Rating: 
Summary: I loved this
Review: And I find myself continually referring to it as I re-read the Shannara series. I had my own hand drawn maps for years, so maybe I was predisposed to love this one!I do appreciate that the characters we've known for so long can really come to life, even if the artist's conception isn't always what we imagined. I also like having the detailed references about the items and places that the books span, and the breakdown of Paranor is fabulous! If you love the Shannara books, you'll love this.
Rating: 
Summary: The cover is misleading, and the content shallow.
Review: Before you by, go to the store and read at least the forword by Terry Brooks, the only part of the book he wrote. He comes accross a saying (as I understood it): "...although the fans wanted it I couldn't be bothered with it in the past and still could not be bothered with this work today except the publisher assigned someone to write the book so I said, what the hell..." That seems to be the feeling I got leafing through it as well. Agreed, the artwork is nothing like the old book covers and in fact the artwork in this differs in the depictions from the older covers to some extent. Also, the art of the people had a rather 'sameness' and 'blocky build' to them - like all the folks came from athletic 'football families'. I never pictured the characters they way the appeared. The map - not at all what I had expected: 1) its got a crease down the middle, 2) the world seems greatly distorted in connection with every other map of the world I'd ever seen in the original books .. did the projection of the world change? It must doesn't look right - and there are many details missing - certainly not what I'd expect from a book that seemingly wants to be a sort of 'encyclopedia shannarra'. Some of the maps are very detailed - nice to see so much work there, but then there is the renderings of Paranor - which don't look like any pictures seen from the books or at all like the descriptions - at least the ones I've read in the books (and I just finished 'First King' 2 months ago). The text parts, also read somewhat shallow. Nothing too surprising. There are some additional details in sections on some folks, but it seems much has also been left out - complete it is not. Brooks suggested to the authors to 'go with it' and yet they didn't fill in any of the gaps at all. You get data missing being 'several generations', in the family tree. Brooks suggested they should fill it in (based on reading his foreward) but the authors didn't do that - why not?
While the book seems quaint, I think a collection of fans could probably put together a much better, 'comprehensive' and 'accurate' version of what this book wants to be (or what we wanted it to be). To bad copyright restrictions would prevent it from being anything other than a bootleg-underground document and that any 'group of fans' isn't the official voice of Brooks for filling in the missing parts in family trees, background stories, etc.
Rating:
Summary: The cover is misleading, and the content shallow.
Review: Before you by, go to the store and read at least the forword by Terry Brooks, the only part of the book he wrote. He comes accross a saying (as I understood it): "...although the fans wanted it I couldn't be bothered with it in the past and still could not be bothered with this work today except the publisher assigned someone to write the book so I said, what the hell..." That seems to be the feeling I got leafing through it as well. Agreed, the artwork is nothing like the old book covers and in fact the artwork in this differs in the depictions from the older covers to some extent. Also, the art of the people had a rather 'sameness' and 'blocky build' to them - like all the folks came from athletic 'football families'. I never pictured the characters they way the appeared. The map - not at all what I had expected: 1) its got a crease down the middle, 2) the world seems greatly distorted in connection with every other map of the world I'd ever seen in the original books .. did the projection of the world change? It must doesn't look right - and there are many details missing - certainly not what I'd expect from a book that seemingly wants to be a sort of 'encyclopedia shannarra'. Some of the maps are very detailed - nice to see so much work there, but then there is the renderings of Paranor - which don't look like any pictures seen from the books or at all like the descriptions - at least the ones I've read in the books (and I just finished 'First King' 2 months ago). The text parts, also read somewhat shallow. Nothing too surprising. There are some additional details in sections on some folks, but it seems much has also been left out - complete it is not. Brooks suggested to the authors to 'go with it' and yet they didn't fill in any of the gaps at all. You get data missing being 'several generations', in the family tree. Brooks suggested they should fill it in (based on reading his foreward) but the authors didn't do that - why not?
While the book seems quaint, I think a collection of fans could probably put together a much better, 'comprehensive' and 'accurate' version of what this book wants to be (or what we wanted it to be). To bad copyright restrictions would prevent it from being anything other than a bootleg-underground document and that any 'group of fans' isn't the official voice of Brooks for filling in the missing parts in family trees, background stories, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: ehh......poor illustrations
Review: Being an avid Terry Brooks fan (actually, make that Shannara fan), I was thrilled when I discovered this on Amazon. I was not disappointed. Having read every Shannara novel so far, this one was pretty interesting. Sometimes when reading novels, I have a tendency to overlook small details and it is pretty interesting to see these facts about characters and places that define the world of Shannara. I definitely like the fact that a map of Shannara as well as the West Islands was included...maps are definitely useful in pinpointing the location of the actions. But I definitely wished that the maps were more specific...oh well. This is a nice companion but it isn't a substitution for the books. It helps with certain details but it doesn't explain everything - ie. Wren's terrifying escape from Morrowindyl is not really covered in detail - Brooks and the co-writer expected the reader to already have known this. This is the only minor flaw I can detect. But the best part of this book is that pictures are included! This book is a very useful and enjoyable companion - highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: * * WONDERFUL RESOURCE * *
Review: Being an avid Terry Brooks fan (actually, make that Shannara fan), I was thrilled when I discovered this on Amazon. I was not disappointed. Having read every Shannara novel so far, this one was pretty interesting. Sometimes when reading novels, I have a tendency to overlook small details and it is pretty interesting to see these facts about characters and places that define the world of Shannara. I definitely like the fact that a map of Shannara as well as the West Islands was included...maps are definitely useful in pinpointing the location of the actions. But I definitely wished that the maps were more specific...oh well. This is a nice companion but it isn't a substitution for the books. It helps with certain details but it doesn't explain everything - ie. Wren's terrifying escape from Morrowindyl is not really covered in detail - Brooks and the co-writer expected the reader to already have known this. This is the only minor flaw I can detect. But the best part of this book is that pictures are included! This book is a very useful and enjoyable companion - highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A great companion to the fantastic Shannara epic tales
Review: Everything about this book screams one major thing: RESEARCH. The authors have spent a great deal of time studying the works of Terry Brooks and went to great lengths to include as much as possible about what was available at the time of the printing. Basically nothing was omitted -- that I could see anyway. Details about things I never would have even thought about have been explored in great detail. No stone was left un-turned, so-to-speak. I have (over the years) developed a basic mental image of what many places and things look like in my minds eye and there are a few that do not meet up with the description I had conjured up in my own imagination, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of learning quite a bit about the history behind the 4 Lands portrayed (along with Parkasia) over the past 26 years in the World of Shannara. The maps alone were of great interest. Major detail regarding the Druids Keep (VERY well done) and I also very much enjoyed the hundreds of drawings (some color, some black & white) which helped to put a detailed face with the description of many of the best loved Shannara characters over the years such as Garret Jax, The Ilse Witch, The Dagda Mor and even Creepers. I must admit that since it was written by someone as though they had miraculous never-before-seen access to the Druid Histories it gave the book a more novel-like feel to it, and made it seem much more realistic, as though the authors were documenting a REAL place and not one from a fertile imagination. Very clever and I just cannot get over the incredible attention to detail regarding even some of the most mundane portions of these novels. Ever wonder about Wren Elessedil and her mentor the Rover Garth? How 'bout the Loden Elfstone for use in time of need. Curious about the Ellcrys Staff, the gift of living wood? What about the history of the Borderlands and those who inhabit that land? It's ALL here -- and a whole LOT more. One thing you do NOT want to do is buy this book expecting an entirely different Shannara tale or something that will add to what has already been written and published. The World of Shannara is nothing more than a companion volume which simply put compiles in one single book the major details regarding ALL of the books (written at the time it was printed). It's a great way to quickly reference virtually any major subject in the vast collection of Shannara tales that have been told. I have no doubt that an expanded edition will be made available within a few years with additional information collected from the more recent novels, but until then, this book will do just fine. I am very satisfied with my copy of 'The World of Shannara' and as usual, look forward to Terry's next venture into this wonderful fantasy land.
Rating:
Summary: A great companion to the fantastic Shannara epic tales
Review: Everything about this book screams one major thing: RESEARCH. The authors have spent a great deal of time studying the works of Terry Brooks and went to great lengths to include as much as possible about what was available at the time of the printing. Basically nothing was omitted -- that I could see anyway. Details about things I never would have even thought about have been explored in great detail. No stone was left un-turned, so-to-speak. I have (over the years) developed a basic mental image of what many places and things look like in my minds eye and there are a few that do not meet up with the description I had conjured up in my own imagination, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of learning quite a bit about the history behind the 4 Lands portrayed (along with Parkasia) over the past 26 years in the World of Shannara. The maps alone were of great interest. Major detail regarding the Druids Keep (VERY well done) and I also very much enjoyed the hundreds of drawings (some color, some black & white) which helped to put a detailed face with the description of many of the best loved Shannara characters over the years such as Garret Jax, The Ilse Witch, The Dagda Mor and even Creepers. I must admit that since it was written by someone as though they had miraculous never-before-seen access to the Druid Histories it gave the book a more novel-like feel to it, and made it seem much more realistic, as though the authors were documenting a REAL place and not one from a fertile imagination. Very clever and I just cannot get over the incredible attention to detail regarding even some of the most mundane portions of these novels. Ever wonder about Wren Elessedil and her mentor the Rover Garth? How 'bout the Loden Elfstone for use in time of need. Curious about the Ellcrys Staff, the gift of living wood? What about the history of the Borderlands and those who inhabit that land? It's ALL here -- and a whole LOT more. One thing you do NOT want to do is buy this book expecting an entirely different Shannara tale or something that will add to what has already been written and published. The World of Shannara is nothing more than a companion volume which simply put compiles in one single book the major details regarding ALL of the books (written at the time it was printed). It's a great way to quickly reference virtually any major subject in the vast collection of Shannara tales that have been told. I have no doubt that an expanded edition will be made available within a few years with additional information collected from the more recent novels, but until then, this book will do just fine. I am very satisfied with my copy of 'The World of Shannara' and as usual, look forward to Terry's next venture into this wonderful fantasy land.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor illustrations
Review: For a compendium book, I expected much better illustrations, but sadly, the illustrator is not up to the task. It just does not compare to the quality of the Darrell K Sweet and Brothers Hildebrandt illustrations that was in the first Shannara series or the Keith Parkinson illustrations in the Scion series. Worst still, the new illustrations bears no resemblance to the old illustrations. I know some creative licenses is allowed, but come on, the characters in this book looks totally different from the old illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: A lack of Shannara magic in this 'companion' book
Review: I riffled through the book while at the book store (after checking to see if it was a first edition, which it was) to see what I was getting into. After 2 minutes of looking through the pages, I realized the illustrations were child's play. Just a few strokes by an artist who obviously had better things to do with his time than take the thousands of Shannara fans seriously when it comes to capturing the magic of Terry Brooks' series.
The illustrations of the characters are shallow and mundane compared to the earlier illustrations of the covers by the Brothers Hildebrandt and Keith Parkinson.
The companion book is not a companion book, but a summary of the books published up to the point the companion was released. The text is obviously written by someone trying to write a report on what he's read instead of someone in love with the The Four Lands and it's characters. It was written like it was a task instead of a labor of love and there are no exciting glimpses into hidden or unknown parts of the Shannara lore.
This book is simply a mundane abridgement of all the wonderful books that fans have fallen in love with. Unless you are a fanatic like myself that must have all things Shannara (and I even ended up returning the book), save your money collecting the hardcover novels themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A lack of Shannara magic in this 'companion' book
Review: I riffled through the book while at the book store (after checking to see if it was a first edition, which it was) to see what I was getting into. After 2 minutes of looking through the pages, I realized the illustrations were child's play. Just a few strokes by an artist who obviously had better things to do with his time than take the thousands of Shannara fans seriously when it comes to capturing the magic of Terry Brooks' series.
The illustrations of the characters are shallow and mundane compared to the earlier illustrations of the covers by the Brothers Hildebrandt and Keith Parkinson.
The companion book is not a companion book, but a summary of the books published up to the point the companion was released. The text is obviously written by someone trying to write a report on what he's read instead of someone in love with the The Four Lands and it's characters. It was written like it was a task instead of a labor of love and there are no exciting glimpses into hidden or unknown parts of the Shannara lore.
This book is simply a mundane abridgement of all the wonderful books that fans have fallen in love with. Unless you are a fanatic like myself that must have all things Shannara (and I even ended up returning the book), save your money collecting the hardcover novels themselves.
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