself toward the cave where she can find friends, warmth and medical treatment. But she has lost her way and is dying from her wounds and the cold. She is beginning to lose feeling in her body and is dreaming of Johnny.

Kirisin uses the elfstones to locate Angel. She has painfully pulled herself near to the cave entrance before losing consciousness. He wakes her and helps her inside. He administers medicine to make her sleep and sews up her wounds.

Simralin watches her little brother sew up Angel's wounds and helps him clean off the blood and gore. She falls asleep after they have finished treating the Knight of the Word. Her injuries are not as bad as Angel's, But she has a head injury and Kirisin is afraid to let her sleep for very long at a time.

When Simralin finally awakens from her healing sleep, they decide to take Angel to a healer. They also need to warn Arborlon about the army of demons and once-men. Kirisin and Simralin make a sling and carry Angel back down the mountain.

In this story, Hawk, Tessa and Cheney return to the Ghosts. They tell about the rescue and the gardens and learn about Logon Tom. Then Hawk goes to the hay wagon and revives Logan Tom with his magic.

Logan Tom has forgotten some details of his battle with the Krilka Koos, but he does remember his emotional response to the killing. He has always had an emotional reaction to his battle experiences. Yet this time he is horrified by his enjoyment in the power of his magic.

Then the Lady comes in a dream and sends Logan Tom to Kirisin to protect the Loden Stone. He leaves the S-150 Lightning with the Ghosts and hikes toward the Elven territory. Along the way, he discovers another, more powerful, AV in a locked shed.

This tale brings Logan Tom to the Elves just as the demons invade their forest. King Arissen Belloruus learns that he has been duped by the demons and leads his Trackers and Hunters in a final defense of Arborlon. Meanwhile, Hawk faces an army of demons and once-men led by Findo Gask.

This work concludes the Genesis of Shannara trilogy. The threat is even greater in this work than in the prior volumes. The humans, Elves and mutants can only flee to the promised land. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Brooks fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high magic, heroic quests, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This is a great book and a worthy sequel to The Elves of Cintra. The novel is very exciting, fast-paced and full of interesting, well-developed characters. I listened to it as an audio book and loved it. The whole thing was very satisfying and the writing was stellar. My own writing career has been shaped by Brooks and The Elfstones of Shannara is still one of my all time favorite books. I have no doubt that Terry Brooks is a master of epic fantasy.

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon Series

I loved this book as much as the rest of his books. Fabulous but.....

I ordered this book because I have been collecting his books since I was 16. When I read the book though I got to page 285 and it was not completed. I ordered a second book through Amazon.com and found it to be the same way. So check your book when you get it and make sure it's not the same as mine was!!!!

I have enjoyed this book very much and would there would be more of the same.

This is an excellent book. I am constantly amazed at his characters and how he can bring them to life and well as get the reader emotionally involved with the drama of the story. Terry Brooks is my favorite author and I have been reading his work for many years. I patiently wait for next fall and his next publication. Thank you for years of fantasy and entertainment.

I loved this final book in the series even though I was sad for the story to end.I loved following the stories of the Knight of the Word Logan Tom and Angel Perez.I also loved following the stories of Hawk and the Ghosts and the elves Kirisin and Simralin.While reading these books I got to know the characters and feel emotions as I experienced the dangers and triumphs that they all faced.This series is by far my favorite that I have read for many years and I see myself reading them all again someday.I'm glad that the author closed the storyline at the end even though it saddened me to say goodbye.

this was a great joining of the void series with the shannara series. had wondered for years how the great wars came about when they were described in the shannara series. also about the elves. was good to read about a "good" happening to the knights of the word. have all of the books by terry brooks. hope to read still more in the future. recommend this to complete the set.

This was a good conclusion to a good series. I'm glad Terry has decided to bridge the Word and the Void and the Shannara series.

My only qualm is with the ending. There's not much of an epilogue. I would like to know a little bit about what happened to the characters. But then, maybe this is a bit premature, since there appears to be another series on the horizon.

I was very pleased to finally get my hands on this book. Every year, I go through and read the entire collection, just to update myself for the next book. I love how this book finally binds what the Word and Void started to the world of Shannara. Now there is so much room to grow from the end of this book to First King of Shannara. I anxiously await more. Terry Brooks is the current king of fantasy.

I will try not to sound too much like an enamored fan but I have to admit that Terry Brooks is one of my all time favorite authors. When I think of well written epic fantasy, Terry Brooks immediately comes to mind. I have good reason. I continue to pick up and read his books because I know that the story will be memorable, that the characters will be well developed and within a few chapters I will care what happens to them, that the action scenes are going to be spectacular, and that no character is ever completely safe.

The Gypsy Morph and the entire Genesis of Shannara is no expectation. In this series, we learn of the post-apocalyptic beginnings of Shannara. We meet great characters like Hawk, a seemingly average boy who finds out that he is actually the gypsy morph, a mystical entity whose destiny is to save humanity or be consumed by it. We also meet Knights of the Word, Angel Perez and Logan Tom, two modern warriors that you'd hate to meet in a dark alley.

Of course, like any Shannara series there are Elves. Unbeknownst to humans, the Elves have continued to exist completely hidden from the human world. However, what is about to unfold is so big that even the Elves aren't safe.

The Gypsy Morph is the final installation of the Genesis series. In this book, we find out who is up to the task and who isn't, those who survive and those who don't, and the sacrifices individuals are willing to make for their friends. The big showdown.

This third part of the trilogy is sensational. The imagination and entertainement that this writer provides is first rate. If you have not read the first two books, go out and buy them, now you do not have to wait a whole year before the next book to come out.You can read one after the other. You have lost out on a original story that narrates the necessary merging of civilizations. That join the world we know with the magical and extraordinary world that together provide the basis for the next world. He grips the resder form the beginning and yarns a story to those of us who like to imagine and enter into adventures through books, you cannot lose. All his other books are equally entertaining and original.Sometimes the story seems a lot like what is really happening in our planet earth, we common people have allowed the so called dark forces in goverments and otherwise to do all over the world, just because they can get away with it. Read it, it will not disappoint.

I have enjoyed Terry Brooks' books for many years. One issue I had though is that he keeps coming back to the same situations over & over again. After awhile the main themes become predictable. Yes, the characters are different, the locales vary, but all-in-all, same stuff, different book.

So when I picked up book one of this latest trilogy I was very hopeful. The premise of showing the transistion from the old world to the new was very intriguing. And through the first book, Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1), that promise was fulfilled. Great new characters reacting to completely new situations. It didn't even seem to be a "Shannara" book at first, at least until the Elves show up about halfway though. The second book, The Elves of Cintra (Genesis of Shannara), also was very good, even though we began to see some of the old patterns emerging.

The Gypsy Morph though began to be predictable. It is still a good and exciting book, but I would have to say it is the weaker of the three. We're back to the elfstones being the tool to save the world, the city of the Elves being transported (again) to a safe haven and the true gifts of a magical being being realized. There were some curves thrown in, like the deaths of characters that you would not expect, and the final chapter was original for a Brooks book.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Am I interested in the next chapter of evolution in the Shannara universe? Not sure yet. We'll have to see what the plotline is. But I would definitely recommend this to the standard Brooks fan, and also to someone just starting out on his books. Overall, an enjoyable read.

I finished this book because the story had promise. The story had so much potential, but it's main weakness is that it moved along at a sluggish pace.

The sheer number of breaks in the flow of the story due to too monologues (too often in the middle of an action scene) to delve into a character's feelings/thoughts and emotions (and flashbacks) were my biggest qualms with the story.

These dramatic tangents painted some of the characters in an 'emo' light that detracted from the story, while these tangents also detracted from the flow of the story. This happened too often.

At times, I wish I had listened to this story on audio cd, so I could more easily skip tracks of overly dramatic monologue of characters' thoughts.

The thing is, this story would have been better served by:
1) eliminating some of the rediculous dialog,
2) spending more time developing the main characters,
3) spend less time making up for lack of character building through rediculous dialog and flashbacks of events from the previous 2 novels.

I'll try not to spoil too much in this review...

The romance between Logan Tom and was given no time (or detail) to develop; especially to get to where it was at the end of the book. This romance reminded me of 2 middle school kids in love, not something serious.

In my opinion, the story could have done without the rediculously developed romances of Logan and Panther (not with eachother). :^)

There were no twists in the story and the final throwdown between good and evil was too predictable once it started to unfold. The worst part of this final conflict was when the super powerful bad guy (after a display of his power) instead of easily dispatching 2 of the characters he has sought to destroy for so long, instead (in an out-of-character way) launches into a lengthy conversation with one of them for no reason ...even suggesting (in an even more out-of-character way) he would let a knight of the word join his side.

It was messy. If the author wanted to buy time for the other good guys to catch up (and overpower) this demon, then Brooks could have done it in a more intelligent way...better than having this big bad demon idiotically, stand around conversing with his nemesis.


I do not recommend this book, or book 2. I did however enjoy book one, "Armageddon's Children" and would recommend it except that it ends unacceptably with a cliff hanger.

If the fluff was removed and some plot points changed, I would have enjoyed this trilogy instead as two, well-penned novels.

I loved this series. I hated to finish as I really enjoyed the read. I went to Seattle last summer and enjoyed the references to that area. I'm a believer.

Terry Brooks creates and interesting story about a boy and his children. The world is in chaos and the once men and the demons rain supreme.

I was hopping that Brooks would describe a little bit more about the evolution of Shannara. I was really hopping that he would discuss the evolution of the "freaks" and how they fit into the sword of Shannara world, but maybe he will in the future.

The book was an interesting take on the apocalypse and the never ending battle between good and evil. I was hoping that he would develop the "Lady" a little more.

The Gypsy Morph finally gives hope to what has been a dark series of stories. As I finish every book I can hardly wait for the next one. Terry Brooks is an intriguing writer and captivates the reader through his visual descriptions.

Here ends the trilogy that started with Armageddon's children but is far from the last foray for Terry Brook's into the realm of Shannara and its origins. We do get to close the book on OUR world, the one from which Shannara springs, with this story, but I leave it to the reader to discover exactly how that happens.
My own theories abounded as to how Terry would tie all the loose ends together in this book. A year ago I was mostly concerned that he would cram far too much into this final novel, thinking that this was the last book that occurs before the actual Shannara books begin. Silly me. Word has come down that Mr. Brooks intends to do one or two more series of books that fill in the gaps between this tale and The First King of Shannara, or there abouts. So my internal debate about other races not featured in the first two books of this trilogy that show up in the world of Shannara still have time to evolve, instead of being jammed into this novel.

Overall, this was a satisfying completion to the trilogy, with the varied loose ends created throughout the first two books tied up fairly neatly. My own theories about what would happen to the Gypsy Morph were slight off but I won't say I was shocked or surprised by the end results here. We are given answers as to how our world slips into a world of magic, though I have no real perspective on how much further into the future we will travel to get to the time of the First King and beyond. There is still plenty to explore.

As with most of Terry Brook's other stories, I find his writing style enjoyable, though he has a penchant for running multiple story lines that have you shifting from place to place and group to group that dilutes some of the energy but not a lot of it. He always brings things together quite nicely in the end.

You know the story here if you have read the two predecessors and if you have not, this is not the book to start out with. In fact, I would recommend starting with Running with the Demon if you are interested in seeing this entire tale weaved from the beginning.

The Elves and the humans are coming together here in an effort to escape the once men and demons who have terrorized survivors of the apocalypse for years. With them is Hawk, who knows that he is the Gypsy Morph, a creature of wild magic who is destined to be the savior of those few who remain, Kirisin, the young elf who is called upon to save his own people with the help of the Lodan, an Elf stone, and two Knights of the Word, the last of their order, who must bring these people together so that they may make a pilgrimage to a place that no one is really sure exists, a place that will be safe as the world around them disolves.

Terry Brooks has created a fabulous universe filled with magic and mystery and continues to morph what was once our world into the wild world of Shannara. While these stories take place in our near future, it is almost like reading about ancient history since so many of us have read many, if not most, of the Shannara books. When I first read the Sword of Shannara years ago, back when I was in high school long ago, I always wondered if that world was a parallel with our own. It is neat to have come this far that we get to see the scope of the author's long term vision, thought I doubt he ever thought about these stories way back when he was first creating the Shannara realm.

While I did enjoy this book greatly, it did not pop off the page like some of Brook's earlier works that I have enjoyed so much. This entire series was entertaining but not spectacular, to me. Just my opinion. But I also know that I definitely appreciate this series and will look forward, with great anticipation, to the next generation of stories of the Shannara realm as Terry Brooks scribes them.

If I could have given it 3 and a half stars I would. It really was a fun read and I am a huge Brooks fan, but some aspects of the story just seemed corny to me. For instance the guy in the missle silo. This was the forseen catalyst to the end of the world ... a very lonely and insane soldier in a silo ... really?

On a more postive side, the characters were great. You will enjoy this book, like you probably did the previous two in the series. I just wish there would have been a few more references to the rest of Shannara that this was to be the genesis of.

Once again, Terry Brooks has written a masterful conclusion to another fine series. This book picks up immediately after the final events in "The Elves of Cintra", and there is no lack of action.

Kirisin, Simralin, and Angel Perez have managed to defeat the demons that were tracking them and have uncovered the Loden Elfstone. Now, they have begun their journey back to Arborlon to save the elven people and the Ellcrys. However, Angel is injured too badly to continue, and she remains with an elven healer.

Hawk and the other Ghosts have been journeying with the surviving children to the safe haven promised to them. However, a massive demon army, led by the notorious Findo Gask, has been shadowing them the entire way. Logan Tom has been aiding in the journey, but a massive being known only as the Klee has been luring children away from the group. Sent by Findo Gask, the Klee is to catch and kill the Gypsy Morph before the refugees can safely reach the haven. The demon army manages to catch up with the group, but Hawk manages to use his Gypsy Morph magic to cause the earth to open up and swallow the demon army; except for Findo Gask.

Findo Gask then takes it upon himself to try to kill the Morph. Will Logan, Angel, and Simralin be able to stop him, or will Findo Gask succeed in killing the Gypsy Morph before the group reaches the safe zone?

This is a first-rate book. Terry Brooks does an excellent job of finishing the story of the Gypsy Morph while at the same time providing a glimpse into future books with the story of the solitary man in the missile silo who will destroy the existing world. As with all of Brooks' books, the characters in "The Gypsy Morph" come to life, and the reader can readily embrace them. The story is well-conceived, and the action continues throughout the book.

I give this fine book my highest recommendation. I've read all of Terry Brooks' books, and they just keep getting better and better. I can't wait to read the new Magic Kingdom book next year, and I hope Terry revisits the Genesis of Shannara series somewhere down the road. Until then, read "The Gypsy Morph" and see how Hawk's, Logan's and Angel's story plays out.

I've read nearly every book Terry has written, starting with the original Shannara series when I was in High School. My favorite was Wishsong until the Magic Kingdom of Landover series came out (which I think was his absolute best).

I cannot express my disappointment with this latest series and book. The Series answers very few questions about what "really happens" and the final book does nothing to tie the series to any other series. I know he's planning on writing more, but after 3 books, we should have SOMETHING that ties things together in some fashion. We don't Guess we'll have to wait until, what, 2011 until we get that? Please.

I think the final book (Gypsy Morph) is his worst yet. Not because of grammar or presentation, but because of content. It was so weak in creativity, naming of things, and situations it was truly boring in many areas. Plus the way he wrote some of the children was simply absurd. Also, I don't know if anyone caught his politically correct "life partner" reference (note this was him writing, not referencing to anything today) - the first time I've seen him do this in writing. Good job Terry, bring today's garbage political correctness into your "fantasy world" so readers won't be offended. What would you think if he had called the Ohmsford husband and wife "life partners"? Please.

Terry has always lacked passion and intimacy in his books, but made up for it with adventure and semi-believable storytelling. This book fails hard to make up for what it lacks.

When you finish reading the Gypsy Morth you feel empty and devoid of learning anything new about the "transitional time" between our time and Terry's fantasy world. In reality, it was like so many other post-apocalyptic worlds.

I can honestly say that Terry wastes your time with this series. As I mentioned, you leave this last book knowing nothing of how the trilogy ties into the other worlds, and no questions are answered. It's like he didn't even care by the time you're reading the last pages of the Gypsy Morph. You blink a few times after reading the last sentence and think "what... that's it? I read through all of this to end it like this?"

I see Terry's next novel will be a Landover novel (2009). I'll probably try this, but if he doesn't nail it, I think it's time to move on. Sorry Terry, but the Genesis series was just terrible, simply terrible.

I have read every book that Mr.Brooks has written and again I am not surprised at how well the book flows and ties up the lose ends.

In the third volume of the Genesis of Shannara Terry Brooks wraps up the story of how the last of the refugees from the apocalyptic wars survive bridging into the stories of the Four Lands. The Elves and Knights of the Word fight a losing battle to save the Elven people using the Loden elf stone even as Hawk and a growing group of homeless humans and mutants make their way toward the safe hold that will protect them from the cataclysm to come.

This is typical Terry Brooks with lots of hard choices, harrowing esapes, chases, and swashbuckling mixed with a heavy dose of mythical magic. The characters were not as well drawn as in the Elves of the Cintra (the second volume of this series) and the action was almost predictable, but it was still plenty of fun for long time fans of Brooks. This is not literature, but it was a fast, fun read for a rainy afternoon or a long plane ride.

this is a very good book but I think mr. brooks should return to the landover series. we have a new novelist MR. CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI WHO AT A VERY YOUNG AGE HAS CREATED A SERIES OF BOOKS. not unlike mr. brooks. whom I BELIEVE at some point he has read I have every book that mr. brooks has produced and I look to his next book lets go back to landover SIR.

I've long been a Terry Brooks fan and have really enjoyed his books. The Genesis of Shannara, however, really took off into religious realms that is unlike any of his previous works. There were way to many references to Saviors, Chosen One, Promised Land and the like.
If I want to read about Saviors and Promised Lands, I'll read the Bible. I'm not sure why Brooks suddenly went off on such a religious path, but I actually found it disappointing. The first two books of the trilogy didn't do this, only the third book. I can't explain this fully, only Brooks knows why. Sufficed to say I still really enjoy Brooks, I just hope his future books aren't religious-based.

This is the last of the new trilogy that shows how the Word & Void stories morph into the Shannara world setting. This is a very satisfying conclusion to a three book series, and one of his best books since The First King of Shannara. It tells the story of how the boy Hawk leads a group of children, and others, along with Kristen who holds the elf city within a lodestone, to a safe haven to wait out the end of the world. And that's pretty much it, as all the preparatory stories have been told in the first two books so this was just a "road trip" of sorts where everyone is fleeing the demons and trying to make it to safety with Hawk, who is The Gypsy Morph.

The ending makes sense, closes all the threads for each character, and leaves us in a place where we are satisfied until he can get back to the series again down the road. His last book in this series was good, and this is even better. This book is one of Terry's better accomplishments, imo.

Terrorism, war, environmental irresponsibility, and strange diseases are bringing Earth to its end. The elves, in their mountain cities, watch helpless as humans destroy the earth and mutate into bestial, or demonic forms. One young man, the so-called Gypsy Morph, is given responsibility to bring a band of children and their caregivers into the Rocky Mountains where, somehow and impossibly, a new world will be created--or found. The elves are supposed to join him, but they have their own issues and their level of trust is low--especially as demons have infiltrated their city.

Two Knights of the Word, Angel and Logan Tom have been given the responsibility of protecting both the Morph and the elvish city. Two knights, a few elvish scouts, and a band of frightened children seem like helpless prey to the army of demons and not-men stalking them. Especially as both knights have been injured and are emotionally damaged. And the band of children, like the Israelites being led out of Egypt, have their own conflicts and concerns as they flee from what seemed like relative safety into ever-increasing danger, led by a boy who doesn't understand where he's leading them and can act only on faith.

Author Terry Brooks continues his GENESIS OF SHANNARA series with a fast-paced adventure. Logan Tom finally comes face-to-face with the demon who destroyed his family, Hawk, the Gypsy Morph, learns his girlfriend's secret, and struggles with the responsibilities he's been given--and with the limits of his own power. And Earth itself, brutalized by humanity's abuse of the environment, suffers one last horrible blow. Still, with the entire planet disrupted, what hope can the band of children have?

Brooks focusses on three primary characters--the two Knights and the Morph, but occasionally takes time out to look into more minor characters--such as the always complaining but somehow likable Panther, as well as the elf-boy Kirisin, wielder of the elfstones. A preface, with a lone soldier deep beneath the mountains in a nuclear launch site, adds to the atmosphere of current doom accompanied by future hope. Fans of Brooks's SHANNARA stories will definitely want to learn how SHANNARA evolved out of earth. GENESIS OF SHANNARA, of which THE GYPSY MORPH forms the concluding chapter, is a major work of synthesis between SF and fantasy.

I have read through the reviews on here and what I do not understand is the negative reviews? Seems like some people haven't read all three books. Gypsy Morph answered my questions easily and I enjoyed it throroughly. The only complaint I have is that it ended too soon. I muss the days of long novels like Sword of Shannara. (Also wish First King was a little longer.)

I have been reading Brooks for over 25 years now and recently went back and re-read all the Shannara books including Word & Void. If you are new to the Shannara series, I suggest you start with Word & Void and move forward. If you are a fantasy buff, just stick with it through Word & Void (which is more demon based) and through the Genesis series (kind of a mix between demons and introducing the elves) and the trolls and dwarves will come into play starting with First King of Shannara;)

This trilogy helped to tie in his entire line and let us know how the world ended, how Lizards and Spiders came to be and how some of the races survived. But now I am axious for Brooks to carry us through to First King of Shannara. It would be nice to know what happened all those years in-between; what happened to the Knights of the Word, when did trolls and dwaves come into the scene, etc... Heck, I'd even like to know what happened in the lives of some of the charachters of the Genesis series such as Hawk, Panther & Kat, and Logan Tom & Simaralin.

So, although the triligoy explains a lot of the past history of the original Shannara series, there is still much left unseen...But we all know that it was probably Terry's plan to leave something more to be written about.

I've read nearly all of Brooks' books. I was desperately waiting for this book to come out, as the cliffhangers in the last book were so tense.

I'll admit that I could not put the book down until I finished it. It was definitely enjoyable. There were some minor twists and turns. But they were only minor. While the details are definitely NOT predictable, the plotline is. I was disappointed that this book just seemed to 'finish the story'.

I think Brooks is at his best when he describes battles and strategy (the weapons master Garet Jax one of my alltime favorites). To be honest, I think Terry got a little tired with this one--the battles just didn't have the pizzazz I expect. The best moments of all, which were surprising and enjoyable, were over so fast. One of them, involving a Parkhan Spray pointed vertically, was narrated in a way that was very surprising but depersonalized--we never get any dialogue/soliloquy from the characters during or after the event. That was a bit of a letdown for a truly classic moment.

Obviously, if you've read the first two books you simply must read this one. Perhaps I've read too much Brooks now--I can tell what's coming. But I've been saying that since Jerle Shannara, and I just keep on reading...

There are few authors working today who can boast the sustained success that Terry Brooks has managed since 1977 with virtually zero breaks in between. I would have to say, with few exceptions, his novels stack up well in the Fantasy Realm as a whole against almost any other author currently working and/or who has ever written and been published. Is that to say he is the all-time best there has ever been? That's a personal question that will vary from reader to reader...and I refuse to attempt to make my opinion the only one that matters. Opinions vary--and for those who are long-time, or even new fans of Brooks will most likely agree that 'The Gypsy Morph' is yet another top-notch addition to his fantastic-and growing collection of works.

I have had the fortune of interviewing Mr. Brooks several times (once in person) and I assure you, he was asked literally THOUSANDS of times whether or not the Word & Void series was, or would be connected in ANY way to Shannara...I was one of those asking. When 'Armageddon's Children' came out, I guess that question was finally put to rest. And I must say, he put that to bed in absolutely the best style imaginable! Again, opinion's vary, but I honestly feel that just being able to come up with a plausible storyline to bridge the two was amazing. But the end rusult? Utterly fantastic.

There are critics of both the Word & Void as well as Shannara and seeing as how both series are now forever connected, I am interested to see how all the blogs will continue. I was initially quite skeptical that Terry would be able to successfully mate these two dramatically different storylines together in ANY way that could satisfy his demanding fans, but once again, even though it seems as though I am sounding like a broken record, but WOW, what a great job. The contemporary Fantasy theme of Word & Void, and the full-on Fantasy genre tied together via this Genesis was not only creative, and offered some genuine surprises and plot twists, but--at least to this reviewer--provided a sense of absolute satisfaction at how that connection was made and how it followed through.

So whats next for Brooks? I have it on good authority a new Magic Kingdom novel is in the works, and while that was never my favorite series in the genre, I still enjoyed it and look forward to diving head-first back into that realm as well. Honestly, for long time fans of Terry Brooks, how can you possibly be anything BUT impressed with 'The Gypsy Morph'? Sure, there will be those who will disagree with my thoughts, and that's ok...but chances are if you liked the 1st two books in this series, you will be more than fine with how it all goes together in this one. And again, remember, opinions vary.

The Gypsy Morph picks up where we left off in The Elves of Cintra, but first we meet a military man who is trapped in a missile silo. This is the catalyst that will begin the end of the old world. We all know from reading Shannara that the old world will end, we just don't know how it gets there.

The action picks up with Kirisin Belleruus, having successfully aquired the Loden Elfstone is on the long journey home to his people who believe that he is a murderer. Eventually, he does make it back and does place his people in the Loden. But as always he is captured and Logan Tom, taking the place of Angel, has to find a way to save him.

Hawk and the other Ghosts are travelling with hundreds of children to the safehold that was foretold to him by the King of the Silver River. Meanwhile, they are being stalked by The Klee, a pretty vicious demon that reminds me of a serial killer in the way he acts. As with the story of Moses the caravan of people do eventually make it to their promised land, not without pitfalls and the loss of some people, though.

Eventually, everything winds down. The Demons make a last assualt. Logan Tom confronts his enemy, Findo Gask. Hawk and the Ghosts confront The Klee. I won't tell you the ending (obviously) but we know already that people do survive in reading Shannara. The ending is a little bittersweet at first but then takes a turn as w return to the missle silo for one last look at the Earth as we know it. I can't wait to see where Terry takes us next in this Genesis series.

Terry Brooks' writing, from his very first novel, The Sword of Shannara, has been an exhilarating ride of dramatic suspense and high adventure. The first book, and indeed the first trilogy, were extremely well-written and managed to tie plotlines and themes together in a very satisfying way that rewarded the reader for investing emotionally with the characters and with what happened to them. However...with the past two series, while the writing has remained excellent as always, his conclusions have been subpar. Both The High Druid of Shannara series and this series ended in rather a too pat fashion. Yes, we all knew a certain character had to die in this book. Yes, we all saw the final battle from miles away. But that was true in The Sword of Shannara, too. What's the difference?

The difference is that the final battle wasn't merely a physical battle in Sword. Shea fought the Warlock Lord on every level of his being and won, even though he was human with human shortcomings (in other words, not the perfect hero). Not so in the last two series. To give another non-spoiler example, there is a scene close to the end of this book where an emotional "battle" of sorts is fought between two rather marginal characters in the story. However, the weight of meaning behind this battle is palpable and ties in beautifully with the rest of the storyline. Unfortunately, there is no "payoff" to this. We never see what becomes of these two characters, so what was the point? Terry Brooks lost a number of opportunities to give good payoffs in his conclusion. I can only hope his next books fix this problem.

That said, I *am* looking forward to seeing Elfstones of Shannara on the big screen. :-)

I have read everything that Terry Brooks has written over the last almost thirty years and I am so glad that he is still at the top of his game. I do not want to give any spoilers but let me simply say that the writing in this book is so good that it is comparable to his award winning "Void" series. It is a testament to Mr. Brooks that even when he is writing about the end of civilization as we know it, he sees the brightness and love that can be found in humanity. Thanks again.

I've been a Brooks fan since I was like 6 years old. I've read every book he has except World (which isn't really a "book"). I got this one with eager anticipation.

For those that don't know, this is the third book of the "Genesis" series from Brooks. I reviewed Armageddon's Children, and warned people to read Word and Void series first. Well, now I'm saying that even if you read Armageddon's Children, this book will lose you.

What?

Let me start off by saying...this book confused me to no end. Brooks is all over the place with the writing, and as S. Banks mentioned, there are way too many "in my head" details put in the book. Obviously Brooks wants us to feel and think what the characters are feeling and thinking, but there is such a thing as overkill, and this book is it. A lot of IMO unnecessary descriptive context really detracts from the focus of the story and in truth, makes the book probably 50 pages longer than it really needed to be.

Additionally, characters are interjected, emphasized, then tossed aside with little remorse or consideration. Then they're reintroduced with no consistent flow. For example, a key character in Elves of Cintra (the predecessor) is incapacitated in this book by what is described as being similar to a Vulcan neck pinch by an Elf. What? Mind you, this character is supposedly a magic-imbued being who has protections against attacks and the ability to fight and defend themselves, yet a female version of Spock comes along and does a pinch and all of a sudden the character is knocked out for at least 3 chapters. O....kay.

Then we have another character who, while not directly important in this story, was quite unique and interesting in Elves of Cintra...and in this story, is taken out with one sentence in the book by a tentacle out of nowhere, not detected by aforementioned mystical character. Mind you, this unique character is blind and supposedly has enhanced awareness against danger, since they've survived alone in the mountains all this time. Yeah, okay.

Then the book jerks back to a group of people with bird names, and that's when it just falls apart. I won't even go into explicit details, but I mean you've got vehicles with lizards who are allegedly the previous owner, kids that die and are revived with no real explanation, and then of course, the subtitle of the book (who is such a lithe staple through the book that you almost forget about it) is a character that it's hard to care about, because it doesn't do anything.

I really wish Brooks would focus back on Shannara. The REAL Shannara, not a bastardization of Word/Void and Shannara. Elves of Cintra was well written, but it's really unappealing overall as a series. I want to see Brooks write about the first war, the development of the magic, the creation of the Forbidding, the first voyage to Safehold for the Bloodfire, the creation of the Ellcrys, the start of the Druids, the conversion of Brona, etc etc...

I just can't recommend this story unless you're sick of Shannara, really. If you're not really a fan you might like this, but reading Elves of Cintra and Armageddon's Children is a prerequisite.

I can only give this book (and series) a solid 2 stars. Its keeps you on the edge of your seat at times but it could have been SO much more. Terry has attempted to join his 2 successful series (Knight of the Word & the Shannara series) together to tell the epic story of the Great Wars - the wars that sundered the planet and ended civilization as we know it and gave rise to the world of the Shannara books. The problem is it doesn't feel very epic. I have been reading Terry's books since the first ever Sword of Shannara release - thats a long time ago! My kids are older than I was when I first read that book!

Terry spends a lot of time inside his character's head on trivial details that aren't relevant to the epic end of the world story this should be. We have 10 pages on Panther's emerging feelings for the half breed Kat and 2 pages about Findo Gast - the antagonist of the entire series! We get a lot of pages with useless, irrelevant dialogues like this:

"Panther stands at edge of the campfire and stops when he sees the plate of food. How had it gotten there? Who had left it? Was it for him? Surely he was hungry, having been on scout patrol all day. But something seemed odd. This food seemed to appear out of nowhere, or had he simply not noticed before in his weariness. He approached the food cautiously. Maybe if Kat were here she could tell him what to do. He missed her, more and more. In a swift move, he picks up the plate of food and eats it down. It tastes good, really good. "Man this is good food, really good", he says to no one in particular. But then he comes to a stunning realization - though he has eaten the food - he will need more tomorrow!"

So, now to be fair I made that sample up (grins) - but there are hundreds of pages of that encompassing that level of minutiae - and honestly - do we care? I want to know about the demons, the elves, the elcrys, the lady of the word, the end of the world - but we get page after page of this. Its like Terry was having problems thinking of what to say and needed to stretch it out. At times its like reading a juvenile fiction book. The demons are barely covered and we barely get to see Findo in this book at all.

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Terry really misses the opportunity to blend these 2 series together better. It feels more like a TV episode where a guest star from 1 series that stops by on another series - interesting - but incongruous. Its like Kramer from Seinfeld stopping by on Friends and doing his Kramer thing and then leaving. Example: We have 2 sets of demons - the elves' fantasy genre demons that are locked away in the Forbidding. These are the more fantasy demons that want to rule the world and such. Then we have the human form demons from the Word & the Void series - but they don't mix well. In fact we don't even address why they are separate? I thought maybe we'd learn that the human form demons were minions of those in the Forbidding - here to push the human into destroying the world. But no, sadly we are left with 2 separate races of demons that seem to have similar goals but don't see to have anything to do with other.

Then we have the Lady of the Word and the Elcrys - I thought surely we'd discover they were one & the same. They are both semi-relgious, mystical figures that personify themselves as female to their chosen ones and ask them to carry out vague and dangerous quests. Surely I thought when the elven city was restored Logan would stand before the Elcrys and realize this was the Lady he served. It makes sense? The elcrys presents herself as a human woman to her human chosen so they would accept her more? And she has done this as she needs help from the humans to save the elves & life in general. But no - the elcrys and the lady are just 2 entirely separate semi-relgious, mystical figures that personify themselves as female to their chosen ones and ask them to carry out vague and dangerous quests. What a waste of an opportunity.

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Last note: the book just ends. Yes the children and elves and few adults do arrive safely at the happy valley and are shielded from the nuclear destruction of the rest of the world. But we never get to see the elves receive their thanks from the Elcrys. The Knights of the Word never receive their pardon & thanks from the Lady. Its just over. I guess they stay in the valley for a few hundred years while the radiation subsides? This isn't really a Genesis of Shannara - there is no mention on anything Shannara - related. I thought we'd find out that Logan and Cimarlin would marry and their bloodline would produce the Shannara lineage - the combination of elfstone magic and the magic of the word but no. There is no real connection between these books and the Shannara books other than the omnipresent elf stones & the king of the silver river.

I guess we'll get another book series soon picking up where this one stopped abruptly. I don't mean to be so critical but for a series that chronicles events that Terry has eluded to for over 20 years, it falls pretty short where it could have soared.

As with every single Terry Brooks novel I've read, I enjoyed "The Gypsy Morph" immensely. My work schedule only allows me to catch up with my reading in the evening, and since starting this book a few days ago, I've become an insomniac! Reading well into the night until the words are all but blurred and swimming on the pages. Even now, it's past one o'clock in the morning, and having just finished the book, I'm still thinking about it and can't get it out of my head!.

"The Gypsy Morph" brings you through a wide range of emotions: joy, fear, anger, and sadness. At one point in the story, I found my self grinning from ear to ear, while in another, on the verge of tears. Only a handful of masterful writers can involve you in the characters so deeply, that you experience their emotions right along with them. And Terry Brooks is certainly a master of his craft.

Without fail, for every one of Terry's books I've read, I've always been disappointed to turn the last page and find that there's no more. He has this uncanny ability to wrap up his stories without closing them completely. He gives you just enough to get his point across and leaves the rest of the story open for the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. Although I admire this, it can also be very frustrating!

But that aside, it was a wonderful, exciting trilogy. And Gypsy was a fantastic end. I can't wait to visit Landover again next year! It's about time!

Two years ago, Terry Brooks set out on epic undertaking to merge his wildly famous Shannara Series with his urban fantasy Word and the Void Trilogy. The result is the exciting and breathtaking Genesis of Shannara Trilogy which now comes to a powerful conclusion.

The boy named Hawk has fully embraced his role as The Gypsy Morph, a human created from wild magic who is destined to save a remnant of mankind from the coming apocalypse. Joined by Logan Tom and Angel Perez, the last two Knights of the Word, Hawk will now lead this group to their new home, all the while fighting off the army of demons and once-men who are out to stop them.

Meanwhile, Kirisin Belloruus, one of the mysterious Elven people, is charged with saving the Elves from the imminent destruction. He must place the Elves and their ancient city of Arborlorn within the magical Loden Elf stone, and then protect them until he can meet up with Hawk and the others. Unseen dangers and death lie around every corner and an entire race of people depend on his survival.

For years Terry Brooks has been considered one of the most important fantasy authors of our time and The Gypsy Morph reminds us why. No one mixes fantasy, suspense, mystery, and intrigue like Brooks and all of these elements are on full display here. Merging two series that were never intended to be merged is quite a feat, and Brooks not only succeeds but does so in brilliant fashion.

As always, Brooks gives us memorable and engaging heroes that stir our hearts as they face insurmountable odds and death defying challenges. The villains are everything we've come to expect: ruthless, evil, and utterly frightening. Terry Brooks also proves once again that no character is untouchable and he refuses to sacrifice good storytelling for the sake of the characters. Unlike many other contemporary fantasy writers, Brooks reminds us that good storytelling doesn't have to be saturated with profane language, sex, and unnecessary gore.

The Gypsy Morph gives us just the right amount of closure for this trilogy. However, fans will be pleased to know that the story is not over. Terry Brooks has stated that there are at least five or six more novels to come as he continues to tell the story of Shannara's early history. We'll have to wait a while longer though for the next Shannara book. Next summer Terry Brooks will treat us with a long overdue Landover novel that is sure to please his die hard fans. If you are looking for epic fantasy done right then look no further.

I have been reading Terry Brooks books for years and would tend to recommend his fiction just based on past performance. 'Sword of Shannara' and the related books are on just about any fantasy fan's top ten list.

I first read 'Running With the Demon' (Book one of The Word and the Void trilogy) back in 1998. I was fascinated by the concept and the writing was superb. I eagerly read the next two books and was just as impressed. I assumed that Brooks was going into a genre of writing similar to Charles De Lint (urban fantasy). What I did "not" get from any of those books at the time, was the tie-in to Shannara. As the next trilogy (The Genesis of Shannara) unfolded, I had to smack myself in the forehead for not realizing that these two trilogies were prequels to the original Shannara series.

Imagine that a writer can take a lion's portion of his works and tie them all together in such a neat package three decades down the road. It boggles my mind!!

Not much need for me to repeat the story line - others have outlined that in far more detail then I really care for. What I would like to add is that while you do not need to read all of the various Shanarra books to get into this one, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not starting back at 'Running With the Demon' and working through all ive previous books beore starting 'The Gypsy Morph'. I strongly believe it to be worth the effort!! Brooks does a marvelous job of wrapping up the major story lines (he admits at lectures and on-line that he leaves a few small threads open just to allow readers some leeway)

If you decide to read - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

All the best,

Jay

I had planned to purchase this book regardless of what any reviewers said simply because I was already committed to the series and wanted to know what happened.

For whatever reason, this particular book was burdened with far too much useless dialog that did little to develop the story. There are too many pages of text devoted to boring, pointless conversations among the characters (or to the private thoughts of given characters). There was comparatively little action. It's almost as though Brooks is trying to give his characters more depth in this book, but it feels contrived and affected, and the effort falls flat in this book.

I would like to start by saying I think Terry Brooks is a great Author and one of my favorites. I have enjoyed every one of his books.

I just think the ending to this book could have gone a bit better. The demise of a certain bad guy was very predictable early on. I think what this series needed was another book to further tie in the old world to the new world.

Terry Brooks never disappoints. To put things in proper perspective, my favorite Brooks books are the Word/Void series and the Magic Kingdom series, Running with the Demon being my top favorite. Gypsy was easier and more fun to read than Brooks' other Shannara books, perhaps because of the simpler story line and less-foreign location and charactor names. As usual, the book is full of inspiring characters struggling to survive the brutal surroundings, finally reaching the ray of hope among the ruins. It was also less violent and merciless compared to the last 2 Sharnnara series, the Voyage of Jerle Shannara and High Druid, which were both somewhat uncomfortable to read at times. I agree with reviewer Aaron and was really glad that most of my favorite charactors in the book didn't get killed off!

The Gypsy Morph once again shows the creative brilliance of Terry Brooks to weave a story that plays out in our minds as we read it. Terry's ability to interweave The Genesis series into all previous Shannara titles is incredible and yet, he still manages to keep us guessing at the end of the trilogy, more specifically, who factors into the lineage of future characters we all know and love.

Terry Brooks long ago, captured me with the Elfstones of Shannara, to the point of where I must curse him for creating an insatiable thirst for more works that make the world of Shannara.

I am very partial to Shannara so i will be very biased as in saying I really enjoyed this book and series. I love how the story departs Terry's normal plot runs in terms of who lives and who dies. This book makes me wish I could be so lucky to find a woman like Tessa or Owl.

Terry is fantastic and I cannot wait for the next in the series to be out in a couple years.

The Gypsy Morph is the continuation of a wondrous tale of good vs evil that could easily be compared in quality to JRR Tolkien 'Lord of the Rings' novels. Terry Brooks has done a superb job of linking the 'The Word / Void' series and the 'Shannara' series with these engrossing and powerful novels. I look forward to seeing more from him in the future as he continues to expand the link between these series.

I have been a Terry Brooks fan for almost 20 years, and this book is a truely spellbinding read. I couldnt put it down, even though I wanted to take my time and digest it slowly, I was captivated by the story, and had to have more. It has a great blend of futureistic landscapes, as well as fantasy. Im just sorry it had to end, it transported me out side reality in a special way.
If you are like me and a Terry Brooks fan this is a must have. New readers of Terry Brooks will find they cant believe they missed out for so long, and have plenty to enjoy for a long time to come.
The Gypsy Morph will be a favorite of mine for many years to come.

The last two trilogies ended on whimpers, as far as I am concerned and the build-up did not follow through.

That ended with this trilogy. The Genesis series so far has been great. The story arc begun in Armageddon's Children and The Elves of Cintra had a great climax in The Gypsy Morph. All of the storylines came together and had appropriate ends; all of the characters had their growth, even some entering the sunset in fearful times. The book had some of the grittiest moments seen in any Terry Brooks novel and forced me to put the book down and walk away out of sheer, "OMG, did he just do that?"

If you haven't read all three books, do so. Well worth it! Now we only have to wait to see what happens in this new world and see how Terry Brooks handles it!

The world as we know it is long gone. The pendulum for evil has sung forward and demons have come into the open preying on humans. Those people who allied with the demons have become not-men; more predatory beast than human. The bombs fell and plagues followed. Finally the demons destroyed the compounds where mankind tried to survive. The toxic atmosphere led to mutations turning people into monsters. However in this dark dismal planet called earth there remains a small feeble light of survivors of the Word trying to keep humanity from extinction.

The Lady tasks Knight of the Word Logan Tom (not the great volleyball player) to protect the Gypsy Moth, a being born of wild magic. Hawk's magic is going to lead the rest of humanity and the elves to a land where everyone can live in harmony. Elf Kirisin Belloruus is entrusted with the Elfstone to lead and protect his people from the demon horde and their monstrous allies. Hawk agrees to lead the caravan, which picks up travelers on the road as all seek a haven.

The last book in the Genesis of Shannara saga is as magical and enchanting as the entire Brooks mythos is with recurring characters and new protagonists banding together in a last ditch effort to save humanity. All the major questions from the previous fantasy tomes (see THE ELVES OF CINTRA and ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN) are answered with no loose ends that matter and an incredible climatic revelation. Though not a stand alone, Terry brooks delivers an outstanding finish with action, intrigue, battles, species that seem real in a time when mankind's time is ticking away.

Harriet Klausner