I read and reviewed each of the four volumes of this series separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The rating for the collection is an average of the individual entries - all volumes were rated two stars, apart from The Elf Queen of Shannara which gained three by virtue of improved pacing and character.

Honestly, though there are some interesting bits of invention in here I found the series as a whole just too damn long. If it had been tightened up by cutting each volume down to half their final length I think it would have improved out of sight. Especially as most of the extra material seems to be repetitive angst from most of the characters. Alright, so that probably doesn't take up 200 pages a pop but it very often felt like it. Spent a lot of my reading time wanting to give the main culprits a good boot up the backside and a sharp lecture about shutting up and getting on with it. (When, in the final volume, Morgan Leah bellowed at his idiot companions to actually "Move!" it was the greatest moment of sympathy I felt for any character at any time in the series. Say what you will about the Leahs, they're rarely sulkers.)