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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising, 23 Jan 2001
By A Customer
I have never classed Terry Brooks as a *great* author, but he is a good one. I notice he is always compared to Tolkien, and one author or the other tends to suffer for it. Well, I am afraid I have never found Tolkien to be an intelligent read. Good for children though. Few fantasy novels have an intellectual depth to them, even if they are a lot of fun to read, and people forget that Tolkien did not invent the story, he copied it himself. However, as far as fun goes, this book, like the others, is definitely that.It has been a long time since I have read the book but the reason I give the stars as high as I do, is for one peculiar fact about this book that I have only ever seen one other author pull off (CS Lewis): First King is a prelude book that was written after the main story, just as the first Narnia book (The Magicians Nephew) was written a long time after the more famous "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". However, both books have the virtue of being able to be read before any other books, or after reading them, or without going ahead and reading any of the other books ever. For example, the revelation of Allanon about the truth of himself and Bremen to Shea at the end of the "Sword of Shannara" struck me as particularly weird, and not one I considered likely. I, of course, cannot say what was in the author's head at the time he wrote The Sword, or if he had the story of the first battle against Brona all worked out in head back then, but his handling of the entire Bremen-Allanon affair (and a few other things that are mentioned or hinted at in later books) is better done in this novel, than these books would imply. On the other hand, these inconsitancies between books are small and carry the flavour of "historical inaccuracy" as opposed to the blatent ignoring of his own previous works that authors such as David Eddings have managed. If you like the Shannara books, add this one to your collection. It does not invalidate the other books, and has the virtue of being a true starter book, even though written with hindsight, and that is where it gets the extra star from me.
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by Terry Brooks
by Terry Brooks
by Terry Brooks
by Terry Brooks
