A Fantasy Masterpiece
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This is the first Terry Brooks novel that I read, and it blew me away. For a relatively short novel (copared to the Sword of Shannara Trilogy, and the later Heritage of Shannara and Voyage of the Jerle Shanarra) the storyline is surprisingly deep. Although initially I was put off this book by thinking it was going to be Brooks attempt at being Tolkien, there is sufficient difference for any reader to be able to enjoy this book. I found it to be very well written, with characters that you can really believe in and come to love. If you haven't read any of Terry Brooks then the Sannara series is a must, and will surely rank very highly in your fantasy collection. I highly recommend this book, and other Shanarra books. Now that Terry Brooks has finished writing the Shanarra series I feel pretty lost. I enjoyed these books immensely. One thing I can guarantee is that once you pick this book up, you will not put it down until you are done. A brilliant series.
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A deeply emotional read
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I've read all of Terry Brook's works, starting with The Sword Of Shannara, but I only recently managed to obtain The First King Of Shannara. From the reviews I've read, it seems this book has been very under-rated. I've seen it written off as a book not really worth reading unless you're a die hard fan. Well, anyone who has been put off by this is missing a huge treat. One of Terry Brook's gratest talents is to delve deeply within the thoughts and emotions of his characters, displaying the good and bad points of each. First king is a classic example. The reader's heart will ache for the main protagonist Breman as he struggles to convince his fellow druids of the threat to the four lands. There are also his small band of devoted followers who must aid in the fight for their people's survival, as well as fighting personal demons of their own. The battle scenes are on the scale of Lord Of The Rings. If you're interested in a history of Shannara, but don't want just a book of facts, then this is ideal. A must read for Terry Brooks fans and fantasy fans alike.
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A prequel better than the original.
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THE STORY:
The complacency of the Druid Council has allowed the rogue Druid Brona to become the Warlock Lord. The Druid Bremen and a small group of followers seek to counter the Warlock Lord by creating a magical artifact; the Sword of Shannara.WHAT'S GOOD:
'The Sword Of Shannara' was well written, but far too much like LotR to be a satisfactory read (I'm not saying LotR is bad! I'm saying lesser copycat novels are). Here, however, Brooks tells a much more original story that can either be read first or to reveal more about the people and events of the later books. I enjoyed seeing Bremen and his friends in action, each representing a different aspect of the Druid magic. This book also goes some way to tying together 'The Sword...', 'The Elfstones...' and 'The Wishsong...' as well as dropping strong hints towards the Heritage of Shannara series (things like Cogline's Druid origins and the Black Elfstone). Best of all in this book is the substory of a young orphan boy who becomes attatched to Bremen's mission. A boy named Allanon. WHAT'S BAD:
People who've read Brooks' other Shannara books will not only be largely aware of what's going to happen here, but also will experience a 'read one, read them all' feeling in regard to his descriptions of battles against larger armies in which some magic or other turns the tide at the last minute.
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first class
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one of the best, after reading the elfstones of shannara, i thought that it could'nt get better, i was wrong! this is a must read.
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The book that should not have been written
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Prequels are almost always a bad idea. This one is no exception.
I found that the characters and action did not seem to fit well into the established "feel" of the Four Lands. Neither did I like the devices used to introduce Allanon. Terry's grasp of action and his writing skill are still strong, but this story attempts to tie in too much material, and it is obvious that it did not exist in Terry's notes in anything like a finished form.
I would reccomend that only a Shannara completist buy this, it is really not a loss if you don't.
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