Terry Brooks

I went into this book with no background about it aside from the knowledge that the series had been made into a show, but by all accounts it was quite a fantasy classic. So I had quite high hopes for The Sword of Shannara, but this one really didn't click for me.

Most of the criticism leveled against it seems to be due to its very heavy use of The Lord of the Rings as its source material. This I didn't actually mind that much, since there's a reason that Tolkien is as popular and influential as he is, and though the resulting plot is understandably unoriginal, it is still a good story. However such a close adaptation automatically invites comparison with the original, and in all respects, I feel like Brooks' work falls short.

The characters are less well rounded out and engaging, the plot is less cohesive, and the prose far more clunky. Even the world, although populated with a nice assortment of races and cultures, did not feel particularly well crafted, with some elements more fleshed out than others, and random bits of information which often seemed irrelevant. I also expected this interesting premise of a world 2000 years after a nuclear war to bring something extra to the standard fantasy setting, but there was little to be found. Brooks' narration style didn't help, with a weird third person omniscience sometimes jumping to character perspective which seemed to break up the narrative flow.

In saying that, The Sword of Shannara does have its moments, and the story is solid enough that I was able to finish it without feeling like it was a trial, so I won't relegate it to one star status. But it remains to be seen what Brooks can bring to the table in the rest of the trilogy to prove his place as a fantasy great.… (mere)