Not that I was expecting to find much representation in classic fantasy, but this is a tale that spans multiple lands and many months yet the first woman mentioned does not come until about page 274. That was about it though, and the rest of the near-500 pages was a lot of repetitive scenes with long descriptions of landscapes and weather. Sure, there were some neat parts like how he switched up a few tropes: Dwarves who are afraid of going underground a world that reads like old fantasy that is actually a sci-fi dystopian future Druids who are not druids Gandalf reimagined as a temperamental asshole more like Dumbledore on a bad day… Which is one way of saying it was super long – not simply in page numbers but in pacing – and in my opinion could have been cut down by at least half to make a better read. Without its reputation being what it was, and my own determination to research the genre I write in, I would have gladly given up on it many, many times. The similarities in stories were obvious but instead of coming across as a clever retelling or building off of Middle-Earth, it was a lot more like fan-fiction that made me only want to read Tolkien instead.įull disclosure: this was a struggle to get through. I won’t say that citing Tolkien as inspiration put some unfair comparisons into my head while reading, but it did not help. Reading the brief one-page introduction by Brooks, he explained how he left his dull career in law to write this story, which in his mind was combining pulp action-adventure tales with Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. Which means when I came upon this book, I recognized only the title and had no clue on the characters or story. Terry Brook’s Sword of Shannara is a classic of fantasy fiction, maybe the author more than the book series itself? The books seem to be the kind of classic that is often referenced but never actually ever read (or reread).

As in, if I didn’t enjoy a book or movie, then it probably says more about me not being the intended audience for it, right? But I don’t think that need stop me from sharing my thoughts on such-and-such a book. Disclaimer: I have never thought of myself as much of an art critic – I sort of always thought it wasn’t my place to disagree with the storyteller.

The sword of shannara 1977