Rating: 
Summary: How many ways can you write the same novel?
Review: Three... That's the answer given by Terry Brooks as he presents the third installment of the highly popular Shannara series. The Wishsong of Shannara sees yet another quest by a descendent of the Half-Elf family Ohmsford under the watchful eye of the great druid Allanon. Yes there is a great evil threatening the lands, yes they need to seek something out to stop it, yes Allanon arrives in Shady Vale, yes no-one trusts him... etc, etc. If it sounds like you've heard it all before, it's because you have - the whole plot, and the narrative devices are virtually identical in every way to it's predecessors. I found myself reading the opening few chapters in disbelief that the exact same things were taking place yet again with only a few aesthetic details changed. The Sword of Shannara presented an absolute wealth of potential to it's readers - characters, lands, creatures, races, a great back-story and some nice themes. But all of this just gets wasted by sequels that are nothing more than a re-hash of the same story. The legacy of the series is not enough to carry this novel. Yes we have loved the characters and the ideas that Brooks has developed, but they are only ever going to be as strong as the story and situations you put them in. If all he's going to do is the re-work the same old tired quest idea, then we're going to get bored. Wishsong is the point where that boredom kicked in for me. Brooks hides behind his winning formula at a time when the series really badly needed a massive injection of fresh ideas, and I was very disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW! The best yet.
Review: The Wishsong of Shannara is about Jair and Brin Ohmsford.They embark on seperate adventures,Brin to destroy the Ildatch a magic book hidden deep in the Maelmord and Jair to save Brin at Heaven's Well from death fortold by the King of the Silver River.On their way they fight Mord Wraiths,ancient beasts,and other mysterious creatures.I like this book because it has lots of action and adventure.Plus it has a great plot and keeps you on the edege of your seat.I think it's the best book out of the ones that I've read.(I've read The First King through The Scions and I'm reading The Druid)
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT!!
Review: Everyone is saying how this book is the same as all his other ones, i really disagree with them. The whole idea behind the Shannara books is the repetitive type of plots. Yes they are repetitive, but they are all unique and better then the last. If you truly like Shannara novels, then you'll like this book. GO SHANNARA!! (woot woot)
Rating:
Summary: Much better than Elfstones.
Review: I must say that I disagree with the last review.Wishsong is better than Elfstones.In Elfstones,the "bad guyes"were easy as pie .In Wishsong,Brooks resumes the theme of winning by a thread ,translation:the evil peoples are hard.Brin is one of my favorite characters in the whole series so far ,next to Risca ,Foraker,Hendel,Tay ,Raybur and a good deal of other people.It's just so easy to understand her feelings and her thoughts.Anyway ,here is the plot :Brin and Jair Ohmsford ,like most Ohmsfords live in Shady Vale and they bare the power of the wishsong:Wish for it ,sing for it ,and it's your's.Their pleasant lives are disturbed when Allanon the Druid comes to them in need of Brin's wishsong ,for the evil Ildatch book has unleashed the Mord Wraiths upon the Four Lands.Brin must travel with Allanon to the Maelmord,where the Ildatch is kept ,and destroy it with the wishsong .Jair however is making a quest towards Heaven's Well to heal the land that the Wraiths have poisoned.
Rating:
Summary: Wishsong Of Shannara
Review: I think that this book was well worth reading. It was different then the first two books in the series cuz Allanon is not some invincible all powerful superhero. He is a lot more vulnerable and human in this book. And also in this book, there are 2 heros from the Omsfords and one from Leah. In this book Brin has to get the Eastland and find this evil book that is messin with the world. She has to destroy it. And her borther finds out that she in in trouble and he is the only one who can save her. So there are two jorneys going on in this book. The one thing bad about this book is that one of the characters is not in it enough. Garet Jax seems like a very interesting character but he isn't talked about a whole lot. I wanted to know more about and it left me feeling frustrating. But still, this was a great book and I think that you should go out and buy it or rent it ... and read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Repetitive
Review: I first came across the Shannara series in the library in June, where I had the luck to find all 3 books in the Voyage series. I took them home, fell in love and devoured them. Having finished them in the space of three days, I was gagging for more Terry Brooks, and rushed to buy the Sword trilogy from the bookstore. I found that I had to force my way through Sword, but then enjoyed Elfstones immensely. Then I came to Wishsong. And gaped in disbelief as I realised that it was exactly the same as the other two, but with a slightly different storyline, and protaganists with slightly altered names. But even they had the same traits as previous Shannara heroes. Rone Leah was Menion Leah with a better sword. The elf and the dwarf were just that, an elf and a dwarf, with as much personality as a piece of stale bread. Even the trademark borderman was exactly the same as all the others i.e an underdeveloped, cardboard cutout with sword action when needed. So much could be done with the world of Shannara, yet each time I pick up a new Shannara novel, I am dissapointed and left feeling cheated becausse they are all the same. Plot details are rehashed, characters, bloodlines and relationships are always the same. It seems that Terry Books is taking part in a bet to see how many times he can get the same story published as a new book.
On the other hand, dissapointments with the characters and plot left aside, Wishsong was still an entertaining read, and kept me occupied for a few days. But it could have been so much more. Please Mr Brooks, do something different with the Shannara universe.I would be incredibly happy never seeing another blasted Ohmsford again.
Rating:
Summary: Write your own Shannara adventure!
Review: Follow these simple steps to write your first Shannara novel:1. An ancient evil (quite a lot like something in Lord Of The Rings) threatens the lands. Choose from
a. Wraiths
b. Sorcerer Lord
c. Demon Army
2. Allanon the druid (who's a bit like Gandalf) seeks out a placid peacful living half-elf (a bit like a hobbit) descended from the line of the Ohmsford family (a bit like the Baggins family) in the quiet town of Shady Vale (which is kind of like The Shire).
3. He asks them to seek out something from the following list:
a. Sword
b. Mystic Fire
c. Book
4. 7 pages explain why Allanon is not to be trusted.
5. Despite the previous 7 pages, the Ohmsford decides to go on the perilous quest with the following:
a. No Map
b. No weapons (maybe, just maybe a small dagger that will
never get used)
c. Enough supplies for two meals on a seven day journey.
d. One or more companions (preferably descended from other
lines of families - Ellesedil, Leah etc)
6. They eat some stew, cheese nuts and berries.
7. They get into a scrape where only a one-legged blind leprechaun can save them from certain death.
8. A one-legged blind leprechaun shows up and saves them from certain death.
9. They eat some beef stew and some bread and cheese.
11. The Ohmsford gets into another scrape near the Silver River where they are facing certain death. The King Of The Silver River resuces them in a floaty white light.
12. Allanon disappears.
13. They eat a small meal of stew and cheese.
14. Allanon re-appears where they learn he has been withholding information and lying about the nature of the quest. Doh! If only they'd listened to:
a. Uncle Flick
b. Great Uncle Flick
c. Great Great Uncle Flick
16. Oops! Someone lost the Elfstones.
17. Phew! Someone found them again.
18. The adventurers eat a hearty meal of berries, nuts and cheese before facing some evil, and finding the artefact which is not quite what was expected.
19. There's a final conflict where Allanon does such a fantastic job of fighting off the evil armies/wraiths etc with blue fire that the whole quest starts to seem like a totally uneccessary waste of everyone's time.
20. Somebody from the quest group dies.
22. Peace is restored.
23. They celebrate witha hearty meal of cheese, nuts and berries.
Rating:
Summary: An utterly brilliant hack-and-slash fantasy!
Review: Terry Brooks burst onto the fantasy scene in 1977 with his Tolkien rip-off "The Sword of Shannara". Despite an unoriginal plot, the book was fast-paced, well written, and throughly gripping. In his second book, "The Elfstones of Shannara", Brooks proved he could write an original, compelling story. Despite the extraordinary success of these two books, though, they don't hold a candle to "The Wishsong of Shannara", which proves that Terry Brooks is, without a doubt, the finest hack-and-slash fantasy novelist there is. I have read every single book Brooks has written, and I believe that Wishsong is his best work, bar only "The Elf Queen of Shannara". The plot is the strongest element in the book, which throws in some very intriguing twists to the standard "reluctant hero saves world from bad dude". His characters also are much more compelling than those in his first two books. But beware getting too attached to them: Brooks has a tendency to kill off some of his characters. Anyone who purports to be a fan of hack-and-slash fantasy (ala Terry Goodkind or David Eddings), who hasn't read Terry Brooks yet is in for a real treat. Brooks is a master of the genre, and "Wishsong" is Brooks at his absolute best.
Rating:
Summary: his best
Review: yes, this is B's best book. best plot, most interesting characters, most interesting quest. the "sidekicks" are amazingly interesting. this book is not merred, at leat not as much, by uninventiveness like most of B's book. great read.
Rating:
Summary: Wishes of Songs
Review: A Review by Bill This book entitled The Wishsong of Shannara is basically the same plot as the other two books. The same plot as in there is a old evil that is making an appearance in the land. Though in this book the evil is rising in the East Land the home of the dwarfs. At the start of this book, unlike the previous two, it tells you of the history of the magic in play the wishsong. When our Allanon appears and tells Brin about the evil and takes her to defeat it. Jair also follows the party led by Allanon after being confronted by a gnome.
.
I would have given this book a 5 star rating, though it did have some minor flaws. These include the similar plot to the other two books. So far in the book that I have read by Brooks all of them have an evil rising in some part of the land. In the Sword it was the Warlock lord, in the Elvestones it was the demons in the West and now it is the Mord Wraiths. One other thing that I did not like was the way Allanon acted. Throughout three books his character has not changed at all. In the other Two he was dark and secretive, such as he did not tell the Whole truth about any thins. Examples of this are as in the Sword of Shannara he did not tell how the sword would effect the warlock lord, and in the Elvestones of Shannara he did not tell Wil what the elvestones would do to him. Otherwise this book is an extent piece of reading with wonder verbal descriptions and vocabulary. I would recommend this book to all those who like fantasy adventures and magical creatures.
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