The Measure of the Magic by Terry Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Take the staff.

Those words haunt Panterra Qu at the end of Bearers of the Black Staff. Alone, surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, and doubtful, Panterra finds it within himself to take up the black staff from the fallen Sider Ament. Faced with the task of learning how to use the staff to save his people, Panterra travels from his village to the Elves to the outside of the valley to seek out and eliminate the threats that close upon the Hawk’s heirs.

Meanwhile, Prue Liss is far from safe at home. Trapped in the ruins of Deladion Inch’s hideout, Prue finds herself not only a target for the trolls outside, but also for the ragpicker, a demon hunting the black staff. In her desperation to return to and help Panterra, she makes a bargain with a reoccurring Shannara character, and gives up more than she bargained for.

Picking up where Bearers ended, The Measure of the Magic concludes the duology of the Legends of Shannara in true Brooks-fashion: innocent youth struggling to cope with and rise above challenges that the unbelieving adults cannot surmount. The characters of Pan and Prue are finely crafted, bringing them to light in a way the reader grips the pages and can’t let go.