Product Description

This edition is in roughcut format.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #493653 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1200 pages

Customer Reviews

Epic Fantasy by a master Storyteller
The Sword of Shannara is a book from the same mould as Lord of the Rings. Its an epic fantasy set in a fictional world where good and evil intermingle, and Elves and Dwarves roam the forests alongside men. It tells the tale of one family's fight against the Warlock Lord; Shea Shannara is the last descendant of the great Elven kings and it's his family's magical heritage that the world must rely on. The first book focuses on Shea's search to find the legendary Sword of Shannara, the only weapon capable of defeating the Warlock Lord. Shea's discovery of his heritage and him trying to come to terms with it while his world is falling apart around him makes for great reading.
In the Elfstones of Shannara, the task of saving the world falls on Wil Ohmsford, Shea's grandson, and an Elven girl. They must restore the ancient wards that protect the Elves and the rest of the world from the Demons imprisoned beyond them.
The third and final book of the trilogy is the Wishsong of Shannara. Wil Ohmsfords children have been born with the magic of the wishsong and it is this power that they must wield to restore the balance between good and evil. But be warned, this one's a bit of a weepy and is much scarier than previous books!

If you like romance, this has romance, if you want fighting, this has fighting and if you want magic, theres plenty to be had here. I couldn't put this book down, it is quite simply fantastic and any fantasy fan should have this in their collection! If you already have all three books seperately, buy this anyway so when you finish one book you are saved the inconvenience of having to get up to find the next book!

hmm, well..its the best series ever!
The first book SWORD OF SHANNARA has brilliant adventuring and it's fast paced with loads of action in it. There's so many characters and they all have unique attributes, like they aren't all good or bad. I don't want to give everything away so i'll just say that it's one of the best books i've read. THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA is the best book out of them all with all that action and suspense, making it the most atmospheric and exciting book ever. now... THE WISHSONG OF SHANNARA is a tricky one, its's got better characters then the others and by far the best ending but it can have some unnecessary talking, anyway who cares? Buy it! You'll really love these books, and 10 pounds is a complete bargain.

A good read, although not overly taxing
I first read the Sword of Shannara when I was about 13 and absolutely loved it. The Elfstones and the Wishsong soon followed.

Now aged, shall we say, a little more than 13 I still enjoy the books although I wouldn't recommend them to someone who wanted a deep involved plot.

Without giving too much away of the plot, the first book features Shea Ohmsford who is visited by a tall dark stranger, the druid Allanon. It turns out he is actually adopted and (surprise, surprise) descended from Elven kings. Naturally he is the only one with the birthright to wield the ancient Sword to defeat the evil Warlock Lord. So off he goes to kill the bad guy, facing assorted hazards along the way.

The second book, the Elfstones, is set one generation later. This time it's Shea's son who is needed to go into battle against legions of Demons and save the legendary Ellcrys, the tree that keeps the Demons banished.

The third and final book in the trilogy is the Wishsong, set further into the future again (I think two generations, but forget). This time a brother and sister have similar but conveniently different manifestations of the Shannara magic (yet preserve the Ohmsford name) and set out to defeat the Mord Wraiths.

The story is sufficiently involving to be worth a read, but it's a fairly light read. If you're looking for a light fantasy read I can highly recommend this series. If you want to have to really think about the plot and figure out the twists and turns you'll probably find it a bit thin.