Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Fantasy
Review: Brooks is, simply put, the best fantasy writer since J.R.R. Tolkien coined the word. This first book of his does bear a strong resemblance to The Lord of the Rings, but is still excellent reading. The rest of the Shannara series are less like Tolkien's work, and also excellent. His other books, like Running with the Demon, and the Magic Kingdom for Sale novels are also well written and a great read. You can't put these books down, they're that good. I eagerly await his next book, which is more Shannara. I loved this book, and all of Brooks's work. He is one of the best, if not the best, author alive today.
Rating: 
Summary: A Slow Start For A Great Series
Review: I am a big Terry Brooks fan, and have read his entire Shannara series from the recent First King prequel on up to the Scions of Shannara trilogy. But the very first book that started it all, "The Sword of Shannara", had always eluded me until just recently. To be blunt, after the long wait, I found it to be a little disappointing. It felt too much like a Tolkein ripoff to me, and was more amateurish than I'm used too. Terry Brooks has clearly matured since his first outing. Overall, it's a relatively nice book. But I reccomend starting with the superior First King prequel which sets the whole story up before plowing through this book and heading onto the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy the subtle humor!
Review: This book is one of the best books I've ever read. It has extremely good humor in an unconventional way, and a frighteningly realistic prediction of the future of humankind. One insight I really enjoyed is that everything that humans invent work towards two seemingly opposite purposes; "finding a better way to live or a quicker way to kill" A funny part I enjoyed is when Flick dresses up as a gnome and tries to rescue Eventine and it ends up with Eventine rescuing the inept Flick when he stumbles straight into a party of unarmed gnomes. One thing I don't like about the characters is how they are so unwilling to trust Allanon when he saves all their lives many times. And obviously what he chose to do with the information he knew was the best choice since they defeated the Warlock Lord in the end. Be sure to read this book along with books by authors Robert Jordan, Tolkien, J.K. Rowlings, and David Eddings.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully
Review: My friend had read the whole series, so after I finished Potter and the Hobbit, I was thirtsting for more fantasy. My friend looked at me smiling and gave me an old copy of this book, I sat down and read the first page, and I suddenly knew why he was smiling; this was going to be a lot of fun to read. I read the amazing story of Allanon, Shea, Flick and their friends. Though it may be a bit of a "formula" book, it has verve, and flair. Unlike some other books, it wasn't a recognizable formula, where I am predicting what will happen on the next page...it takes unexpected turns and dips to make you feel as if you have just climbed off Space Mountain after you stop reading. A wonderful reading expierience, an amazing book filled with excitment and wonder. A good present for Fantasy loving, friends or family members.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantasy at its most...
Review: average.Brooks gets a C for style, a C for plot, a C for storytelling ability, an A for effort, and an A for lacking in originality. No, it's not plagiarism, just as something that has feathers, that waddles, and quacks isn't a duck. Mind you, originality in this genre is hard to come by. (I can't really grant it the grandiloquent "oeuvre" title. Principally because I'm not sure how to spell it, and my Chambers dictionary isn't within reach.) Brokks has written a couple of decent books: I enjoyed Running With Demons (? - I may have the title slightly wrong)but if you like good fantasy, leave this one alone. It will enrage you.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not great
Review: (More precisely, I give this three and a half stars, but I liked it enough, as casual reading, to round up rather than down.) I discovered Terry Brooks when I was young, but after I had already fallen in love with Tolkien, Le Guin, and McKillip. That previous experience perhaps kept me from appreciating "The Sword of Shannara" the way many other readers did. It was not a revelation to me. I enjoyed the book, but not excessively, was certainly able to put it down at various points, and never cared to reread more than a few passages. "Sword" follows Shea Ohmsford, the only person who can wield the magical Sword of Shannara (Shannara is a person, not a place, incidentally) and thus defeat the evil Warlock Lord who threatens the four lands of the known world. The sword's powers are not quite what one expects -- a nice surprise, given that the story is otherwise a fairly standard epic quest. The large cast includes the usual characters, such as a faithful friend (Flick) and a mysterious stranger who is magical, wise, and somewhat inscrutable (the druid Allanon). The tone is serious -- after all, the fate of the world is at stake -- which prevents the book from being as enjoyable as pure entertainment as it might be. Instead, it reaches for depth and message; it does not quite succeed. I liked the idea behind the sword, and enjoyed the hints that the four lands exist in our own distant future, after a catastrophe devastated the world and recreated magic. I found Allanon intriguing and somewhat compelling; he seemed the most real of the characters, most of whom, unfortunately, never quite rise from the page. However, while entertaining, and of better quality than much of what passes for serious fantasy, "Sword" lacks the depth and true magic evoked by the best and most original works. It does not transcend the genre.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book!
Review: This book is great! I had heard a lot of good things about this book series and I couldnt put down "First King" so I figured this one would be just as good. Sure enough, it was better! The plot line is so riviting from the begining when Flick meets Allanon and sees the Skull Bearer to when Shea fights the Warlock King. The characters are so well devloped and thought out. The plot twists and turns all over the place and you never know what is going to happen next. Its a great book! By the way, see my reviews for the other books in the series here on amazon.com. :) Thanks for writing such good stories Mr. Brooks. Keep spinning these wonderful yarns.
Rating:
Summary: A Near Classic Fantasy, But Not Original
Review: The Sword of Shannara is a true heroic quest, a high fantasynovel with a somewhat rustic feel that adds to its charm. It's anolder veteran of the genre, though obviously Brooks owes much toJ.R.R. Tolkien. In fact, he owes his entire writing career, as far asthe Shannara books are concerned, to Tolkien, and there's no gettingaround that fact. But that doesn't mean that even a Tolkien zealotlike myself cannot enjoy this novel. The plot is trite butsimplistic fantasy fare. There's this Big Bad Guy (Brona, WarlockLord), and there's this magic sword that is the only thing that candefeat him. Then there's this naive half-Elven farmboy, see, and he'sthe only one who can use the sword against the Warlock Lord and, thus,save the Four Lands from total destruction. With the aid of the druidAllanon (a darker replacement for Gandalf, apparently), a few archerElves, surly Dwarves, warriors, rogues, and. . . well, Trolls aswell. Oh, and there's the Skull Bearers, the minions of the WarlockLord who seek out the half-Elven hero with evil intent (Nazgul,anyone?). As I said, trite, but it is, in my opinion, one of themost entertaining Tolkien clones ever written. If you're a fan oftraditional, Tolkien-esque fantasy, this may be for you.
Rating:
Summary: Still the best work of Brooks
Review: While the comparisons of many fantasy writers to the greats (especially Tolkien) are overdone and all too common, in this work, Terry Brooks brought out a new land entirely of his own creation that is stands up to the highest standards of fantasy writing. Brooks was not content to make up just another physical realm with the usual monsters and humanoid characters. he set out to define his work by its approach to magic, on not only of awe and power, but of danger and the potential of this alien power to consume and destroy the individual who uses it. Brooks doesn't merely string the reader along as he introduces his world- he flavors his work by drawing upon all-too-real fears and emotions which any person can understand. While some of the other books in the Shannara series may become repetitive, this novel is a fine and creative work on its own.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read.
Review: I know I am just 13,but I have read a whole lot of books.Once I read 5,000 pages in a month,2,000 in a day and 60 in 10 minutes.I have read all the Shannarra and Landover books(with the exception of Isle Witch which is too expensive)and this is the best by far.It is 726 pages of adventure after adventure culminating in a showdown between Shea and the Warlock Lord.It has a lack of love junk to mess things up. P.S.Don't bother with The Elfstones of Shannarra or The Wishsong of Shannarra
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