Reviews

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

arithonfi's review against another edition

5.0

Great book. Fully self contained story which is a huge plus for this book. One of the first fantasy books that I ever read, so to see that it holds up on a reread was a lovely surprise.

lanidon's review against another edition

Didn't connect to the characters, may try again later

theniknik's review against another edition

slow-paced

jessethereader's review against another edition

2.0

I really wanted to like this, but that just wasn't the case. This book was just overly boring and it lacked plot. It felt like nothing was happening half the time. Overall disappointed with this book.

dereesimo's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

anthoneater's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

salesforce's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

scott_hansen98's review against another edition

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? Yes

2.75

grogu_djarin's review

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Overall Thoughts:
People have mapped characters and scenes from this book to the Lord of the Rings and it's easy to see the parallels when reading it, however it does introduce some original ideas (notably a post-apocalyptic setting) and the story is at its best when it happens, unfortunately it doesn't happen often enough. In its place, much of the book feels like a generic high fantasy retelling of the Lord of the Rings, and I was often frustrated how often plot points resolved themselves due to the power of plot convenience. In a way, it feels like following a weekly Dungeons and Dragons campaign, with a new enemy each week chapter, with whatever trouble the party is in needing to be wrapped up quickly so everyone can go home for the night. That said, it's at least an entertaining read for most of it, though it does have some slow parts, often during pages of exposition and info dumping on the world, its history, and the environment. 

Likes:

• While it follows many of the beats of Lord of the Rings, where it's best is when it has original ideas. In particular, the characters of Panamon Creel and Keltset stood out.
• While only a few of the characters have any character development, I thought Flick's character arc was the best, with Menion Leah close behind. 
• I liked the twist concerning the Sword of Shannara and how it was used. 
• It was an entertaining read if nothing else.

Dislikes:

• There are pages of exposition and info dumping on the world mixed throughout the book. Allanon is especially guilty of this.
• Many of the situations the characters get into feel like "villain of the week" but in this case "villain of the chapter" and it often feels like the main cast has plot armor because they get out of the situations due to extreme luck more often than not.
• Most of the characters are shallow and one-dimensional and could be used interchangeably in many parts. Frequently they aren't even called by their names, rather generic descriptors such as "the dwarf" or "the highlander". There's also only one woman in the book which makes the world feel one-dimensional.
• Maybe because it was one of the first published fantasy books after Lord of the Rings, but much of it feels like generic fantasy. The bad guy is largely called "the Warlock Lord" and he lives in "Skull Mountain" and his minions are the "Skull Bearers". Also the setting of man, elf, and dwarf pitched against gnomes and trolls feels very generic and none of the races are explored much. 

Other Notes:

• This book has a strange identity. While it feels closest to high fantasy (especially since it's largely a Lord of the Rings clone), the post-apocalyptic setting sets it apart. I just wish they had explored that aspect more because the vast majority of the book feels high fantasy with a slight identity crisis whenever the post-apocalyptic setting comes up.

Would Recommend To:

• This is probably a good book for a kid or teen to read as entry into fantasy. While there are better fantasy stories, it would be a good introduction to the worlds of swords and sorcery.

Do Not Recommend To:

• Someone wanting a strong fantasy story. It's fairly shallow and parallels quite a lot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

jobananers's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed the characters and the plot, but the writing at times was overwhelming with its descriptions of the landscapes/environment of the characters. I think it would have been better to spend more time advancing the plot than detailing the environment, but I still enjoyed the book.