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The Elfstones of Shannara (Greg & Leslie & anyone else interested)
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For reference, I am linking to the recommended reading order for new readers:http://www.goodreads.com/series/99160...
I noticed that there are not just more books to the series since last I was reading these, some novellas are new that go after the original trilogy. I may be interested in pursuing the series further so perhaps this should be a general Shannara series thread? What do you think Greg?
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http://www.goodreads.com/series/99160...
I noticed that there are not..."
Maybe Leslie! I was only aware of three books in the series back when I read it too. :)
Greg, let me know when you are ready to start...
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I plan on starting this tonight after work :)
Greg wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Greg, let me know when you are ready to start..."I plan on starting this tonight after work :)"
Okay, sounds good.
I am in Chapter 6 & realizing that I have pretty much forgotten everything about this series!I waffled about going back to the first book but my GR review makes it clear that it is better to skip it. I do recall the first one as being very derivative of The Lord of the Rings trilogy -- I guess that Allanon is the Gandalf character (that doesn't take much brain power!).
While I suspect that I am a more critical reader now than I used to be, I am finding that the clear distinction between good and evil is still fun (in fact, a relief from modern literature in which the two are muddled together - more realistic but so difficult!).
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I waffled about going back to the first book but my GR review makes it clear that it is better to skip..."
I remember the same thing about the first one Leslie.
And about good/evil, I completely agree with you! .. very refreshing to indulge in a fanciful world with heroes fighting against demons, it's so comforting to at least for a little while not muddle in complication. I particularly like Will's good naturedness. Very enjoyable!
Funny, the language isn't as evocative as I remembered, but I suppose this isn't meant to be Virginia Woolf, is it? :) The style works well enough for what it is though - nothing especially unique or special maybe, but it's uncluttered and active, a smooth read
I'm on chapter 7 - I don't know if it's partly the nostalgia factor, but so far I'm enjoying this quite a bit!
Greg wrote: "the language isn't as evocative as I remembered, but I suppose this isn't meant to be Virginia Woolf, is it? :) The style works well enough for what it is though - nothing especially unique or special maybe, but it's uncluttered and active, a smooth read ..."Yeah, I am noticing that the writing is more serviceable than evocative. When the action is going on though I don't notice much else!
I have finished Chapter 28. I have a few misc. comments...
First, I have been confused a bit about the history - early on (Chap. 2?), it is mentioned that the Demons had been in the Forbidding for "hundreds of years". But in Chap. 9, when Allanon is telling Wil about the history of the Elves, it seems like a couple of thousand years must have passed.
I don't know if I have recalled something or just have a premonition but I think that in the end, (view spoiler)… Don't tell me though! I will wait and see :)
I like Wil and I like Ander; Arion seems like a spoiled brat but I haven't seen much of him yet.
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The history was a little confusing, but I get the feeling that the elves were the only ancient race to survive in the forest during the rapid growth of the human race. They were hiding in the forest (presumably in our time). Then toward the end of this era of human dominance, there was a great human created cataclysm (nuclear war?) that destroyed most of the world. The dwarves, gnomes, etc were born in the aftermath of that cataclysm (mutations?), and at that time the elves came out of hiding from the forests.
Then much later when all these races were established, there was a second giant catalclysm (this time a great war between what became the 'demons' and everyone else). The Elcrys was created to shut the losers of that war out from the world.
Now much later again, the Elcrys is dying.
The confusing thing is that sometimes when he talks about the great cataclysm, he's talking about when humans nearly destroyed the world. Other times he's talking about a time much later when the races warred with the demons and the Elcrys was created.
Does that sound right?
I like Amberle too! I'm at chapter 14 or so. Really enjoying this! A perfect companion to my other read As I Lay Dying. Every once in a while, I need to lay the Faulkner down and lose myself in some fun fantasy. :) I'm also still polishing off the last story in You Are Not a Stranger Here. A lot of different reads going!
Thanks Greg, that history timeline does make sense. I did get the impression that the human-caused cataclysm was a nuclear holocaust of some sort, though Brooks carefully leaves the details vague. I like the idea that the dwarves, trolls, gnomes, etc. are named after the 'fairy' creatures of the pre-cataclysm world but are actually offshoots of humanity. And mutations would be considerable after a nuclear holocaust so that fits.
The Demons though are offshoots of Elves, which is interesting. And where in this do the Druids fit? Are they related to the Elves, since they have a very long lifespan & can do magic? Or are they men who acquired those attributes by learning?
Asking about the Druids makes me realize (again) that I had that same question about Gandalf in TLOR -- is he a man who learned wizardry or is he some separate kind of being?
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That one I'm not sure Leslie. It sounded like the King of the Silver River was from the earliest time of the world and was born a different sort of being, though oddly he wasn't aware of his own near-immortality until much later as others died. Kind of fascinating really.
But I have no idea about Allanon & Gandalf.
I love the demon wolf chase in chapter 11ish or so that ends with Will and Amberle being taken up by the King of the Silver River. Very suspenseful & wonderfully active writing there .. love how it ended at the surprise rescue at the river.
I love the King of the Silver River part too!I am so glad that I joined you in rereading this - in fact, I have requested the novella Indomitable from the library.
I have been thinking about the Demons & the Forbidding. I was thinking at first wouldn't it be nice if I could banish all the bad parts of myself to some sort of Forbidding; then the Demons increased in strength during their banishment and I wondered if that kind of separation of an individual would create psychosis… And isn't it interesting that the Elves grew weaker once they no longer had to battle evil regularly!
What do you think about Eretria, Greg? I can't decide if she is sincere in her feelings towards Wil or whether she is acting a part...
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I am so glad that I joined you in rereading this - in fact, I have requested the novella Indomitable from the library.
I have been th..."
I'm glad too Leslie! I think I would've enjoyed this even without the nostalgia factor - it's a great read so far! After polishing off As I Lay Dying, I made a bit more headway on this one. I'm in chapter 23 or so now.
I think you're absolutely right about the division of the good & bad parts. It's the bad parts of us maybe that keep us on our toes. Without that, complacency might perhaps be too easy?
I remember when I read Dreams by C.G. Jung years ago, he said that strongly good impulses often exist alongside strongly bad impulses in individuals ... that often both are more intense in the same people. I thought that was very interesting. And some truly amazing, admirable, great people also did some fairly foolish things (Martin Luther King supposedly had extramarital affairs for instance).
But in any case, to suppress the bad parts into a dark place where they can later explode forth catastrophically strengthened sounds pretty much like a recipe for psychosis! I agree with you - much better to have things in the open where they can be mitigated and dealt with. A nice fantasy though. :)
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I'm not sure yet Leslie, though I want to believe her! Oddly, although I remembered Will and Amberle, I hadn't remembered Eretria at all until I got to the part with the rover camp. Much of this book is practically a fresh read for me - I read it so long ago!
I'll let you know what I think as I get further. Although I don't remember from my last reading, I feel fairly certain she's going to pop up again. :)
Greg wrote: "Much of this book is practically a fresh read for me - I read it so long."Yeah, I felt that way too.
I tried to go slowly so I wouldn't finish up too far in advance of you Greg, but it got so exciting that I couldn't put it down! So I ended up finishing today. Sorry about that!
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After I'm done, I'll come back to the thread and give my thoughts.
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I've only got about 100 pages to go now. I love the scenes back with the elves - the battle scenes are so well done and gripping. And the arrival of the rock troll army brought tears to my eyes.
I'm certain I would've enjoyed this even without the nostalgic link. I can see why you couldn't slow down! If work weren't so demanding right now, I'd be done already.
As far as Eretria, I'm past Will's second refusal. I do believe that she's sincere - she's desperate to get away from the rovers and she sees Will as her ticket to life outside the rovers, but I think she does like him. Of course, now she's quite angry that he's refused her twice. I can't remember what comes later, but I have a bad feeling about what she'll do next!
You are at a very exciting part! Well, really the last third was all exciting :DI will wait until you are finished to comment more about Eretria.
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I will wait until you are finished to comment more about Eretria."
I'm done now Leslie. :) Great review by the way .. I agree completely, derivative perhaps but a cracking fun read!
So what were your thoughts about Eretria?
Thanks re: review! I was suspicious of Eretria for a very long time. I felt as if she had some dark hidden agenda but in the end, it seemed clear that her agenda was romantic. I think Brooks did an excellent job of making her motivations appear suspicious while remaining true to the character.
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I was suspicious of Eretria for a very long time. I felt as if she had some dark hidden agenda but in the end, it seemed clear that her agenda was romantic. I think Brooks did ..."
I agree Leslie .. I was suspicious too, but I'm glad that she came though in the end! She did end up being sincere.
In some ways there's an almost childish good heartedness at the core of this book that makes it oddly comforting despite all the demons. The wicked are punished; nearly everyone else is redeemed. The heroes are larger than life. And the two main protagonists are a healer that honors life and a Chosen royal that chooses to sacrifice herself for the greater good.
It's not going to win literary awards, but I really loved reading it. What a fun, exciting read! :)
Leslie wrote: "Thanks Greg, that history timeline does make sense. I did get the impression that the human-caused cataclysm was a nuclear holocaust of some sort, though Brooks carefully leaves the details vague. ..."I take it that you didn't watch the TV series? The intro showed the genetic line of the races, and even though the elves were left out of the graphic, the voiceover tells of their relationship to all others as well.
I did that all with no spoilers! Hah!
I liked the TV show but won't be reading ~all those books. I believe I counted 14? And prob more coming?
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I have started watching the TV show Meran. There's a long sequence of books by Brooks set in that world, but the whole TV show (this season at least) is based on only the one book, The Elfstones of Shannara.
The TV show though is a very, very loose adaption. It basically uses the characters' names, the general quest, and some basic concepts and that's about it. Not much of what happens in the TV show comes from the books at all - it's like an entirely different thing.
Meran wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Thanks Greg, that history timeline does make sense. I did get the impression that the human-caused cataclysm was a nuclear holocaust of some sort, though Brooks carefully leaves the ..."I don't have the channel the TV show is on & am not willing to pay for it by the episode at this point.
I think that the series is now over 30 books -- I have read about 16 of those and they cover an enormous time frame from what I remember. So what Greg said about it all being loosely based on a single book makes some sense to me.
Greg wrote: "In some ways there's an almost childish good heartedness at the core of this book that makes it oddly comforting despite all the demons. The wicked are punished; nearly everyone else is redeemed. The heroes are larger than life. And the two main protagonists are a healer that honors life and a Chosen royal that chooses to sacrifice herself for the greater good..."It is that child-like satisfaction of right triumphing over wrong that I like both in this kind of fantasy and in my mystery reading. Maybe individuals suffer but it is reassuring and comforting to exist even temporarily in such a world.
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I wholeheartedly agree! :)
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