Reviews

First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks

agentnk_'s review against another edition

5.0

actually this is 2nd reading of the book. slowly building a library for Shannara saga and this was the perfect start :)

j_nell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

abw83's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

anthoneater's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

kodermike's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Brooks continues to tell instead of showing, but this was actually consistent in quality. One of the better Shannara books that I’ve read. 

jesassa's review against another edition

3.0

I'm crushed! This is what I've always feared when rereading childhood favorites! This was good, but I didn't enjoy it very much at all. I started Sword of Shannara, I'm 130+ pages in and I just can't get excited about it. I adored these books as a teenager! (It wasn't all that long ago either!) I just moved into a new apartment and brought these from my childhood bedroom, all 12 that I could immediately put my hands on! I wanted to get lost in this world that I once loved so much. Now I'm regretting the valuable shelf space their taking up here, regretting that I left Terry Goodkind's SWORD OF TRUTH in preference of these. I think maybe the time is just not right for me to try these again? I'll try again. I'm not ready to give up on Mr. Brooks. This is very disappointing.

cute_monkey_girl's review against another edition

3.0

This is a good book for middle schoolers and those who are new to the fantasy scene. The action is fast-paced, there are some interesting bits of dialogue, and some intriguing monsters and villains. However, for those of you who are more into LOTR, I would not recommend this book. I would not recommend it either if you are more well-versed in fantasy.

I read this book for the first time in middle school, back before having ever read The Hobbit or LOTR, and I was hooked. However, upon re-reading it, it was hard for me to finish the book. I had to grit my teeth and push myself through this time around. It was hard for me to connect with the characters or feel sympathy for their plight. The character development felt too rushed and forced, and it seemed everywhere I looked, the book was riddled with cliches and stereotypes.

Around this same time, I've started re-reading the LOTR trilogy. Back in middle school, I tried reading through Tolkien's trilogy, but most of it flew over my head and I hardly remember any of it; but, upon re-reading it, I find that I enjoy it much more now. I also found a lot of suspicious similarities between the LOTR trilogy and this book (which is not surprising considering I've just read Brooks was a huge Tolkien fan and has admitted to blatantly ripping off of LOTR in some of his books)...

mcfade28's review against another edition

3.0

A decent entry into the Shanara series. I think the writing is markedly better than in the original series, and most of the characters were likable. The romances still feel like weak spots, and it did suffer from prequelitus a bit but all in all, not bad.

stubert's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

nikolas_fox's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75