Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have to say, I LOVE the hardback omni-edition. The weight of it satisfies something in my heart. I don't always replace my paperbacks with hardback books, but this one is a definite buy. The Shannara books hold a really special place in my heart.
I used to teach ninth grade English. 25% of my grading system was based on each student's outside reading, and the writing they did about that outside reading. And you all know that the average 14 year old boy is going to categorically REFUSE to pick up a book, and so are a lot of the teenage girls.
The Sword of Shannara was my "failsafe" deal. I would hand the most recalcitrant kid in my classes this enormously fat little book, brand new, purchased by me, and agree that if they would just read THIS ONE BOOK, that I was personally giving to them, that would be good enough for the WHOLE YEAR. Other kids would beg for the same deal. I would agree, but they had to buy their own books.
Terry Brooks never failed me once. Every single kid I ever handed that book to (including my own siblings as teenagers!) not only read it, they kept reading Shannara books until they ran OUT of Shannara books. By then, they were hooked. I run into them from time to time, those former students, and the conversation invariably turns to 'what are you reading right now?' And the answer has never been nothing. It's ranged from the latest best sellers to Dante Aligheri's Commedia, from Mark Twain to Harlan Ellison, from TWOT to Star Trek. But there was always an answer.
So what if Shannara's not LOTR? NOTHING IS! Hell, the TWOT isn't LOTR, and it's about 13 times longer at this point. I really don't believe it's possible to write fantasy, and not rewrite, at some level, LOTR.
The point is, Terry Brooks wrote a fabulous book. A book that for 20 years (until HP1 was published) was unmatched in my experience for getting kids to read, and to keep reading. It's BRILLIANT.
Because he wrote about fun, engaging characters, that talk in normal English (unlike Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf, who admittedly take a little wading through at 14, hm?) High adventure. Loyal friends, and dangerous enemies. Ultimate sacrifice. All of it.
I love it. And while LOTR is always ONE of the 3-4 I always have on my nightstand, at least once every couple of years, Shannara joins it there. As it deserves to.
(And if the writing style seems a little immature, I suggest you go back and read "Carrie." It's not exactly "The Wastelands." All writers grow. Get a grip, there.)
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
Get 34% OFF
Click here for more information about The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
0 comments:
Post a Comment