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js_warren's review against another edition
3.0
Another Shannara book, another data point suggesting that what I really enjoyed as a kid isn't quite doing it for me as an adult.
Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the book and the "Heritage of Shannara" series (the middle two books being the most enjoyable). Brooks has a fully fleshed-out world here, which I respect and enjoy, and the adventures he plays out within them are entertaining. His characters can be a little hit and miss, but more the former than the latter.
But I keep getting hung up on his writing style while I'm reading rather than the story itself. It's something I've mentioned more than once as I've reviewed his books this year: it's so. Damn. Descriptive. Distractingly so.
I'm currently trying to write a book, so maybe this issue is just something I've fixated on because it differs from what I'm trying to do. And by no means am I suggesting that I can do better. But for the love of god, the descriptions are never-ending. I can't count the number of times I've unintentionally zoned out while reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of unnecessary description and started thinking about the details of my own story instead. And then we get to actual action and I'm back to the Four Lands and the continuing adventures of the Ohmsfords, et al. Not an ideal reading experience, although I guess it's given me extra time to ponder my own tale, so it's not all bad.
I get setting the stage. I get describing the characters on it. I get setting the mood. But there has to be a limit. It's almost as if, knowing how much he owes to Tolkien, he spends too much energy trying to emulate the wrong aspects of Tolkien's vivid world-building. Or maybe it's just a stylistic choice that rubs me the wrong way as an adult. Hard to say.
But there's one thing I know for sure: I'm genuinely sick of Brooks writing his characters into an inescapable corner and then having the King of the Silver River pop out of nowhere to save them. If I recall correctly, he's done it at least four times in seven books. C'mon, dude...
Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the book and the "Heritage of Shannara" series (the middle two books being the most enjoyable). Brooks has a fully fleshed-out world here, which I respect and enjoy, and the adventures he plays out within them are entertaining. His characters can be a little hit and miss, but more the former than the latter.
But I keep getting hung up on his writing style while I'm reading rather than the story itself. It's something I've mentioned more than once as I've reviewed his books this year: it's so. Damn. Descriptive. Distractingly so.
I'm currently trying to write a book, so maybe this issue is just something I've fixated on because it differs from what I'm trying to do. And by no means am I suggesting that I can do better. But for the love of god, the descriptions are never-ending. I can't count the number of times I've unintentionally zoned out while reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of unnecessary description and started thinking about the details of my own story instead. And then we get to actual action and I'm back to the Four Lands and the continuing adventures of the Ohmsfords, et al. Not an ideal reading experience, although I guess it's given me extra time to ponder my own tale, so it's not all bad.
I get setting the stage. I get describing the characters on it. I get setting the mood. But there has to be a limit. It's almost as if, knowing how much he owes to Tolkien, he spends too much energy trying to emulate the wrong aspects of Tolkien's vivid world-building. Or maybe it's just a stylistic choice that rubs me the wrong way as an adult. Hard to say.
But there's one thing I know for sure: I'm genuinely sick of Brooks writing his characters into an inescapable corner and then having the King of the Silver River pop out of nowhere to save them. If I recall correctly, he's done it at least four times in seven books. C'mon, dude...
ryleeiscool's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
waden34's review against another edition
2.0
This is one of the most disappointing anti-climactic ends to a series that I've ever read.
About 3/4 of the way through the book, I still had no idea why anyone was doing what they were doing. There was no purpose to any of it.
There was far too many people getting captured and released, then captured and released again throughout this series. It got old in the first book and was more irritating in this one.
And the ending... what the hell. Let's not tie anything together really, we'll just explain it all away and go on.
The only saving grace this book had was in the growth of the characters. It was fairly well done and did make me want to continue reading. (Aside from Morgan who seems to fall in love with any available woman...)
About 3/4 of the way through the book, I still had no idea why anyone was doing what they were doing. There was no purpose to any of it.
There was far too many people getting captured and released, then captured and released again throughout this series. It got old in the first book and was more irritating in this one.
And the ending... what the hell. Let's not tie anything together really, we'll just explain it all away and go on.
The only saving grace this book had was in the growth of the characters. It was fairly well done and did make me want to continue reading. (Aside from Morgan who seems to fall in love with any available woman...)
chrissys_soul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hollyfromthebigsky's review against another edition
3.0
Soooo...
this was quite good, and a great resolution to all of the storylines we'd been following.
That said, it suffered a bit in comparison to Mockingjay. Although they are completely different books, after being achingly sent through the ringer of [b:Mockingjay|7260188|Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1282388315s/7260188.jpg|8812783], I had a hard time accepting the "easy" resolution of all of the characters in Talismans.
But I will certainly read on in the world of Shannara, regardless.
this was quite good, and a great resolution to all of the storylines we'd been following.
That said, it suffered a bit in comparison to Mockingjay. Although they are completely different books, after being achingly sent through the ringer of [b:Mockingjay|7260188|Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1282388315s/7260188.jpg|8812783], I had a hard time accepting the "easy" resolution of all of the characters in Talismans.
But I will certainly read on in the world of Shannara, regardless.
squidlord23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25