The High Druid’s Blade: The Defenders of Shannara
Terry Brooks
Epic fantasy usually details world building with a large cast of characters. The land of Shannara has been detailed extensively in past books, so Terry Brooks takes a different route in The High Druid’s Blade: The Defenders of Shannara, creating a more intimate and personal narrative with the story of Paxon Leah.
Paxon runs a shipping business, but dreams of exploring the world. He contemplates a better life for himself, his mother and his brash younger sister, Chrys, who ends up being abducted by a dark sorcerer named Arcannen. His powerful magic terrifies everyone, and his ultimate goal is to take out the power structure of the Druids.
A family heirloom, the Sword of Leah, is pulled off the mantel and Paxon rushes to grab his sister. He has no magic to help him, and neither does his sister. What Paxon doesn’t realize is that Arcannen doesn’t want Chrys, he wants the sword, and he will do everything in his immense power to possess it.
Fans of Brooks’ earlier work will be mystified not to see many of his usual side characters or heroes. Brooks has done an amazing job of conveying the sights, sounds and environment of the world with just a few characters. It’s truly magical how he delivers these elements, and readers will feel like they have actually visited the land of Shannara when they turn the final page.
The novel is meant to stand by itself, and the story wraps up enough to leave the reader satisfied.
— Jeff Ayers
Associated Press
Trigga
Trey Songz
Six albums in, making R&B hits almost seems too easy for Trey Songz.
He’s got the vocals of a crooner with the swagger of a rapper, and on Trigga, the heartthrob once again darts between the bedroom and bottle service, sending his sweet vocals soaring over a landscape of seductive beats, beautiful melodies and lyrics that beg to be repeated.
But Songz’s latest set is missing something: growth. While there’s plenty of fun, there’s almost zero evidence that he’s created something that would make his latest album more memorable than the five preceding it. For all its catchiness — thanks in part to a sampling of Teena Marie’s Oh La La La — lead single Na Na sounds like something he could have released alongside his biggest pop hit, the Nicki Minaj-assisted Bottoms Up, in 2010.
Songz blurs the lines between good and bad guy on Smartphones, singing “time is not on our side” in a such a beautiful way, it’s easy to forget that the track is about the singer pocket-dialing his main chick while he’s hanging with his side chick. That’s where he excels — singing sweetly about acting badly — as he demonstrates on Disrespectful featuring Mila J, the sister of up-and-comer Jhene Aiko.
Perhaps a little self-reflection and musical risk-taking would prove he’s bested earlier versions of himself.
“Ain’t you tired of this life, don’t you ever get bored,” Songz quotes his girl asking on the song Y.A.S. Some fans will have to wonder the same.
— Melanie J. Sims
Associated Press