The Annotated Sword of Shannara: 35th Anniversary Edition

A Sword of Shannara Novel

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The phenomenal epic of good and evil like it's never been experienced before

Thirty-five years ago, Terry Brooks brought to life a dazzling world in The Sword of Shannara. Nineteen more Shannara volumes would follow, making the series one of the most popular fantasy epics of all time. Now comes a fully annotated collector's edition of the novel that started it all - featuring never-before-shared insights into the classic tale and an all-new introduction by the New York Times best-selling author.

Long ago, wars ravaged the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. Then the giant, forbidding Allanon reveals that 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.

Soon a Skull Bearer, dread minion of a mighty evil, flies into the Vale, seeking to destroy Shea. To save his home, Shea must flee, drawing the Skull Bearer after him in menacing pursuit.

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

©2012 Terry Brooks (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" The Sword of Shannara is an unforgettable and wildly entertaining epic, animated by Terry Brooks's cosmically generative imagination and storytelling joy. This was one of my favorite fictional worlds growing up, and I look forward to many return trips." (Karen Russell, New York Times best-selling author of Swamplandia!)

"Terry Brooks has been my constant companion over a lifetime of exploring my beloved fantasy genre. I say with all honesty I would not be writing epic fantasy today if not for Shannara. If Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Terry Brooks is its favorite uncle." (Peter V. Brett, New York Times best-selling author of The Desert Spear)

"I can't even begin to count how many of Terry Brooks's books I've read (and reread) over the years. From Shannara to Landover, his work was a huge part of my childhood." (Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times best-selling author of The Name of the Wind)

Not shabby for a first book

Would you try another book from Terry Brooks and/or Scott Brick?

I found it to be a good story, but very much a dumbed down version of Lord of the Rings. I read this book when it came out and enjoyed it a lot back then, never having been a Tolkien reader, but now that I have, its very obvious.

Would you be willing to try another book from Terry Brooks? Why or why not?

I look forward to the elfstones book.

Was The Annotated Sword of Shannara: 35th Anniversary Edition worth the listening time?

No, I wont buy another annotated book

Mixed feelings - before buying please read.

I’ll give examples but I won’t use spoilers. This is long but it’s an honest review.

Let me begin with, I only buy very long books, at least 30 hours and I “read” 3-4 books a week; honestly (I don’t sleep much). I had never heard of the series but someone suggested it for me.

Since I had not heard of it, I thought this version would be helpful having the author explain things I would have otherwise missed. Well, I suggest, if you’re new to the series, buy the regular version. With the author butting in, you lose the flow; like you’re listening to a “goodbye” scene and just before the sadness hits you, the author butts in “that was a sad part” killing the intended vibe. Also, because he pretty much won’t shut up, I found myself losing interest and not paying attention. When I realized I wasn’t paying attention, I had to go back 4-5 chapters. With normally reading 3-4 books a week, this book took me literally 2 weeks to get half way through. I was very irritated by then that I gave up and didn’t finish.

Another thing that bugged me, was use of the word “several” meaning, many, a lot etc but this author used it often but when he wasn’t talking about many. The way he was describing the situation, it felt like he was trying to say “few”, not a lot.

The last thing that annoyed me and it was only once or twice but once it gets in your head, it stays there. In the scenes where the good guy is face to face with the bad guy for the first time. Imagine if you will, the first time Harry meets Voldemort. Harry was what? Like 13?? Well, it was still tense when they starting their monologues. In this book it’s more like the nerd in high school trying to sound tough but ends up sounding like you’re very naive grandmother (not a direct quote or spoiler just an exaggerating description) “Now listen here you you (stutters) um flunky, go away or I sure will make you sorry” you get the idea. That also kills the vibe of the entire story.

With all that said, the narrator was awesome! Great male and female voices and really great accents.

The story was alright but like I said, I only got half way and didn’t finish. It’s basically any fantasy with a group of friends have to go on a quest and save the world, yes obviously inspired by LotR but not as good. It’s definitely not a bad read but considering there are like 1,900 books in the series and you only get 2 or maybe just 1 credit a month, there are several better options to use your credit with. I wish I had left it in my wish list for Audible to add if their free book collectibon.

Wonderful Book, Loved the Annotations

Fantastic tale, super creative. Fun to re-read it and remember why I enjoyed it in the 80s.

Shannara Shines

This Annotated version was a delight! Terry Brooks' debut offering is an exceptional epic fantasy overflowing with danger, inner turmoil, mystery and magic!

A

The annotations are distracting and take away from the flow of the story. The reader is excellent.

I enjoyed listening to Terry Brooks annotations -

I really enjoyed Terry Brooks injections most of the time & especially near the end. I missed it in the others. loved the book & am a huge Terry Brooks fan!! Love his writing!

Burn the annotations!

I've loved Terry Brook's books since....forever. I was hoping that this version would be as good as the written books. It's not.
Don't get me wrong, the story is still great. The Narrator does a great job of reading the book.
But the annotations KILL it. They are worse than worthless. They're stuffed into awkward places in the story, they're irrelevant to the part of the story that they're stuffed into and more often than not do nothing more than interrupt the flow of what is a great story!

If it weren't for the annotations --- I'd have given it a hardy FIVE STARS!!!

best series ever

I couldn't get enough of it. my favorite Parts was the action and romance scenes. the narration the people that read it was perfect for the part.

Great storyline. What an adventure!

I read complaints about the annotation, but I liked it. I was able to learn about the authors thought process.

Annotations don't work in an Audiobook

Any additional comments?

Both the story itself and the performance are great. But the annotations simply don't work in an audiobook format. While such features might be a footnote on a written page, such that you could read them when convenient, here they are inserted right into the text in a way that totally breaks the flow the narration. It really interferes with the listening experience.