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Book Review of The Sword of Shannara (Shannara, Bk 1)

The Sword of Shannara (Shannara, Bk 1)
tizmanian avatar reviewed The Sword of Shannara on
Helpful Score: 1


An excellent work of fantasy fiction which has since spawned an incredible series of other books by Terry Brooks as well as provide a platform for other writers of the genre due to this book's success. It is easy to forget that in 1978 there was a lot of hardcore scifi in the market and the films at the time were Star Wars out the year before (1977) and alot on TV. This was a big departure at the time and a big risk for Del Rey that paid off huge for them. This book has its haters but as a first time fiction that helped revive an entire category of reading, it can't be passed up.

Side note: The original cover was drawn by the Brothers Hildebrandt and had 4/c plates instead if memory serves. I must dig out my old copy! Highly recommended.