Book Review: The Sword of Shannara
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Join me as we talk about my findings for my experiment! I watched the TV adaptation of the Shannara Chronicles, now I'm reading the books to see if I will morph into a book snob and pick apart the show....as I do with every other film adaptation of books I've read.
Also, yes I know I'm speaking slowly, but it's because I'm trying to say Sword and Shannara correctly all the time!!
LINKS TO BOOKS I REFERENCE IN THIS VIDEO:
(These are affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of the links below, I may receive a small percentage of the sale. This does not mean that you are charged extra, it just means Amazon will share a coin with me from the purchase.)
The Shannara Chronicles tinyurl.com/s3...
The Sword of Shannara amzn.to/2HegzEx
The Elfstones of Shannara amzn.to/2HciucQ
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I love this book, and I love Terry Brooks. He is one of my favorite authors. Once you get past the writing style his books are captivating, but I understand why you would think that.
Recently I tried to re-read the Lord of the Rings books and ran into the same problem with the writing style....even though I remembered loving the books when I was younger and read them for the first time.
One of my friends said to try the audiobook version, because it's different when someone reads it to you - so I'm going to try it with the Shannara Chronicles too and see if that makes it a better experience.
@@dioio8415 at a minimum, he is very inspired/influenced by Tolkien
@@dioio8415 You say that as if Tolkien's stories were totally original. Tolkien borrowed from historical classic Greek, Celtic, Finnish and Welsh legends. The other advantage Brooks had was more modern storytelling technique and being a more entertaining writer.
@@csd8204 Tolkien might be harder to read for some people, but Terry Brooks will never touch what Lord of The Rings did. All Brooks did was copy Lord of The Rings. He didn't capture what made Lord of the Rings so great. Honestly, book 2 was better, but apocalyptic fantasy is boring and the Shannara having to find the Magueffin every book was just bad. More entertaining storyteller. Ha! At least Tolkien didn't extend his story to 28 books to get the cash.
But that it just my opinion. Have a good day.
@@csd8204 Tolkien is original, his being inspired by European mythologies doesn't mean he plagiarized them. He wanted to create an epic for his country, but he took references and created something innovative. What this plagiarist has done is usurp Tolkien's characters, scenes and plot without any shame.
The First King of Shannara was the best book in my opinion. Elfstones was #2. Your point about Shea is well-taken, he was arguably the least of the characters. Perhaps Shea being the weakest character was proof that only an Heir to Shannara could use the Sword because no one else can ever fully believe in the right to use it. Flick got more story and even appears in Elfstones (A cameo...). I hated the TV Show, basically took names and places and made up much of the story with some homage to Brooks at times.
I think watching the tv show is what did me in for the book series. I'm going to give myself a little more time and pick these books back up and try them again.
I read it in 1982. I loved it. Back then i didnt know the story of LOTR. But it was my introduction to fantasy.
I really wish I had read it in the 90s when I was eating up this type of fantasy - and I wonder if I had not read LOTR if I would have had a different experience?
My mom recommended I read these and still haven't. Glad to hear your review.
I think if I had read these when I was a younger teenager, I might have had a different opinion. I will say that I'm reading the second one and it's starting off fantastic....I'm scared to get my hopes up too high because I'm still early on into the book....but there may be redemption in store for this series!
I liked The Sword of Shannara. If you read The First King, you can understand more about the sword.
Sister Minab I actually did buy the First King, but I started with the Sword. Is it written in the same style? It’s not that I didn’t like the story, it’s more the style of Terry Brooks. He’s goes into so much detail that my mind wanders and suddenly I’m daydreaming about other stuff and snap to and have to re-read the same passage a few times in order to get it to stick. I promise you that I will give the First King a try. Might be next month though since I sort of overextended myself this month. LOL
I’m here for this!!!
🤣🤣
@@TheNerdyNarrative I’m diving deep
I like the Shannara series, but I read them as a kid, before I had ever heard of LOTR. Going back and reading them as an adult, yes I see all the flaws. However, I do enjoy reading them still. Your review is honest, but tasteful. Many people, including me, have a nostalgic adoration for this series.
I also wonder if it was because I was reading a couple other fantasy novels at the same time. (I'm bad about reading about 5 books at a time) I won't say I won't ever try these again....but it might be a while. I tried the audiobooks a few months back and couldn't get into Scott Brick being the narrator. (which is crazy, I know)
I didn’t love the TV Show but I’m hoping to enjoy the book more than I did the show.
I hope you do. I think if I had read it back in the 90s, I would have liked it more…but 30 pages to talk about one tree in a forest just grated on me
@@TheNerdyNarrative hmmmm I’ll definitely try but consider my expectations lowered lol.
Yeah I love the Shannara Chronicles but I see your point about book one. Good thing Terry Brooks fixed that issue in the rest of the series. Well mostly anyway. As for book one being like the Lord of the Rings that was the entire point. Brooks was a huge fan of Tolkien's work so he wanted to model the first book in his series after one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time.
I guess I've read so many Tolkien inspirations, I might have been a bit worn out by the time I got to Brooks. I did try the next one in the series, tried reading it physically and also tried audiobook and just couldn't get it to stick. To be fair, I've found my tastes have gotten away from these 90s authors with their descriptive writing (looking at you, Robert Jordan!)
@@TheNerdyNarrative Quite understandable. I'm not a heavy reader so maybe if I did read novels more often my opinion on the series would be different but I'm not. I do love writing stories though.
So, you must've hated The Lord of the Rings then? This book that "sucked so much" jump-started the blockbuster fantasy fiction genre and lived on the NY Times bestseller list. There's no accounting for taste. I read the Lord of the Rings and it took me a year to do so whereas I read The Sword Of Shannara in a few days. That said, Elfstones has the only writing that has ever had me literally on the edge of my seat. Almost the only thing Shannara Chronicles has in common with the book is the name of the characters and some of the basic story elements. It's nowhere near as good as the book. I disagreed with your assessment but your video was very entertaining.
I loved LOTR when I read them in junior high, but not when I tried to re-read them a few years ago. A friend of mine suggested the audiobook versions to see if it made it more enjoyable to listen to rather than read the older English sort of style they're written in. Once I finish listening to all the Dresden Files on audiobook, I plan to give LoTR a try and the Shannara Chronicles, at least one to see if it's different.
@@TheNerdyNarrative That may prove to make them more enjoyable. One thing I enjoyed about the Shannara audiobooks as well as GOT is I believe they stick with the same narrator for the series. I liked the GOT to show (up thru season 7) but didn't find the books nearly as interesting or enjoyable. Same for me with LOTR. Enjoyed the movies but not the books. Just not my preferred style of writing. Enjoyed your video though because you were very entertaining.
That's what I'm hoping for. I fully expect to be filming an apology video after I listen to the audiobook version.
I finally read it! I liked the beginning chunk but once we finally got our "fellowship" assembled and on route to Paranor to go get the sword it became a slog for me. My uncle is a huge fan and has assured me the rest of the books are better so I'm just gonna treat the rest of the trilogy as palate cleansers.
I tried the second one and while it WAS better…I just couldn’t get into it. Tried it again a year later, same thing. Tried AGAIN about 6 months later when I had gotten into audiobooks and *still* couldn’t do it. I wish you luck! Looking forward to your updates to see how the rest of the series treats you!
Jesus Christ lady ... So many spoilers no warning ⚠️
“I want lord of the rings”
“We have lord of the rings at home”
Lord of the rings at home:
Even wish couldn’t produce something this shitty
I am ROLLING!!!!!
Sword of Shannara was really an exhausting read. My Aunt recommended these books to me because she loved. Judging from this book, it is very clear that we have different tastes in books. She also recommended Robert Jordan. Really did not like those books at all.
sword was way long.... elfstones was the best in the shannara series.... which basically is a ripoff of lord of the rings but meh.... still good. Allanon was the man... that escape from the castle.... on Artaq... with the demons nipping.... enthralling... made me want to, and not want to, be a druid in that universe. :)
If Allanon was more front and center, I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more. Maybe I've just outgrown that classic style of storytelling. I did later try reading the next book in the series, tried the audiobook and still just couldn't get into it
I haven't read it yet. Im a fan of Martin, Erickson, and Goodkind so I'm hesitant to start this series. And I love your accent.
I tried to go back and listen to it on audiobook to see if I could get through it then, but no dice. The narrator did some rather silly voices for some of the characters that distracted me. So many people love this series....just not for me. Maybe if I had read it when I was younger and first getting into Tolkien.
@@TheNerdyNarrative have you read Malazan Books if the Fallen? It's good but very different than other series. There isnt any elves or dwarves in it. There isnt a "saving the world concept " quite the opposite really. The first book is Gardens of the Moon. Some don't like it bc you start in the middle of the story in a world tens of thousands years old but once you get it BOOM. This usually occurs half way into the book.
I have not, but I'm going to! I have a couple series I want to finish in the next few months first and then hammer through the Malazan ones
@@TheNerdyNarrative awesome
Hmmm, I see.
I see.
Ew! Get off this old horrible stuff! lol
I'm 30% in and I'm bored. Thanks for this video. Helps me decided to dump the book. I'm gonna check if you've made a vid about Elfstones.
I never made a dedicated review for Elfstones - I tried reading it and got bored and DNF'd it. About a year later, I tried again with the audiobook and still couldn't get into it. I just don't think this author is one for me.
@@TheNerdyNarrative I see. Thanks for the info! Being boring is the cardinal sin of any book. I ditched this book in favour of 'For the Emperor' by Sandy Mitchell, about a cowardly accidental hero, which is a lot more fun to read. Best decision of this month.
I've tried getting into the show twice. The 2nd time I didn't even get half as far as I did the first time lol
I've only read the prequel First King but I also own the original trilogy which I've been meaning to read for years.
I probably only liked the show because at that time I had not read the book. Typically I never like the adaptations, lol
The Elfstones is a much better book
About 100 pages in and hit a dry spell. He goes into some really long winded descriptions and loses me to boredom.
Disagree but it's really good.
It took me three years picking up and putting down the first book to read as a kid. I thought it was me lol I think the first book was skipped was because it took so much from Lord of the Rings. Terry Brooks said so himself. It get better. Second book was so much better.
I've tried Elfstones 3 different times - once was even with the audiobook and I just couldn't stay invested. I think I missed the era to read it when I would have loved it.
youre really pretty. i think youd be more with less makeup and hair stuff.
Curly hair requires a lot, lol!
I've fixed my lighting since these old videos so it looks a lot different now. It's funny to look at these old videos and have a good laugh at where I started and how I didn't know how to adjust color on video. I had a good laugh at this comment.
Sorry to correct, but the sword was forged for all men (or at least all Elves) (forged for all forces of good), but, as is explained in the book, there was a problem with how it was presented to the King. I don't agree with your assessment, but I respect it and your willingness to post it. I read the books originally when I was about 11 - 14 (I was born in 1966), and I had a much higher tolerance for descriptive language apparently :). I am curious to see if you enjoyed the Elfstones, which brought me to tears ever time I read it. The most boring (hardest) part to read for me in Elfstones was the army battles, but it contained the most exciting part of the story for me as well (the main quest).
Speaking of tolerance, I was able to enjoy (even love) some books like Thieves World series (Robert Lynn Aspirin and Lynn Abbey), Elric of Melnibone series (Michael Moorcock (spelling?), Chronicles of Amber series (Roger Zelazny), Dragonriders of Pern series (Anne McAffrey)... because of it. Hardest read that I completed was The Last Ship by William Brinkley - not sure I would recommend it to anyone. Not sure if you know what a nested loop is, but that is his writing style, he uses commas and sub ideas within a sentence and paragraph, like he is getting paid by the comma. I would highly recommend Thieves World (basically a bunch of short stories by different authors set in the same city of a fantasy world). I really enjoyed The Chronicles of Amber but it was a hard read at my age at that time, dealing with extra dimensional travel, and concepts I had not been introduced to before. Dragonriders of Pern was one of the first books I read that dealt with some more adult concepts and I loved the books - Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of the Horses (Jean M. Auel) and the Flowers in the Attic series (V. C. Andrews) were some of the more eye opening ones I read around that time as well.
Hope you and your family are well!
Yes, if memory serves, the sword is only used by Jerle Shannara and his heirs because that is what the people believed. Due to that belief, that is why it seemed to only work for them.
I've talked with another BookTuber because I also found I wasn't enjoying the Lord of the Rings books when I tried to re-read them - but I remembered loving them when I first read them in junior high. So I believe it now may just be because I habe, for lack of a better word, outgrown the enjoyment of the writing style. My friend said she experienced that and turned to the audiobooks and LOVED those.
So that's what I'm going to do - I'm going to get the audiobook and see if having it read to me changes things. I did start the Elfstones, but I haven't finished it yet.
@@TheNerdyNarrative I hope you enjoy them!
@@bdoeden64 thanks! I forgot to mention that I read the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series when I was a youngster, probably too young for that kind of material, but I loved them. Probably because of the thrill that my parents would have killed me if they caught me with them. LOL
@@TheNerdyNarrative Forbidden love is such an intriguing thing to humans.
I really lived terry brooks sword of shannara there realky good
I’m a little half way through this book and it sucks! I’m really trying to finish it but It feels like I’m reading a shitty rip off version of the LOTR.
Yeah, I think all those fantasy authors in that time period tried to write their own LoTR. This one just didn't work for me. I did try to read the second one and quit. A year later, I tried again with the audiobook...still couldn't make it through.
Sword of Shannara started out great, but it turned into a slog. Such a shame.
I’ve tried reading the second one two different times and even tried the audiobook and I just couldn’t get into it. I think I’ve just lost interest in this style of classical fantasy. If I’d read this series back in the 90s, I bet I’d have a whole different opinion.
If this book could make me laugh or cry at all I might feel like finishing the second half. It’s just kind of a monotonous drone of thick description with decorative flourish and cliched situations full of nothing but white men.
100%!!!
Ok. Here we go. The first Shannara book is notorious for being garbage. The ending made me want to throw the book across the room, and laugh. Mr. Brooks was a lawyer who basically used LOTR as a template to start his long, long, series. After his writing improved he wrote several other books which take place in modern Seattle using magic called The Knight of the Word. After a while he merged this concept of the elf kindom being in the pacific northwest. That's why you see the dystopic landscape in the MTV atrocity. The biggest deviation in the TV series was to age up, and sex up the characters. It looks cool, but it's really makes no sense. His writing style is very longwinded, and that's not a bad thing after he got better at balancing things. The second book goes from a D to a A minus plot wise. The writing style also greatly improves. I'm currently getting through his mid 2000's series Genesis of Shannara which again is interesting, but a bit of a mess.
My buddy Allen told me to quit trying with the Shannara Chronicles and try some of his other works because they were much better and it makes a lot more sense after hearing what you've commented. I think he recommended the Druid series?? I'll have to ask him again and get those on my reading plan for next year!
Im sick of hearing how this is a LOTR rip-off, its absolutely nothing like that. The races that confuse people who obviously haven’t read any of them, as clearly described as characteristics taken from the old fairy tales after presumed radiation fallout from the war. And so what the party goes on a quest together, what would you rather they all stayed at home. Ive read way more strong influence borrowed from this book by other authors (cough cough Wheel of Time) than Brooks ever took from Tolkien.
@@jachyra9No, because you and most "critics" think the inspiration was with Toliens characters, it was not. Brooks said many times he drew on his writing style and character development pacing. If you draw analogies with the characters to LOTR, you either haven't read this or any of the Shannara series, or perhaps listened to too many pseudo-interracial book reviewers.
@@jachyra9 Well then, by your logic, Robert Jorden is a Terry Brook hack. Brooks coined the 'Wheel of Time' concept 10-years before his works were written, along with much of the 'farmboy from small village travels and turns into the hero of the land' storyline, so throw out all his body of work. Ray Fiest also uses the almost same magic system, so write his stuff off too. In fact, any author using any mention of any story element or system used in the Shannara series is automatically a hack (according to you). Thanks, book nazi. Oh, and I type fast on my phone its hard to pick up on typos. I can assure you, I spell just fine.
@@jachyra9 No, I called you a book-nazi, which is accurate. How you possibly suffer through the inhumanity of such atrocious writing is so noble of you. Somehow I very much doubt you would have the balls to say that directly to his face. Keyboard warriors like you all seem to fade from existence when faced with real-world confrontations. Much easier to sling mud and ad hominem from the safety of your couch, right? Perhaps you should try inventing a totally new and unique fantasy series yourself, get it to market and sell millions of copies. Let me know how you feel when a bunch of nobody bookworm eggheads on the Internet continually point out insignificant characterization from a book you wrote nearly 40-years ago that apparently poisons the well for all subsequent works you do, mostly just to score points with their echo chamber collection of town idiot followers. Let me know how you get on with that.
@@jachyra9 Powerful come back there. Truth hurts. I'm 50, btw. Besides, don't get pissy at me, it's Terry Brooks you hate, right? I've met the man a number of times now, a really nice guy. Very smart, altruistic and genuinely down to earth. Pretty much the opposite of what you think he is.
@@jachyra9 Again, completely wrong. And just because someone has a counter opinion and puts you in your place doesn't make them childish, as much as I wish you were right. Your criticism is completely off target, as I originally pointed out. You, like all the other hacks and literary expert wanna-be's, Terry brooks didn't take the characters and plot lines from Tolkien, he was influenced by the writing style. Something he speaks about at great length in the early days. Something, again, you would pick up on if you'd read either book. You should be championing his work, without it I would say many of the current crop of contemporary writers simply wouldn't have started. I doubt there is a single fantasy writer who hasn't credited Brooks with some degree of influence in their work.
Not a fan if the show
That's funny, I'm the exact opposite. I have over the years since this video try to continue the series a few times. It just wasn't one I could jive with.
I never make positive comments… I’m one of those assholes. If I’m inclined to comment, it’s because I’m angry or just… idk full of hatred. I literally cried after finding you because I LOVE you so much. I love you. You’re the best.
Well, shucks. Thanks, glad you are enjoying the channel and it's come a long way since this video. (Thank goodness, these old ones are so cringe)