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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
I reread this after watching Chronicles of Shannara, and want to read the series. This book draws heavily from Lord of the Rings especially Fellowship of the Ring. I could go into all the similarities and there are a lot, but what I liked the most of this book is when Brooks goes off with his own ideas. This happens near the three hundred page mark and gets remarkably better. Panamon Creel and Kelset were original characters not based off any Lord of the Rings Characters to my knowledge, and they were festinating, and made you care. I hope the more of the series develops it's own ideas and doesn't stick to reminding us of the Tolkien universe.
[a:Terry Brooks|9629|Terry Brooks|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1280785812p2/9629.jpg] is my friend's favorite fantasy author, and he gave me the entire set of Shannara books a while ago. Respecting his literary opinion, I read the first.
WARNING: IT IS AN EXACT COPY OF THE PLOT OF [b:THE LORD OF THE RINGS|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298411339s/34.jpg|3204327].
And Brooks is no [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg]. That aside, it is an okay read. The storytelling isn't bad, and the story becomes slightly more original as it goes along. I actually finished it, so it can't be terrible, but it gets two stars for its absolute lack of originality.
WARNING: IT IS AN EXACT COPY OF THE PLOT OF [b:THE LORD OF THE RINGS|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298411339s/34.jpg|3204327].
And Brooks is no [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg]. That aside, it is an okay read. The storytelling isn't bad, and the story becomes slightly more original as it goes along. I actually finished it, so it can't be terrible, but it gets two stars for its absolute lack of originality.
slow-paced
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me 14 months to finish The Sword of Shannara, so reading it feels like it became part of a season of my life. It’s definitely derivative of The Lord of the Rings, but different enough that I stuck with it. At times, I got characters confused and wasn’t always totally sure what was happening, but the world itself was vivid, and I really felt the looming danger throughout. It’s not a book that stood out in a major way for me, but I still enjoyed it.
One of the more personal reasons I kept going was that my late uncle was a huge fan of this series, and in a way, reading it made me feel closer to him. I originally picked it up after a deep dive into ‘70s animated fantasy movies—like Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards—and stumbled across a Reddit thread where people were recommending books with that same vibe. Sword of Shannara came up a lot, and it really does fit that retro fantasy feel.
One of the more personal reasons I kept going was that my late uncle was a huge fan of this series, and in a way, reading it made me feel closer to him. I originally picked it up after a deep dive into ‘70s animated fantasy movies—like Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards—and stumbled across a Reddit thread where people were recommending books with that same vibe. Sword of Shannara came up a lot, and it really does fit that retro fantasy feel.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a second read through for me. I first read it when I was around 11 or 12 years old. The first time around I think I was intrigued by the magic and adventure. This time I'm more interested in the detailed history and world building and find the supernatural elements to be kind of vague.
I think that Terry Brooks did a very impressive job with fitting the amount of story that he did into the number of pages. Because of this there was also quite a bit of summary when there could have been more scenes.
As others have said, it is a highly patriarchal world which is probably due to a combination of the genre and the times. As a female reader, I wasn't too bothered with it. I did find Allanon's character to be bit annoying - he kind of has an air of arrogant male privilege in the fact that he knows everything and the other characters are all ignorant.
What I enjoyed most about the book was the tension and character dynamics between Shea, Panamon, and Keltset. I feel like their narrative examined in closer detail would have made an intriguing book all on its own.
Because of the length of the book, I felt that I did develop a relationship with it over time. I felt like I experienced the adventure with the characters. This makes finishing the book rather satisfying.
I think that Terry Brooks did a very impressive job with fitting the amount of story that he did into the number of pages. Because of this there was also quite a bit of summary when there could have been more scenes.
As others have said, it is a highly patriarchal world which is probably due to a combination of the genre and the times. As a female reader, I wasn't too bothered with it. I did find Allanon's character to be bit annoying - he kind of has an air of arrogant male privilege in the fact that he knows everything and the other characters are all ignorant.
What I enjoyed most about the book was the tension and character dynamics between Shea, Panamon, and Keltset. I feel like their narrative examined in closer detail would have made an intriguing book all on its own.
Because of the length of the book, I felt that I did develop a relationship with it over time. I felt like I experienced the adventure with the characters. This makes finishing the book rather satisfying.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark