The Sword of Shannara

Rating:
Summary: If you like it, read the other books...they're even better.
Review: Yes, it is similar to "Lord of the Rings." Yes, it has its boring parts. And if it bugs you that much, DON'T READ IT. You'll only resent spending your time on those 700+ pages. But...if you like this book even a tiny bit, don't give up. It gets better as it goes, and the same is true for the series. Come on, remember this is Mr. Brooks' first book! His others are engaging and more original than this one. I agree with other reviewers who named "Elfstones" and "Druid" among their favorites -- I also liked "Elf Queen." But be warned: they are all really long, and if you get sucked into Brooks' world you'll spend more hours than you planned trying to finish just one more chapter...well, maybe two........

Rating:
Summary: awsome story!
Review: For all of you who think that this book is too long and drawn out you must have the attention span of a 2 year old. I'm only 13, and I just wish there was more detail so that I could have been able to spend more time reading it. The whole point of the descriptions is to let you feel like you're there. And as far as the rip-off thing is concerned, I've never read anything by Tolkein, but I don't see how his plot could get any better than what this is. I mean, how original is a sorceror? Not very. They have those in disney movies. But I've never saw a druid on tv yet.

About the book itself, it was great. I read it in 2 weeks. That's faster than any other book I've ever read that was near that many pages. And every page was worth it. I particularly liked the character of Balinor. He was definetly my fav. I also liked Menion Leah. I find myself wanting to go out into a woods with a sword, an ash bow, and a pack of supplies and just going out on a quest of some kind. This book drew me in that much! I don't see how anyone could possibly give it anything less than 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Follows Tolkein's template, but has its own feel
Review: Although this book's plot and characters are practically identical to those of 'Lord of the Rings', it's less a rip-off than a rehashing, in the way Star Wars was rehashing westerns and classic Japanese cinema, and the writing style is completely different. The book paves the way for an excellent and superior sequel ('Elfstones of Shannara').

Rating:
Summary: Limp as overcooked pasta
Review: Yes, this is pastiche Lord of the Rings. No, it is not done well. The characters are stereotypical cardboard, and the sense of wonder is lost. It's perhaps a plausible poolside book--light, quick, but for me it lacks the heroic grandeur of a true saga. It is one of only three books in my life (out of thousands) that I could not finish.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book Ever!! A Must Read for any Fantasy Fan!!!
Review: This book was one of the first novels I ever read, and it was the first fantasy one I ever read, and it grabed me and pulled me in from the begining. I couldn't put this book down. Terry Brooks is possibly the best writer ever. I loved all the characters in the book, my favorite was the Druid Allanon, and I loved how smoothly the book was written, everything flowed together. This book also kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what would happen next. This is a really enjoyable book, and a must read for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: It is a captivating book.
Review: I thought this book was the best book ever and I'm not even done!! He takes all the classic elements of fantasy and molds them into his own world. It doesn't start out slow like many books, it grabs you right away and keeps you there. This is truly a masterpiece. I would say they should make it into a movie but they wouldn't be able to capture all the enchantment this book has.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Journey into the Land of Fantasy!
Review: Terry Brooks has created a masterpiece with The Sword of Shannara! I actually was able to become a character in the story!! Kudos to one of the most adventurous fantasy stories!

Rating:
Summary: Too much hype on this book...
Review: I haven't read any of Tolkien's books before so my reason for the low rating has nothing to do with it being a rip-off or whatever. I thought that this book was just pretty bad. The plot seemed lame and very generic. The characters were annoying. Shea is hardly a hero, even if he's portrayed as a reluctant one. Allanon is droll and Flick is just plain annoying. Half this book is filled with drawn-out descriptions of backgrounds. While some books make such descriptions readable (The Dragonlance Trilogy is good at this), I ended up skipping a lot of paragraphs and pages in this book. This is just one of those books where I was forced to finish it.

Rating:
Summary: This book was great!
Review: I have read all the books of the Tolkien series and did not want to read these cause I heard that it was just a copy from Tolkien's book. But im glad that I did. This book was one of the greatest books I've ever read and is probably my favorite fantasy book. I read the first one in a week and and the start of summer I read the rest of the series. It was great and I recommend the whole series to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fantasy
Review: I recieved this book as a gift, and after finally getting around to reading it I couldn't put it down. I had finished it in two days. Not since Tolkien had I read such excellent fantasy. The plot is captivating, the world is fantastic, the characters are memorable. After finishing, I have purchased all 6 of the other Shannara books. Excellent, recommended to all who actually bother to read this review among the hundreds of others.