Scan barcode
A review by rodterez07
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
3.0
The Sword of Shannara (TSS) is considered a modern fantasy classic. Suffice to say, I was very excited by the prospect of reading this novel when I first purchased it.
However, during my reading I could not help thinking of how similar the main characters and plot were to [[book: The Lord of The Rings] (LOTR).
For instance, there were elves, dwarves, trolls and men who populate Terry Brook's fantasy realm. Again, these races are nearly identical to those of Middle Earth. The main antagonist of the novel is an evil, powerful spirit-being named the Warlock Lord who shares many of the same attributes as Tolkien's Sauron.
Also, there is a relic of power which is the sole weapon by which the Warlock Lord can be defeated forever. Finally, there is a band of questers who must seek out this lost relic. Among these adventurers is a diminutive hero who is the only being capable of wielding the weapon which can destroy the threat to his entire world.
Sound familiar? Yes it does, and that is the major problem I had with this novel. Now, please understand the novel has many significant differences not only in characterization and plotting, but also in writing style. Mr. Brooks is a very prolific author and of course, his writing style is his own.
However, the differences between TSS and LOTR pale when compared to how similar the books are in tone and plot. Mr. Brooks, by his own admission, was heavily influenced by Tolkien, but he allows that fondness to cause his debut novel to read and feel more like a derivative of LOTR instead of an original work of fiction.
Many of my friends assure me that the subsequent novels in TSS series improve greatly in terms of originality and depth. I hope so, but I was still rather disappointed by the debut novel.
However, during my reading I could not help thinking of how similar the main characters and plot were to [[book: The Lord of The Rings] (LOTR).
For instance, there were elves, dwarves, trolls and men who populate Terry Brook's fantasy realm. Again, these races are nearly identical to those of Middle Earth. The main antagonist of the novel is an evil, powerful spirit-being named the Warlock Lord who shares many of the same attributes as Tolkien's Sauron.
Also, there is a relic of power which is the sole weapon by which the Warlock Lord can be defeated forever. Finally, there is a band of questers who must seek out this lost relic. Among these adventurers is a diminutive hero who is the only being capable of wielding the weapon which can destroy the threat to his entire world.
Sound familiar? Yes it does, and that is the major problem I had with this novel. Now, please understand the novel has many significant differences not only in characterization and plotting, but also in writing style. Mr. Brooks is a very prolific author and of course, his writing style is his own.
However, the differences between TSS and LOTR pale when compared to how similar the books are in tone and plot. Mr. Brooks, by his own admission, was heavily influenced by Tolkien, but he allows that fondness to cause his debut novel to read and feel more like a derivative of LOTR instead of an original work of fiction.
Many of my friends assure me that the subsequent novels in TSS series improve greatly in terms of originality and depth. I hope so, but I was still rather disappointed by the debut novel.