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sir_scott's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Very Good book! If you like fantasy or epic tales, this is a must read. Can't put it down
Very Good book! If you like fantasy or epic tales, this is a must read. Can't put it down
craftygiant's review against another edition
4.0
greatly enjoyed as an audio book. A lengthy read but it didn't feel like it.
marmarci's review against another edition
2.0
Sabía de antemano que se iba a parecer mucho a El Señor de los Anillos, y lo curioso es que al principio no me lo pareció tanto (he leído libros que copian más descaradamente), pero conforme avanzaba quedó claro que todo el libro está basado en la estructura y arcos de la obra de Tolkien.
Hasta la mitad del libro, se me hizo tedioso, dándome sueño casi cada vez que lo cogía. Aún así estaba empeñada en seguir (mayormente porque quiero leer el segundo libro). Por suerte, a partir de la mitad más o menos, aparecen dos nuevos personajes que, junto al enano Hendel, son lo mejorcito de este libro. Personajes carismáticos a los que se les coge cariño y que curiosamente son más de la mente de Brooks que un préstamo de Tolkien. Tiene sentido, puesto que los personajes propios siempre estarán mejor desarrollados que los prestados.
Aún así el ritmo del libro va haciendo altibajos entre escenas de interés, y otras largas y tediosas hasta decir basta. Incluso con repeticiones. El libro podría haber estado mejor con menos préstamos y palabras (sobre todo descripciones de rocas y nubes, ay)
Sin embargo, las partes que se nota que son cosecha del escritor, se me hicieron más entretenidas. Pienso que tiene mucho potencial (habiendo leído sólo este libro suyo), y en el momento en que deje de apoyarse en Tolkien (que ojo, El Señor de los Anillos es uno de los libros más importantes de mi vida. Pero si quiero leer esa historia, me voy a Tolkien, no a copias o inspiraciones intensas), creo que puede crear historias muy interesantes. Veremos qué tal evoluciona en el segundo libro de la saga.
Hasta la mitad del libro, se me hizo tedioso, dándome sueño casi cada vez que lo cogía. Aún así estaba empeñada en seguir (mayormente porque quiero leer el segundo libro). Por suerte, a partir de la mitad más o menos, aparecen dos nuevos personajes que, junto al enano Hendel, son lo mejorcito de este libro. Personajes carismáticos a los que se les coge cariño y que curiosamente son más de la mente de Brooks que un préstamo de Tolkien. Tiene sentido, puesto que los personajes propios siempre estarán mejor desarrollados que los prestados.
Aún así el ritmo del libro va haciendo altibajos entre escenas de interés, y otras largas y tediosas hasta decir basta. Incluso con repeticiones. El libro podría haber estado mejor con menos préstamos y palabras (sobre todo descripciones de rocas y nubes, ay)
Sin embargo, las partes que se nota que son cosecha del escritor, se me hicieron más entretenidas. Pienso que tiene mucho potencial (habiendo leído sólo este libro suyo), y en el momento en que deje de apoyarse en Tolkien (que ojo, El Señor de los Anillos es uno de los libros más importantes de mi vida. Pero si quiero leer esa historia, me voy a Tolkien, no a copias o inspiraciones intensas), creo que puede crear historias muy interesantes. Veremos qué tal evoluciona en el segundo libro de la saga.
joannaautumn's review against another edition
2.0
Writing good descriptions does not equal writing good, you know?
That’s one sentence to describe this book.
The main issue I had with this book is how boring it is to read it, you can see that it is heavily influenced by Lord of the rings but that segment didn’t bother me too much.
What bothered me is how flat the writing is. It starts out charming, but it didn’t hold my attention, the characters were mostly flat, any moments of development were magically inserted, no build-up.
That’s why it took me more than a month to finish it, I was completely uninterested.
We have only one female character in the book(another one is mentioned but doesn't appear), Her only traits were her looks, and her kindness towards the said character, the writer didn’t bother to give her anything else personality-wise, I mean look at the adjectives for other characters brave, smart, cunning and similar but she was just a beautiful red-haired princess.
The secret behind the sword was a nice idea but the way it was done was underwhelming. The antagonist is weak, and his demise was unsatisfying.
I can appreciate what Brooks has done for the genre but this book is very disappointing. I will probably read the remaining two from the Original Shannara Trilogy and decide whether or not to continue with Brooks.
That’s one sentence to describe this book.
The main issue I had with this book is how boring it is to read it, you can see that it is heavily influenced by Lord of the rings but that segment didn’t bother me too much.
What bothered me is how flat the writing is. It starts out charming, but it didn’t hold my attention, the characters were mostly flat, any moments of development were magically inserted, no build-up.
That’s why it took me more than a month to finish it, I was completely uninterested.
We have only one female character in the book(another one is mentioned but doesn't appear),
Spoiler
and she’s more there so that one character can have growth (even though their whole love story had no sense nor chemistry).The secret behind the sword was a nice idea but the way it was done was underwhelming. The antagonist is weak, and his demise was unsatisfying.
I can appreciate what Brooks has done for the genre but this book is very disappointing. I will probably read the remaining two from the Original Shannara Trilogy and decide whether or not to continue with Brooks.
christina_a_f's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
rickybgood's review against another edition
2.0
Sadly I've had to give this only two stars.
I've wanted to read this since seeing the T.V adaptation, and was eager to sit down and immerse myself into this world again.
The story opens nicely, gently pulling you into the world with simple character introductions that feel endearing and interesting. The pace of writing is also good, neither to lofty or slow and I found that I really enjoyed turning the pages.
However;
I can't believe how closely this resembles obvious Lord of the rings and the hobbit tropes. At first I was happy to let them slide (having read Robert Jordan's wheel of time, I'm aware that they can quickly lead into their own style). But as I got further into the book, the story sadly, continued to heavily, shadow both the hobbit and fellowship of the ring. I grew quickly despondent with the world and found it almost laughable at times.
I will read the second in his series as I've heard the writer comes into his own. So in a sense I've not completely thrown him out.
Sadly for me however, this first book was awful.
I've wanted to read this since seeing the T.V adaptation, and was eager to sit down and immerse myself into this world again.
The story opens nicely, gently pulling you into the world with simple character introductions that feel endearing and interesting. The pace of writing is also good, neither to lofty or slow and I found that I really enjoyed turning the pages.
However;
I can't believe how closely this resembles obvious Lord of the rings and the hobbit tropes. At first I was happy to let them slide (having read Robert Jordan's wheel of time, I'm aware that they can quickly lead into their own style). But as I got further into the book, the story sadly, continued to heavily, shadow both the hobbit and fellowship of the ring. I grew quickly despondent with the world and found it almost laughable at times.
I will read the second in his series as I've heard the writer comes into his own. So in a sense I've not completely thrown him out.
Sadly for me however, this first book was awful.
ultimatumman's review against another edition
4.0
I have been reluctant to break into pretty much any fantasy series because each series has tons of books. The Sword of Shannara can stand alone, meaning, I don't have to read the rest of the series to see how it ends, so I decided to try it. I went back and forth between really liking it and thinking it was just ok. There are parts where I was pretty sure Terry Brooks took some pages out of Lord of the Rings and just changed the names. So there was definitely some LOTR copying going on, but I think he did a decent job at making it his own.
tlj2781's review against another edition
The writing is rather dull. The book takes heavy inspiration from the age old farm boys got to fight the darkness but lacks that individual spark to it that sets it apart like other stories.
stephenmeansme's review
DNF at 33% or so. It's a shame! I read this for a "local authors" book project in middle school, and liked it enough to read the rest of the Shannara books (including the urban-fantasy pre-pre-prequels that got awkwardly retconned in). My childhood memory said that the first books before ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA were a bit bland, but re-reading SWORD in 2022 showed me just how bland. Derivative of Lord of the Rings with very little of interest beyond that.
mariasbooknook1's review
DNF at page 120. Discount LOTR, only likeable character was Allanon because he is giving grumpy Gandalf vibes. Flick and Shea I find highly annoying, and every time they encounter hardship they get away by pure luck without lifting a finger. I really wanted to give this a chance because I enjoyed the tv show but gosh I hated the first 120 pages so much.