Yeah, The Sword of Shannara is an obvious Lord of the Rings rip-off, but it's a good rip-off. I loved the book. I read it back in high school. Where I couldn't get into the way LotR was written--Sword was much more my speed. I re-read it about 10 years ago, and I loved it a second time.
I haven't read any of the other Shannara books, but I've got them on my to-do list. I think Sword, though, was one of the first fantasy books I had ever read. I had started playing this new game--D&D, you may have heard of it--and I wanted something to read along those lines. I picked up some of Howard's Conan books. Loved them. Then, I read Moorecock's The Swords Trilogy, about Corum (loved it). And, then....I ended up reading The Sword of Shannara.
I remember, in reading that book, that is really sank in for me the concept of "alignment". You'd think it would have been the Moorecock books, but, nope, it was in Shannara. The ranger character, Menion Leah. Chaotic Good. I remember that scene where Menion is going to kill a gnome to create a distraction so that his comrades can escape past the horde. But, Menion couldn't bring himself to murder--even an enemy. Instead, he landed his arrow shaft in his target's behind. And, that created enough distraction.
Chaotic Good. I got it.
Well, I had to give the new Shannara Chronicles TV show a looksee. But, just a few minutes into the show, I become extremely disappointed. This show did not follow the Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings example. Instead, it would be more at home on The WB. It follows the Harry Potter/Eragon/Hunger Games/Twilight mold. This show is meant for a younger audience than me. It's meant for teens.
That's too bad. I was excited when I first heard of it.
I won't be wasting any time on this show.
I haven't read any of the other Shannara books, but I've got them on my to-do list. I think Sword, though, was one of the first fantasy books I had ever read. I had started playing this new game--D&D, you may have heard of it--and I wanted something to read along those lines. I picked up some of Howard's Conan books. Loved them. Then, I read Moorecock's The Swords Trilogy, about Corum (loved it). And, then....I ended up reading The Sword of Shannara.
I remember, in reading that book, that is really sank in for me the concept of "alignment". You'd think it would have been the Moorecock books, but, nope, it was in Shannara. The ranger character, Menion Leah. Chaotic Good. I remember that scene where Menion is going to kill a gnome to create a distraction so that his comrades can escape past the horde. But, Menion couldn't bring himself to murder--even an enemy. Instead, he landed his arrow shaft in his target's behind. And, that created enough distraction.
Chaotic Good. I got it.
Well, I had to give the new Shannara Chronicles TV show a looksee. But, just a few minutes into the show, I become extremely disappointed. This show did not follow the Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings example. Instead, it would be more at home on The WB. It follows the Harry Potter/Eragon/Hunger Games/Twilight mold. This show is meant for a younger audience than me. It's meant for teens.
That's too bad. I was excited when I first heard of it.
I won't be wasting any time on this show.
