The First King of Shannara

Rating:
Summary: Good Prequel to a Great Triology!
Review: Having read the other 10 Shannara books first I put off reading this prequel to the original SWORD OF SHANNARA. While I like Brooks writing it seems that the 7 Shannara books that followed the original triology are less and less original in plot and weak on character development. However I felt that I had to read this book if for no other reason so that I can claim to have read all 11 Shannara books.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I thought the background history on Breman and the castle at Paranor was insightful and actually fills in the gaps for things mentioned in other Shannara books. I also enjoyed reading about the other druids and the different walks of life they came from and returned to. There is various background information on various places and people that will have direct or indirect roles in other books. Finally fans of Shannara are treated to the origin of Allanon.

The only complaint I have is the ending of the book. The final hundred pages of the book devotes to much time to detailing battle scenes and not enough to the confrontation of the Warlock Lord and King Jerele. Anyway, this book is a good read. It would be a good stand alone read but for those who have read other Shannara books they will find it very interesting. Out of the 11 Shannara books I would place this fourth in my line of favorites. Right after the first triolgy; THE SWORD, ELFSTONES and WHISHSHONG OF SHANNARA.

Rating:
Summary: Great...if you're 15 years old.
Review: I am about 75 pages into this latest Brooks offering and am quite disappointed. Then again, I'm 29-years-old so perhaps my tastes have changed. I loved the first triology (Sword of, Elfstones of, Wishsong of.....) but I read it when I was 15. There's nothing new here; Bad guys taking over the land, just a few heroes facing insurmountable odds, and then: "I know! let's go on a quest for a magic talisman!" Please. I guess this is the formula for about 75% of the sci-fi fantasy books out there. Maybe that's why I can't read them much anymore.

And if you're going to create characters, make some that we can really feel something for! The cardboard cut-outs in "First King" could get swallowed up by a thousand Skull Bearers and I couldn't care less! Brooks just barely glosses over these characters' motivations & feelings without really digging into them.

I guess I expected to recapture the magic (no pun intended) of reading Brooks' first three Shannara novels. Sci-fi fantasy can still be a great literary genre, but this novel just doesn't do it for me. The books by George R.R. Martin are more worthwhile. Just my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fantasy
Review: I had decided that I wanted to try the "Shannara" series awhile ago after I gave up on it a few years ago. I picked up this book, the prequel to the whole "Shannara" series, "The First King of Shannara." From the first few pages of this superb epic I was drawn in to the lush characters, great world, and interesting plot. The novel has a certain tone to it, one that makes Brooks' writing seem very unique. Brooks tells the story here in an easy to read way that is simple yet seems very complex.

Evil is stirring in the world and the Warlock Lord is gathering races to try to take over other races and get the world for himself. When one Druid, Bremen, warns his peers at the castle Paranor about the stirring evil, they don't believe him. Bremen, along with Druids Risca and Tay, Borderman Kinson, and Druid apprentice Mareth, they set out to try and fight the coming evil in the world. Through many exciting battles, magical duels, and suspense you will be on one of the best fantasy rides of your life!

Terry Brooks here gives rich characters full of mysticism, wonder, adventure, and fun. All of the characters are original people of many different races. Because of the amount of main characters in the book, about four or so, the reader will be constantly entertained and boredom will never come. Furthermore, the characters in "First King of Shannara" have their weaknesses and their strengths making them believable. For example, the character of Jerle Shannara doesn't think that he is capable of carrying out and appointed task, but as he grows he can prove himself wrong. This is the same with many other characters as well.

For fantasy readers that don't like the traditional sword and sorcery fare, then this book may not be for you. This novel has many of the traditional fantasy races, such as goblins, gnomes, trolls, elves, dwarves, you get the picture. This book is also high on magic. This book also has some clichés, such as the Skull Bearers, servants of the Warlock Lord. These creatures are just like the Ringwraiths of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." But then again, most books have borrowed some element from another book, so this didn't bother me too much.

For somebody that is looking for an interesting and fun fantasy adventure, "The First King of Shannara" is recommended. I am now looking forward to reading more of Terry Brooks' fantasy novels in the "Shannara" series.

Happy Reading!

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I remember from earlier years of my life when Sword of Shannara, and the others of the well known series, were held in high regard and still are. However, if Terry Brooks keeps adding on to his fantasy universe with episodes like First King, the Shannara world will soon be tainted. I am almost discouraged to read the older ones again because First King of Shannara was so badly written and predictable. It ruined almost everything for me. The characters were all mirror images of eachother with different occupations. Race, in this installment at least, made no difference to personality. All Brooks's characters seem to be one size fits all. The magic was over used. If i hear the phrase "druid fire" one more time in my life i will personally burn the book. Such all powerful druids should have a much wider variety of magic then intuition and the all powerful "druid fire." Please, not all of us are fantasy freaks and will take whatever is fed too us. We need orignality, we need surprise. We need to feel like the world is really in peril. The bad guys in this novel were like a really stupid ogre who was saying "uhhhh what do i do next" the whole extent of the tale. I say, stay with the first few Brooks novels and stay away from First King. A waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Terry Brooks, master of storytelling, weaves his greatest.
Review: Once again, Terry Brooks masterfully weaves his storytelling magic in The First King of Shannara, the eighth installment in the popular Shannara series. A prequel to the series, this book embodies the classic fantasy world in which the battle between good and evil predominates in the story. Brooks, master of his art, allows these "Tolkein-esque" elements to form only the backdrop of a solidly forged epic, powerful and moving, allowing readers to embrace characters as only Brooks can create and develop them. In great detail, The First King of Shannara answers many of the questions raised in previous books: the fall of Paranor and the Druids, the forging of the Sword of Shannara , the discovery of the Black Elfstone, the origin of Allanon , and more. Hundreds of years after the First War of the Races, the outcast Bremen, the last of the Druids, is the only force that convince the people of the Four Lands that their only hope to prevent subjugation lies in uniting -- and in using the magic they fear above all else. Whether dedicated fan or first time reader, this novel will enthrall you, capturing your full attention and binding you to the web woven by Terry Brooks. This book in the least deserves the highest recommendation, and connot be done justice by any summary, however massive. Only by personally experiencing the latest work of Brooks can one understand the wonder and proportion of it.

Rating:
Summary: My First Shannara
Review: This was the first Shannara book I ever read, and it remains one of my favorite books. This novel introduces some really cool characters, like Tay and Risca, as well as one of the best non-valemen/Leah human characters: Kinson Ravenlock. Meeting Jerle Shannara, ancestor of the Ohmsfords and namesake of the series, was also quite amazing. I hope Terry writes another novel set in the early history of the Four Lands to show other members of the Shannara clan and other prominent families.