The Sword of Shannara

The Shannara Series, Book 1

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

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.

Wonderful!

This is a classic. I'm so pleased its been released at last in unabridged format: When Flick Ohmsford and his brother Shea are visited by the mysterious druid Allanon, their lives change for the worse, as they are hunted across the country by the minions of the evil arch druid and his skull-bearing horde of undead.

While many of the elements in this first book in particular, remind me a bit of Tolkein's classic work, the books have plenty of fun characters. I also really liked the narrator's voice. He did an excellent job! A++++

fellowship of the sword

while listening, i couldn't stop thinking of lord of the rings. the first half of the book looks like fellowship of the ring, and the second half like the two towers and the return of the king... all in all... a good book, but doesn't seem a new story

Not really suited for audio format

What did you like best about The Sword of Shannara? What did you like least?

I enjoyed the scope of the world, and the ambiguity of how magic works the most in this book. What kept me from enjoying the story fully was how glacial and repetitive the writing became.

Would you ever listen to anything by Terry Brooks again?

I doubt that I will listen to more written by Terry Brooks. The Scott Brick deserves so much credit for turning something cumbersome and slow into a tolerable read.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Brick's ability to convey the range of emotion needed to connect with some of the characters was vital to making this read through possible.

Any additional comments?

I believe that this is Terry Brooks' first published novel, and unfortunately it shows. The plot moves at a snail's pace, and also suffered from unnecessary repetitions of both character situation and character exposition. By the end of the novel, I was at a point where I could no longer take the seemingly endless repetitions, and skipped forward in the performance. I resumed play mid-conclusion and I didn't care enough about how the fight between protagonist and antagonist began to rewind the audio for fear of more of the dreaded repetition. Brick's performance was incredibly solid throughout the story, and it was the only thing that kept me invested in the book past the second chapter. When I read this book for the first time 20 years ago, I remember it as an epic fantasy that pulled me along like a fallen leaf on a stream. Unfortunately, time has changed my taste in fiction and writing style.

very boring

author had so many deus ex machina that there's no way the story could have been saved without them. so much exposition that wasn't necessary we could have been told through one of the characters. the authors reading was so monotone I would frequently lose interest in the story and have to rewind it

ok for ten year olds

complete rip of the hobbit and very predictable. i guess i was disappointed. free would be a good price.