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A review by branomir
The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
2.0
Yes! It's finally over! Eight bloody months it took me to slog through this thing. Eight! I can't remember the last time it took me so long to get through a book I voluntarily read.
Whatever improvements were made in the second book, I'm sad to say, are pretty much gone in this one. It is still a small step up from the first novel in the series if I'm honest. I know I read through that first novel a lot quicker but that was because it was new still and the second one had improvements that kept me going. This one didn't have any improvements over the second one and by now, after two novels, I was soooo done and fed up with Brooks' writing that I practically had to force myself to keep reading at times. It is so bloody mediocre, tinged with bad scenes and, very occasionally a good one.
I have to admit that, plot and pace wise, the ending wasn't all that bad and could have warranted a three star rating if not for the rest of the book dragging it down. I don't think I need to list all of Brooks' shortcomings, suffice it to say, they're still there. The one that annoyed me the most was his lack of character immersion and development. 90% of the characters in this book felt like cardboard cut-outs and I could not get myself to care about them. The other 10% I cared about just a little bit and there was even one where I was glad to see the character go as I had begun to hate it by now.
Suffice it to say that I shan't be getting anymore Brooks books. I have one still in my collection. I might get myself to read it someday, but it is not this day!
Apparently there are still people that actually love these books, though I cannot fathom why. I will admit that they are not terrible and unreadable. Just bland, boring and uninspired. But hey, to each their own. If you feel like giving these a try I shan't attempt to dissuade you, they are not that terrible, but I most certainly would not recommend them. There is so much better Fantasy to read out there that I’m glad I’m done wasting time with this one.
Whatever improvements were made in the second book, I'm sad to say, are pretty much gone in this one. It is still a small step up from the first novel in the series if I'm honest. I know I read through that first novel a lot quicker but that was because it was new still and the second one had improvements that kept me going. This one didn't have any improvements over the second one and by now, after two novels, I was soooo done and fed up with Brooks' writing that I practically had to force myself to keep reading at times. It is so bloody mediocre, tinged with bad scenes and, very occasionally a good one.
I have to admit that, plot and pace wise, the ending wasn't all that bad and could have warranted a three star rating if not for the rest of the book dragging it down. I don't think I need to list all of Brooks' shortcomings, suffice it to say, they're still there. The one that annoyed me the most was his lack of character immersion and development. 90% of the characters in this book felt like cardboard cut-outs and I could not get myself to care about them. The other 10% I cared about just a little bit and there was even one where I was glad to see the character go as I had begun to hate it by now.
Suffice it to say that I shan't be getting anymore Brooks books. I have one still in my collection. I might get myself to read it someday, but it is not this day!
Apparently there are still people that actually love these books, though I cannot fathom why. I will admit that they are not terrible and unreadable. Just bland, boring and uninspired. But hey, to each their own. If you feel like giving these a try I shan't attempt to dissuade you, they are not that terrible, but I most certainly would not recommend them. There is so much better Fantasy to read out there that I’m glad I’m done wasting time with this one.