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  • The Sword of Shannara

  • The Shannara Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: Terry Brooks
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 26 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (219 ratings)

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The Sword of Shannara

By: Terry Brooks
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's Summary

50 million Terry Brooks copies sold around the world
The Shannara Chronicles is now a major TV series

Volume one in the classic best-selling series from one of the all-time masters of fantasy.

Long ago, the world of the Four Lands was torn apart by the wars of ancient Evil. But in the Vale, the half-human, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford now lives in peace - until the mysterious, forbidding figure of the druid Allanon appears, to reveal that the supposedly long-dead Warlock Lord lives again. 

Shea must embark upon the elemental quest to find the only weapon powerful enough to keep the creatures of darkness at bay: the fabled Sword of Shannara. 

©1977 Terry Brooks (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A marvellous fantasy trip." (Frank Herbert)
"Confirms Terry's place at the head of the fantasy world." (Philip Pullman)

"If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat." (Rocky Mountain News)

What listeners say about The Sword of Shannara

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Even better twenty years on.

I loved this book when I was a child and enjoyed revisiting it even more as an adult.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Sounds familiar

Seems like I've read this before... A band of heroes (of multiple races I might add) seeking a ancient relic that has the power to destroy an evil warlock (sound familiar yet???) while being chased by the warlocks powerful henchmen.

All in all its not a bad story at all its just too similar to LoTR to bother with.

Scott Brick doesn't make the story any more appealing offering only two different styles of voice, pathetic and weak for all of the non-warrior characters and deep and gruff for the stronger more "manly" characters. Found it hard to differentiate between half of the non-warrior characters because of their annoying high pitched whiney British accents...

In summary, don't waste your time with this poorly voiced LoTR ripoff.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Could not stop listening towards the end

Good start to the story then I did lose a little interest for a bit as it seemed to be taking too long then everything sped up and I could not stop listening. I am now going to get the next book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Still great story after 30 years

It's been so long since I read this story. Still great, excellent narrator. Would recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed good solid fantasy

Really enjoyed this self-contained story, from slow humble beginnings to full blown fantasy adventure - loved it!

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good story, but ......

Seems to be a bit of a rip off of The Lord of the Rings.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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great! loves it!!

can't wait to finish the rest of the books in the series!! absolutely brilliant book

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

"Inspired" by Tolkien...

A decent story, BUT but if you have read The Lord of Rings, don't bother reading this. The rest of the series might be different, but this is effective The Lord of Rings with all of the names having been replaced, some of the characters roles reversed or switched and the order of the storyline reshuffled in places. It's not a exact copy, but to say it was just inspired by Tolkien's work is a bit of a stretch. If you haven't read Lord of the Rings, just read that as it's much better.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Long winded and boring

Omg. To me it seemed a blatant, badly written copy of Lord of the rings. So drawn out, and I thought if I heard the same descriptive words such as strange or huge I might go nuts. I hate not finishing a book, but after many hours of battling through, I checked my progress and the thought of another 12 hours of torture was too much. Don’t waste your time on this book.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

boring version of LOTRs

This book is like 'Lord of the rings', just a more boring version without orcs.

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