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A review by cheye13
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
adventurous
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
It is likely that traditional high fantasy is not my thing. I struggled through this and I noticed that my obstacles were genre staples.
I loved Allanon and his "info dumping." I found his history lecture entertaining, and appreciated both the world-building and the in-world delivery. I loved the concept of the magic system, though vague and underutilized. Once the adventurers assembled, I was invested. I liked each character and their characterization, as individuals as well as how they served the larger plot.
And then a third of the way in, the party splinters. I love ensemble casts and split narratives, but I had just met the characters and inter-party dynamics were just getting interesting. Switching between narratives kept things moving, but soon I was beyond bored unless reading about Shea or Allanon. I like intricate politics in my books; I hate war in my books. A solid eighth of the book is just... battles.
Overall, I found it boring at worst. The writing style was far too verbose for the simple story and settings built, and full chapters could've been mere pages. And a personal pet peeve –one (1) woman appears (62% in, does nothing of significance) and until then, the only women mentioned are Shea's birth mother (deceased) and Dayel's (unnamed) fiancée. Allanon's introductory exposition was the most interesting part of this story.
[I know this book was published in the 70s, and it's easy to condemn in hindsight – therefore I shall!]
I loved Allanon and his "info dumping." I found his history lecture entertaining, and appreciated both the world-building and the in-world delivery. I loved the concept of the magic system, though vague and underutilized. Once the adventurers assembled, I was invested. I liked each character and their characterization, as individuals as well as how they served the larger plot.
And then a third of the way in, the party splinters. I love ensemble casts and split narratives, but I had just met the characters and inter-party dynamics were just getting interesting. Switching between narratives kept things moving, but soon I was beyond bored unless reading about Shea or Allanon. I like intricate politics in my books; I hate war in my books. A solid eighth of the book is just... battles.
Overall, I found it boring at worst. The writing style was far too verbose for the simple story and settings built, and full chapters could've been mere pages. And a personal pet peeve –one (1) woman appears (62% in, does nothing of significance) and until then, the only women mentioned are Shea's birth mother (deceased) and Dayel's (unnamed) fiancée. Allanon's introductory exposition was the most interesting part of this story.
[I know this book was published in the 70s, and it's easy to condemn in hindsight – therefore I shall!]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Confinement and Kidnapping
Certain descriptors of enemies, particularly gnomes, read as rather insensitive, if not outright orientalist/racist. A side character struggles with mind control/magical brainwashing. A significant part of the book is a direct description of a war battle.