The Sword of Shannara

The Shannara Series, Book 1

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Charles Keating

Length: 6 hrs and 15 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 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Good Book, Bad Abridgement

This book is very good, I have read it. This abridgement is bad, it elimates most of the character development. The result is that you have a great story that is filled with strangers you hardly know. It makes the abridgment hard to connect with. Brooks is a talented author and very good at developing his characters so you know and love them. This abridgment is a huge disservice to his talents.

Get the unabridged version...

Not a bad reading, but much is lost in the telling with this abridgement of the story. Get the unabridged version!

Don't bother...

As one reviewer already said, The Sword of Shannara is a retelling of The Lord of the Rings. Despite that, I liked the book. But, as has also already been said, this adaptation took out pretty much all of the character development and even some of the best action sequences. If you liked the book, don't bother with this abridged adaptation. If you've never read the book and don't care if you know next to nothing about the character's involved then you might like it, but there are better ways to use your book credits.

Amazing Narration!

I read this book many years ago and it was long. So listening to the abridged version was a nice way to become re-acquainted with the story and characters. I forgot how much I loved Balinor, Hendel, Keltset and Menion Leah; and how much I loated Stenmin, the awful mystic who caused so much trouble. The best part of this audiobook is that Charles K. is the narrator. His voice is like smooth, swiss chocolate for your auditory pleasure. I will be listening to the next two of the original trilogy with his reading of it. I cannot imagine listening to anyone else tell the story abridged or not. Overall, great listen!

Where's the dialogue?

This barely rates a 3 for me. There's almost no dialogue among the characters. It's almost like listening to a fable or myth, except this is much too long to take the form of a fable. The characters are nearly dimensionless. There's a great deal of description of the story going on, but you feel very disconnected from it. The narrator also doesn't help by giving almost all the characters the same Irish accent. If you are into action and not into character development, then you may enjoy it. There's plenty of Jason and the Argonauts type stuff going on. However, if you want a more interactive world, then hunt elsewhere.

never abridged

Why dont these great authors do like Stephan King and never release an abridged version. This is one of my all-time favorite books but I have happened to hear this version and I will never buy any abridged readings again. For this author you just have to read the books. His best ones are sword, elfstones, first king, and the new high druid is good too.

prefered the longer version.

This abbreviated audio book was ok . I understand I got the shortened version of the book but it seemed to cut out some of the things I personally would have kept in. But if you are wanting the main story it gets to the point without all the detail I prefer. The narrator was alright but not my favorite but he spoke in a clear voice and was easy to understand.

Unabridged?

I have never read anything from this author before and was pretty excited but I felt like there was almost no dialogue and the book jumped around. I purposely chose this version of the book because the picture said it was unabridged, but after reading the reviews (which I don’t usually do cause I like to make up my own mind) I found out this was the abridged version. They should make that clear on the details or something because not once does it say that and the cover says the exact opposite of that. Audible I feel like you let me down. :(

Not Unabridged

I have read the book. While the plot still follows along, there are whole sections missing!

Abridged and Boring

I have read this book/series as a teen and absolutely loved it. I started listening to this book and couldn't understand why I felt so bored!! I didn't realize it was an abridged version since that's not apparent when you order it. Read the original and skip this abridged version which bypasses all the exciting spots and makes them anti-climatic, and bores you with the rest of it... Not fond of the reader either. He sounds bored and sad. Yeah, I'm slamming this version, but that's just because it's really a terribly poor representation of the actual work.

Fantastic

Read the books years ago, but was gripped with audio book. Couldn't stop listening. Terry Brooks is fantastic in either print or spoken. A MUST.

Start of Great Things to come

This was one of the 1st audio books I brought. I was hooked when I read the book years ago and the audio version did not disappoint. Give it ago.

much better if unabridged

I had high expectations for this book since it was a favourite when first published. This audio version has been abridged very badly.
Important elements missing or glossed over so that overall effect was to produce an audiobook that seemed to be rushed and fragmented.
MANY small sections that made the characters come to life in the book were missing.

Poor LOTR Imitation

I really wanted to like this book and ploughed through to the end in the hope it would improve but it never did. It would actually be only a third of the size it is if the author didn't seem to be entering a competition for the largest number of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs in one novel. Apart from that it is a poor Lord of the Rings imitation. The reader didn't help matters either - I suspect that if he was reading a train timetable he would make it sound as if he was announcing the onset of Armageddon.

This book is incomplete

I compared this audio to the real book and I found it different from the original. huge difference. looks for me as if big fragments of the story were cut off. not impressed....

Review by Kay (Leeds, UK)

Read this book first about 18 years ago and enjoyed it so much I ended up buying all the books in the series. Now enjoying it all over again but this time in audio form. Terry Brooks has a gift for bringing his characters to life from the wonderful descriptions he gives. At times the storyline becomes complicated and it can be difficult to keep track, but once past the first few pages it's difficult to put the book down. For lovers of fantasy books the Shannara series is one of the best.

awful boring

I apologise if this was actually meant to be a children's book..... I'm a 30 year old bloke and found it just about the most boring fantasy novel ever. Perhaps its because its abridged? I don't know- it was just so juvenile and obvious.

Sorry Terry- but I guess I should have realised this would be as bad, if not worse, as the Phantom Menace!