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.

Loved it. brings back memories.

Loved it. brings back memories of when I was a kid. Teenager kids would love it also.

Yes it's imitative.... but

I remember my brothers talking about this book in the early '80s when Dungeons & Dragons was a staple for Friday and Saturday nights. I never picked up the book myself until adulthood when my wife loved the series. "It gets better" is usually uttered in a conversation about it.

So lets get one thing straight: Yes it imitates Tolkien. Many would say plagiarizes, but I might disagree. High Fantasy wasn't exactly a genre that was full of novels at the time. And to quote Michael Drout from the lecture series RINGS, SWORDS, AND MONSTERS: EXPLORING FANTASY LITERATURE, Fantasy authors have to deal with Tolkien in one of two ways. Either they imitate or reject him.

Brooks takes Tolkien's world building and puts his own spin on it, a take that might have been more innovative at the time of publication than it is now. Yes, there's a wise man, yes there's a hero, yes there's a brother (read Samwise) figure, but more than anything, these characters are there to flesh out Shannara's world. Brooks includes some interesting new races - the gnomes are a little different than others you may have read about. The Druids aren't the tree-hugging hippies you might think they are. So there's lots a of potential in the series. If you are interested in fantasy as a genre, you can't deny that this series is successful. If you enjoyed LOTR, then why not try something very similar? Just know what you're getting into.

Scott Brick does an excellent job as usual. His reading is fluid and clear without being cartoonish.

Personally I'm looking forward to how the series will translate to the screen in the upcoming television series. Until then, I will have to come to terms with my mispronunciation of Shannara all these years.

A grate book to recommend to a friend. Grate story

The narrator was grate had many voice's to pic up the readers attention. The story kept me on the edge.
I would definitely recommend this to all my friends

Not perfect, but still very good.

Overall, I enjoyed it. At times the author seems to get a tad excessive in his descriptions, which tends to slow the flow of the story a bit.
I really enjoyed the different accents the reader gives each character. But there were quite a few moments where it seemed like the inflection for the situation was off, if I'm completely honest. But I'm just being nit-picky.

One of my favorite books

This is one of the best books I have read and it loses nothing in hearing it. This narrator does an excellent job of brining the book to life.

Hard to follow

The story was hard to follow. Although I've listened to other books narrated by Scott Brick which I enjoyed, he has a habit of using an overly dramatic reading style. It becomes exhausting when you couple that with a high action story that I felt was not all that well written.

An excellent book, Science Fiction/ Fantasy lover

Enjoyed the narrator. The book was brought to life, a wonderful compliment between author/ narrator.

The Best

The Sword of Shannara series is the best fantasy series ever written. Scot Brick does a phenomenal job in his narration.

Past memories

I am happy I read this book before lord of the rings because I continued to read Terry Brooks books that were not knockoffs of other authors. It was great to recall the mental pictures I had when I was younger. I would refine d this to anyone BEFORE they read or watch lord of the rings. Please don’t give up on other amazing works by this author. The narration leaves a lot to be desired and the mispronunciation of shannara drives me nuts lol. The new tv series ROCKS and has a all star cast and is well written. It’s a must see for individuals and families.

Great story

Loved it! Highly recommend the series! Can't wait to start the next book! Great story!