The Sword of Shannara

Rating:
Summary: What was wrong with this book?
Review: What was wrong with this book? Terry Brooks writes beautifully, but I came to find, after about page 30, that this book was yet another LOTR spinoff. By page 50, I could match off all the characters with their LOTR counterparts. The action was highly predictable. Brooks, in trying to imitate Tolkein, only reproduced his worst components (King James Bible Language, Taking FOREVER to get the story going, and generally lengthiness) and couldn't even BEGIN to recreate the better parts of Tolkein. For example, originality. I can read Eragon, and only get a little irritated when Paolini steals from Anne McCaffrey, Tolkein, and almost every other fantasy writer on the face of the planet all in a single chapter, while sounding like he came straight off fanfiction.net - but the massive inoriginality of Sword of Shannara was simply nauseating. Tolkein must be rolling in his grave, wondering how Terry Brooks CONTRIVED to mutilate his story in such a manner.

The book is simply disgusting. Don't read it.


Rating:
Summary: Terry Brooks takes us on a world wind adventure
Review: While quite sometime since I read the first book written by Terry Brooks (almost 10 years ago) I feel a perspective of someone who read it and enjoyed it should be viewed. Terry Brooks weaves a tale with dwarves, elves, trolls, gnomes and other creatures that we all know and heard about but gives them a twist in a direction that is not commonly seen i.e. every elf is an archer or ever Troll is an ugly unthinking brute. No this tale speaks of a time in the place of the four lands in great turmoil for the dreaded Warlock Lord spirit has risen anew and intends to rule the lands forever. The Druid Allanon last surviving member of the once great and often viwed as fearful order of Druids is in search of the last in the bloodline of the family of Shannara. For they alone can weild the single weapon that can destroy the Warlock Lord forever...the sword of Shannara. A weapon forged by the druids in the time of the Warlock Lord first attempt to rule the lands and was stopped. Allanon finds that last member a young boy called Shea Ohmsford a young man whose life will be forever changed when the arrival of a Shadowen searching for him. This novel is truly one for the ages and should be read by everyone. I know in a post J.R.R Tolken where his books were made into movies people seem to be reading this sort of thing now. However when I read it only a select few had and really enjoyed themselves. So if anything take the time to read a series that has over 11 books in an on going series.

Rating:
Summary: sword of shannara
Review: If you have read both this book and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, you may notice certain paralels: same descriptions, /quest etc...

If you want a truly original book, this is not it.
I was appaled at the gall the this guy Brooks has. What the hell?

Copy Tolkien's Idea and then embelish it? Ok, look forward to a book from me: it will be about a Hobbit in a spaceship flying to a volcanic planet to throw in a mystical watch.

Rating:
Summary: The best in the four lands
Review: The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks, is an

attention grabbing, interesting book! This is the first

book to a trilogy containing: this book, the second book-

The Elfstones of Shannara, and the third book-The wishsong

of Shannara.

The Sword of Shannara is about a druid, Allanon that

comes to a family, the Omsfords, with a long history that

they do not know, in search of help. Something has gone

terribly wrong in the four lands, (northern, southern,

eastern, and western) for the Warlock lord is up to no

good. Because of the Warlock lord, Allanon seeks the only

magical power that can defeat him, and finds it in Shea

Omsford. He then has to tell Shea of his history and how he

is the only one that can defeat the Warlock lord. Of coarse

Shea doesn't believe any of it in the beginning but his

brother, Flick Omsford suspects that the druid's story may

be true, but does not want to believe it either.

Shea and Flick set out on a journey together that will

change their lives forever. The two have to face several

obstacles in there journey until they are joined by a

friend of Shea's, Rhone Leah the prince of Leah. Together

they find their way through more obstacles until they meet

with Allanon at a council in the Anar, which is home to the

Dwarves. In this council, several things take place, one of

which they choose people to go on the journey with them.


Terry Brooks uses amazing imagination in this book! He

uses the type of imagination that you can't really find in

our world today. If I could rate this book on a scale of

1-10, I would rate it an 11! I loved this book and if you

read it, you will too! Thank you for reading my book

review!







Rating:
Summary: the sword of shannara
Review: This book has received a LOT of flack for "borrowing" so much from "The Lord of the Rings." When I read it over 20 years ago, I hadn't read Tolkien's odyssey...and "...Shannara" blew me away! It was the first fantasy novel (as opposed to science fiction) I ever read and it opened a lot of doors. I wasn't sure I would like it. Once I read it, I picked up "The Hobbit" and "Elric of Melibone" and many, many others.

Now, yes, I definitely see the similarities to "The Lord of the Rings". BUT...I also see similarities between "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever" and "The Lord of the Rings".

To make a long story short, (I know, too late) I will always consider "The Sword of Shannara" an important piece of fantasy.



Rating:
Summary: Highly disappointing book
Review: I can't believe the high rating for this book. I read this book when I first started reading thinking that this was a great book. since Brooks is quite a popular author of fantasy. Guess what, its dull as hell and took me quite a long time to finish it.

A year later I read Lord of the Rings. and after reading it, immediately thought of Swords of Shannara. This book is a blatant rip-off of Lord of the Rings. not only is it a rip-off, its actually a more inferior version of the Lord of the Rings, I can't understand it, the author copied Lord of the Rings, its characters and plot but writes an inferior one, and worst of all he actually sold and earned a lot of money through it.

Anyway, maybe the author has improved himself over the years, but judging from Swords of Shannara and Elves of Shannara (which is another trip to boredom and more of the same) I won't be buying anymore of his books. There are a lot of other authors worth reading such as George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, David Gemmell, Tolkien, and others.

2 stars at most