« Post Christmas Blues | Main | 38 »
December 27, 2004
Brooks' Sword of Shannara
I never read Sword of Shannara as a kid. I knew about it. But I was pretty picky about the books I read and I think I was only into Tolkein at the time, along with a few other novels. I don’t remember what I was reading at 13, to be honest. Sword of Shannara just seemed too much for me.
But I’ve since read Brooks other series, like the The Word and the Void Trilogy books and Magic Kingdom of Landover books, and I like Terry Brooks. Besides, Michael has been asking me for Terry Brooks’ later novels from the Shannara series. When I saw the first three books in the Shannara series came in a compendium, the Sword of Shannara Trilogy, I decided to go ahead and buy it.
No doubt there were flaws in writing that Brooks possessed in 1977 when he wrote Sword, like the switching point of view issues and the hanging loose ends—things that he learned how to change in later writings. But in spite of it, Brooks drew me into Sword of Shannara and his characters with little difficulty. The plot is slightly derivative, but I knew when I read it this was Brooks’ first successful novel and was prepared to maintain an open mind when I read it. I was thoroughly enchanted.
I have now indeed been drawn into the Shannara series and will not stop until I’ve read them all.
Amazon links are here: Sword of Shannara, and The Sword of Shannara Trilogy.
Posted by Bastique at December 27, 2004 11:38 PM