Rating: 
Summary: Great Book! But....
Review: I know some people will think me crazy, but I gave this book a five star rating. I loved the whole story, and if you ask me, it is a much more easier, more understandable version of "The Lord of the Rings", and it is very hard to tell which version I like better. But I believe Terry Brooks is as talented of an author as JR Tolkien, only he needs some more individuality. I loved JR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I loved this masterpiece of a story. It really is a good book, and I enjoyed reading it greatly. Who knows? Maybe you will too. Just try to not mind the fact of the similarity between the Lord of the Rings.
Rating: 
Summary: Still a Candidate for "The Worst Book I Have Ever Read"
Review: Much is made of the fact that "The Sword of Shannara" was the first sci-fi book on the NY Times Bestseller list, which is actually just a sad comment on the state of sf in the seventies. This book is still one of the worst I have ever read. How awful is it? Let us count the ways.1. It's overlong--the only thing that kept me going in many parts was a morbid curiosity to find out how much torture I could endure.
2. It's derivative--Brooks clearly read The Lord of the Rings a couple of times and never got around to imagining something original.
3. The characters are undeveloped sterotypes, and boring stereotypes at that. I could go on, but I'll spare us. Suffice it to say that this book remains one of the worst examples of why sci-fi and fantasy are looked down upon by literary circles, and that it was one of the worst wastes of money in my life. The fact that Brooks clearly belives he is God's gift to sci-fi, and that he refuses to write anything but more and more derivative versions of this first book (which all become bestsellers), I shall simply pass over in outraged silence. In conclusion, my advice to all would-be readers of this book, or any other Terry Brooks opus, is to go reread Tolkien--why read an imitator when the original is so much better?
Rating:
Summary: Hello... Mr. Brooks?
Review: Hello... Mr. Brooks? John Tolkien here. Look, I'm really rather tired of spinning in my grave and would greatly appreciate it if you would donate the profits from this little stunt of yours to charity, preferably a literacy programme of some sort. Perhaps then I might be able to rest comfortably in spite the abuse you have so richly heaped upon my life's work. Thanks ever so much.
Rating:
Summary: NOT just any Tolkien clone
Review: Although many may say that this book is a complete clone of LOTR, I will disagree with them. The world in which it is based in is nothing like Middle-earth. The tolkien series is the mythology that he created for the UK. The Four Lands is set in the distant future were war has changed the world and something has gone wrong and magic was created with in humans(note humans are not just the Race of Men, they also include, dwarves, trolls and gnomes). So in many ways Shannara is more Science fiction than fantasy. I really enjoyed this book, especially Brooks's alternative to Robin Hood and Little John(Panamon Creel and Kelset). And if you think about it all modern fantasy books are clones of tolkien because they all grew up with and loved tolkien. As the original jacket for the book says this is a great follow up for the tolkien mythologies.
Rating: 
Summary: The First in a Series
Review: The book is pretty good, the only thing was that it sounded so much like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, right down to seven original members in the group. They've got elves, dwarves, a mysterious mage, and two scared but determined young men on which the fate of the races rests upon. They eventually end up separated, some of them go to face the approaching war while the other goes to deliver the ring, or recover the sword in this case, while the mage comes and goes as he wishes, revealing what he wishes of the whole picture. Aside from the echoes of other books in it, it was not a bad book, i liked the second one better, though.
Rating:
Summary: The Sword of Shannara
Review: This is a great tale about an adopted young man who lives in the quiet town of Shady Vale. One day a cloaked wanderer -- Allanon -- comes to tell this man, Shea, that he is half elf and that he must use the legendary Sword of Shannara to defeat the evil Warlock Lord. So the quest begins... Though he did highly resemble Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' Series, it was still a great read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys James Clemens, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne Bishop, Diane Duane, Susan Cooper, and Robin McKinley.
Rating: 
Summary: TEDIOUS, tedious Reading!
Review: Epic-schmepic!!! I rated this 2 stars because it isn't the worst book of all time. Some elements are good. I love all the fantasy and I think all the things in the beginning of the book about great wars, capitalism, etc. that took the earth back several hundred years in terms of civilization are a good lesson. But, beyond that, I would be reading for several minutes and realize that I hadn't even absorbed anything from the last several paragraphs. My mind kept wandering and I actually fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon reading it! This was after a full night's sleep and a relatively calm day! The descriptions go ON and ON FOREVER without getting anywhere!!! He describes the sun, the moon, the stillness, a walk on a path; Brooks rambles on and on and I had to keep skipping ahead to get to any dialogue or change in the plot. We really don't find out much about the main character's history in the beginning, it just starts out as if we already have known them all our lives. I guess I was just spoiled for incredibly descriptive books by reading works by Robin McKinley. Her books may not be all action but the descriptions give you a vivid picture of what is going on and provide a lot of insight into the characters and the plot. Brooks' descriptions are just a whole lot of nothing! For example, the description of Menion's city goes something like this (in my own words): It was a big city, but not as big as the cities in the South (blah, blah, blah) but it was bigger than the village that they came from which was really tiny compared to the Southern cities... EEK!! How can anyone stand it??? And the characters' moods are so weird! For example, Flick is a sniveling wimp afraid of his own shadow, scared to death of Allanon! Allanon has an outrageous temper, even for a person who is bipolar, which he seems to be the epitomy of!!! Shea is dense, he can't understand anything from any other person's perspective and his sense of humor is just odd. I just COULD NOT bring myself to finish the book. And really, I'm the kind of person who can read a large book in 3-4 days and can hardly stand not knowing what is going to happen at the end. I DEVOUR all types of books and race on so that I know how it all turns out. Sword of Shannara just didn't do it for me. All in all, I was very glad to see one reviewer's opinion that these books are cr*p next to the Lord of the Rings series. Thank God for that! The LOTR trilogy is so fantastic! The Shannara series is just a poor imitation! I read the LOTR books in a matter of days and was wishing at the end that there were more! And believe me, they're long books. And although descriptive, not in a boring or redundant way! They give you the story, the background, the personalities of the characters. And the stories about the people, elves, kings, etc. of old are great too! The history of Middle Earth is fantastic! It connects so well to the story line of LOTR and helps understanding. Truly, they are epics of any time with believable characters and a plot that will suck you in and keep you on your toes until the end! Gandalf is the REAL wizard, not bipolar at all! The plot of the sword of Shannara did seem to be a copy of Tolkien. I have seen all three movies many times and read all books of LOTR, Sword of Shannara CAN NOT compare! Really, just a rambling, cheap version. Same dark hooded creatures as in LOTR, same sort of winged hunter as in The Two Towers, same kind of landscape with great unknown marshes beyond, same plot about the pair of guys running for safety from their village, etc. Take my advice, read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy instead of This Shannara series. You'll thank me later!
Rating:
Summary: A fine novel.
Review: Though this novel is absolutely great,I would have rated it four and one half stars if there was such a rating for one reason:Though the writing is great,it still does not show the quality of First King of Shannara,due to the fact that this is his first novel.But otherwise I love this book.It's plot is emersing,the story is gripping,and the magic is absolutely wonderful.I have come to believe that magic is where Terry's true talent lies.
The simple Shea Ohmsford in Shady Vale is bestowed with some unpleasant news:The Warlock Lord has risen again and he ,Shea is the only living person who can wield the weapon that can destroy him ,the Sword of Shannara.He soon lauches into an unforgettable quest to find the Sword.
Rating:
Summary: A bad Carbon Copy
Review: I read it in the hopes that it would open the doors to a new world of fantasy.
I cannot express the disapointment I felt at every page.
It is 100% true that this is a Lord of the Rings bad copy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much new, but still good
Review: It seems a lot of people think that Sword of Shannara is a Tolkien ripoff. To an extent this is true, but then again what fantasy literature isn't? In my opinion, author Terry Brooks has crafted a fine adventure that is unique enough to be a story of its own, yet retains the adventurous flavor that makes novels like Lord of the Rings so good. That said, there are some uncanny similarities between Sword and Lord of the Rings- an ageless wise man that smacks of Gandalf, a rather hapless pair of protagonists, a powerful magical artifact that everything hinges on, a big dark bad guy that runs the evil show, and even an exiled royal (he's not a ranger, though). The general ideas are similar, but the characters are quite unique and well developed. Also, although the plot is a long journey into doom that looks a lot like that in LOTR, it's still fun enough that anyone should enjoy reading it. Terry Brooks has a gift for artfully describing things without sounding childlike- something that Tolkien (intentionally) lapses into from time to time. Also, keep in mind that this is just the first novel in a long series, so one can't just conclude from reading it that Brooks is a copycat. His underlying world is wholly unique in that the archetypal races- elves, dwarves, gnomes, and the like- live in a post-apocalyptic world that could very well be our own. I would say that the most telling lack in this novel, and one that Brooks himself has acknowledged, is the lack of female roles. There is precisely one female character in the book, and she is little more than a prop that seems to have been added as an afterthought. Additionally, Shea Ohmsford isn't a very likable protagonist- I personally thought he was quite stupid and cowardly, despite Brooks' attempts to affirm otherwise. Additionally, Allanon seems awfully impatient for such an old man and some of his reasoning is a bit twisted. I can't say more on this without revealing the plot, but suffice to say many readers have been similarly perplexed. Although it may borrow a lot of ideas from Tolkien, it is unfair to simply write Sword of Shannara off as a knockoff. Terry Brooks has done a fine job and crafted an adventure that is a classic in itself, and if you can keep from continuously making comparisons to Lord of the Rings, you will find it just as enjoyable.
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