Rating: 
Summary: Well . . . It's better than the Sword of Shannara
Review: Brooks is not an epic writer, at least not that I can see so far. The Sword of Shannara copied dozens of elements from the Lord of the Rings series. But, he doesn't have the way with words that Tolkien did, he rambles, his characters are naive and then all-knowing from page to page, it's jumbled. I mean, in this book, Allanon hasn't given these people any reason not to trust him but still, after all that he and Flick went through in Sword, Flick still doesn't like him! When Allanon dove into the furnace with the Skull Bearer in Sword, Flick was sure the quest was over and the Four Lands would be destroyed, and he trusts him again when he went under cover in the Gnome army. But in this book, it's like all the progress that they made in friendship never happened!
And as for the stolen elements, Allanon never ages (just like Gandalf). Allanon falls into fire with a Skull Bearer, just like Gandalf is taken down into the mines by the fiery Balrog. There is a white tree that protects the Elves, just like the White tree in Minas Tirith protected the city! Allanon takes a horse from Eventine's stables (Artaq) that is wild and unwieldy but behaves perfectly for Allanon: Just like Shadowfax was a wild and unwieldy horse from Rohan that Gandalf borrowed from Theodin and was able to ride without a saddle or bridle. Also, there are people who want nothing to do with the war in this book, thinking it will leave them alone while the main characters try to convince them that evil stops for no one. This same element is in the Lord of the Rings books, which were written 20-some years before the Shannara books! Heck, these even have maps of the countries (which are similar in geography to Middle Earth) in the front! COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!But what is really annoying is how disconnected the characters are, Allanon is not really liked by anyone, Flick hasn't changed in 50 years, his grand-nephew Wil can't seem to keep his mind straight. In the Lord of the Rings, at least the characters are likeable and are good, trusting friends to each other! We see alliances between factions long separated. But in this case, everyone seems mistrustful of each other! And Amberle is totally unbelievable. She is small, scared, childish and doubtful one second, then outspoken, very adult and bossy in the blink of an eye. Just like Allanon's tempers. The characters are unbelievable and inconsistent. I maintain my opinion in my review of the Sword of Shannara, read the Lord of the Rings books (which I have read and adore!) and leave these alone. I have read two of the three Shannara books and they are a bad immitation! Also, the Wheel of Time series and the Sword of Truth series sound like copies of each other and the Terry Brooks' books. This type of fantasy has become an overused genre, nothing is original anymore! And, the reading is tedious. The characters are unbelievable, naive, stereotyped and the battles and character reactions have been done so many times by so many people that they are simply boring! It's ALWAYS an epic battle against a dark force and certain people have to go on a hopeless quest to save all life and must learn to use or conquer an object of power. I'm SICK and TIRED of unoriginal, tired, tedious, dragging, poorly-written fantasy! Tolkien did it first, he did it right and others such as Robin McKinley have done a great job using other types of fantasy. So please, fantasy authors, QUIT DOING THE SAME THING ALL OVER AGAIN! However, I will continue to read Terry Brooks books in the hopes that there is something better (and since I already bought some). I will give him a break since the Sword of Shannara was his first book, I have heard that the Heritage of Shannara series is a lot better, probably because he was further into his writing career. First and second novels don't need to sound so inexperienced though! Did Brooks learn nothing from the books he read???
Rating: 
Summary: BEST BOOK YET!
Review: I am a big Terry brooks fan. I love his style of writing and his character development. many people say that Terry Brooks is a copy of Tolkien. Which I think is absolutly not true. If someone compares like that they obviously have no idea what they are talking about.
Elfstones of Shannara I think Is my favorite book he has written and one of my favorite books of all time. I thought it was absolutly wonderful!
When Amberle does the transformation I cried.I have never cried over a book before but I wept like a baby. I would read this book again and again.
.........and again! ^_^
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of epic fantasy
Review: I first read Sword of Shannara and it took some time and some re-reads to be hooked. This book was different. Both Sword and Elfstones continue a series of themes that can best be explained as, "Use your brain and not your sword," and "The weak can be powerful if they are determined and principled". Brooks' characters are forced to confront themselves BEFORE they can effectively solve their problems. I have always loved this psychological addition to the genre and Brooks does it better than anybody. However, the density of this task often bores people. I don't think Elfstones had this problem. While Elfstones has the above themes, it also is highly successful as an exciting, page turning (no, page ripping) flight of fear and desperation. Any Brooks fan is likely to tell you this is his finest work. It is a rare book that can give you the depth of character and boiling action to satisfy both branches of our fantasy-fan brethren. While I hold Tolien on a different plane, Elfstones is perhaps the book that most -approaches- the level of excitement and depth of the Lord of the Rings. And in addition, it is much less derivative than other books (but some derivation is unavoidable). Here is my advice: Read the Sword of Shannara first. It is the best introduction to this world written and should not be avoided. But while you are reading Sword keep this in mind - all the work will pay off in that a ripping adventure is waiting for the informed in the form of Elfstones. It is an adventure that will make your heart beat, make your hair raise, and ultimatley make you cry. So deeply did I care for the two main characters that at the end I had trouble accepting it, though I knew there was no other solution within the principles of the actors. Yes, I mourned a bit.
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