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Shannara (Publication Order) #1-2
The Sword of the Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara
Terry Brooks' Shannara series has become a modern classic, and now, 25 years after it was written, it is a must-have addition to your eBook library. For a limited time only, take advantage of this exciting opportunity -- buy Elfstones of Shannara and get The Sword of Shannara for free! Sword of ShannaraLiving in peaceful Shady Vale, Shea Ohmsford knew little of the troubles that plagued the rest of the world. Then the giant, forbidding Allanon revaled that the supposedly dead Warlock Lord was plotting to destory the world. The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness was the Sword of Shannara, which could only be used by a true heir of Shannara--Shea being the last of the bloodline, upon whom all hope rested. Soon a Skull Bearer, dread minion of Evil, flew into the Vale, seeking to destroy Shea. To save the Vale, Shea fled, drawing the Skull Bearer after him.... Elfstones of ShannaraAncient Evil threatens the Elves: The ancient tree created by long-lost Elven magic, is dying. When Wil Ohmsford is summoned to guard the Amberle on a perilous quest to gather a new seed for a new tree, he is faced with the Reaper, the most fearsome of all Demons. And Wil is without power to control them....
Unbound
First published January 14, 1998
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About the author
Terry Brooks
417 books77.8k followersTerry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
December 9, 2008
Cheap lord of the rings knock off..and it seemed like it would never end....
June 20, 2017
When I first read this book in 3rd grade--it had been published only a few months before--I thought it was great. I've grown up, and re-reading it now was close to unbearable. Others have commented on the blatant copying of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings--from the multiracial fellowship banding together to stop an ancient evil to the story beats (separation of the fellowship, isolation of the protagonist/weakest character, climactic physical battle that should end in death for all of the heroes, except for the defeat of the ancient evil, which quickly takes care of the evil army)--it is impossible to avoid unfavorable comparison to the much greater original.
But it's Brooks' poor writing that makes this such a slog. If he can tell rather than show, he will. Admittedly, some of the exposition about the genesis of ancient evil had to be included, but probably not as much as appears here, and it could have been delivered in more interesting ways. The greatest chunk of exposition in LOTR is during Elrond's council, and Tolkien breaks it up by having various characters fill in the story. Here, Allanon repeatedly gathers an audience and then just talks at them. Brooks breaks up the monologue by having one of the characters (first Shea, then Menion) say something stupid that angers Allanon; Brooks then describes Allanon's darkened face and growing rage before he mocks the interlocutor and continues on with this exposition. And that's how the information is delivered each time Brooks decides that his reader needs to know something.
A major failing in this regard is the development of the various friendships. Brooks briefly describes the supposedly incompatible world views of Shea and his BFF Menion, but it's done quickly by the omniscient narrator, so the friendship which both later (repeatedly) muse about being full of contradictions isn't so puzzling at all. They've got some different political views, end of story. Likewise, Panamon Creel comes off as some kind of fantasy Han Solo--a thief with a heart of gold. He tells exaggerated tales of his own greatness to Shea, and neither trusts each other. But, during a massive storm, the two just talk and get to know the real Panamon and Shea. How do we know this? Do we get to know them? No, Brooks just tells us it happens. Or the supposed close friendship between Hendel and Menion, which boils down to a rescue and some shared interest in tracking. Or the love of Menion and Shirl, which they both realize within about 50 pages of having met, and after the passage of approximately 72 hours. We know she's beautiful, and Menion is supposed to be the kind of ne'er-do-well prince who really has a heart of gold and a streak of integrity 90 miles wide, so of course they're made for each other.
When I was young, I read more of Brooks' books (through the Heritage of Shannara series), and, I became increasingly frustrated by transparent plotting and the recycling of character types and plot points. There is much more interesting, original, and well-written fantasy out there. You can skip Brooks' Shannara series.
But it's Brooks' poor writing that makes this such a slog. If he can tell rather than show, he will. Admittedly, some of the exposition about the genesis of ancient evil had to be included, but probably not as much as appears here, and it could have been delivered in more interesting ways. The greatest chunk of exposition in LOTR is during Elrond's council, and Tolkien breaks it up by having various characters fill in the story. Here, Allanon repeatedly gathers an audience and then just talks at them. Brooks breaks up the monologue by having one of the characters (first Shea, then Menion) say something stupid that angers Allanon; Brooks then describes Allanon's darkened face and growing rage before he mocks the interlocutor and continues on with this exposition. And that's how the information is delivered each time Brooks decides that his reader needs to know something.
A major failing in this regard is the development of the various friendships. Brooks briefly describes the supposedly incompatible world views of Shea and his BFF Menion, but it's done quickly by the omniscient narrator, so the friendship which both later (repeatedly) muse about being full of contradictions isn't so puzzling at all. They've got some different political views, end of story. Likewise, Panamon Creel comes off as some kind of fantasy Han Solo--a thief with a heart of gold. He tells exaggerated tales of his own greatness to Shea, and neither trusts each other. But, during a massive storm, the two just talk and get to know the real Panamon and Shea. How do we know this? Do we get to know them? No, Brooks just tells us it happens. Or the supposed close friendship between Hendel and Menion, which boils down to a rescue and some shared interest in tracking. Or the love of Menion and Shirl, which they both realize within about 50 pages of having met, and after the passage of approximately 72 hours. We know she's beautiful, and Menion is supposed to be the kind of ne'er-do-well prince who really has a heart of gold and a streak of integrity 90 miles wide, so of course they're made for each other.
When I was young, I read more of Brooks' books (through the Heritage of Shannara series), and, I became increasingly frustrated by transparent plotting and the recycling of character types and plot points. There is much more interesting, original, and well-written fantasy out there. You can skip Brooks' Shannara series.
May 11, 2015
Seeing as how this was Brook's debut of the Shannara series, I gave it a little bit of a pass. Overall, I felt the writing style was often clunky at times. Written in the shadow of the Tolkien craze, it was evident that Brooks at times borrowed from Tolkien's writing style/plot. However, Brooks' prose lacked the poetic fluidity of Tolkien. At times you could almost directly link concepts and characters and settings in TSOS with those in LOTR, and I felt as though that detracted mightily from whatever originality Brooks was hoping to achieve.
I looked at this book as kind of a launching pad in the genre of post-Tolkien epic fantasy. Brooks kind of took the first crack at developing a major fantasy universe in the wake of Middle-Earth, which, to be fair, is almost an impossible act to follow. I did feel that, towards the end, Brooks did begin to develop his own voice, and that did add to my enjoyment of the tale.
I will eventually pick the Shannara series back up, as it did end on a promising note. However, TSOS was very difficult to get through for the most part.
I looked at this book as kind of a launching pad in the genre of post-Tolkien epic fantasy. Brooks kind of took the first crack at developing a major fantasy universe in the wake of Middle-Earth, which, to be fair, is almost an impossible act to follow. I did feel that, towards the end, Brooks did begin to develop his own voice, and that did add to my enjoyment of the tale.
I will eventually pick the Shannara series back up, as it did end on a promising note. However, TSOS was very difficult to get through for the most part.
December 13, 2017
Again, I like the general story and characters, but I'm still not sure I'm enjoying it too much. Descriptions drag a little too much and back story goes on for too long. I think these things should be established but not as entire chapters and such.
It was better than the first book though. It didn't drag as much and the writting style gets better. will and Amberly are much better characters too.
It was better than the first book though. It didn't drag as much and the writting style gets better. will and Amberly are much better characters too.
June 7, 2022
Okay, I definitely noticed the blatant LoTR similarities so many have pointed out but I enjoyed this story much more. Sometimes I don’t mind closely similar storylines to others within the genre. This one was well done.
May 14, 2012
In this book there is a boy named Shea Ohmsford how learns he is a decendent of the great elf king and he must travel to the castle of the elves to retrieve the sword of shannara because he is the only one who can kill the warlock lord, Brona. Shea and his brother, Flick, decide to make this perilous journey. Through their trials and tribulations they meet a magician, the prince of culhaven, Shea's friend Menion Leah, and other elves who make the walk with him to find the sword and save the North, South, East, and Westland from the evil warlock lord. Whose plan is to overtake the lands and then control them how he pleases.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was intriguing the whole way through. Even when parts were dull I was still excited for what was going to happen next. It was creative and easy to understand what was happening in the story and it was easy to see from the character's point of view.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction, who likes medieval times with castles and sword fighting. I recommend it to someone who would likes action and adventure.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was intriguing the whole way through. Even when parts were dull I was still excited for what was going to happen next. It was creative and easy to understand what was happening in the story and it was easy to see from the character's point of view.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes fiction, who likes medieval times with castles and sword fighting. I recommend it to someone who would likes action and adventure.
September 6, 2017
I'd rate this about a 2.5/5.
Published 22 years afterThe Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara has been criticized as being a rip-off of the former. Sure, there are parallels between the stories, but Sword is a pale facsimile thereof. The biggest problem with this book is its juvenile writing. The plot is simple, one-dimensional, and predictable. If I didn't know better I would have guessed it was written for Young Adults, although the Young Adult fantasy I've read has been more sophisticated than this. I also was unable to become invested in or attached to the characters; if one was in danger of dying I really didn't care. Honestly, my only concern was that the quest be completed because, although I didn't dislike this book enough to stop reading it, I also wasn't going to read a sequel to see how the story turned out.
Published 22 years afterThe Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara has been criticized as being a rip-off of the former. Sure, there are parallels between the stories, but Sword is a pale facsimile thereof. The biggest problem with this book is its juvenile writing. The plot is simple, one-dimensional, and predictable. If I didn't know better I would have guessed it was written for Young Adults, although the Young Adult fantasy I've read has been more sophisticated than this. I also was unable to become invested in or attached to the characters; if one was in danger of dying I really didn't care. Honestly, my only concern was that the quest be completed because, although I didn't dislike this book enough to stop reading it, I also wasn't going to read a sequel to see how the story turned out.
August 25, 2017
I originally read this book in junior high, so it was fun to read again 2 decades later. The Shannara series is what actually got me into reading, so thank you Terry Brooks, and thanks to my brother for introducing me to this series! I was so into these books when I was a teenager, I was a "Shannara girl" for Halloween one year, with my homemade sword & sheath, and my pouch of elfstones (the elfstones were clear blue glass pebbles I borrowed from a board game we had.) The books are really long and descriptive, which some people complain about, but I think you have to emerse yourself into the story and characters, and feel like you're really there, and take your time reading them.
August 2, 2017
Obviously and heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings, I think this book is probably more accessible in terms of language than the LOTR trilogy. The writing definitely veered into some seriously purple prose and occasional overuse of words (for example, using "complete" and "completely" in the same sentence), but I'd say it's a classic for a reason.
Highly readable, fun story and just different enough from LOTR that it could stand alone. Looking forward to reading the rest of the Shannara books.
Highly readable, fun story and just different enough from LOTR that it could stand alone. Looking forward to reading the rest of the Shannara books.
October 13, 2017
Fun story, but the characters are a little thin and the writing a bit formulaic. Also, it seemed like I was reading the Lord of the Rings with different characters, same plot configuration, different props.
January 11, 2018
I think this book was great, especially with all the adventure, plot twists, and the relationships and descriptions of and between characters. I easily got sucked into the book after only one chapter and then couldn't stop reading!
November 26, 2015
read this a looping time ago and loved the series. just heard Favreau and MTV are making it a series?????
February 26, 2018
Very similar to lord of the rings for sure. Juvenile in areas, especially when describing emotion.
September 8, 2018
The sword of Shannara is the first book of a trilogy.
I do wonder after reading this book why there is a trilogy? This book has a good ending to it.
The story reminds me a lot of lord of the rings... One item to obtain and a great journey towards destruction of the villain. Great armies to defeat on the way. Wars to stop before great kingdoms get destroyed. One small afraid and unknowing character to make it all happen and make sure the story ends well.
A mixed group of 'volunteers' so to say to help this small character on his quest.
This small character that gets separated from the group... Fighting for his life against 'undead' spirit like creatures...
dwarfs, elfs, druids I mean they all had a great resemblance to characters from lord of the rings-->
Shea --> Frodo
Flick --> Sam
Allanon --> Gandalf
Dwarf Hendel --> Gimli
Elf Durin/Dayel --> Legolas
Menion Leah --> Aragorn
Balinor --> Boromir
Dark lord --> Sauron
the more I think about it, the more similarities I can think of...
Nevertheless it's a really good book and I already have book 2 in my possession.
I do hope this next book will be something new for me to read and will not remind me of lord of the rings to much.
*spoiler*
Of course the character I like the best Hendel, has some hardships to overcome and when you think this character can not get it any worse... damn book.... I really could cry....
I do wonder after reading this book why there is a trilogy? This book has a good ending to it.
The story reminds me a lot of lord of the rings... One item to obtain and a great journey towards destruction of the villain. Great armies to defeat on the way. Wars to stop before great kingdoms get destroyed. One small afraid and unknowing character to make it all happen and make sure the story ends well.
A mixed group of 'volunteers' so to say to help this small character on his quest.
This small character that gets separated from the group... Fighting for his life against 'undead' spirit like creatures...
dwarfs, elfs, druids I mean they all had a great resemblance to characters from lord of the rings-->
Shea --> Frodo
Flick --> Sam
Allanon --> Gandalf
Dwarf Hendel --> Gimli
Elf Durin/Dayel --> Legolas
Menion Leah --> Aragorn
Balinor --> Boromir
Dark lord --> Sauron
the more I think about it, the more similarities I can think of...
Nevertheless it's a really good book and I already have book 2 in my possession.
I do hope this next book will be something new for me to read and will not remind me of lord of the rings to much.
*spoiler*
Of course the character I like the best Hendel, has some hardships to overcome and when you think this character can not get it any worse... damn book.... I really could cry....
April 10, 2021
This was one of my favorite novels as a teen. Giving it another read so many years later, I found that two things held up really well: the characters and the plotting. The novel has terrific battles and tense heroic moments, both for the whole Company of Friends and for individual members. Flick sneaking into the camp of the Warlock Lord's army is a particular favorite. The writing was a little more unpolished than I remembered. Brooks makes a few anachronistic word choices, such as when he twice describes a character's behavior as "robotlike," and at times the book felt like it was running on fumes to reach the next plot point. There's also a near-total lack of female characters. We meet the first one 426 pages into a 726 page novel and she's relegated to damsel-in-distress status. Overall it was a promising though mixed debut for the prolific epic fantasy novelist.
October 26, 2021
Started reading this as part of my going back to some "classics of SciFi and Fantasy." Quit reading when the half-elf adopted son of a tavern keeper and his human brother abandoned their good friend around page 110 of 726. Real Heros don't dump their buddies when they have just survived A Perilous Situation.
The half-elf learned from a Mysterious Visitor that he was the lone surviving descendant of a great series of elf-kings and the only person in the world who could wield the magical Sword of Shannara. He also learned that Evil Forces were about to descend on his little village and kill him unless he left and Pursued His Destiny.
The language was tiresomely florid and got to be a turnoff pretty quickly.
The half-elf learned from a Mysterious Visitor that he was the lone surviving descendant of a great series of elf-kings and the only person in the world who could wield the magical Sword of Shannara. He also learned that Evil Forces were about to descend on his little village and kill him unless he left and Pursued His Destiny.
The language was tiresomely florid and got to be a turnoff pretty quickly.
October 10, 2017
I think this is a great fantasy book and once it gets going you will want to keep reading. It does take a little bit though to get there, at least for me it did. The book started off slow and was hard to hold my attention. I had to almost force myself to read it but in the end I think it was worth it. It did take me to get around the 200-300 page marker though to finally start really getting into the book. So fare warning it takes a little bit but will eventually capture your attention. Plus I love that there is a map illustration so you can see where you are at in the story to further understand it.
June 20, 2021
Average read at best given the prose of the content although it also felt painfully slow to read. The characters lack depth and the plot does not flow smoothly.
This review is only aimed at any reader who has never read this book or has no interest in the fictional world of Middle Earth.
However, if you have read the Lord of the Rings;
This novel is an incredibly poor aping of Tolkien's work. The plot is essentially identical minus the characters, better plot, greater color & depth and juuuust enough changes to avoid a copyright lawsuit.
*if those were a 'thing' in the 1970s world of creative writing
This review is only aimed at any reader who has never read this book or has no interest in the fictional world of Middle Earth.
However, if you have read the Lord of the Rings;
This novel is an incredibly poor aping of Tolkien's work. The plot is essentially identical minus the characters, better plot, greater color & depth and juuuust enough changes to avoid a copyright lawsuit.
*if those were a 'thing' in the 1970s world of creative writing
April 8, 2023
This is a classic fantasy tale full of everything that made me love fantasy in the first place. Published in 1977 you will see many similarities with Lord of the Rings but I believe that the book eventually turns into its own story. Classic tropes are used farm boy learns of a quest meets a rang tag of fellows to help him complete his quest for the sword of shannara to defeat a great evil with the help of a wizard/Druid. While there are some issues with the book such as extremely descriptive and meandering at times the story truly is a lovely introduction to epic fantasy for readers of all ages.
September 17, 2018
I've been meaning to read this book for a while since the Shannara books are such a staple of the fantasy genre. I'd been putting it off for a while, though, because I'd heard that it's fairly derivative of Lord of the Rings. Turns out those criticism were right. As well-written as this is, it reads more like LOTR fanfiction, revisiting all the greatest hits from Tolkien's work and simply repackaging them in slightly different form. Based on how disappointingly derivative the story and characters were, I don't think I'll be reading the next one as much as I thought it was well written.
October 23, 2018
I was excited to read this book after starting to watch the TV adaptation on Netflix. I initially thought it was just a slow start, then I got about halfway through the book and it continued to drag- even battle scenes are boring. Additionally, it felt too much like it was copying The Lord of the Rings. Similar quest, group of unlikely friends with a wizard in the lead, being chased by flying black things, going against a magical dark lord of sorts, wizard’s “sacrifice” ... and so on. I don’t normally give up on books halfway through but I just couldn’t keep reading this one.
August 10, 2019
This novel got two stars from me entirely on the basis of it being a very good education in how utterly ugly some writing can be; entire sections of this book - possibly the majority - are ripe for editors-to-be to test their skills against. The overtly Tolkien storyline is derivative in at least a kind of charming way, like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for "your friend's characters" based on the last book the DM read, but anyone vaguely familiar with "Lord of the Rings" will begin mentally referring to Sword of Shanananaana (hey jude) characters as "Not-Frodo", "Not-Gandalf" and so on.
October 20, 2019
The Sword of Shannara is a mythical fantasy story by Terry Brooks. Shea Ohmsford is a young man who knows little about his family past and knows even less about the danger lurking, waiting to strike for revenge. In my opinion, this book was long, and too drawn out story, but still interesting and intriguing. This book reminded me of another book that I've read called Squirm. Both books were about taking a different path. I would definitely recommend this book to people who really enjoy high fantasy books, plus, a little bit of mythology.
Aria Grade 6
Aria Grade 6
November 2, 2023
I always wanted to get lost in a fantasy series, and while I didn't move on from this book it's only because I've been a stickler for finding the rest of the series with the same covers.
I'm not a fantasy fan, overall. It takes a lot for me to get lost in a series: clear writing, not too many details thrown around about the scenery, names, or words my mind trips over trying to pronounce. Brooks manages to stay light enough while building a beautiful world and deep character portraits.
Highly rec'd
I'm not a fantasy fan, overall. It takes a lot for me to get lost in a series: clear writing, not too many details thrown around about the scenery, names, or words my mind trips over trying to pronounce. Brooks manages to stay light enough while building a beautiful world and deep character portraits.
Highly rec'd
July 20, 2019
The Shannara books are among the first books I picked up as teenager. The books are original in some ways but borrow heavily from Tolkien as is evident by the races seen in the books as well as some of the character archetypes. I don't think the protagonists are very interesting, neither is the world building. It just feels like a Lord of the Rings knockoff, but it is a good start for first-time fantasy readers.
August 13, 2018
I'm not going to lie, I don't want to finish it. Normally, I would push through because I used to always finish reading books even when I wasn't into them, but now I've realized that there are too many books and not enough time, so I'm moving on.
June 24, 2021
A Lord of the Rings wannabe. Written by an author who was too young to write this sort of thing, such as describing someone as "ramrod straight," in a world where there were no guns, so no ramrods...that sort of thing.
August 19, 2021
I was shocked that this book has the historical popularity it does. I can't imagine anything more derivative from Lord of the Rings. I think there was only one moment that seemed original. Granted it was the climatic moment, so there was that. But I was super annoyed with this book.
August 29, 2022
This took me three weeks to read and it felt like months. I found the story dragged, and it felt heavily indebted to LOTR. I had heard Shannara was a classic of the genre, but given there was only one woman in the whole book, I don't think I am interested in reading further.
April 12, 2023
For somewhat younger readers, especially those who maybe haven't managed the Lord of the Rings yet.
The Sword of Shannara is quite different from the above - there's two elves in this story, not one. Also, there's no hobbits - the young man is a half-elf instead.
It is well written but just doesn't come up to LotR, which is why the latter really does stand alone. Having said that, The Sword series is written in a simpler style and the action moves more smoothly than LotR, which will help to better engage younger readers. I don't think I'll be re-reading this one, although I will go through the rest of the series.
The Sword of Shannara is quite different from the above - there's two elves in this story, not one. Also, there's no hobbits - the young man is a half-elf instead.
It is well written but just doesn't come up to LotR, which is why the latter really does stand alone. Having said that, The Sword series is written in a simpler style and the action moves more smoothly than LotR, which will help to better engage younger readers. I don't think I'll be re-reading this one, although I will go through the rest of the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews