So I Thought To Myself, ‘Better Not Post Another Book Review Or People Are Going To Start To Hate Me’. And Then I Posted It.

Finally, in the book, Genesis of Shannara by Terry Brooks, the author believes that even when faced with seemingly unassailable pain and darkness, humans will choose to free their inner spirit rather than give in to evil, and he proves this through plot crisis. The climax of the story begins to unfold when a hybrid demon with an insatiable blood-lust tracks down Angel Perez and the group of innocents she is protecting. Angel notices the demons presence, but knows that if she lets the others know as well, she will endanger their lives – instead she chooses to sacrifice herself and convinces them to let her go:

‘No, Kirisin. I have to do this alone. Do as I say. You and your sister go on without me. Do what you came to do.’ He started to object, but saw something in her eyes that stopped him. There was a hard determination reflected that told him she was decided on this… She nodded and turned back down the mountainside toward the clump of boulders they had left earlier. ‘Adios, mi amigo,’ She called to him. ‘Lo siento.’  (Brooks 389)

Angel Perez has struggled with the decision of whether or not her human spirit and the spirit of others is worth fighting for – if there is even a point in battling against such unbalanced odds and evil. But in the end, she has made the decision. She realizes the extreme value of humanity and life itself, and as she says goodbye to Kirisin, she intends to fight for it. She has decided to lay down her life so that others may have one. By dying, she will not have given in to death, but she will have embraced life, and freed her human spirit. Through this plot crisis, Terry Brooks enforces his belief that even after countless struggles and hardships, humans will realize the supreme beauty of life, proving the true vitality of humanity, and proving that the human spirit will always outlast evil. Finally, the plot crisis is concluded in the aftermath of Angel’s valiant fight against the demon hybrid, as she limps, worn and bloodied, through sheer will power alone up the side of the mountain to reach those she was charged with protecting: “She couldn’t see it. Doesn’t matter, she thought. I know it’s there. I know I can find it. I know I must find it. ‘Hold on Kirisin, Simralin,’ she whispered to the wind and the night and the cold. ‘I’m coming.’ Slowly, she began to stagger up the side of the mountain” (Brooks 431). This plot crisis shows how not only did Angel fight with all her strength of spirit against devastating odds and evil, but she also succeeded. Not only did she win the battle; she kept moving forward, towards the brilliant freedom that was within sight, proving Terry Brook’s belief in the iron determination and irrefutable power of the human spirit, and its ability to overcome all evil.