Life... Successfully
  • Life Successfully
  • Brand Shamans Forum
  • Intent-sive Nature
    • What is the Meaning Behind Intent-sive Nature Healing Jewelry?
    • Give To Homeless Pets
    • Gift Cards
    • Hire An Expert
    • Natural Healing
    • Jewelry
    • Handcrafted Parenting & Kids Gifts
    • Books
    • Hobbies & Collecting (Trading Crads, Games, Vintage, etc)
    • Handcrafted Home & Decor
    • Handcrafted Pet Toys & Gifts
    • Clearance SALE!!!
  • Writing, Web, Business, & Tech
    • Brand Shamans Brand Healing Journal
    • Write W.A.V.E. Media Thought Leadership & Tech Journal
    • Writing Tips Journal
    • The One-and-Only Internet Money Making Guide!
    • Writer's Resumes >
      • Lyn Lomasi >
        • Ask Lyn
      • Richard Rowell
      • Rayne LL Desertsong
      • Phoenix A. Desertsong
      • Get Your FREE Writer's Profile & Online Resume
    • Be a Writer!
    • FREE Guest Post Submission >
      • Submission Guidelines
  • Services
    • Custom Jewelry-Making
    • Healing Readings & Talismans
    • Social Media & Branding
    • Content Writing & Editing
    • Premium Bulk SEO Articles or Blog Posts
    • Ready-Made Content
    • Advertising & Guest Posts
  • About Us & Contact
    • Become an Affiliate!
    • Promotional Banners
    • Disclosure, TOU, Dislaimer, & Privacy
  • Family & Home
    • Kymani's Travels ~ Family Travel Journal
    • The Nova Skye Story ~ Family Journal
    • Upstream Parenting Journal >
      • Positive Parenting Books By Lyn Lomasi >
        • Upstream Parenting Book
        • The Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide EVERY Parent Needs!
        • The ONLY Potty Training Guide You'll Ever Need
    • Life & Home Journal
    • Momtrepreneur Moments ~ A Business Mom's Journal
    • Successful Relationships; A Heart-Focused Journal
    • Better Plumbing Blog >
      • Hire Better Plumbing - Your Denver Plumber
  • Travel
    • RV'ing Successfully ~ A Family Roadschooling & Travel Journal
    • Hometown Love ~ A Local Journal
  • Education & Literature
    • Heart 'N Mind Homeschool Journal >
      • Free Learning Education Blog >
        • Two Affordable And Fun Toys For Teaching Kids To Read
        • Elementary Learning Supplies You Can Find At The Dollar Store
        • Free Counting Fun For Toddlers And Preschoolers
        • Why School Choice is Important in High School
        • Choosing Childen's Books That Create Smart Readers
    • Free Homeschool Worksheets
    • The Bibliophile's Library Journal - Book News, Reviews, & Info
    • Penning Your World ~ A Creative Writing Journal
    • Monsters Within Us ~ An Otherworldly Journal of Monstrous Incantations >
      • A Lighter Shade of Green
  • Health & Beauty
    • Whole Body Health, Healing, & Medicine Journal
    • Good Eats For The Soul ~ Vegan Diet, Recipes, & Food Journal >
      • Recipe Books By Lyn & Rich
    • Fash Diva ~ A Clothing, Shoes, & Fashion Journal
    • Naturally Simple ~ A Self-Care & Beauty Journal
    • Senior Living
    • Disabilities Articles
    • Green Living Articles
  • Society & Causes
    • Causes We Support
    • Speak Up!; A Homelessness & Social Justice Journal
    • Animal Advocacy >
      • Pet Resources >
        • Heart 'N Mind Paw Rescue >
          • Pawsitive Parenting Pet Rescue Journal
        • Sounds of Nature
      • Animal Advocacy & Healthy Pet Parenting Articles
      • Positive Pet Parenting Journal
      • Raising Pet Positive Kids
      • Supermom ...Kind Of
      • Pawsitively Adventurous Pets
      • Purrely Pawsitive And Barkably Amazing Pet Training Tips
      • Dog Praising
      • Spirit of the Wild Lands and Animals
    • Motivational Friends Inspirational Journal
    • Straight Up LGBTQ Blog
    • Colorful Expressions
    • Inner Healing & Spirituality Journal
  • Fun & Games
    • Gaming Successfully
    • Luna Starlight Comics
    • Crafting Successfully Arts & Crafts Journal
    • Culture Carnival; A Festival, Tradition, & Holiday Journal
    • Mouthy Momtrepreneur Blog
    • Clowning Around
    • Music Articles
    • Entertainment Articles
    • Humor Treasure Trove; A Funny Comedy Journal
  • News
    • News Articles
    • Sports Break Journal >
      • NFL 2019 Squares

Book Review: "Shannara" Trilogy & "The Heritage of Shannara" by Terry Brooks

2/1/2015

0 Comments

 
by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy
Picture
Picture
Finally, I have finished reading the original Sword of Shannara Trilogy and the followup quadrilogy, “The Heritage of Shannara”. There is a story behind how I was introduced to these novels by Terry Brooks. When I was in 4th grade or so, I was really into the Goosebumps books. I would read really fast, often reading a whole book in a single night. My aunt noticed I read really fast and recommended I read the Shannara books, of which she had the first 7 volumes. At this time, these were the largest books I had ever tried to read, with the first book “The Sword of Shannara” being over 700 pages. It took me a long time to read the first book, and I found that I often would read 20 pages and not remember anything that had happened in them, and have to backtrack to concentrate on them. My reading comprehension skills were very poor for a long time. But these books challenged me, excited, and inspired me. I read the first three books, doing a book report on the second one, and my favorite of the series, “The Elfstones of Shannara” for an 8th grade English paper. Years later, about a few years ago, I decided to read them again and try to break into the followup four book series “The Heritage of Shannara”. I got into the second volume of this series “The Druid of Shannara” and put it down, having lots of other reading to do. Once again, a year or so later, I picked them back up, rereading from the beginning and finally tonight, finishing the last book of those I am reviewing here.

The Shannara series is a fantasy series, being something like Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”, including elves, dwarves, magic, demons, and sword-fighting. While I enjoy Terry Brooks fantasy world, I find that Tolkien is far better. But Brooks is very good to read, in my view. I know some people who do not like his writing, but I enjoy it. The plot is essentially about the powers of magic, and the use or misuse of magic. That is the theme that runs throughout the series. Essentially, an order of Druids who practice and develop magical powers, is split, where one druid seeks to much power and is corrupted with the power they use and try to destroy the world and rule it. It is somewhat like the Darth Vader and Sith storyline from Star Wars, but this is not an interstellar galactic empire, but a world-bound army where there is no advanced technology, mostly medieval level society and there is magic.

But the series follows the adventures of members of a certain family, the Ohmsfords, who are partially descended from the race of Elves which has power of magic. Each volume find the Four Lands of Shannara threatened by some kind of evil, demonic, destructive force or character, and the druid Allanon charges a certain descendant of the Ohmsford, to go on a quest to stop this danger. Often the characters bounce all over the world, of which there is a map at the beginning of each novel, kind of like Lord of the Rings, but totally new, seeking out magical items and weapons and recruiting help along the way as the ever doubtful protagonists seek to bring peace and harmony back into the threatened land of Shannara.

Terry Brooks is someone whom I find to be very eloquent in his descriptions of setting, characters, and action. Especially in “
The Elfstones of Shannara”, his portrayal and descriptions of battle scenes are very exciting, fast paced and visually imaginative. Whenever he described the setting or scenery or action sequences, I have a very vivid idea in my mind of what the scene looks like, what the characters are doing, and the psychological state of the characters are. The characters are all believable. There is a great variety of characters, and they are easily recognizable and distinguishable. Many of the characters are very likable, and there were feelings of devastation in my soul when certain very important characters are suddenly slain or die, sacrificing themselves to save others and keep the quest going until it is finished. There are some interesting plot twists, and the lore and background story behind the state of the world and the battle between the good magic and lust for power through destructive magic is intriguing.

One thing I would like to gladly note is that there is a “Shannara” TV series in production, which will be aired on MTV. The first season is going to cover the second book “The Elfstones of Shannara”, which I mentioned before, is my favorite in the series. I expect this will be very good, and I hope you obtain copies of these books, and enjoy them very much. I liked it, and I hope you like it as much as I did. You might not, but at least give the first book a try, and you'll get a good idea soon of whether you like the book or the author or not. The list below this review is the order in which the books should be read, just so you know.



Shannara Trilogy:
“The Sword of Shannara”
“The Elfstones of Shannara”
“The Wishsong of Shannara”

The Heritage of Shannara:
“The Scions of Shannara”
“The Druid of Shannara”
“The Elf Queen of Shannara”
“The Talismans of Shannara”



0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    ALL STAFF

    Lyn Lomasi Rowell
    Richard Rowell
    Rayne  Desertsong
    Phoenix  Desertsong

    OWNERS

    Picture
    Lyn Lomasi & Richard Rowell  are life & business partners. Owners of Brand Shamans & the Write W.A.V.E. Media network, we are your brand healing, soul healing, & content superheroes to the rescue!

    Running our network of websites, tackling deadlines single-handedly, and coaching fellow writers, brands, & entrepreneurs to be thought leaders is our top priority.

    While rescuing civilians from boring content and brands, we conquer the world, living the RV life and managing our Intent-sive Nature with our awesomely crazy family while recounting The Nova Skye Story, along with Kymani’s Travels.

    We also strive to one day cuddle with lions and giraffes. Until then, we’ll settle for furry rescue kitties and doggies.

    We support many causes via our business ventures, such as homelessness, support for trans youth, equality, helping starving artists, and more! A portion of all proceeds from Intent-sive Nature goes toward helping homeless pets in local shelters.

    Archives

    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Action Novels
    A.D. Ellis
    Adult Fiction
    American Literature
    Author Interview
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Book Teasers
    British Literature
    Children's Books
    Childrens Books
    C.S. Lewis
    Ebooks
    Erotica
    Fantasy
    Fiction
    Fiction Books
    Gay Erotica
    Gift Guides
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Jobs
    Josephine Leonard
    Joshua Packard
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    Kids Books
    Literature
    Lyn Lomasi
    Mark Twain
    Memoirs
    Money
    Nonfiction
    Nonfiction Books
    Novels
    Paperbacks
    Paranormal
    Paranormal Fantasy
    Paranormal Novels
    Poems
    Poetry
    Poetry Collection
    Press Releases
    Richard Rowell
    Science Fiction
    Scifi
    Short Stories
    Sports Books
    Sports Fantasy
    Stacey Carroll
    Stephanie Nolan
    Stories In Focus
    Suspense
    Terry Brooks
    Thrillers
    Work At Home
    World Peace
    Young Adult Fiction

    160x600 Shop Books

COMPANY & SUPPORT

About Us & Contact
Brand Healing Journal
Become an Affiliate!
Disclosure, TOU, Disclaimer, & Privacy Policy
Write For Our Sites!

ALL SITES

Brand Shamans                                                                                                                                       Life Successfully
Write W.A.V.E. Media                                                       Pawsitive Parenting
Article Writer For Hire                                             Heart 'N Mind Homeschool    
Better Plumbing (Partner Site)

© 2005-2018 Life... Successfully by  Brand Shamans