Rating: 
Summary: Favorite Book from my Favorite Author
Review: I personally love Brooks and his writing style. I have read every single one of his Shannara series and I have greatly enjoyed most of them. Although all were good, some stood out more than others. This is one of them. I read this book a long time ago but it still stands out at the best fantasy book I've read thus far. I'm not one to brazenly praise just any book I've read so this is a heartfelt review. I logged onto amazon.com, wrote a scathing review for a recent, non-Brooks, fantasy book....thought for a moment on what I thought was the best fantasy book I've ever read...and made my way over here so i could counteract the review I made just 10 minutes earlier. Enjoy! You will not regret this action packed story :-)
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than Book One
Review: I read the Sword of Shannara and I wasn't too impressed. Oh, it was all right, but it was kind of a cookie-cutter fantasy novel. Sword borrowed heavily from The Lord of the Rings and didn't offer anything really inventive or new; Brooks simply threw a party (of mixed races) together and sent them to defeat--surprise, surprise--an evil lord. Also, Sword didn't allow readers to connect with its characters. The characters in Sword were often one-dimensional and lacked depth--they were types rather than actual people.The Elfstones of Shannara, however, is the complete opposite. Though Sword is the most famous in the series (because it was the first), I really feel that writing Sword gave Brooks practice so he could create a much better and richer novel. Gone are the wooden, one-dimensional types. Allanon is much more complex and human in this novel. The elves, who did appear in Shannara (though described in absolutely NO detail), are the centerpiece of this novel and readers spend the majority of Elfstones within the Westland (the land of the Elves). Also, I found myself invested in the two main characters, Wil and Amberle, and actually cared about their fortunes. Wil and Amberle show genunie affection and concern for one another. There's an emotional component to Elfstones that was lacking in Sword. Does this emotional component sometimes become a bit sugary? Well, yes, but I think that every writer needs to risk dealing with the human heart. I don't care what kind of writing you like to read--sci-fi, fantasty, literary, western, etc.--CHARACTERS are what make a novel, not the endless monsters, battles, and wanderings to and fro. Whereas Sword was all convention and plot, Elfstone places its characters first. No need to fret, though. Those who like battles and monsters will not be diappointed. Elfstones still delivers the goods expected from fantasy readers. Also, it's refreshing to see a female heroine in a male-dominated genre (though she could be a bit stronger). The ending as well is quite refreshing. I won't spoil it, of course, but the ending doesn't wrap things up with a typical "perfect" closing. The ending to Elfstones is bittersweet and I'm shocked, actually, that Brooks's editors didn't beg him to alter it. Or maybe they did and Brooks refused. Elfstones, though not a perfect book, is still a welcome novel in a genre beleaguered by bad, or overrated, writers (i.e. Robert Jordan). I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Saga Continues
Review: This book is yet another success for Terry Brooks. In this book more than The Sword of Shanarra, you get to know the characters and genuinly feel for them. I found my self getting angry at the bad guys and feeling relieved when something finally went right for the characters. For anyone who's read the sword, I highly recomend continuing the series with this book. You won't be let down.
Rating:
Summary: Best Shannara I ever read
Review: This book is one of the greatest books I have ever read. The storyline is absolutely ingenious and the characters and their situations are excellent. The beginning does start off kind of slow, and I didn't think this was going to be a good book, until I reached the other half. I flew through the rest of it. The Demon/Elf battles were so descriptively written and I could visualize the struggles very clearly. I think that the Elfstones are the coolest weapon that anyone could have. Again, Allanon is my favorite character, with his seemingly bottomless well of magic and spells, although the parts surrounding Wil and Amberle were my favorite. This is perhaps one of Brook's best pieces, though the ending left me saddened.
Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry too
Review: This happens to be one of my favorite books. I read the Lord of the Rings three times through and loved it every time, but somehow, I did not think that the Elfstones was copied from it. I admit that the Sword of Shannara had many elements that were taken from the Lord of the Rings, but I believe that the Elfstones stands completely alone. We do not see any dark characters that remind us of the Ring Wraiths, we do see one dark Lord plotting to take over the world. Instead we get a rich and vivid History from an ancient time in which the forces of evil were locked behind a spell of forbidding centered around the Ellcrys, a magical tree. And now, thousands of years later, the Ellcrys begins to die. I'm sorry for the people that hated this book. I'm sorry that you cannot experience it. As for those who have given this book very negative reviews;
their only, I repeat ONLY, argument against this book is that it is copied from Tolkien... I think I've said enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, I'm sorry...
Review: Well, I'm sorry for the rest of you people who seem to hate Terry Brooks. I absolutly LOVED this book! Amberle was such an unlikely heroine, though I do not like the fact that at the end she turns into a tree. Oh, well. I had not even read Sword before I read Elfstones, and although I didn't get the past references sometimes, It was a really good book, and I don't think it is like LoTR at all. Maybe it's just me.
Rating: 
Summary: Happens to be better than most fantasy books
Review: This is a really great book. I just finished reading it this morning, and I'm really quite happy with it. The author richly describes the marvelous landscapes of shannara, using the full of the reader's imagination. This isn't a book where you understand what's going on unless you imagine it all taking place in front of your own eyes. While reading, though, you may catch that while Brooks's books feature graphic details of the world he has created, he often uses a same descriptive term, or phrase twice, or even more times in the same page. I'm not sure weather this has bothered anyone else, or will, but that's the only thing I have to complain of. Good series, great book.
Rating:
Summary: A great book but...
Review: This was a great book. I love long books that tell about the characters and each small and big event. The only true problem I can think of in this book and other books of Terry Brooks is the word "awesome". Hey that power was awesome. I dont really think thats the best word you could use but I loved the book and didnt let that word kill the AWESOME enjoyment of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Lousy writing stolen wholesale from Tolkien
Review: Another Terry Brooks novel written by stealing the plot and characters from Tolkien. I honestly only made it halfway through this one at the insistance of my flat mate, who consistently lends me trashy fantasy novels of no value. It bothers me how much Brooks steals from Tolkien. Isn't there a law against this kind of brazen theft? And to do it so BADLY! Save your money and read something else.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I just finished reading this book for the third time, and I have to say that it is one of my favorite books of all time. The villains are believable, the characters are extremely well developped and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. If you enjoy fantasy even a little bit, then you will love this book. This is a masterpiece.
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