The Sword of Shannara

The Shannara Series, Book 1

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 26 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The Sword of Shannara is the first volume of the classic series that has become one of the most popular fantasy tales of all time.

Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil ruined the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. But the supposedly dead Warlock Lord is plotting to destroy everything in his wake.

The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness is the Sword of Shannara, which can be used only by a true heir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline, rests the hope of all the races.

Thus begins the enthralling Shannara epic, a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth....

©1977 Terry Brooks (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Classic fantasy

A classic. What’s not to love?
Every time I listen to this story, I find more to appreciate.

What a horrible narrator

I don’t think they could have chosen a worse narrator. His inflection and tone ruin the book.

Familiar and fun

This was a series I’ve wanted to revisit for some time and I’m glad I finally did. I read these books years ago when I was young and they preceded my reading of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings.

Now, looking back with those other series under my belt too and a deep love for Tolkien’s works, there are similarities between them but the story feels nostalgic in such a good way. A bit slow at the start, it still drew me in and kept me interested in the ways I remembered. The ending still gave me a smile and a laugh and left me ready for the next book to come which was a relief because sometimes stories don’t hold up to memories as the years go on. Ultimately this was a listen/read I was happy to have experienced again. The audio book is a long haul at over 26 hrs of listen time, but it was definitely worth it.

Bad Narration of a Good Book

My biggest annoyance was the constant overly dramatic/snotty inflections that Scott Brick would put into each sentance, each word. I couldn't deal with it and often found myself ignoring the story altogether. I can't tell how many times I was forced to rewind and listen again because suddenly something of actual interest was happening, but I didn't know how we got there. I loved the series and have been reading the books faithfully starting from when I was a young girl. I also am a major fan of LOTR, and I didn't notice how similar the stories were when I was younger. It is interesting how many parallels there are between the books, but it was meant to be the first of a long series of stories. The characters change and the narratives evolve and you grow attached to the story line. I am sad to see that many of the unabridged versions are read by Brick because I really want to listen to them, but I'm not sure I can stomach any more of his nauseating accents and unnecessary inflections. The narrative is enough to let me know that something important is happening, I don't need him raising his voice and acting like a bad rendition of shakespearian play to tell me this. I'm sorry to be ragging on him this much, but it was bad! I wish that they had used multiple voices, like the Phillip Pullman series (excellent excellent excellent!) to narrate. It gives it so much more depth. Luckily for this novel, all of the main characters are men, so at least he has that going for him. Bottom line here is that you really have to be a former fan of the Shannara series to deal with the Scott Brick audio book format. I would suggest newcomers read the book rather than listening.

An overpriced old favorite

Like many others I read the Sword of Shannara and the subsequent books in the series many years ago and was happy to see it available in audio format. I have no problems with the similarities of this story to other works of fantasy because there are enough differences in the overall world created by Terry Brooks for this work to stand on it's own merit.

For certain this is typical fantasy fare, the struggle of a heretofore ordinary individual thrust into fighting against the threat of an eternal evil. Scott Brick is an excellent narrator and I am fine with his representation of the characters. I never expected him to present them to me they way I created them in my head so many years ago and his efforts on this series are typical of his work. What I am not fine with is the fact that this book is nothing extraordinary yet it costs twice as many credits as many far superior works of fantasy.

I actualy enjoyed the next 2 books in the series more than this one because after this book Terry Brooks takes things in a more unique direction and those stories are more original. The Elfstones of Shannara for 1 credit is a much better offering than this book for two.

My advice - pick up two better fantasy books for your 2 credits instead of just this one. I am glad that picking up this book allowed me to spend more time with Shea and Allanon; however, if I did not have the bias of my fond memory of reading this book from long ago then I would not feel like those were 2 credits well spent.

Excellent listen!

Although some think this is a blatant plagiarism of Tolkien, it is an excellent series. I believe that Brooks did read the LOTR series, and wanted to tell an interesting story that more people could follow. It is similar to LOTR, but an interesting and slightly different story in itself. Definitely worth a listen to, if at least to get the history, so you can listen to the rest of the Shannara series. The reader is great with each of the voices, and I stayed excited throughout the book!

A fun adventure.

O.K, so Brooks isn't Tolkien, but I thought it was worth buying again after 22 years. Its a fun fantasy adventure and I plan on buying more of Brooks work.

very engaging story well presented.

using 1 1/2 speed shortens the time required quite a bit yet doesn't detract from the story

technician

Very well read entertaining book. Terry Brooks is a very good writer and I would recommend all of his work. Scott Brick is awesome in his ability to tell the story and makes it very entertaining.

Terry Brooks one of my favs

My husband bought me "Kingdom for sale, sold" and that started my love affair for anything he wrote. I have then downloaded all his books again have enjoyed the pleasure of listening to them all over again. Scott brick is a magnificent as the voice for Mr. Brooks books. I recommend you start the adventures. Go on line and read the books in the order that Brooks has suggested.