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socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It's Lord of the Rings but still very good. It's also nice that nearly everything wraps up in this one novel but that there's still a ton that can be done with this world. Overall I do recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
wulfstanlee's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kaffebeanz's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this book when I was twelve and loved it as a fantasy enthusiast. Fifteen years later I love it even more! The characters are all so well developed, growing throughout the novel, and the story is not only exciting, but full of so many thought-provoking tidbits that use the world of Shannara to speak about the human character in many unique ways. Still one of my favourite books of all time.
rubooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is Terry’s first novel, so it is not as polished as later ones, but I have always enjoyed it. It ones my earliest reads and back in the day and I have and reread it several times. The annotations with Terry were a nice addition, giving some insight to his choices and story-craft..
brixdan's review against another edition
2.0
This was an okay book, but would have been so much more had not every single character in the book been male. Not one female character in the entire book until page 324... and even then, she's barely a person in it, falling in love after meeting someone 5 days prior... 1970s men sucked. Glad I wasn't alive then.
Also Terry Brooks spends the entire book telling you what is happening instead of leading you through the story by describing and showing you what is happening. I have been told over and over again that if a book tells you instead of shows you, it's a poorly written book. After reading this, it really emphasizes this point. I would say this book is a good example of how not to write a book.
Lucky for the book, I loved the TV show and have a desperate need to fill in the gaps before and after the TV show's demise.
Also, this book is heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings and you can tell that at every turn. I hope the rest in the series are written better as Mr. Brooks gained more writing experience.
Edit: I have to say, the long drawn out ending of this book was painful to get through. I was really glad when I had finished it.
Also Terry Brooks spends the entire book telling you what is happening instead of leading you through the story by describing and showing you what is happening. I have been told over and over again that if a book tells you instead of shows you, it's a poorly written book. After reading this, it really emphasizes this point. I would say this book is a good example of how not to write a book.
Lucky for the book, I loved the TV show and have a desperate need to fill in the gaps before and after the TV show's demise.
Also, this book is heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings and you can tell that at every turn. I hope the rest in the series are written better as Mr. Brooks gained more writing experience.
Edit: I have to say, the long drawn out ending of this book was painful to get through. I was really glad when I had finished it.
olanthea's review against another edition
2.0
I know that the entire Terry Brooks cult following (especially the ones I'm friends with) will be gathering stones to pelt me with for saying this, but I had a terrible time getting into this book. Despite all of the lengthy descriptions about people, locations, and history, I couldn't picture a single thing in my head. Sure I could tell you who did what as the story progressed, but it was just words on a page to me. Dozens of characters and not one of them meant anything to me as I read. If it weren't for the annotations that informed me that I should be devastated about someone's death, or uplifted by acts of empathy between characters, I probably wouldn't even have noticed that those scenes took place. The idea of these scenes and characters are intriguing, but they just weren't real to me. It read like a how I imagine book writing would go if there was a "paint by numbers" method - everything was technically there, it just lacked emotion.
I have heard from those who began reading this series at a younger age that this was their gateway into the fantasy genre, and perhaps there's something to be said about reading this book as a pre-teen as opposed to as an adult that makes the "tell not show" flow of the book easier to digest.
I have also been told that the writing gets better as Brooks goes, so I won't give up on the whole series, but I'm probably not going to go out of my way to catch-up on the world of Shannara.
I have heard from those who began reading this series at a younger age that this was their gateway into the fantasy genre, and perhaps there's something to be said about reading this book as a pre-teen as opposed to as an adult that makes the "tell not show" flow of the book easier to digest.
I have also been told that the writing gets better as Brooks goes, so I won't give up on the whole series, but I'm probably not going to go out of my way to catch-up on the world of Shannara.
owlegory's review against another edition
2.0
Extremely predictable with a heavy-handed writing style that told too much and made all the possible plot twists glaringly obvious. (Let's not forget the use of exclamation points! They aren't distracting or tone-ruining at all!) However, it has potential, and I understand it's the author's first novel. I wanted to finish it regardless of the aforementioned shortcomings. [detailed review with examples to come later.]
noel0003's review against another edition
4.0
Something about this book made me feel like a kid again. Like when you're young, and discovering fantasy books, and the magic of them draws you in and you're completely awed and amazed. It's unfortunate that I didn't actually read this when I was younger, because I'm sure I would have liked it even more than I did right now. But even so, I loved it.
And yes, it's similar to LOTR. That really doesn't bother me.
And yes, it's similar to LOTR. That really doesn't bother me.