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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Good book. Better story than sword of Shannara. Probably a 4.5 star book. Was less interested in the sections on the army, but the quest was very good with diverse areas and villains
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I saw the TV show before I read the book and I have to say that the book is much better, and I really liked the TV show. The book is also easier to follow than the TV series. The series takes a handful of plot points and discard the rest of the story, which makes both interesting and allow views to see similar stories told in different ways.
This book is filled with less mysteries than the last book, but this book has better character development and is faster paced than the first book. We get to know the characters more intimately and is therefore more character driven. Overall, if you liked the first book or the series, you'll LOVE this book.
This book is filled with less mysteries than the last book, but this book has better character development and is faster paced than the first book. We get to know the characters more intimately and is therefore more character driven. Overall, if you liked the first book or the series, you'll LOVE this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
Great book and the TV series does it fair justice, which is saying a lot.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
2020 re-read review. The Elfstones of Shannara is the 10th book chronologically in the Shannara series. There isn’t much I can add to my previous review, so I’ll just say I really love this book. Highly recommended!
———————————————————————————
2019 re-read of [b:The Elfstones of Shannara|39910203|The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #2)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524353356s/39910203.jpg|2121201].
This is probably at least my 6th reading of Elfstones, and I loved every minute of it. What a great way to kick off my 2019 reading journey!
I have been a fan of the Shannara series and [a:Terry Brooks|9629|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1280785812p2/9629.jpg] for 30 years now, and his books will always be special to me. This is one of the books that really started my life-long love of reading, and I have to say that I love this story just as much now as when I first read it probably 30 years ago.
[b:The Elfstones of Shannara|39910203|The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #2)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524353356s/39910203.jpg|2121201] and especially this version of the novel is a labor of love in two parts. I've read interviews of Mr. Brooks and he explains in his book [b:Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life|15569|Sometimes the Magic Works Lessons from a Writing Life|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386925109s/15569.jpg|829] how much time, effort, and re-work he had to do to get this story right. After his publication (and success) of his first book, [b:The Sword of Shannara|15575|The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #1)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470063017s/15575.jpg|877015] in 1977, readers wanted a follow up/sequel to Sword. Mr. Brooks wrote one which was originally titled the Song of Lorelei, but his editor basically made him re-write the whole thing over, because the plot just didn't work. Brooks recalls in How the Magic Works that he had to re-write and edit this numerous times. I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been to him. The end result of that additional re-work effort is this wondrous novel. I for one, am thankful for it. This book is magical.
This version is a special limited edition, leather-bound copy printed by [a:Shawn Speakman|4161354|Shawn Speakman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1345175757p2/4161354.jpg] by Grim Oak Press. Being such a loyal, practically life-long fan of the Shannara series, I had to have this version. Shawn is a super fan of Terry Brooks and the Shannara series, and he also operates Terry's website: Terry Brooks' website. This version has new illustrations by Marc Simonetti, and a beautiful fold out map of the Four Lands. It is one of my prized possessions in my personal library and I'm thankful for Shawn and Grim Oak for publishing this version.
I won't go into a synopsis of the plot, because people who have read the book will already know it, and potential readers can get it from the book cover. I'll just say that it is epic fantasy at its finest. It is an extremely satisfying fantasy story with believable, relatable, characters, an unforgettable setting, and a plot that is very well devised and executed. 5 stars all the way!
———————————————————————————
2019 re-read of [b:The Elfstones of Shannara|39910203|The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #2)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524353356s/39910203.jpg|2121201].
This is probably at least my 6th reading of Elfstones, and I loved every minute of it. What a great way to kick off my 2019 reading journey!
I have been a fan of the Shannara series and [a:Terry Brooks|9629|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1280785812p2/9629.jpg] for 30 years now, and his books will always be special to me. This is one of the books that really started my life-long love of reading, and I have to say that I love this story just as much now as when I first read it probably 30 years ago.
[b:The Elfstones of Shannara|39910203|The Elfstones of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #2)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524353356s/39910203.jpg|2121201] and especially this version of the novel is a labor of love in two parts. I've read interviews of Mr. Brooks and he explains in his book [b:Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life|15569|Sometimes the Magic Works Lessons from a Writing Life|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386925109s/15569.jpg|829] how much time, effort, and re-work he had to do to get this story right. After his publication (and success) of his first book, [b:The Sword of Shannara|15575|The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #1)|Terry Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470063017s/15575.jpg|877015] in 1977, readers wanted a follow up/sequel to Sword. Mr. Brooks wrote one which was originally titled the Song of Lorelei, but his editor basically made him re-write the whole thing over, because the plot just didn't work. Brooks recalls in How the Magic Works that he had to re-write and edit this numerous times. I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been to him. The end result of that additional re-work effort is this wondrous novel. I for one, am thankful for it. This book is magical.
This version is a special limited edition, leather-bound copy printed by [a:Shawn Speakman|4161354|Shawn Speakman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1345175757p2/4161354.jpg] by Grim Oak Press. Being such a loyal, practically life-long fan of the Shannara series, I had to have this version. Shawn is a super fan of Terry Brooks and the Shannara series, and he also operates Terry's website: Terry Brooks' website. This version has new illustrations by Marc Simonetti, and a beautiful fold out map of the Four Lands. It is one of my prized possessions in my personal library and I'm thankful for Shawn and Grim Oak for publishing this version.
I won't go into a synopsis of the plot, because people who have read the book will already know it, and potential readers can get it from the book cover. I'll just say that it is epic fantasy at its finest. It is an extremely satisfying fantasy story with believable, relatable, characters, an unforgettable setting, and a plot that is very well devised and executed. 5 stars all the way!
Just about everyone says Elfstones is a vast improvement on The Sword of Shannara since that novel blatantly takes from The Lord of the Rings but I enjoy Sword significantly more. While the treatment of women is considerably better in Elfstones (not a difficult feat given Terry Brooks almost forgot women existed while writing Sword), his treatment of fantasy races is much worse. I hated how the Demons are never anything but evil all the time with no explanation other than because they're Demons. Worse still are the Rovers, blatant Roma stereotypes that are all untrustworthy thieves who sell their children because that's their way of life. This is a sharp departure from Sword having several moments where protagonist Shea is forced to reevaluate what he thought about Gnomes and Trolls after meeting individuals opposing the Warlock Lord, how they aren't all evil. There are more good Gnomes and Trolls in Elfstones but without reading Sword you wouldn't know this aspect.
In addition, I just didn't find this story as epic as Sword. Sure, the epicness of that novel is largely derived from Lord of the Rings but I had a great time with it regardless. Here everything feels somehow smaller even with the fate of the world at stake again. There are still some cool locations and some effective moments of dread and horror, but it doesn't quite come together for me. Maybe it's how there's less traveling and fewer characters, although a smaller cast means more development for them here.
The Kindle edition also suffers some formatting issues, mainly multiple paragraphs running together into unseemly blocks of text.
I hope I enjoy The Wishsong of Shannara more.
In addition, I just didn't find this story as epic as Sword. Sure, the epicness of that novel is largely derived from Lord of the Rings but I had a great time with it regardless. Here everything feels somehow smaller even with the fate of the world at stake again. There are still some cool locations and some effective moments of dread and horror, but it doesn't quite come together for me. Maybe it's how there's less traveling and fewer characters, although a smaller cast means more development for them here.
The Kindle edition also suffers some formatting issues, mainly multiple paragraphs running together into unseemly blocks of text.
I hope I enjoy The Wishsong of Shannara more.
While this seemed fairly tropey, it was, as with the first, a fun fantasy commercial fiction read. To its detriment, because of when it was published and it’s commercial demands, this feels somewhat like the embodiment of 90s fantasy tropes rolled into one.
Chosen guy all women are attracted to. Massive battle between good and evil. Powerful magical artifacts with a capital c cost. Fantasy species exactly as you’d imagine them to be. The Quest.
It’s an interesting artifact as far as embodying that fantasy moment, I think. And it is still fun. It’s valid to fall into the comfort of the familiar with a bit of a remix. I thought it was fine all over, if a bit eye roll worthy at points, such as the Insta love for Will moments, or the sometimes arbitrary feeling deviations to a specific goal. There is better out there. But it’s certainly got a quality about it that makes it endearing overall.
Chosen guy all women are attracted to. Massive battle between good and evil. Powerful magical artifacts with a capital c cost. Fantasy species exactly as you’d imagine them to be. The Quest.
It’s an interesting artifact as far as embodying that fantasy moment, I think. And it is still fun. It’s valid to fall into the comfort of the familiar with a bit of a remix. I thought it was fine all over, if a bit eye roll worthy at points, such as the Insta love for Will moments, or the sometimes arbitrary feeling deviations to a specific goal. There is better out there. But it’s certainly got a quality about it that makes it endearing overall.