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savi_015's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, I really enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy however, the third I just did not enjoy as much and did not finish
jennjuniper's review
3.0
I mostly really enjoyed this, but I can't give it more than three stars because it's a hot mess of a book - it took about 200 pages to get enjoyable, it's mostly a Lord of the Rings rip-off with none of the good bits, and the writing ranges from merely clunky to just plain awful. I had a great time, but I can't in all good conscience recommend it to anyone.
glkrose's review
2.0
I rarely say this but: I like the show much better. It's a bit of a LotR rip-off and was unneccesarily long. The characters and action were fine but again, I'd read it before. And where were the female characters?! That's one of the high points of the show.
nightxade's review
2.0
Everyone keeps saying that this is just a rip off of Lord of the Rings. I strongly disagree with this assessment. First of all, in Lord of the Rings, the crew is taking a magical talisman *to* the bad guy's evil lair. Here, they are picking up a magical sword *from* the realm of badness. Also, LOTR supposedly is our history, while Shannara is post-apocalypse. See? Totally different.
Now if you'll excuse me, I will spend the rest of this review just posting images of Manu Bennett, who will be playing the role of hot notGandalf in the upcoming MTV series.
Now if you'll excuse me, I will spend the rest of this review just posting images of Manu Bennett, who will be playing the role of hot notGandalf in the upcoming MTV series.
stepheniedaniel's review
2.0
I read this after reading the First King of Shannara and being blown away by the plot from the Lord of the Rings, the movie. I thought I would feel the same excitement after watching LOTR if I read this book. But to my disappointment, I didn't feel that hype or excitement. It became a dull and common plot of a fantasy world which must include dragons/skull bearers / or some alien creature, dwarfs, elves, wizards and an object that has magical powers. This collection would be more suitable for children. I regret hunting down the complete collection, but I think I will keep the books to introduce the magic of reading to my future juniors.
lesiajoukova's review
4.0
I picked up The Sword of Shannara when I heard about the TV series that are soon to air. Before reading I expected an epic fantasy tale. I liked this book well enough to go on with the rest of the book series, although I couldn't ignore some of the weaker points in storytelling.
While everybody either loves it or hates it because of some story similarities to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (it doesn't seem as if Brooks ever denied that he drew inspiration from Tolkien) I found that the story is quite capable to stand on its' own. The book took a long time to read because of the story pacing. It took quite a while before things really picked up and I disliked how stretched out and mostly uneventful Shea's journey has become.
In general I did not feel much affection towards our main hero Shea, who had practically no character development until the last third of the book. I found the book's lack of female characters frustrating for some reason, maybe because the perspectives seemed somewhat one-sided. I am looking forward to The Elfstones of Shannara where a strong female lead is present. What spiked my interest was the moments with Eventine's rescue, Brona's armies against Tyrsis and Menion's story ark with Shirl. The battle descriptions gripped me, as well as Balinor's rescue. I found many of the characters considerably flawed but interesting, although I felt like Allanon was a bit too closed off for the reader to care more deeply about his fate.
All in all, I found this book quite enjoyable and I am looking forward to exploring the same world with a different scenario and new characters.
While everybody either loves it or hates it because of some story similarities to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (it doesn't seem as if Brooks ever denied that he drew inspiration from Tolkien) I found that the story is quite capable to stand on its' own. The book took a long time to read because of the story pacing. It took quite a while before things really picked up and I disliked how stretched out and mostly uneventful Shea's journey has become.
In general I did not feel much affection towards our main hero Shea, who had practically no character development until the last third of the book. I found the book's lack of female characters frustrating for some reason, maybe because the perspectives seemed somewhat one-sided. I am looking forward to The Elfstones of Shannara where a strong female lead is present. What spiked my interest was the moments with Eventine's rescue, Brona's armies against Tyrsis and Menion's story ark with Shirl. The battle descriptions gripped me, as well as Balinor's rescue. I found many of the characters considerably flawed but interesting, although I felt like Allanon was a bit too closed off for the reader to care more deeply about his fate.
All in all, I found this book quite enjoyable and I am looking forward to exploring the same world with a different scenario and new characters.
kerribookhoarder's review
3.0
This book will always have a fond place in my heart, since it was one of the first older fantasy books that I read. Terry Brooks is fond of repetitiveness and there are a lot of tropes in his writing, but at the time I loved this book and its sequels with a passion. I'd still recommend them to younger readers as an introduction to fantasy.
chasmofbooks's review
4.0
It was great! A little too much description in some parts but the battles where very well done and amazing.
A lot of people compare this to [b:The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings|30|The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346072396s/30.jpg|89369] but I don't see much of a resemblance. Fantasys like Lord of the Rings and the Shannara series are all similar but that's because once one person has used the idea, it's no longer original. Some say that this is a rip-off of the Lord of the Rings plot but, if you ask me, that's a lie. Now, I'm not saying they can't feel that way or that my opinion is the right one, but I don't see very much resemblance between the two plots. The books (series) have similar elements but that's a lot different from having the same plot.
A lot of people compare this to [b:The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings|30|The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346072396s/30.jpg|89369] but I don't see much of a resemblance. Fantasys like Lord of the Rings and the Shannara series are all similar but that's because once one person has used the idea, it's no longer original. Some say that this is a rip-off of the Lord of the Rings plot but, if you ask me, that's a lie. Now, I'm not saying they can't feel that way or that my opinion is the right one, but I don't see very much resemblance between the two plots. The books (series) have similar elements but that's a lot different from having the same plot.
mimie7ea4's review
3.0
If I had read this book after The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings, I most definitely wouldn't have been able to finish it, just like I couldn't finish The Eye of the World the first dozen times I tried it.
Don't know what it is that's always bothered me about high fantasy, specifically high fantasy in the same vein as Tolkien, but I suspect it has much to do with my age when I first started getting into this genre. I started too late, and thus, all of the wonder and magic was gone.
Don't know what it is that's always bothered me about high fantasy, specifically high fantasy in the same vein as Tolkien, but I suspect it has much to do with my age when I first started getting into this genre. I started too late, and thus, all of the wonder and magic was gone.