Watching a Writer Learn to Write — A Fantasy Book Review of The Sword of Shannara by Terry Books

Art by the Hildebrandt Brothers

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks is somewhat of an anomaly. The book is notorious for being insanely derivative of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, but it also is the start of a series that is beloved in its own right. Reading this book is like watching a writer learn how to write in real time, gaining his own authorial voice along the way.

My journey of reading The Sword of Shannara went something like this (some light spoilers to follow):

1. I started reading this book with full knowledge of its reputation. However, so are countless other stories in this era of the genre, so I was willing to look past that.

2. The book begins in a secluded hamlet with a wizard— I mean Druid — coming to visit. Okay, that’s fine. Lots of fantasy books start that way. It’s definitely not original, but it’s tried and true… right?

3. Oh, he’s basically recreating Tolkien’s chapter “Shadow of the Past”? Well, at least it’s pretty unique in the fact that it takes place in the future of our world!

4. Skull Bearers are Kirkland brand Nazgûl. Okay. Well, that’s not subtle.

5. Wait, now they’re meeting a ranger-esc guy on the way to their first destination? Hmm. This is feeling familiar…

6. Did Brooks just swap Elves with Dwarves and call Rivendell Culhaven?!

7. THERE’S A COUNCIL OF CULVHAVEN AND THEY’RE FORMING A FELLOWSHIP AROUND A MACGUFFIN? ALSO, THE GROUP HAS REPRESENTATIVES OF ELVES, DWARVES, AND ANOTHER HUMAN?

8. ON THE JOURNEY, THE WIZARD — I MEAN DRUID — FALLS WHILE ENCOUNTERING A DEMON? UGH. DID BROOKS JUST PLAY MADLIBS WITH LORD OF THE RINGS?!

9. …I decided to take a much needed break. I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish this book, but then, after a few months’ break, I picked it up again. And I’m really glad I did.

10. About halfway through this book, the story becomes its own thing. Once Brooks goes off script and leaves the road previously tread by Tolkien, I realized that I couldn’t put The Sword of Shannara down.

This was a dramatic shift. After I gave it a second chance, I realized that as I was reading, I was watching a writer gain his own creative voice in real-time. This was wonderful.

In my own writing journey, the most influential book I’ve ever read was Eragon by Christopher Paolini. While it is essentially just the plot of Star Wars: A New Hope set in Middle-Earth, there is something about it that made it a bestseller.

So many of us write because we are inspired by what we have read. It has often been said that writers are thieves, and this is true. But what is so fascinating about The Sword of Shannara is how Brooks goes from a thief who triggers the alarm and steps on the cat’s tail to one who takes what is needed and leaves his own treasures.

I would never fault someone for putting this book down within the first few chapters and never opening it again. However, they’d miss out on something unique.

All in all, The Sword of Shannara is a fascinating read. It is definitely a piece of fantasy literary history. There is an argument to be made that in the 1970s a fantasy book had to be somewhat repetitive of Tolkien to get published. However, in a genre that often finds itself drawing from the well of Tolkien’s work, Brooks took gallons over teaspoons for this one. Yet, as the story progresses, so does his skill as a writer and storyteller.

Brooks was writing with a sincerity and heart that is evident throughout the entirety this book. It is clear that he cared about this story, but just didn’t yet know how to tell it right away... yet.

-H.