Book Review
Writing for more then 28 years, author Terry Brooks has captured fantasy genre readers through his captivating series’. Most notably, The Sword of Shannara, lasted as a New York Times Best Seller for more then five months, and from there he has wrote sixteen others as well. Now he takes the reader even farther back, to the prequel of the classic Shannara series, First King of Shannara. This tale brings you a story of adventure, magic and myth that shows the secret evil that is slowly building throughout the land, and it’s up to four people of diverse races to stop it. Two main characters in First King of Shannara, Bremen and Mareth, find themselves on a perilous journey in the imagination of Terry Brooks, which proves to us the inevitable and ever-living powerful importance of friendship and how sacred it can be when everything else seems to go all wrong.
The author of the First King of Shannara, Terry Brooks, wrote the series of Shannara because of the faith and encouragement of his friends and family. He acknowledged his parents because they always “believed’ and that translates that they always encouraged him to be what he wanted, or do what he wanted to do. I think this allowed Terry Brookes to open up his imagination to new things, to allow it to piece together what he wanted to write about. Various types of situations the characters get themselves into reflect on different genres of writings. From tragedy all the way to mystery, he explains between-the-lines his interest in different types of genres, that is what makes this fantasy tale a great one.
Bremen, out of all the main characters in the story, glues it all together being the leader-like figure of the story. His old age provides a definite father for the younger characters in the story; and his wisdom is not comparable to anybody else. As the book begins, Terry Brooks comes right out and tells that he is an outcast of the Druid Council (A group of knowledgeable people of different races who search and find everything about old world magic and science.). The reason for this being is because he chooses certain beliefs about certain things pertaining to issues and is stubborn to think otherwise. For example, after he learns of the rising evil in the land, he goes directly to the Council for support of the issue, and to evacuate people in the area immediately. They laugh and mock him,...
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...Never have I read a book that actually picked me up, and placed me into the book. This book actually took me into a battle, then to a quiet town, then into the battle again. Sometimes Brooks even got me to feel the ambiance or mood of certain things or places. Never has a book done that to me. I don’t think I would recommend it for a student looking for comedy, or a laugh, but I would recommend it to everyone else. This book covers tons of different genres, in a matter of a chapter or two. This book has captured me enough to continue reading the trilogy of Shannara.
First King of Shannara showed us who we depend on when the times get tough. Because his friends and parents believed in what he wanted to do; Terry Brooks had the chance to give us a suspenseful tale of magic and adventure. The book showed us Bremen, the glue-stick of the story and a wise father figure and teacher. The book also gave us an opposite, Mareth who took us on a wild ride of her mysterious past and her creepy thoughts. Most important it showed us of just how important friendship can be; how even through the tough times we always understand that there is and will forever be someone we can trust and depend on.
This book was a good read for me, but I also read book reviews to help me keep track on what I am reading. These book reviews just made a better understanding of what I was reading.
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
Fans of the novel found that the way the novel is written, you never want to put it down and the action keeps things moving and is quite entertaining. The novel pulls you in and makes you love each of the main characters in it. This is a great series for anyone to read, and it is audience friendly for whoever reads them. There is quite a bit of suspense that will make the novel exceed readers 's expectations, and the twists and turns keeps you guessing and lets nothing be predictable. Some like the way this group of people bands together when they really need to and keep things together so they can all stop the
This book is a very interesting read, if you have some self discipline. I mean that you need some self discipline because this book didn’t really captivate me in the sense that I couldn’t put it down. But after reading it for a while, I started to appreciate the author’s way of describing the characters and actions in this book.
Marion Zimmer Bradley, a book critic, says The Skystone is "one of the most interesting historical novels that I've ever read, and I've read plenty"(Front cover). In writing, success is generally a direct result of an author being able to keep a reader interested. Jack Whyte is an interesting and successful author throughout The Skystone and The Singing Sword because of his development of characters and his ability to write strategically. Character development is an important element in a story because if readers feel strongly about the characters, they are interested in reading further, and are more apt to enjoy the novel. Jack Whyte effectively develops the characters Caius Britannicus and Claudius Seneca through their words and actions in The Skystone and The Singing Sword, creating a strong impression of these characters in the mind of the reader. Another crucial element to Jack Whyte's success is his strategical writing. His ability to seize the attention of a reader immediately, and to maintain that level of intrigue throughout the novel until his climactic ending is reached, demonstrates a well planned writing strategy, and is a significant contribution to his success. In The Skystone and The Singing Sword, Jack Whyte's character development and strategical writing create and maintain the interest of the reader, exhibiting a basis for his success.
The story of King Arthur is widely known, either his beginnings told in The Sword in the Stone or how he led the Knights of the Round Table. While there are many version of his story T. H. White’s written version and Disney’s animated version of The Sword in the Stone are two of the most recognized versions. Most movies have the ability to embody the original intent of the book they were based upon. Disney’s movie version of T. H. White’s rendition of The Sword in the Stone, however, while portraying the correct story, does not truly convey enough elements of White’s version to be effective in telling the original story. The characterization and Merlyn’s ‘lessons’ within the movie inhibit the film from being an effective portrayal of the book.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction books where the characters learn life-altering lessons. I also feel that people of all ages would enjoy this book because it’s messages and theme was very positive. While I did enjoy this book, I think I will not be reading another historical fiction novel for my upcoming book response.
I would definitely recommend this book for a friend to read! I really liked this books cause it has lots of action in it and when there isn’t any action happening, it’s just building up to some more action. I also liked this book because you really get to know the characters and everything is very detailed, especially the war scenes. The most important reason I like this book has to be because of all the action.
Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.
The folktale begins with introductions to Bartholomew and King Derwin, the potential “hero” and “villain.” The first several pages emphasize the great contrasts between their lives; Bartholomew is poor and feels insignificant versus the King’s wealth and mighty self-image. With such opposite lifestyles, Seuss must create a...
The plot was immense, organized in a logical way, and kept you guessing. It was easy to understand what was going on since the events that occurred were so relatable. Crossan’s love for poetry was evident throughout the story. Every few chapters included a poem and I thought that this was a nice addition. There were a lot of depressing moments but overall the book was very well written, in my opinion. The characters were unique, although a few were stereotypical, such as Apple’s English teacher Mr.
The world of Arthurian literature is filled with magic and adventure that enchants readers of all ages. T.H. White has done a fantastic job of turning the childhood adventures of Arthur by turning his narrative into spellbinding, cartoon like interpretation of the sword in the stone legend. Moral values are apparent from the beginning of White’s novel. White has cleverly connected all the educational adventures of Arthur, along with the people and animals encountered to the pulling the sword out of the stone. This marvelous amalgamation of key elements not only ties the loose ends of Arthur’s adventures together, they also solidify the reasoning behind Arthurs’ predetermined path to becoming the king of England.
*All in all I would say that this novel is definitely a good read. I found my self at times relating my own thoughts and experiences to that of the characters in the book. This is the very reason I would recommend that you give your class next semester the option of reading either this book or another. From my point of view, I think that most men can not relate to certain situations that occur, which lessens the overall significance of her writing.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks are very similar in nature. Both books are set in a fantasy world, with a magical figure that starts the journey to defeat an evil figure. Both books follow the Hero’s Journey archetype, and share many other common characteristics.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.