The High Druid of Shannara trilogy is shaping up to be Terry Brooks' darkest series, yet. Tanequil, the middle novel, picks up where Jarka Ruus left us. It begins with PM Sen Dunsidan discovering a new weapon that an inventor has stumbled upon by accident trying to find a new way of harnessing more energy from diapson crystals. And from there, it is all down hill. In the search for the Tanequil, Pen enlists the aid of Kermadec and his trolls. They are defeated after the lost of Ahren Ellesdil. So deeper and deeper in the Northlands they search for the Inkrim, the forest that holds the Tanequil. With some chase scenes thrown in, Brooks keeps the action moving. They find the Tanequil and Pen and Cinnaminson travel into the island that it rests. Communicating with the tree Pen learns that he must give something of himself for a branch from the tree. What he gives up is both painful and heartbreaking. But afterwards it is all to find Grianne. Meanwhile, Shadea a'Ru has usurped the power in Paranor and also found Bek Ohmsford and Rue Meridian and wants to use Bek to find Pen. She knows that the Ohmsfords have a way of winning in the end and she wants to put a stop to it. In the Forbidding, Grianne has been captured by a Strakenlord. He puts her through unspeakable tortures and this is where the book takes its dark turn. She learns that in order for her to be here something from the Forbidding has taken her place in the Four Lands, a creature that must find a way to destroy the barrier between the two demensions. And she finds about the real reason the Strakenlord wants her. In the end everything seems hopeless, but it is the middle book. And like all middle books, it answers some questions but brings up more.
