 The Sword of Shannara: “I'm putting down this huge, long, overly-written, derivative, dull, long, book,” the fantasy lover with the wavy black hair said groggily as she tossed the purple and black book thoughtlessly and grumpily to her tall, blue-eyed skinny pre-teen eldest son.
The Sword of Shannara was a very popular book back in the 70s right after the huge success of The Lord of the Rings when everyone wanted to read more fantasy. I wasn't old enough to read it back then, so I came to it much later. I read part of the first book and, knowing how popular it had been, and feeling like it was a classic, I was prepared to enjoy it. About half way through I gave it to my ten year old son.
The weird thing is, it's so like The Lord of the Rings, at the same time that it's not. I don't mind a few common fantasy elements (especially in works written before they were cliché), but Brooks' plot and characters come almost straight out of Tolkien. This may have been acceptable if the writing had come straight out of Tolkien, too, but Brooks' style is clunky, wordy, and awkward. Adjectives and adverbs are used without restraint. I mean there are constant repetitive superfluous unnecessary redundant profligate excessive numbers of adjectives. And did I mention the weirdly-placed adverbs which are used unsparingly, unrestrainedly, extravagantly, and immoderately? And annoyingly? . . . When I couldn't care less whether Shea and Flick (they're the hobbits— I mean the heroes) live or die, then the characterization is weak. Actually, I was kind of hoping that they would die. If they died, the book would have to end, right?
Conclusion: These are fine for kids (at least this one is, I can't say if all of the later Shannara books are — probably not). But, do you really want to teach them to write like that? If not, give them C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Susan Cooper, and Lloyd Alexander. To be fair: This series is wildly popular. Perhaps the writing gets better (it has been 30 years, after all). I have heard that only the first book is too much like Tolkien. But I'll never know for sure because I can’t make it through the first one. —K.H.
 The Wishsong of Shannara: "You are Saviour and Destroyer..."
Out of the original trilogy of Shannara novels, The Wishsong of Shannara is possibility the best of the three, though certainly not Brooks's best overall (not that his best is groundbreaking literature anyway). As one of the early detractors of Tolkien, Brooks's Shannara series caters to the fantasy buffs that just can't get enough of noble quests against evil—but with likeable characters, fast-paced narrative and some genuinely intriguing components stirred in Brooks's works aren't a complete plagaristic waste.
Something makes me keep coming back to Brooks's work each time he publishes a new book, that I can't explain (and it's not just the fact that my father loves him, buys his books and then passes them on to me). At this stage, I've simply become invested in his created world, but I know better that to enthusiastically recommend his work. The facts are twofold: 1. Brooks unmistakably bases heavily on Tolkien's work. 2. Some people don't care about that. You should know by this stage which category you belong to and whether you want to continue reading this review or not.
The great-granddaughter of Shea and the daughter of Wil (the protagonists of the first two books in the series), Brin Ohmsford is called upon by the Druid Allanon to undertake a mission for the sake of the Four Lands. Her father's use of the magical Elfstones in the previous novel had an extraordinary effect on the capabilities of his children: both Brin and her brother Jair have magical abilities based in song. Coining it "the wishsong," Brin and her brother simply have to sing for whatever they wish and it will occur. Brin is the stronger of the two since her singing actually causes reality to change, whereas Jair's is based in illusion, and so it is she that is called upon by Allanon.
The Druid tells her about an ancient book known as the Ildatch, which is the root of all the evil that has ever plagued the Four Lands; the tome which corrupted the Druid Brona into becoming the Warlock Lord. Although Brona was destroyed in The Sword of Shannara, the book's existence is still a danger to those seeking out power, having already created a new kind of evil that has been set loose in the world. The mission is simple: to find the book and destroy it.
Brin sees little choice in the matter, and sets out with Allanon and her friend Rone Leah to do precisely that (stopping for a couple of detours to the Druid's Keep and the Hadeshorn to complete Allanon's own mysterious errands). Jair is not happy about being left at home, but is soon caught up in his own adventure when he runs into two strangers: a Gnome called Slanter with whom he forms an unusual friendship, and the King of the Silver River who has a task for him that coincides with his sister's fate.
Brooks is initially more interested in Jair's story than Brin's, as the first half of the book is devoted more to Jair than his sister (who simply follows Allanon around for the first part of her adventure), but soon things balance out to explore the inner struggles of both siblings. Brin is a thoroughly likeable young heroine and has a place in modern-fantasy history as the first female protagonist of the genre. Kind, clever, brave and resourceful Brin has her weaknesses too and as such comes across as a three-dimensional character. She's backed up nicely by the loyal Rone and her brother (the sibling relationship in particular is strong despite the fact they spend most of the book apart, and is necessary for the completion of the plot).
Brooks is terrible when it comes to writing romantic connections between characters (I still wince when I think of Bek and Rue in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara; and other couplings such as Par/Damson and Pen/Cinnamonson aren't much better), infusing too much corniness and melodrama into his love stories. But here, the romantic placing of Brin and Rone is fantastically done, simply because it is so understated. Instead of falling in love during the course of the story, Brin and Rone are already in love at the beginning of the novel (though they're not fully aware of it) and just beginning to express it to one another. So instead of mushy nonsense, there is simply an unspoken bond between them that is palatable. Brooks shows us that they love one another, instead of relying on long-winded declarations of love that pop up in both earlier and later books.
So our three main characters are very good—but any and all supporting characters are sadly lacking. Allanon is there, the same as always but surprising developments remove him from the story reasonably early on. Jair's followers (made up of an elf, a dwarf, a man, a warrior and a gnome) are never developed enough to make us care about them, and though Slanter is given a "crusty gnome with a heart of gold" persona, it comes across a little corny. Likewise, Brin is joined late in the game by a psychotic old man named Cogline and his bland granddaughter Kimber whose presence in the story isn't really justified or explored. (Cogline will turn up again in The Heritage of Shannara series with a complete personality shift).
As always, the biggest criticism of Brooks's work is its borrowings from Tolkien which go beyond the typical fantasy scenario (a detailed imaginary world, a quest narrative, good against evil, magical spells). With Brooks several things are so obviously taken from Tolkien that it's painful —the cloaked and hooded "Mord Wraiths" (who are also called "Black Walkers") for example. Even the concept of the wishsong is swiped from Tolkien (who in a throwaway passage mentions that Elves can create visions from the sound of their singing voices).
Unfortunately the concept of the wishsong is a flawed one. It is difficult for any author, not just Terry Brooks, to describe the sound of music and song, and so to make it the main focus of your novel is a little foolish. In this case it gets even more confusing, as Brooks never gives us any clear indications of how it works or what it sounds like; for example he mentions that the wishsong is composed of words, but we never get an example of what these words are. On top of all this, it's quite disconcerting to imagine characters in terrible danger that save themselves by...singing. Sounds like something out of a Disney cartoon. It's not that the wishsong is a bad idea; just that it is clumsily handled within the course of the story.
But despite my complaining, Wishsong is a solid story that is sure to entertain established fans of Terry Brooks's works. When read as a complete series (seen in the context of past and future publications, including The Word and the Void trilogy and the upcoming Armageddon's Children) Brooks's work is a fascinating history of a world with very close ties to our own. As a complete series, Brooks is in control of his created-world, and as such Wishsong also provides set up for further books in the series (namely the Sword of Leah and a strange ritual performed on Brin, both of which will not come into play till the next series, long after the two characters are dead). With this ongoing "master plan" in play across such a massive length of time, it is hard not to get sucked into Terry Brooks's creation. —R.F.
|
