Rating: 
Summary: Decent, but cliche and bad writing style
Review: This is your basic "Unlikely hero chosen for a quest to stop some really big, bad evil guy who seems invincible, goes through hardships where usually he doesn't do too well, and then at the end he discovers his hidden strength and wins" story. It's just a quest story of average quality, but I give it credit for being less cliche for the time than it would be now. In the 70's, so much of the wannabe fantasy hadn't been written yet. The only guy he had to steal from was Tolkien, which he did, but at least changed enough up and added enough twists on the theme(obviously inserted to keep things different) to keep it interesting. Overall it's worth reading, but also don't expect great writing style. It's your standard story-over-style tale. It's got a bit of historical value in being one of the(if not the) first bestselling fantasy novels. A few of his novels in the Shannara series are better and pretty good, but nothing mindblowing and nothing that makes you really think hard. For his better novels, get Wishsong, First King, and Druid of shannara, but it takes reading everything he's done in that series to make sense of them. If you can't find any good fantasy at the moment or want some straightforward fantasy to ease you into the genre, get this.However, if you're looking for great fantasy and not just sorta-to-pretty good fantasy, check out Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone series(the rest of the Eternal Champion books are good too, but 1 notch below Elric, who is one of the best protagonists I've ever seen), Robert Jordans Wheel of Time(This is something to get lost in...escapism at it's epitome and I love the world you fall into), Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant(both series' and don't get discouraged during the first book if you get tired of his whining...it gets better), and, if you want a relatively straightforward quest story, at least get one of the best: All 4 series' by David Eddings, starting with the Belgariad(he recycles his own themes and characters but they're so entertaining it doesn't matter). Also, of course you have to read Tolkien for the historical value and the originality.
Rating: 
Summary: Write a timeline, see for yourself
Review: Tolkien all over. And I mean ALL OVER. Shea is Frodo, Flick is Sam, Menion is Boromir, Skullbearers are Balrogs, Allanon is Gandalf,(Maybe the only decent imitation)and the Vale is the Shire. I could go on. Events, let's see. Allanon appears and asks Shea to leave everything he knows and loves exactly like Gandalf , Allanon fights a Skullbearer and falls into an abyss, supposedly dies and then reappears exactly like Gandalf, the skullbearer appears and forces Shea to leave just like Frodo, and so on and so forth. Give me any event in The Sword of Shannara, and I'll name one that is at least similar, if not a shallow duplicate from LOTR. I don't know whether Brooks was trying to make fun of Tolkien, or if he just thought that we were all so clueless that we wouldn't notice. Anyone who doesn't realize that this is an exact replica of LOTR needs to work on their reading skills. If LOTR is too deep for you, wait until you are ready for it, but don't waste your time reading this junk. I wouldn't spit on it if it were on fire. Have fun if you are eight, anyone else should go buy a couple copies and burn them.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome!!!
Review: I almost cried when I finished the story! I didn't want it to end so quickly! I did this for a book report in school recently and I would rank this book as a literary masterpiece! Wonderful book. Okay, so maybe Shea slightly resembles Frodo, and Allanon pretty much takes on the same role as Gandalf, but overlook that and enjoy. By the way, I shrieked with delight at the surprise on the last page! 50 stars! **************************************************
Rating:
Summary: Crow!!! Amuterish outing with no originality!
Review: Sword Of Shannara (SOS) was a dissapointment. At times I found Brooks' writing to be very strained and amuterish. Comparing it to LOTR? Hell no! LOTR is much better written, and it is original. Plus there is the detail involved in LOTR. SOS has little depth in this area. I have not read his other books, so I wouldn't know about them. If you want a good fantasy read, go read Lord Of The Rings, Wheel Of Time, Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever, Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and Sword of Truth (by Goodkind). Stay away from Shannara, you will only waste your time with it....
Rating: 
Summary: Watered down Tolkien?
Review: OK, I can see stealing some ideas from the Father of Modern Fantasy (after all, plagarism is the greatest form of flattery), but at times this book goes too far. Still, it is a good book although it doesn't live up to "The First King of Shannara" or "The Elfstones of Shannara". I would recommend this book to all fantasy fans, even Tolkien fans, for the simple reason that the other books in the series are too good to pass up and this book is essential to understanding them.
Rating:
Summary: Yuck.
Review: I'm one of the seven people who didn't like the Lord of the Rings, but I have to say, it's very clear to me why people who did would be unhappy with this sorry imitation. I won't even go into all the blindingly obvious parallels between the this and Tolkien's work. Read the first fifty pages and you'll find plenty of them yourself. And seven hundred pages! God, even Tolkien wasn't THAT long-winded. I'd stay away from this one....
Rating:
Summary: THE SWORD OF SHANNARA
Review: The sword of Shannara is simply the best fantasy book ever written. It's the kind of book that you pick up and can't put down because you want to see what will happen next. If you like this book with I am sure you will also read-The Elfstones of Shannara-The Wishsong of Shannara-The Scions of Shannara-The Druid of Shannara-The Elf Queen of Shannara-The Talismans of Shannara-----And the prelude to the Sword of Shanara Entitled The Firts King of Shannara......................Also look for more great Shannara books coming out as soon as he has finished Writing the book version of the upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode I.
Rating: 
Summary: Average Fantasy
Review: Being an avid reader of fantasy novels I was disappointed after reading The Sword of Shannara. I found the story to be yet another spin on the quest motif. While quest stories are an intrinsic part of fantasy literature, I feel that the author must create interesting and believable characters in order to compensate for a common storyline. Sadly I did not feel this book demonstrated such a quality. The characters all seemed to have very little personality (apart from them all being disconsolate, a word Mr. Brooks must be overly fond of). Having read other novels by this author I must say I feel this was an exception rather than the rule. I've enjoyed many stories Mr. Brooks has written. I do not think I'll continue reading this series, however.
Rating:
Summary: A good book that will keep your interest.
Review: Very descriptive. Keeps you reading to find out what happens next. Characters are very strong and well developed. My favorite character, Allanon, was developed in mystery at the start and stayed that way through the end. Even at the finish you find yourself wondering about him. Overall I recommend this book to all, even to those who are not huge fantasy fans but would like a good tale.
Rating:
Summary: An extravogant story that will pull you right in!
Review: At times when I was reading The Sword of Shannara, It seamed that I was watching it on television, or I was just a bystander when everything was happining. Terry Brooks described everything in explicit detail, from the color of the changing night sky, to the subtle expressions on peoples(or elves, trolls, or gnomes) faces. It was truly one of the finest books I have ever read, along with the rest of the books in the Shannara series. You really should read this one, you will be happy you did!!!
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