From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #1)

Terry Brooks

Start date: September 1, 2012

Finish date: September 30, 2012

Discussion: Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: Classic fantasy/sci-fi discssion September 2012
#67 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) h …more
[close] Classic fantasy/sci-fi discssion September 2012
#67 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#59 on Locus Magazines Best Fantasy novels of the 20th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

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Jun 22, 2017 Jason Koivu rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

The Sword of Shannara parallels the Lord of the Rings series on so many points it's a wonder he didn't get sued! About a third of the way in I began to feel deja vu, like I was rereading The Fellowship of the Ring. There are best-bud insignificant protagonists, who are told to go on an adventure by a mysterious wizardy type guy. During the mini-starter adventure they nearly get done in by undeadish dudes and meet a ranger, who is an aloof royal. They meet back up in a safe haven (dwarf this time ...more

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Apr 01, 2017 seak rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, 2017

When I finished The Lord of the Rings, all I wanted was more Lord of the Rings. And by that, what I mean is that I wanted that feeling I had while reading LotR, being lost in a world all its own and being so close to characters I considered friends.

That's why I think I get the appeal for The Sword of Shannara and honestly after all the reviews I've read, I expected this book to be much more close to LotR than it is. And going back to my first point, that's why I sought this book out, I was look When I finished The Lord of the Rings, all I wanted was more Lord of the Rings. And by that, what I mean is that I wanted that feeling I had while reading LotR, being lost in a world all its own and being so close to characters I considered friends.

That's why I think I get the appeal for The Sword of Shannara and honestly after all the reviews I've read, I expected this book to be much more close to LotR than it is. And going back to my first point, that's why I sought this book out, I was looking for more LotR since I heard it was a carbon copy.

Now that's not to say I couldn't go down the list of LotR characters and name a corresponding Shannara character. It's quite easy actually.

But even then, you can tell that Brooks did go beyond the exact same story. Now, please remember beyond does not equal better, by no means. LotR remains my all-time favorite books and this book gets nowhere close, but I do acknowledge the differences were at least enough for me. Those differences also show the shortcomings with this book, since that character depth is clearly lacking.

Yes Menion Leah is your Aragon character, but he's unknown royalty from an all but unknown kingdom. Not destined to be the returned king, he's just a straight-forward dude, loyal and brave.

Yes, Allanon is your Gandalf, but he's also the last one of his kind and he ... disappears for no reason all the time.

Yes, Shea is Frodo, but he's half-elf and this is more of a farmboy becomes great fantasy cliche than a Frodo who's great because of who he is. Completely different.

Yes, the Sword of Shannara is the ring, but it's missing most of the book and doesn't ... do the same stuff. We'll leave it at that.

I could keep going, but I'll quit there. Suffice it to say, the differences worked for me to make this its own story.

Having known it was a carbon copy, the similar elements didn't put me off as much as it could have I'm sure. I enjoyed The Sword of Shannara as a straight-forward quest/battle book. I thought it was enjoyable and had more surprises than I thought it would despite being cliche (or originator of many cliches?).

It completely lacks the depth of LotR, of course, (what doesn't) but it works at what it's doing and done competently. I'll read more.

3.5 out of 5 Stars (recommended)

Note on Narration: It's Scott Brick. Need I say more? ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Alex rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Epic fantasy is like the prog rock of the literature world. Lots of people are doing these kinda cool things, but it's never really accepted as being actual cool, intelligent or worthwhile by the non-enlightened masses and it just keeps getting bigger and more intricate and unwieldy until every screams ENOUGH ALREADY! But it never is enough and us fans just keep taking more and more punishment because we just don't know what to do with our lives.

If this analogy holds, I'm pretty sure that makes ...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Jessie rated it did not like it

One of the few books I've stopped reading before finishing. It's not terrible, in fact, I probably would had liked it, had I not read Tolkien first. It's just so similar to the Lord of the Rings that I kept comparing the two, and Brooks' book was found wanting. ...more

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