Rating: 
Summary: Exellent Novel Despite Carbon Copy Plot
Review: I first read this book when I was in fourth grade. I enjoyed it very much then; and, despite the fact that the author borrowed the story from Lord of the Rings, I still enjoy it.
The similarities between Shannara and LOTR are obvious: Allanon/Gandalf, Shea/Frodo, Flick/Sam, Balinor/Aragorn, Hendel/Gimli, Warlock Lord/Sauron, Palance/Theoden, Stenmin/Wormtongue & Saruman, Tyrsis/Minas Tirith & Helm's Deep, Storlock/Lothlorien, Culhaven/Rivendell, Skull Bearers/Nazgul, the Shady Vale/the Shire, the Hall of Kings/the Mines of Moria, and many others.
The story begins in the Shady Vale, where men have dwelt in peace and prosperity for generations. When a mysterious stranger suddenly arrives, that peace is shattered for Shea and his brother Flick. For Shea discovers that he is the last of a line of kings and only he has the power to wield the ancient weapon that can destroy a great evil seeking to conquer the land.
Despite the carbon copy plot, this novel is very well written. The story does not lag, and there is no profanity. Character development is excellent, and characters unforgetable. Battles are easy to follow and not too bloody. I recommend this book for adults and children alike. The length of the book may be intimidating (726 pages), but it is worth the time to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sword of Shannara...Or Lord of the Rings
Review: When I first picked up this book, I thought, wow, how cool is this? The plot seemed very cool and the characters realistic. Reading it, though, I was very disappointed. The book was definitely a [copy] of Lord of the Rings, including a magical token, a wizard, elves, dwarves, and the small common man that has to do great deeds. Don't forget the shadowy evil figure! Besides the copying of the plot, the characters were not very in-depth. I would like to know more about them, but the author barely scratches the surface. Still, some parts were okay, which kept me reading the book until the end. It took forever, as I was bored by it and easily distracted. Overall, it was ok.
Rating:
Summary: From a Fantasy lover - Bored!
Review: I have been all over the fantasy realm from Tolkien to Eddings to Adams. I love the magick, other worlds and personalities, and the general good vs. evil stuff, as well as all the great philosophies and spirituality. The description of this book seemed to fufill all the stuff that is cool about fantasy.It didn't. I wont even go into the LotR stuff since its been done a hundred times here. The beginning was actually boring, and I kept telling myself to read just 50 more pages again and again feeling that it would pick up. The characters were shallow and the quest non-committal. I didnt really care about any of it. I never got a feel for the people or the world at all. There was no humor or light aspects (ok, I admit, not a necessity for fantasy, but I like it). Story line: protagonist faces bad situation with too much wordy description, protagonist prevails but is tired. Maybe learns some profound aspect of self through trial. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Little background or personality is described. In most of my favorite novels there are all kinds of beings, and both sexes of humans (or other beings). Maybe I have been spoiled by the awesome females of Mercedes Lackey, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, and many others. But there is not one single female of any race in this novel!! A dead mother, a non-existant adoptive mother, a beautiful elf wife-to-be that we hear of once because he left her the night before the wedding to go off to war, and OH dont forget the one "typical-woman" needing help. Some of my favorite stories are male-centric, but this is beyond belief!! I hear the rest get better, and maybe I will try them. They can only get better!
Rating: 
Summary: Read this and the rest of the Shannara series
Review: I like some people read Shannara before I read Tolkien. I was amazed by Brook's writing and detail. But when I read Tolkein I was blown away and felt a little disappointment with Brooks for pretty much carbon-copying Tolkein in this book. But after I read the WHOLE Shannara series I began to understand the reason for Sword of Shannara. It sets up Brook's world. Sure it resembles Tolkein pretty closely down to the names. But give it a chance, he wrote it in college and his writing has IMMENSELY matured since then. If you don't believe me, read Elfstones of Shannara. After Sword, Terry Brooks swerves away from LOTR to really progress the series. So I gave this book a 3, but READ the other books and you will never be short of beutiful storylines and great action (unlike other authors we know...cough... robert jordan.. cough)
Rating:
Summary: Fails to get the ball rolling
Review: I made the mistake of reading Brokks's second novel before this one. Elfstones was incredibly paced and wrought with excitement. Sword, which is refrenced several times in Elfstones, really begins at a plodding pace. The book is slow beyond words and shows no signs of picking up the pace. I was seriously disappointed after I started reading it. In fact I actually put the novel down for a year before going back and trying to get through it. Once you get beyond the half way point things do pick up, they do become exciting, and it all becomes worthwhile. It just takes a little too long to do so. At 700 + pages I really want a tale, what you get is a primer for the tales to come. In truth, that is probably what made the Elfstones so fun, the world was fleshed out and Brooks had a plan. Read this more as an afterthought, get Elfstones first and then move into the rest of the series. You will get more out of the Sword in that manner.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings with a different name (and a worse plot)
Review: I know it has been said before, but that which is true stays true. This is so obviously a rip-off of literary genious J.R.R. Tolkien that it is pathetic. This doesn't compare in the slightest to the professor's epic trilogy. It is, believe it or not, way cheesier than those [junky] Dungeon&Dragons novels. Not one of the characters are likeable because they all have Lord of the Rings counterparts. Balinor= Aragorn, Shea= Frodo, Flick= Sam, Allanon= Gandalf, Durin and Dayle= Legolas, Shirl Ravenlock= Eowyn, Hendel= Gimli, Warlock Lord= Sauron, Orl Fane= Gollum, Stenmin= Grima Wormtongue, Skull Bearers= Ringwraiths. And of course their are the locations: Shady Vale= The Shire, Callahorn= Gondor, Tyrsis= Minas Tirith, Leah= Edoras, Kern= Osgiliath, Skull Kingdom= Mordor. Then there is the items, Sword of Shannara= The One Ring, Elfstones= The Phial of Galadriel. What Terry Brooks did was take a classic peace of literature, rename the main characters, locations, objects, [junkyify] it with moronic use of the english language, and published it under his own name. Your a real winner, Mr. Brooks. I gave this an extra star because there were some moments where Terry delivered some good action sequences in the begginning of the book, but even that fades as the story progresses. The Last Battle pales in comparison to Helm's Deep or Battle of the Fields of Pellenor in Lord of the Rings. He ends up being ponderous and boring as opposed to suspensful and exciting. And whose bright idea was it to incorporate the [junky] black and white drawings in the Mass Market paperback edition? Most of them were just globs of black ink that were barely recognizable. This was horrid, simply horrid. A nine year old might find some enjoyment in this, but only if they haven't read Lord of the Rings before. Everyone else should stay away. Stick to good fantasy writers like George RR Martin, Robert Jordan, or Tad Williams. Even RA Salvatore or Terry Goodkind are better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Very sad, derivative
Review: Almost plot for plot, character for character, race for race a copy of lord of the rings. Brooks does get more creative with the second book, and was punished with poor sales. More derivative, poorly written sequels follow
Rating:
Summary: Brooks is better than Tolkien.
Review: The reason Brooks is better than Tolkien is because Brooks uses way more magic . In SWORD OF SHANNARA ,for instance ,there are the Elfstones ,the Sword ,the Mist Wraith ,and more .But ,you probably want to here the book in more detail ,so here is the plot:When the mysterious Druid Allanon comes to Half Elven Shea Ohmsford ,Shea is told that he is the last heir of Shannara ;he is the only one who can wield the Sword and defeat the Warlock Lord .The Warlock Lord is invading the Four Lands once more .Shea must embark on a quest to recover the Sword of Shannara ,so the Warlock Lord may be destroyed once and for all.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to believe it has been 25 years since I first read this
Review: So, that makes me a whopping 37 years old. I remember, clear as it was yesterday, begging my mother to buy this for me. Now, back in those days, $.$$ for a book for a 12 year old kid was a lot of money, and my mom made a deal with me - she'd buy it for me, and pay half, but I'd have to give her half my allowance each week to pay it off - a whopping 25 cents (so it took about 4 months to pay it off). Whether she was doubtful that I'd really read the book (length, subject matter, a 12 year old girl's attention span) or simply wanted to teach me that I'd value more the things I really wanted if I actually earned the money to pay for them, I'll never know. I do know that this was my absolutely favorite book in the whole wide world for years. I read it over and over, until it fell apart. In fact I was so upset, I wrote a letter to Random House explaining how I paid for the book and that I was devestated that it was so shoddily made that they actually sent me a new copy (I think the handwritten letter on pink stationary got to them). I read that one to pieces too. Eventually, my interest in the story waned - to me, the sequels never lived up to the story in the original, and I grew out of the whole sword and sorcery genre by my early twenties (although 15 years ago, when I found a clean copy on a remainder table for $.$$, I didn't hesitate to buy it - that second copy was missing pages). The book has been sitting in my bookcase, untouched for years - but since I just saw LOTR - The Two Towers this afternoon, and the story really is a pastiche of Tolkien's saga, I thought I'd see how it stands the test of time. Twenty pages in, and I'm as hooked as that 12 year old girl - don't know if its the whole nostalgia thing working. The original artwork by Tim and Gregory Hildebrandt (which was missing from the sequels) was a very powerful part of the experience (I still doodle the towers of Paranor in board [or should I say bored] meetings). This book made a very strong impression on me and after 25 years, it still holds up, as a well crafted story. I may even revisit the sequels and read the rest of the Shannara books - I think there are 10 or 12 of them now? Or maybe not - and let this be a special moment in time - to be that 12 year old girl who wanted to grow up and become Allanon.
Rating: 
Summary: What is Vladlena Berbeko talking about???
Review: I too have not read Sword of Shanara. Hence I would not have the authority to make a comment about the novel. I have read the Lord of the Rings. I think it was a great trilogy, but how can I compare it to another book that I haven't read. This brings me to the my point, what is Vladlena Berbeko thinking? What kind of baseless chain of logic is he using to formulate his opinion? Brainless...
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