Book Review: "The First Druids of Shannara: Galaphile"

Terry Brooks is in fine form in his newest book, which focuses on one of the most famous Druids in his sprawling legendarium.

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Warning: Full spoilers for the book follow.

I’ve been a fan of Terry Brooks for literally decades, ever since my mother introduced me to The Sword of Shannara when I was in middle school. Since then I’ve devoured every book he’s written. However, with the exception of The Word and the Void trilogy, my heart has always been with Shannara, both because it’s epic fantasy (one of my favorite genres) and because Brooks is always at his strongest in the world in which he began his career. Like many others, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the time when he would at last explore the origins of the Druids and, at long last, that time is here.

Longtime fans of the books know that there are few historical figures more important than Galaphile, the Elf who brought the Druid Order into being. Faced with a world that was consumed by conflict and warfare, he wanted to save the knowledge of the Old World and so gathered together those of like mind, providing stability when the Four Lands needed it most. For the past several decades he has been largely a shadowy figure in the Shannara mythos, referred to by other characters, and at one point, appearing from the midst of the strange, otherworldly lake known as the Hadeshorn.

In the aptly titled Galaphile, he takes center stage and, with some exceptions, most of the book is told from his point of view. Having lost his parents at a young age, he is used to seeing the cruelty and brutality of the world but, thanks to a timely encounter with a local warlord, leaves his home and sets out on a path to try to create something new. As he proceeds, he finds that this is a very tall order indeed but, thanks to the presence of characters like Cogline and the King of the Silver River–both individuals that have a very hallowed place in Brooks’ lore–he makes the first steps toward creating the Druid Order and the imposing fortress of Paranor. Along the way he meets both the love of his life, Narianne, as well as an implacable enemy in the creature known as the Spectre Telle.

The world that we encounter in this book is one that is still recovering from the ravages inflicted by the Great Wars, a titanic conflict that brought an end to our world and brought another into being. After Galaphile is drawn out of his small village by a powerful warlord, he continually finds that the Four Lands are essentially the kind of world that Hobbes described, in which life is often nasty, brutish, and short. He finds this out the hard way when everyone that he has come to care about is slaughtered by a rival band, leaving him to pick up the pieces of his life and start anew.

Like much of Brooks’ recent work, Galaphile is quite fast-paced, whisking us from his adolescence into young adulthood with rather head-spinning swiftness. Soon enough, Galaphile is undertaking training under the guidance of Cogline, an old man with mysterious powers who is unforgiving when it comes to making sure that his young charge has mastered the arts he needs to survive. It’s a bit ambiguous as to whether this is the same Cogline who will play such a key role in the lives of several other characters in this long-running saga but, if he is, it’s really quite extraordinary that was able to live so many years. Either way, it’s always fun to see this character and his beloved cats also make an appearance, as do some sinister lions who prove invaluable to the defense of Paranor once it comes under attack by the Spectre Telle and his undead legions.

While Galaphile is honing his craft and building the fortress that will become known as Paranor, the man fated to become his enemy is following a parallel but very different track. The creature who will become known as the Spectre Telle starts off as a Man, but one who yearns to have power. Once he encounters the Ildatch, however, he is totally lost, as that malevolent tome sinks its claws into him, bending his mind to its own sinister will and using him as the agent of its corruption.

We’ve seen a lot of the Ildatch over the years, starting in Wishsong of Shannara, in which it was revealed to have been the animating genius behind the Warlock Lord. Its presence in the story not only creates the villain who comes perilously close to destroying Galaphile’s refuge; it also reminds him that there are many magical objects from the Old World that shouldn’t be allowed to just sit around waiting for someone to take them. In the years to come Druids will make reclaiming and housing such objects a key part of their mission.

And how about that ending? The book ends with Galaphile and Narianne talking about the child that is even now growing inside of her. This is, of course, a cause of great celebration for the both of them, but there is unease, too, since the child might have been influenced by the malevolent Spectre Telle, who kept Narianne imprisoned and managed to infect her mind. Brooks fans know that this child, Brona, will have a legacy just as important as his father’s. Like the Spectre Telle, he will feel the chilling siren song of the Ildatch and wander down dark and terrible paths, until he becomes the scourge of all of the Four Lands and the people that dwell in them. With this twist, Brooks masterfully reminds us that even the most evil among us rarely start that way.

Indeed, like the best of Brooks’ works, Galaphile grapples with some pretty big philosophical questions. Is it really possible, when it comes down to it, to rebuild a world that has been so catastrophically broken? How does one escape from the cycle of never ending violence to build something new when the odds are so tremendously stacked against you? Time and again Galaphile manages to overcome obstructions that would destroy a lesser Elf, and the same is true of Narianne. She might lack the ability to wield magic, but she is still a pretty badass heroine in her own right, and she proves to be just the kind of person that Galaphile needs in his life.

There’s something bittersweet about Galaphile. Shortly after its publication, Brooks announced that he was going to be partially retiring from the series, with Delilah Dawson taking on co-writing duties. Obviously this is understandable, since he’s now over 80 and no doubt wants to enjoy his life without having to write at least a book a year. At the same time, I can’t help but feel just a bit sad that he won’t be fully in charge of this universe that has done so much to develop and craft over the decades. Brooks was one of those who helped me to fall in love with fantasy, and his influence on the genre is truly immeasurable. Still, if Dawson is good enough to have earned the praise of a talent like Brooks, then I’m absolutely sure that she’ll continue to deliver the kind of high-quality fiction we expect.

On the bright side, this also means that we’re going to be seeing more Shannara books in the world. Given the extent to which this world remains one of the most beloved and immersive in the world of epic fantasy, that’s a very good thing indeed.