First King of Shannara

I highly recommend to read the sword of shannara and the heritage of shannara series first, for two reasons first you will understand this book a lot better, and second because is really amazing to read the history of the world and of the characters that you knew in the first seven books and understand what is happening not by what they told you on the first books but by actually reading every part of it. now, if you already have done that, this is an excelent book, an amzing book and it relates the story of Breman, Allanon`s father, and of the war that caused everything that will happen in the forst seven books and in the later six. Read it, you will enjoy it.

This, like all of Brook's Shannara series books, is wonderful. I am glad that Brooks took the opportunity to write this prequel. It gives the reader a look into the past and into the characters and ancestors that started the story that continues through the Shannara series. The characters are very well developed and rich, without the droning on and on with descriptions that some authors fault. You learn little bits and pieces at a time about the characters and story that continually make you go "Aha! So that's why....." Moves along at a great pace and keeps you wondering, but with enough hints that you wait for the characters to find out if what you are anticipating is right! There are also plenty of "I didn't see that coming" moments. I recommend the entire SHANNARA SERIES for anybody who is looking for a wonderful fantastical world to read about. However, read this book in the order of publication - don't read it first.

I've previously read the three books in the original Shannara series and the four books in the Heritage of Shannara series. I enjoyed them all very much, although I though some were better than others. THE FIRST KING OF SHANNARA is a prequel to the others, with the action taking place several hundred years before the events taken up in THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. The drawback here, for me, was that it's been many years since I read those books, particularly the first series. Hence, this latest tale gives background to things in the later series that I hardly remember.That issue aside, I've always had a couple of other small problems with Brooks' writing. It's always seemed to me that either the world of The Four Lands is lilliputian, or the characters in these books walk at extraordinary speed. Brooks frequently has characters traverse passes through mountains in a day. Early in this book, Bremen and his companions go from Paranor south through mountains to the Mermidon in a day, then go from there (the western end of the Dragon's Teeth) to near the Valley of Shale (at the eastern end of the Dragon's Teeth), a distance that would have to be 100 miles or more based on maps from the books, the following day. Admittedly, these are imaginary places, but, as someone who has done a little backpacking, the sheer unreasonableness of traveling such distances on foot in the timeframe given in the stories always bothers me. Try walking through a range of mountains in a day or two. Further, these characters seem inexhaustable. They get tired and haggard, but they hike for days at a time, often continuing far into the night, with little food and little sleep. Superman couldn't do it.These are, however, small problems. The fact is, the Shannara books are quite good and, in my opinion, THE FIRST KING OF SHANNARA is one of the better ones. The characters, as usual, have depth, and Brooks provides beautiful descriptive passages, setting his scenes in great detail without being ponderous. In addition, though, this is one of his more engrossing plots. The story moves at a strong, steady pace and there is plenty of action. This book is great fun. Not Tolkien, in my mind, but excellent just the same. Brooks fans will love it. For others, this book can stand on its own, but I recommend reading the original Shannara series first. If you like fantasy fiction, this is a must.

After the HERITAGE OF SHANNARA series, I was afraid that Brooks had lost his touch with that world. This book proves otherwise. It tells a story of the past and does it well. Like the first "trilogy", this book gets the reader involved emotionally. You care about the characters...deeply, or at least I did. It tugged on my heartstrings and made my spine tingle throughout.The pacing is also very good. The book starts out quickly and continues at a breakneck pace. Not that there isn't time for introspection...there's a lot of that, but not an overabundance. It's definitely a page turner.I think I would have appreciated it more if it hadn't been so many years since I'd read the other books. There's such a sense of history here and Brooks works in a lot of foreshadowing of the other books. Unfortunately, I didn't remember details enough to fully appreciate all of it.The one thing that bothered me about this book was the lack of a map. I got confused sometimes as to where certain characters were in relation to others. Aside from that, this was a very satisfying read.

Once again, Terry Brooks masterfully weaves his storytelling magic in The First King of Shannara, the eighth installment in the popular Shannara series. A prequel to the series, this book embodies the classic fantasy world in which the battle between good and evil predominates in the story. Brooks, master of his art, allows these "Tolkein-esque" elements to form only the backdrop of a solidly forged epic, powerful and moving, allowing readers to embrace characters as only Brooks can create and develop them. In great detail, The First King of Shannara answers many of the questions raised in previous books: the fall of Paranor and the Druids, the forging of the Sword of Shannara , the discovery of the Black Elfstone, the origin of Allanon , and more. Hundreds of years after the First War of the Races, the outcast Bremen, the last of the Druids, is the only force that convince the people of the Four Lands that their only hope to prevent subjugation lies in uniting -- and in using the magic they fear above all else. Whether dedicated fan or first time reader, this novel will enthrall you, capturing your full attention and binding you to the web woven by Terry Brooks. This book in the least deserves the highest recommendation, and connot be done justice by any summary, however massive. Only by personally experiencing the latest work of Brooks can one understand the wonder and proportion of it.