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Jan 17, 2008

St-Michel rated it:

Well, here it is, the biggest disgrace to the fantasy genre since...well, that's just it, I can't think of anyone worse. Maybe it's just me, but I think if I wanted to read a badly mocked up verion of Tolkien, then I would just read Tolkien. I just don't get this guy, because all he's proven to me is that anyone can rip off LOTR, create the most cliche fantasy scenarios and become an instant success.

Ok, I don't want to get a head of myself. Let me start from the beginning. Now, f More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2007

Kevin rated it:

Yet another great book in the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I would recommend reading this book after the first three books, only because it seems to fit better in this way. It is called a prequel for a reason, and I thing looking at the continuum of the story in an order the mind isn't used to will make it better when working on understanding the themes that the Terry Brooks is trying to present.

In particular, I found the story of Tay Trefenwyd to be particularly moving. It a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Diana added it

I read the entire Shannara series in the order they were published during my early high school years. I finally just got around to reading the prequel and it felt like coming home to a familiar, comforting place. My recall of the lay of the land was just waiting to be unlocked...it was wonderful to fall into this masterfully crafted fantasy. However, I don't think that the writing held up as well as the other books (but this could be a memory lapse on my part). I was often frustrated by the feel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 21, 2011

Saul rated it:

I must say that since writing the Sword of Shannara back in 1977, at least that is when it was published, Terry Brooks has become a much better writer. I was really hesitant to even pick up another Terry Brooks book. I read the Sword back when I was in middle school and I loved the book. I really liked the story. Of course that was before I had read Tolkien and I remember my friends way back then saying that Sword was a total rip off of The Lord of the Rings. I just never read LOTR. I More...

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Jan 28, 2012

Savannah rated it:

I'd been wanting to read the Shannara series for awhile, I actualy started with the prequel instead of the first book, and I'm now in the process of reading The Wishsong of Shannara. It's great. I've noticed, however, that there has been a large amount of criticism against the Shannara Trilogy for having many similarities with The Lord of The Rings. I don't feel that this is the case. I love The Lord of The Rings. There are many resemblances between plot scenarios, and some characters in The Lo More...

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Sep 01, 2010

Dirk rated it:

There has been a fair amount of criticism floating around against The Sword of Shannara for drawing too many parallels with The Lord of The Rings. Much of this I felt was unfounded. I love The Lord of The Rings and I love the Shannara series. They're not the same, folks. Any resemblances end with the first Shannara book, and the series really picks up from book 2 (The Elfstones of Shannara). Anyway, that's neither here nor there, but just a way to set up my review of First King of Shannara.
More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2010

Roger rated it:

I have loved Terry Brooks for years and decided to actually finish the Shannara series this time around. I started out with this prequel volume that appeared after the original trilogy. It was not up to his usual standard. The characterizations were very two-dimensional and it was hard to develop any kind of sympathy for the protagonists of the story. The book essentially relates the detailed history of how the sword of Shannara was originally forged to defeat the evil druid, Brona, now ope More...

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Jul 18, 2011

Jen rated it:

An echo of Lord of the Rings and other fantasy epics (wise old wizard, younger figher(s), villain used to be one of the druids and turned evil with power and knowledge, elves, dwarves, etc.). It got better as the narratives split among different characters' quests to stop the bad guy from overrunning all the lands. One passage around the beginning stood out, when an elf druid returned home after being away for a long time: "He saw old friends as well.... Some had been close once. But the More...

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Oct 16, 2009

Ivy rated it:

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I got through this one!!
Maybe I just chose a wrong Terry Brooks to start out with, but I'm not disposed toward reading anything else now.
It was so insanely boring!! There were so many names, and they all sounded alike, and the plot seemed very loosely held together, and the ending made no sense at all to me.
Ok, now for the positive.
There were some really pretty metaphors.....
No, that's not all. I thought, generally, that the beginning More...

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Nov 10, 2008

Jackie rated it:

Interesting in the fact that we learn the story of Allannon's early life, his master Bremen and the struggle against Brona which was alluded to in Sword of Shannara.
Good, not great but valued for it's information of the Early days of Magic use and it's pitfalls.

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Sep 25, 2011

Christopher rated it:

The prequel saga to the Sword of Shannara series. Terry Brooks has a way of crafting a tale so well written it should be illegal! This book was created after the world of Shannara had already been well established. Terry goes back in time to the creation of many of the series long standing myths and legends. It brings to life many of the stories we only hear glimpses of in other books. The focus of course being Breman, the Sword of Shannara, and the Druids. If your a fan of this series, then thi More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Sa'id rated it:

Really good book. This to me was the best of the series for the simple fact that its main characters were all grown and there were not any whinny non druid believing people. For thew most part it seemed like the book was written before the Shannara trilogy and he just decide not to release it. It seemed the writing style was different. I liked that feeling as I was reading. Maybe he did do that, I don't know. Overall the book was entertaining and provided a very good background to an alrea More...

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Sep 09, 2010

Stephannestacey rated it:

I have to say that Terry Brooks is a great writer for action scenes. I really liked this book, and can't say that I really understand why so many people seem to think that he is coping Tolkins' Lord of the Ring series. I can however say that I am reading too many fantasies and the worlds are becoming one in my mind... but that's really just a personal note. There really isn't anything grotesque in this book, so I think a pre-teen could easily read it without the parents being worried. ... of cou More...

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Feb 08, 2011

Josh rated it:

This was one of the very first books in the Fantasy genre that I read. I remember very little about the whole story other than it being quite an epic quest. The characters were developed well, each having a unique and believable personality. It's amazing how little things from book stick out to you... I remember one scene vividly. The novel is separated into two halves separated by a few blank pages. At the end of the first half the novel, the troupe of heroes is making it's escape from a castle More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Robert rated it:

I'm a rabid fan of Terry Brooks so naturally I love this book. This prequel gives readers a look into the creation of the famous Sword of Shannara. Darker than the preceding novels, Brooks continues his theme of cost. Everything in life has it's price and rarely is it a fair price. I love the gritty adult view the Shannara books take on magic and "The First King of Shannara" is darker than most of the books in the series. Only read this book after you've read the original trilogy, it c More...

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Nov 21, 2008

Bob rated it:

I'm reading this for two reasons.

A) I needed something to read.

B) I've never really read the so-called "Founders" or even "Canon" works of fantasy fiction.

I know, I know, it's time to revoke my Nerd membership. So I thought I'd start here, with arguable one of the most-loved works next to LOTR.

I'm enjoying the story so far, but have yet to get into the real meat of the book. (At this writing, I'm only 50pp in.)

It's More...

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Dec 31, 2010

Jeff rated it:

A good book and especially interesting for fans of the Shannara series. As with all prequels, it struggles trying to meet the expectations of its audience, who has already mentally filled in the gaps in the original stories. And part of the story (the quest for the black elfstone), seems more to have been a way to fill out space rather than for absolute necessity. But the book is still good and seeing Jerle Shannara in action is worth the read for any Shannara fan.

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Aug 01, 2011

M added it

While this novel took me some time to endure (the city chapters in the later half of the book really wind on and on), I commend Brooks on his cross-relevance between this novel and those that came before. It would be so easy to lose ties to the 'sequels', yet he not only writes a stand alone novel, he writes one which deftly plucks at our mnemonic memories of his earlier works.

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Oct 09, 2011

Michaelc rated it:

Good book. I like the series, but it was a little weird reading this last. I would have liked to have read it before the others. I know it was written after the others as a prequel, but I was reading it and trying to remember where the connections were to the other books. I wanted to go back a re-read the others to catch back up again. So it was in par with the other books in the series... good characters and story lines but in the end it seemed like a lot of things just got wrapped up quic More...

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May 26, 2009

Alex rated it:

I've read more Terry Brooks than Faulkner in my life. And I bought the bulk of Shannara books the same day I bought The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
Oh, the irony!

Anyway, I thought this cookie-cutter fantasy epic was a great book when I was eleven. No way in hell I'm re-reading this, but it's safe to say that I don't think so anymore.

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Mar 22, 2010

Trent rated it:

I enjoyed the original trilogy a lot, and I was excited to read this. It was ok, but not nearly as good as the original three. I was bored at times, and some of it made me feel like I was reading a summary and not a story. I did enjoy learning the origins of some of the characters in the trilogy (this is a prequel to that).

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Aug 27, 2009

Sharee rated it:

I thought the writing was so poor that it was almost comical, but I really enjoyed the story. Brandon didn't think so - so maybe I am just weird. I felt like it was the same quality as Eragon, Eldest, etc - which have been almost painful to plod through. In the end, I am still glad I read it.

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Apr 03, 2009

Sisimka rated it:

I was looking to get into a new fantasy series here and want to give Terry Brooks another try. I've heard this is not the best book to start with, because though its a prequel, it was written much later.

Also, I think at the time I picked this up I was suffering from Elf overload.

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Feb 28, 2009

Craig rated it:

This book was weird in the beginning. It took me a while to actually get into it. But once all the character development was completed, I couldn't put it down. I haven't started reading the rest of series yet, because there are a lot of them and I need to finish a few others first.

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Apr 13, 2010

TJ rated it:

I actually read it as a prequel, before delving into the trilogy. It is much better written than The Sword of Shannara, more concise and tight. If you are not already familiar with The Sword of Shannara series want to start the series, start with this prequel.

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Aug 02, 2011

Fred added it

Eh. Not a bad book. Not as good as the originals that started it all, but rarely can any writers or directors maintain the momentum established in the beginning when they get four, eight, or twelve books into the story. All in all, this is worth reading.

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Nov 29, 2010

Lynn rated it:

This book clears up a lot of things that have been alluded to in "The Sword of Shannara" Trilogy and "The Heritage of Shannara" four-book series. Brooks has an excellent and easy to read writing style. His books can stand alone as well as be read as series.

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May 28, 2010

AndrewP rated it:

Having read the other books in this series I decided to try this prequel. Not bad although it is certainly a prequel in that some of it would not make a lot of sense if you had not read the others. Not bad, but entirely too predictable for my liking.

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Dec 22, 2008

Jenn rated it:

I always love the backstory on anything I've read since I am constantly wondering about it. Reading about how the Sword of Shannara came into being was totally cool. Highly recommended if you've read anything from the Sword of Shannara on. =)

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Apr 02, 2009

Darth rated it:

Pretty good book. It was all well layed out in the original trilogy, so there werent much in the way of surprises, but all in all still good stuff.

I liked it, but it would have been better to read this title before the rest of the original Shannara trilogy.

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