The Sword of Shannara - Shannara 1 - Terry Brooks Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Terry Brooks

"The Sword of Shannara - Shannara 1"
Message Board

Terry Brooks Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR: Steve Arthur

SCHOLARS: iris H elentuch Vandor Eric Terrell Fantasy Buff Elisabeht S. Jay Brandon Hay

Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Review Summaries

"Shea Ohmsford is just an ordinary tavern-keepers apprentice who is visited by a mysterious druid. The druid tells him he's got to leave in order to evade pursuit from a skull bearer, who he says is a servant of an evil warlock. He and his half-brother Flick do what he says after actually encountering the creature mentioned. They are joined by Menion Leah, a good-for-nothing prince. Later they meet up with the druid Allanon, who tells them they've got to go to Paranor to recover the Sword of Shannara, a special blade that belonged to Shea's father, who died a long time ago, and that the sword is the only way of slaying the Warlock Lord. They are joined by an some elves and a dwarf and a prince in their attempt to recover it, and pretty soon they get seperated and are each involved in seperate tasks. Shea and Flick are captured by a troll and a one-handed bandit, which temporarily halts their progress in their quest, after which bandit and troll in question release them from bondage and they find a sword on the body of a dead gnome that just happens to be the Sword of Shannara. With the help of this sword, they pass through a deadly fog and Shea kills the Warlock Lord, and meanwhile, the rest of the group winds up trying to stop the evil Druid Stemnin, a servant of the Warlock Lord."
Steve Arthur, Resident Terry Brooks Scholar

"This engrossing book deals with several issues at once: First of all, there's a young person who doesn't know who he really is & once shown, cannot accept the truth of it. Next, you have a villain who also cannot accept the truth of the very core of his existence. Once both accept the truth about themselves, the plot of the book resolves itself. On the journey to these truths (eventually revealed by the legendary Sword of Shannara) you have a mix of dedicated adventurers brought together by their concern over the darkness sweeping the land into chaos. Allanon, a powerful, concerned druid, (the last of his kind dedicated to good), is the glue that holds the little band together, despite their opinions, good & bad, of him & his intentions. Magic plays a large part of the backbone of the book; rather, it is the source from which all the other elements grow. A mixture of mental & physical battles permeate the ebb & flow of this powerful book. It is a book of realization of one's self & destiny, and the selflessness that comes with maturity. "
Vandor, Resident Terry Brooks Scholar

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 12/1/2008 10:21:14 PM

Xena: 37 reasons why Xena and Gabrielle are... you know.... 11/29/2008 4:45:25 AM

Charmed: Who is cutest, Prue, Phoebe, Piper, or (ug!) Paige? 11/19/2008 1:26:01 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 11/19/2008 12:59:50 PM

Charmed: How can Phoebe Halliwell get an abortion? 11/12/2008 8:07:59 PM

Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Episode III: Who is cuter, Carrie Fisher or Natalie Hershlag? 11/9/2008 10:37:23 PM

Xena: Last Episode: Lesbian Kiss Scene 11/2/2008 2:11:08 PM

Star Wars: Why did they need a floating syringe to interrogate Princess Leia? 10/15/2008 12:45:30 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/12/2008 3:22:58 AM

Blade Runner: Was Harrison Ford on Tranquilizers or an Actor's Strike When Filming Blade Runner? 9/20/2008 3:18:54 AM

Newest slaves:
Count Dooku 1:28:56 PM
Rose Tyler (Dr. Who Squeeze) 1:27:38 PM
Demi Moore 1:26:37 PM
Heather Locklear (Melrose Place) 1:26:06 PM
Enos (Dukes of Hazzard) 1:23:59 PM
Winona Ryder 1:18:47 PM
Major Samantha Carter (Butchie) 1:00:31 PM
Raquel Welch 12:39:40 PM
Luke Skywalker 12:18:36 PM
Xena (Lucy Lawless) 12:18:12 PM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)