The Elfstones of Shannara

Rating:
Summary: The best book in a 4 book series
Review: This is the sequel to The Sword of Shannara. The Sword of Shannara was such an amazing book that I thought no sequel could meet my expectations of a sequel, that the sequel would be beyond all words plain [bad]compared to the original. Boy, was I wrong.
What sets this apart from the Sword of Shannara is the pacing. The story moves much quicker in this book (thus being about 140 pages shorter or so, I forget). The characters are younger, so their actions are much more appealing to the reader. The dialogue has its share of humor and emotion, and the settings are told with an unsurpassed brilliance. Simply the best in the Shannara series.

Rating:
Summary: Another War...
Review: I realllly liked The Sword Of Shannara but this falls short of what I was expecting. Only around half of the book talked about the main characters and what they were doing. It was very well written and kept me on the edge of the seat, but it took me nearly a month to finish it because I was wondering when it was gonna get back to the war or when it was gonna get back to Amberle and company. It also seemed that time was passing at different rates between the war and the quest. This book had a well-told story, but fell short of the standard set by the Sword.

Rating:
Summary: The Best in the Shannara series
Review: This is comfortably the best in the Shannara series by a considerable margin. As always, the character development is perfect and well crafted. The scenes are elegently described, and when this is combined with an excellent plot this work falls into the small pile of the very best fantasy there is.

I like the protracted battle scenes which give a sense of urgency to the heroes quest. The changing from scene to scene really drives the momentum of the plot. I find the romance, while slightly cliched still adds to the overall excellence of the plot.

While the Shannara series is a series, each book in the first three stand alone, and are only vaguely linked. After all we can't all cope with a 9 volume series (still going strong) like the wheel of time.

Rating:
Summary: MUCH better than Sword!
Review: Okay, so I read the Sword of Shannara for a book report. Nice try, Terry, I thought, but you just don't have it. Just after I finished The Sword of Shannara, I decided to give him another chance. Brilliant idea! Elfstones of Shannara is BEAUTIFUL. How else can I describe it? Wil, Amberle, Ander, Eretria, Stee Jans and the others are simply fantastic. They are each amazingly unique and thought-provoking. You question their motives for the right reason, then find the answer within their personalities. The idea is sparkling. I mean, fantasy plots run out pretty quickly, and I've read plenty of fantasty who's plots are just overused. But Elfstones of Shannara really has a different plot. And the way Brooks portrays the emotions between Wil, Amberle, and Eretria is amazing. You fall in love with the attraction between Wil and Amberle, yet feel pity for Eretria at the same time. I was amazed at how shocked I was when I got to the end--I sat in my chair for a few minutes crying. Unlike in the Sword of Shannara, the character development goes deep. I enjoyed the way he managed to tie familiar characters from Sword of Shannara--Allanon (of course), Flick, Shea, and Eventine--into this new story. The vividness with which every setting is described, from Spire's Reach to the battles of the Elfitch is breathtaking. Very few books I've read have had that impressive descriptive quality. And the aspects of human nature Brooks delves into adds quite a bit without confusing the reader. All in all, one of the best fantasy I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Shannara series - a thriller
Review: I have read the entire series, and the "Elfstones of Shannara" still sticks out in my mind as the best story. Terry Brooks takes a fantasy world and turns it into a thriller. I have never been on the edge of my seat while reading a book.... but I was with "Elfstones of Shannara".

Rating:
Summary: Masterful
Review: Terry Brooks is probably one of the most incredible writers out there. His books seem to come to life. The characters are realistic, he can draw you into their thinking in a remarkable way. He is good at putting interesting twists in his work, he's also not afraid to have a main character die for a cause. I think that adds an element of sadness and realism to the story. He is going on 18 consecutive bestsellers and there's a reason.

Rating:
Summary: A clearly superior sequel
Review: The first book in this series, The Sword of Shannara, was not a good book. In fact, it was a bad book: an obvious rip-off of Tolkien with very little in the way of originality. This book was a nice change of pace. Here, Brooks shows that he can tell a story that is his own. In addition, his writing skills show clear improvement over the first book.

At best, however, this rates a weak four stars. Brooks has not yet matured into a great writer. His characters remain weak: in particular, his villains are almost all rather faceless; the demons in this book are more like a malicious force of nature than true characters. In addition, outside of the few principal heroes, most of the other "good guys" are bland.

There are other little flaws, but the one that stands out is that Brooks is not (yet, at least) a great fantasist. His world lacks the true definition of Tolkien's Middle Earth or Donaldson's Land. Names, for example, seem to be mostly pulled out of a hat, and have little relation to the race of the characters (this was worse in the first book). In addition, considering that this story takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth, Brooks never truly exploits this history.

If I sound overly critical, that is not to take away from the fact that overall, this is a decent story that is reasonably entertaining. It shows Brooks is developing as a writer, even if he isn't there yet. If this maturing continues, he could have great books in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This picks up nicely after Swords of Shannara left off. Brooks has yet to leave me unsatisfied with his many books. All that i can say is, WOW!

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not the best
Review: I find it interesting that many found this to be better than the Sword of Shannara but...to each his own. I actually was a bit turned off by the romantic storyline that wound through this book; I found it distracting from what was actually going on. It was also a bit harder for me to become attached to the lead female character. But, it's certainly an entertaining and worthwhile read, and the series will be enjoyed over and over (I'm on my third read of the whole first and second sets).

Once again Brooks proves his ability to make scenery jump off a page without the use of illustration. A vivid adventure!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Yet
Review: This book was for sure the best of the Shannara series. It has every thing a great fantasy book should have: suspense, action, mystery and a touch of horror and romance. The fighting scenes were great, and so were the romance parts. You will fall in love with Wil, Amberle and Allanon and with many other characters. The ending of the book is very shocking, and it makes most cry from what I've heard. It's a wonderful book, and i suggest picking a copy up.