26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty much what I expected.., 8 Nov 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The World of Shannara (Hardcover)
A word of warning, do not buy this book if you haven't finished reading all of the other books, however, if you can't be bothered reading them then buy this book! If when reading the other books you noticed that something was hinted at and it bugged you immensely that it was left pretty much ambiguous, then you will love the information that this book provides, however I personally feel that the way that everything was explained took away some of the mystery. Anyway, the content of the book is pretty much spot on, my only real gripe is with some of the artwork which in some cases does not represent the way the characters were described, (Flick Ohmsford!!!) all in all however I do recommend this book to all Shannara fans.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating!, 23 Feb 2004
This hefty tome is a companion to Terry Brooks' Shannara books. Written in the form of a narrative penned by someone with access to the Druid Histories, it attempts (and largely succeeds) in presenting all of the known facts about the world, its history and its inhabitants. It contains fifteen (if I counted right) chapters, each on different subjects, complete with maps, diagrams and sidebars on fascinating subjects.
Overall, I did like this book. I enjoyed that the authors put the information from so many books into a well organized, deeply informing narrative. Having the world condensed and organized so well brought back so much of the fascination I felt when reading the first Shannara books so long ago.
The downside is that the book really should not be read instead of the storybooks. As I read, I quickly realized that the book assumes that the reader has already read the other books, and as such leaves certain information out. Having not read certain book in so long, I found that I had to stretch to remember key facts, so that certain parts would make sense.
That said, though, this book is quite fascinating. I loved the plentiful illustrations, the maps, and (especially) the diagrams of such things as Paranor and Dun Fee Aran. So, if you are a fan of Terry Brooks, then I highly recommend that you get this book!
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good writing, bad illustrating., 25 Oct 2010
This review is from: The World of Shannara (Hardcover)
To anyone who loves reading Terry Brooks,( please stop writing Landover books, they are depressingly badly written ), this volume will be a usefull overview of his canon.The drawings and illustration are very poor, and it is a wonder that they were passed as fit for a book of this importance.If you can accept the horrible illustrations then you will enjoy being back in Terry's world. Having said that I wonder if going down the encyclopaedia route would not have borne better friut. Still, I love Terry Brooks and the drawings not withstanding I give this work five stars.
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