Rating: 
Summary: My First Shannara
Review: First of all, let me just state that I am so incredibly sick and tired of EVERYONE comparing Tolkien to Brooks. Yes, the writings are similar. Brooks has even stated in the past that Tolkien was an inspiration. But, the two are different. There are those that like Tolkien and those that don't. I personally do not. I find his fiction to be boring, drawn out, and highly unpalatable. I'm sorry if this offends some of the Tolkien aficionados out there, but guess what, some people in this world do not share your apparent narrow minded view...HEAVEN FORBID!!!! I had to fight through Fellowship 6 times to eventually finish it. Now, onto The First King. As a prelude, this book was not all that bad. It continued rather well in the same vein as the rest of Brooks' Shannara series. He did an excellent job with staying within the pre-determined guidelines of what he had already hinted at in his other books. Personally, I thought Bremen's end was a little anti-climactic, but that was the author's personal choice. All in all, not too bad of a novel. I the way that he continues to tell a marvelous tale of fantasy and wonder. If you are a fan of the Shannara series, you will like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy at it's best
Review: I absolutely love this book. It is a fantastic prequel to the whole Shannara series and I don't just mean the Shannara trilogy. There are some things that you would see in this book that would come up in things far past like in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series. I've read that Terry Brooks took ideas from LOTR. Alright I admit that some of the ideas are similar to LOTR but Mr.Brooks put his own personal touch into it. I read the Sword of Shannara in 6th grade but I stopped because I couldn't find Elfstones. I started to read Elfstones in 8th grade about half a month ago and I'm already on Isle Witch. First King is one of the few books my brother loves to read. I remember lending the paperback to my English teacher to read she returned and said she was sorry because the cover accidently came off. He threw a fit. Now my English teacher is reading Sword and according to her she now lives and breathes Shannara.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fantasy
Review: I had decided that I wanted to try the "Shannara" series awhile ago after I gave up on it a few years ago. I picked up this book, the prequel to the whole "Shannara" series, "The First King of Shannara." From the first few pages of this superb epic I was drawn in to the lush characters, great world, and interesting plot. The novel has a certain tone to it, one that makes Brooks' writing seem very unique. Brooks tells the story here in an easy to read way that is simple yet seems very complex. Evil is stirring in the world and the Warlock Lord is gathering races to try to take over other races and get the world for himself. When one Druid, Bremen, warns his peers at the castle Paranor about the stirring evil, they don't believe him. Bremen, along with Druids Risca and Tay, Borderman Kinson, and Druid apprentice Mareth, they set out to try and fight the coming evil in the world. Through many exciting battles, magical duels, and suspense you will be on one of the best fantasy rides of your life! Terry Brooks here gives rich characters full of mysticism, wonder, adventure, and fun. All of the characters are original people of many different races. Because of the amount of main characters in the book, about four or so, the reader will be constantly entertained and boredom will never come. Furthermore, the characters in "First King of Shannara" have their weaknesses and their strengths making them believable. For example, the character of Jerle Shannara doesn't think that he is capable of carrying out and appointed task, but as he grows he can prove himself wrong. This is the same with many other characters as well. For fantasy readers that don't like the traditional sword and sorcery fare, then this book may not be for you. This novel has many of the traditional fantasy races, such as goblins, gnomes, trolls, elves, dwarves, you get the picture. This book is also high on magic. This book also has some clichés, such as the Skull Bearers, servants of the Warlock Lord. These creatures are just like the Ringwraiths of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." But then again, most books have borrowed some element from another book, so this didn't bother me too much. For somebody that is looking for an interesting and fun fantasy adventure, "The First King of Shannara" is recommended. I am now looking forward to reading more of Terry Brooks' fantasy novels in the "Shannara" series. Happy Reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Average, Predictable....
Review: I listened to the audio version of Firstling of Shannara, and while I enjoyed the narration, I found the story a little boring and predictable. For some reason the plot just failed to grab me. In the story there are elves. There is a dwarf. There is a druid muttering some mystic mumbo-jumbo. They are out to find/forge the sword of Shannara, and everyone is reluctant. Reluctant to become involved, reluctant to believe, reluctant to wield the sword properly. Reluctant to fall in love. Relationships are passionless and handled poorly. The three major romantic relationships featured in this book are quite dysfunctional. Tay loves Preia, Preiea loves the king Jerle, the King loves Tay's sister who is married, Merrith loves the ranger who is supposed to be 40+ years old? Ech. The only person I actually really liked was Bremen. I felt sorry for him and the pain/sacrifice he bore at times. But the rest of the characters had as much personality as department store mannequins. Look. If a story is going to have romance in it. Make it ROMANTIC. The romances were hasty and very contrived. Not quite up to par with the rest of the books. And what's with all the female character's being called 'girl'? The author refers to Preia as 'the elf girl' and Merrith as the 'druid girl' but the male characters are all called 'men' come on now. These characters are WOMEN. Lets call them such, shall we?
Rating:
Summary: Shows Brooks' improvement after years
Review: I prefered the prequel than the Trilogy he wrote before. Here he manages to include the whole quest in fewer words, whereas The Sword of Shannara, at times it becomes a bit boring. The Fall of Paranor: a very violent attack, described beautifully especially when a heart is brought out of a body because of the victim's stubborness; the Search of the Black Elfstone: in which my favourite character dies (but I'm used to that now!) and the Battle for the Rhenn: the most beautiful battle I ever experienced sitting on a sofa looking at ink on paper; were those fantastic events that put me on the edge of my seat. I also recommend the book to those who would like to see how a small boy and an old druid can destroy an army's plans by one simple action: Druid Fire, in the Battle for the Rhenn. It is a very good fast moving book reflecting here a new type of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I remember from earlier years of my life when Sword of Shannara, and the others of the well known series, were held in high regard and still are. However, if Terry Brooks keeps adding on to his fantasy universe with episodes like First King, the Shannara world will soon be tainted. I am almost discouraged to read the older ones again because First King of Shannara was so badly written and predictable. It ruined almost everything for me. The characters were all mirror images of eachother with different occupations. Race, in this installment at least, made no difference to personality. All Brooks's characters seem to be one size fits all. The magic was over used. If i hear the phrase "druid fire" one more time in my life i will personally burn the book. Such all powerful druids should have a much wider variety of magic then intuition and the all powerful "druid fire." Please, not all of us are fantasy freaks and will take whatever is fed too us. We need orignality, we need surprise. We need to feel like the world is really in peril. The bad guys in this novel were like a really stupid ogre who was saying "uhhhh what do i do next" the whole extent of the tale. I say, stay with the first few Brooks novels and stay away from First King. A waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty craptacular
Review: If you're a fan Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings trilogy you'll certainly love Terry Brooks' First King of Shannara and the other books in the trilogy. The First King of Shannara is probably my favorite Shannara book; it explains the history of the rise of the War Lock Lord, the Druid histories, and the Sword of Shannara - and of course my favorite character Allanon. I couldn't put the book down!
Rating:
Summary: Great book read this review!!!!!!!
Review: In this fabulous book, one of Brooks best, the outcast druid, Bremen learns that the rebel druid Brona, the worlock lord,is building an army to destroy the druids. Bremen then tries to the tell the rest of the druids but they send him out. But a few believe him and decide to go with him. The group then goes to the hadeshorne, aplace where the dead rest, to talk with the dead. The dead give bremen 4 visions. Bremen alone goes back to the druid keep only to find them all dead. Now he and the rest are left to warn the rest of the world and prepare them for what lies ahead. Bremen then goes to work to find the soon-to-be maker of the talisman which will destroy Brona.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshingly intense fantasy novel
Review: This is the first Shannara novel I have read in about 14 years. In that time I was surprised to see how graphic and violent the novel was. Most fantasy books I have read simply gloss over the fact that people die. Brooks makes sure you know that there was a loss and you feel it more. Another refreshing change was one of the main characters dies. I did not want to see the character pass, but it was nice to see that sometimes heroes fail. After being halfway through this book, I started looking at the Shannara series to see which "Trilogy" I should read next and I found out that this book contains a spoiler in reference to the Heritage of Shannnara series. Oops. I guess I will have to just act surprised. All in all I would recommend this book to any fan of fantasy, It was truly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: My First Shannara
Review: This was the first Shannara book I ever read, and it remains one of my favorite books. This novel introduces some really cool characters, like Tay and Risca, as well as one of the best non-valemen/Leah human characters: Kinson Ravenlock. Meeting Jerle Shannara, ancestor of the Ohmsfords and namesake of the series, was also quite amazing. I hope Terry writes another novel set in the early history of the Four Lands to show other members of the Shannara clan and other prominent families.
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