Book Review: The First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The First King of Shannara
by Terry Brooks

This novel is the prequel to ‘The Sword of Shannara’ trilogy, which really ought to be read before this one; however, doing so does make you aware from the onset that the main quest here is not quite doomed, but certainly not as successful as the characters hope it to be. Brona, a rouge Druid, also known as the Warlock Lord, is at large and taking over all the land with his massive army of trolls, demons and Skull Bearers. The Druids, Bremen, Mareth, Tay, and Risca go on their own separate quests with the common goal to wage war and discover a way to overtake evil before the world is totally destroyed. One of these quests is to forge sword to serve as a talisman to overcome the great magic of Brona as no physical means could defeat him. After seeing the sword, later named the Sword of Shannara, in the book of the same name it was really fun to see it’s origin and creation in this story. It was also really enjoyable to see characters who only existed in lore in the later stories living their adventures in this book. What I like about this book, and others in the series, is discovering who is related to who, as quite often it’s the same families drawn together again and again throughout the Shannara tales even though they can be set hundreds of years apart. I highly recommend the series to fantasy readers, just be a bit thoughtful to which order you read them in – Brooks’ website has a reading order guide , but I’m sure there are other fan made ones out there.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara, or The Wishsong of Shannara, all also by Terry Brooks.]

[ Wikipedia page for The First King of Shannara ] | [ official Terry Brooks web site ] 

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Review: The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Wishsong of Shannara
by Terry Brooks

This novel is the third in a trilogy; the preceding titles are ‘The Sword of Shannara’ and the ‘Elfstones of Shannara’. I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely critical that they be read in order, but I strongly encourage it as previous events and characters overlap in these novels. Wil and Eteria from the adventures of the last book have since been married and have two mostly grown children, Brin and Jair, who are quickly whisked away by the druid Allanon on adventures of their own. The beginning is familiar as it’s how the other two in the series begin; a grave danger threatens all the lands and all its peoples, and the attempt to save it all requires the help of the Ohmsford family. Jair and Brin, both born with the magical gift of the Wishsong, which is a way of singing to change reality or appear to, are separated in the early stages of the quest each with their own mission in the grand scheme to destroy the source of dark magic of the Warlock Lord from the first book in the trilogy. I really have enjoyed this trilogy, which is set among a larger series of Shannara books. All I’ve read so far have engaging plots, character development and a world rich in history that readers can experience by reading/visiting the same places, seeing some of the same events and magical items so many years apart.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara, the first two books in the trilogy, or The First King of Shannara, a prequel — all by Terry Brooks.]

[ Wikipedia page for The Wishsong of Shannara ] | [ official Terry Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Review: The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Elfstones of Shannara
by Terry Brooks [Brooks] 

This novel is a sequel to The Sword of Shannara, and I’d recommend you read them in order to prevent confusion and some spoilers. The Druid Allanon once again senses danger and calls upon a member of the Ohmsford family to help him; in the last novel Flick and Shea Ohmsford went on a quest to save the land, but this time it’s their younger relative, Wil. His task is to protect Amberle, who is responsible for carrying a seed from the dying Ellcrys so that it maybe reborn. This is necessary because the Ellcrys is a magical tree that holds demons in an another realm. As the Ellcrys weakens, demons escape from the realm and wage war on all the races of the land. Allanon aids the armies’ defense against the demons, while more demons chase Wil and Amberle the all along their quest, so it’s very action packed and tense. It was interesting to read this one after the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy because the quest is the same, to renew the Ellcrys, but set many centuries after this book. As the title suggests, this is done, in both stories actually, with the help of the Elfstones which are very powerful magical stones. I very much enjoyed this one, just as well as the others in the series I’ve read, so I’d highly recommend it if you are looking a good immersive fantasy novel series.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Sword of Shannara (Book One of this trilogy) and The Wishsong of Shannara (Book Three of this trilogy), both by Terry Brooks.]

[ official Elfstones of Shannara page on the official Terry Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Review: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Sword of Shannara
by Terry Brooks

This is very much a Lord of the Rings inspired novel. It’s by no means predictable, but is very familiar if you’ve read Tolkein’s trilogy. In this tale the Druid Allanon recruits Shea Ohmsford to seek out the Sword of Shannara in order to defeat the Warlock Lord; this is in part aided by the Elfstones which hold great magical power but also alert the enemy of the user’s whereabouts. I liked that the action and danger is underway immediately and doesn’t lull at all over its 700 pages; I found it a difficult book to put down. It was very enjoyable to not know much of characters or plot as I read, so I won’t include spoilers here should you choose to read it. Having read the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy before, some objects, places and concepts were familiar, but there was plenty of unfamiliar territory as well. If you, like I, enjoyed Middle Earth and are looking for something similar to read, I would highly recommend the Shannara books. It is fully of action, adventure, friendship, family, and lore – with much more in the series to read on to.

[This is the first of many Shannara books published, and I think is a good place to start, however you can also check out the suggested reading order at Brooks’ website.]

[ official Terry Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Bloodfire Quest by Terry Brooks

Bloodfire Quest by Terry Brooks

The second book in the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy picks up immediately after the first and leads right into the third. This makes it a bit difficult to separate the three of them because there is not even a slight pause between books. In this installment, Aphenglow’s sister, Arling begins to have a more major role. She is a one of a few chosen to care for a mystical tree which keeps a realm called the Forbidding locked away from their world, thus preventing all the demons locked inside from escaping. The tree is inhabited by a human spirit which can live for centuries, but it’s time has come and it needs a replacement or else the Forbidding will open. The tree has chosen Arling to renew its seed then take its place; she is terrified to sacrifice herself but still embarks on a quest to renew the tree’s seed in the Bloodfire. While all this is going on, there are still members of the initial expedition for the Elfstones trapped in the Forbidding and others outside the Forbidding trying to locate a long lost relative to help free their friends. Once again there is a large cast of characters and a lot of character development as they find themselves in situations they don’t feel they can handle. I won’t say there is a happily ever after to this or the previous book, but I still highly recommend this series if you like fantasy adventure. I listened to the audio book and the narration was fine but I also like having a paper copy because it includes a map of the world.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Wards of Faerie (Book 1) and Witch Wraith (Book 3) in the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks.]

[ official Bloodfire Quest page on the official Terry Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks

Wards of Faerie
by Terry Brooks

This is the first book in the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy and while it’s very reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy it is distinct. Set in a fantasy world with technology like airships I think is a really nice blend creating a fresh new world to delve into. Not having read any Terry Brooks before, I can’t compare this one with his others or discern how the story, characters, items, and places relate to the other books. While it’s a bit difficult to say if there is a main character at all, I considered Aphenglow, an elf and druid, to be the protagonist because the story starts with her, but as I read she merges into a group of characters that are all central to the story. The elves used to have what are called Elfstones, multiple sets of them in different colors that do different kinds of magic. The only stones still in the possession of the elves are the blue seeking stones. While doing Druid research Aphenglow comes across a diary of an elven girl in a time when all the Elfstones were still held by the elves and tells how they were all, save the blue ones, stolen away by a boy she loved of a different race. The leader of the Druids is told about the diary and decides that a quest must ensue to look for this lost magic before it falls into the wrong hands. The tale is very full of fighting, monstrous beasts, thrills and dangerous adventures but nothing is terribly graphic in nature. There is a variety of characters that all have their strengths and weaknesses; the leader of the Druids does not always have the answers, the young ones don’t always have physical strength, and the Elven king does not have all the power. While they are all brave, intelligent and strong, as they must to be involved the quest, they all show self-doubt from time to time and have thoughts of abandoning the hunt. However this is an epic undertaking and the fate of the world is at stake – more than they all realize till the next novel. If this sounds interesting, you really should read it. I don’t want to reveal more details, but I will say I really enjoyed it, even if it might not be Brook’s best according to some.

[If you enjoy this, there are two books that follow this, Bloodfire Quest and Witch Wraith.] [ official Wards of Faerie page on the official Terry Brooks web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!