The Sword of Shannara By Terry Brooks
Paradis | October 18, 2009
Shea Ohmsford lives in the peaceful town of Shady Vale. One day, when his adopted brother, Flick, brings a strange Druid to town, Shea finds himself drawn into an adventure quest to save the world. Never would his life be the same again…
The mysterious stranger, a legendary druid named Allanon, reveals to Shea, a half-elf and adopted son of a humble innkeeper, that he is the last of the bloodline of Jerle Shannara, a great elven king. A chain of events ensues, that will have them fighting for their lives in order to find the mystical Sword of Shannara, and to face the ultimate evil, the Warlock Lord.
Theres one very interesting concept to this story:
We are led to the conclusion that this world of magic is meant to be the future of our world, the result of a nuclear holocaust or mass destruction.
‘But it has a medieval setting’, I hear you say, ‘with primitive technology’
‘Ahh’, I reply, ‘If you read the book properly, and didn’t skim the pages, you will have read the bit where a character talks about a past time when Humans mastered science and power, and ended up destroying most of the life on the planet’.
There are many hints throughout the book, Intriguing sentences such as: ‘But while man worked all those years to discover the secrets of life, he never managed to escape his overpowering fascination for death’, and, ‘When man first discovered remnants of this lost race, they called them Dwarfs, after a fictional race of the old days’, and, ‘Man was almost completely destroyed and even the geography he had known was completely altered, completely reconstructed’.
Back to the plot: Allanon tells Shea that the dead Warlock Lord, an ex-Druid, is plotting the downfall of the world. The only weapon that can stop the Warlock Lord is the Sword of Shannara which can only be wielded by a true heir of Shannara. Allanon convinces Shea to proceed with the quest to recover the sword and save the world. The Druid, very secretive and mysterious, as most Druids are, gives Shea some magical Elfstones to protect him on his quest.
This was Terry Brooks’ first Shannara novel, and now the series has spawned another eight books to date. A very enjoyable novel, with all the familiar races from other fantasy novels here, like elves, dwarves, trolls and gnomes. Brooks has used the standard cliche of good versus evil. Many people compare the plot of The Sword of Shannara to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien, but don’t go thinking this is the same story, it isn’t. My tip: don’t try comparing this to LotR, just read it and enjoy, and after you finish, definitely give the second book in the series, Elfstones of Shannara, a go.
The Sword of Shannara is one adventure after another. Shea must defeat the evil Warlock, and save the world, but to do that, he will need to find the only weapon capable of helping him, the fabled sword of Shannara, and so a quest is set in motion. Ok, so the plot isn’t an original, but there are only so many tales to tell, and many stories are the same basic plot told differently, but Brooks has managed to come up with a winner. I have to say, this 726 page novel is an excellent read. Terry Brooks brings the world of Shannara to life, from Shady Vale to Skull Mountain, from the city of Tyrsis to the Dragons Teeth.
Pick up the book and immerse yourself in the atmosphere he has created for you. You will like this a lot. I found the tale very nice, even if I had heard the premise before. I especially liked the subtle way Brooks tells you about the ‘original world’ throwing hints in your direction to help you understand that though this story has a medieval flavour, it doesn’t mean it is the past as we know it. It is the future, yet still medieval. An odd quirk to the story.
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