The Sword of Shannara
By Terry Brooks
- Release Date: 1978-04-12
- Genre: Epic Fantasy
Description
The Sword of Shannara is the first volume of the classic series that has becomeone of the most popular fantasy tales of all time.
Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil ruined the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. But the supposedly dead Warlock Lord is plotting to destroy everything in his wake.The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness is the Sword of Shannara, which can be used only by a trueheir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline,rests the hope of all the races.
Thus begins the enthralling Shannara epic,a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth . . .
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
Reviews
Doesn’t stand the test of time
2By Joerum62I remember reading The Sword of Shannara as a teenager when it first came out and really being entranced by the story. Well, time has significantly altered my opinion. I read The Sword of Shannara before reading the LOTR trilogy, so it was not apparent then as it is now how much Terry Brooks lifted from LOTR. I guess, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - and Brooks proves it throughout his story! While Shannara is more compact and faster paced then LOTR, it definitely lacks the depth and sweeping story that Tolkien gave us. Much is lacking due to flat characterizations and the cursory manner of moving the characters through what should be a more richly developed alternative world. Thus my two star rating.One of my favorites
5By Flying GageAlways a favorite. It was the first book of any length I read as a boy in 4th grade. A book responsible for allowing my brain to wander and far.For old times sake
5By Estes12245I tried reading this book as a kid and could never get into it. Then re-reading it as an adult. Dang ! What a great book. Great world, great characters, great story.Passes the time, but derivative
3By JClauI read this as a child and just reread it. I was stunned to discover it was the closest remake of LOTR I’ve yet read. But, it was still something to read.Great Book
5By ElDude89I have never been a big sci-fi person but this book was a great read. Brooks does an awesome job developing the characters and keep the story interesting despite some 700+ pages. Many say it's a LoR rip off but at most I would say LoR was an inspiration. Middle earth and hobbits are boring. This series has much more interesting characters: Druids, Eventine, and the border legion.On the Edge on my sit
5By P CarlThis book is full adventure around every corner and written so well that you truly believe that you are right in the middle of it all. Not a single page of this book leaves you bored but finds you longing to turn the page to find out what happens next. A must read.I give this book 1,000,000,000,000,000 STARS!!!
5By ShannaraaddictedAfter watching The Shannara Chronicles I just had to read this book!!! I'm not much of a reader so I mean it when I say this book was amazing. I couldn't put it down!!! I read the whole book in less than two weeks!!! Now I am truly looking forward to the rest of the Shannara book!! P.s. Watching the show first made it really awesome to picture the characters and the land and EVERYTHING!!No cover
5By HawktaleGreat book, wanted to re read it, but it doesn't seem to come with the proper cover, just plain green with white print. Can this be fixed?Still a favorite!
5By Dude! Sweet!You know how you can sit and read most books and remember every last detail? 12 years ago I read this book, and even now I'd have to say its one of my favorites! The journey that Shea Ohmsford takes is described so intricately that I would often get lost in the text through my imagination and have to go back and reread it... This is definitely worth your time. Enjoy!Transported Away from my reality
5By Dan DallugeTo a wonderful world of fantasy, magic and sword! I loved the entire series. If you have read through the Brooks collection give R.A Salvatore a try as well.
