The Elfstones of Shannara

Rating:
Summary: My god, this book is bad.
Review: When I read my first Brooks book The Sword Of Shannara, I chalked up the feeling to my not giving the book a chance; I was annoyed at the stark differences in traditional fantasy races like dwarves and elves (dwarves that are mere inches from a man in height, elves who're lucky to have longer lifespans than humans, etc.) I toughed it out, and discovered several good qualities to the story (if still having to trudge through the underbrush of amateurish writing and blatant "borrowing" from Tolkien). I was even excited from the ending.

Then, for some reason, I bought this.

This book...DEFINES dreck. I actually found myself feeling naieve for thinking his PREVIOUS work was amateurish. Let's face it, Terry Brooks has all the writing skills of a rock. And not even one of the more interesting rocks, either, I'm talking wet sandstone. Occasionally, though, he shows pure imaginative talent, but even that's few and far between in this woofer. The characters, concepts, and halfassed attempt at making a medieval-type mythos are just plain lame. Like all books by Terry Brooks that I've read, he can't resist to slip in a long, drawn out clinic on strategy and battle near the end that (along with boring me to tears) he REALLY shouldn't have put in a book that already had so much against it like this one. It was an exercise in endurance just to finish this book.

If you're around 12 to 13 years old, and are just getting into fantasy, it might be better suited to you. God knows Brooks' writing style is. To anyone who enjoys literative, picturesque, or stylish writing, or maybe just complex, sophisticated suspense in your fantasy like you'll get with Feist; RUN.

You won't even get Brooks' usual "diamond in the rough" good-story-if-you-can-wade-through-the-dreck qualities in this one. If you can endure this book with no trouble, I wonder about you; if you can endure it and read the other books in the series, you're a masochist.

Rating:
Summary: Elfstones of Shannara
Review: This book is truly FANTASIC! I love it and i know that if you read it (which you definately should), then you will think so too. Will and Amberle are faced alone to find their way to Safehold while the terifying reaper chases after... Enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Best by Brooks
Review: Out of all the Terry Brooks' novels, this is my favorite. I feel his potential for plot creation really hit its peak here. His characters were more invlolving on a personal level than ever before. There is just a powerful level of evil and decay in this book. He really shows his ablility to create a tense atmosphere that is almost chilling. If you have good eyesight, I recommend candlelight reading, it just adds to the realism of certain atmospheres. A solid ride from beginning to end, with a wonderful resolution. Not a soft sell at all, and only maginally predictable. The most mature writing that Brooks has ever done. Very strong writing indeed, and in a single volume. With the superabundence of overwhelmingly lengthy series Fantasy writers(you know who you are)here is a great book to read in your downtime while waiting for your next installments.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this one possibly more then Sword
Review: This was a terrific book, one of the best fantasies I've ever read. Terry Brooks is an awesome author. The Reaper was one of the coolest villans I've ever seen in fantasy. Him stalking Wil and Amberle was probably the best part of the book. If you liked Sword, I think you will love this one.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book except for two things:
Review: 1)The ending is really sad (don't let this keep you from enjoying it, though). 2)Goblins, Ogres, and Dragons are not Demons (but who really gives a hoot, huh?).

Rating:
Summary: Great, but a clone of The Sword of Shannara!
Review: I enjoyed most of this book, although I think that it has almost an identical plot outline as that of the Sword of Shannara: Allanon comes, and takes an Ohmsford, he hides his secrets from them, he tells them that only they can save the world, they moan and complain, they do it anyway, the quest, big battle scene, all ends well! But, don't mistake me! I enjoyed the book! If you like his other books you should read this one, for sure! My favorite part in the book is the battlescenes with the demons, and how Allanon uses his nagic to help them. What is great about this book is that it is realitstic, with alot of the 'good-guys' dieing also as well as the 'bad-guys'! I was a bit sad for Par Ohmsford, though, what happended to Amberle at the end! I think he really was in love with her.

Well, that's just my opinion!

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This was one of the greatest ever. Even better than Tolkien! I loved the action and excitement of the quest to reach the bloodfire. It was even better than the Sword of Shannara.

Rating:
Summary: This book is very cool
Review: I loved this book and this it is the best in the series. The epic scale of the battles, the sheer numbers of the forces involved, Stee Jans' heroism, Allonon's power, the Dwarven Sapper's cleverness, and even the Reaper's cold stare made the book a masterpiece of epic preportions.

Rating:
Summary: Another winner from Brooks!
Review: I have just finished reading EOS,and like SOS,I just could not put the book down. Wonderfully realized characters,heart pounding encounters and escapes and a storyline that just flows. The book starts off with a bang and never really lets you down. Each chapter ends with you wanting more. I look forward to reading ALL the Shannara books. Can anyone recommend any other series out there besides Jordan's WOT? My e-mail address is "[e-mail]". By all means get this book and start what appears to be a great series. You won't (hopefully) be dissapointed!

Rating:
Summary: There is no comparison!
Review: I just want to say to those people who are raving fans of Robert Jordan that those books cannot even compare to this. This was the first Brooks book I ever read... me being an all time ultimate fantasy fan... I had been a drooling fan of Tolkien for years, and my Mom picked The Elfstones of Shannara up at a used book sale knowing that I was the fantasy type... I the best book that I ever read. The Characters are extremely well developped as opposed to simply being well described..... there is a difference... The plot is exciting and not drawn out one bit... and in the end of the story there is an actual conclusion, not like in the Eye of the World, in which we don't know any more than we did in the beginning of the story.

Since I read this book, I have had many other fantasy author's recommended to me; Goodkind, Jordan, Eddings... and so on. I have started reading them all and have stopped after the first or second book. All those books are simply hyped and only written for money-making purposes. One of the best things I like about the Elfstones of Shannara is that there is heart behind it, and it is proof that it is not the length of a book that decides how good it is.

I recommend this book a hundred times over for those who like more intelligent type of Fantasy. I garantee that you will like this.