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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Fast Read But Nothing Special!, September 10, 2010
This review is from: Bearers of the Black Staff (Legends of Shannara) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
While I am not a big fan of the fantasy genre, I have enjoyed some of Terry Brooks's previous Shannara books. So, when Bearers Of The Black Staff, was offered in the Amazon Vine program, I thought I'd give it, which is the first of two books set in the prehistory of Shannara, a read. Basically, the book is a fast read and it, for the most part, held my interest throughout. That said, however, I felt the book is just an okay story that doesn't rise above the pack (i.e., it's entertaining but easily forgettable). The reasons for this are as follows: (1) the plot and sub-plots seem too reminiscent in several ways to those Brooks has used before; (2) the characters are not developed fully enough to make them memorable and to care that much about; and (3) the dialogue is just average at best and, at times, is too repetitive. While I didn't dislike Bearers Of The Black Staff, it is not a book I'd recommend you have to rush out to buy, unless you are a die-hard Terry Brooks fan. But, even the die-hards, I think will find this book to be a step down from many of this author's other books.
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34 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A promising start, but not "epic" enough., September 5, 2010
This new series certainly has it's work cut out for it. The previous series, (genesis of shannara) could have been much better and left far too many questions unanswered (IMHO) about the elven & human demons, the knight's lady & the elves' elcrys. While I thought it was clever to merge the two book series, in the end I felt the author did not do justice to either series, let along successfully merge them.
This new novel is focussed on the last "major" event of the Shannara series - the survivors of the great wars coming out from their protected valley. Once we are past this, we're into the regular Shannara world. So, I was really expecting something epic here. This new series starts 500 years after the sealing of the valley and the destruction of our world by nuclear fire. The characters are very strong in this book, I felt Syder, Pan, Prue and Phryne were all well conceived. There were more than a few twists & turns and I was even surprised a few times by the events. That doesn't happen often. I look forward to the conclusion but surprised it's only a 2 book series as normally the Shannara series are 3 books. There were a even a few times that I felt a chill up my spine when characters from Genesis series are sort of reverently mentioned. Nice touch. "The Hawk", for example. On the whole it was a decent read, and I am curious to see how it all ends up.
On the negative side, the plot felt rushed and not "epic" enough. As normal, Terry spends (IMHO) too much time on mundane details that take up a lot of pages (eating, walking, thinking about teenage crushes, etc.,) and not enough on the big issues - like the start of the brave new world that becomes the "Shannara" world (and the 20 or so books going back to the 1970's). Or that maybe, just maybe, the knights of the word become the Druids. I wanted to see direct correlations to what we have read in the other Shannara books. It's sort of a Phantom Menace effect here - instead of going back and explaining the back history of what we have experienced, we get whole new questions & no "reveals" on the stuff we're dying to know about.
Instead of 5 pages on Syder scaling the cliff or Phyrne mooning over Pan, how about more details on life in the valley after it was sealed. Maybe it's still forthcoming, but we barely get a glimpse as to what has happened to the survivors in the last 500 years. I just don't feel the author has respect for how long 500 years is. I was expecting the inhabitants to disbelieve the myths of their being sealed in the valley. Sort of like generational spaceship inhabitants forget they are in a huge spaceship and think it's just a round metal world they live in. Ask the average person on the street what happened 500 years ago and I bet 90% would have no clue. Everyone in this book is an expert on the last 500 years. I thought it would be fascinating to find a group that thought "Hawk" was a fictitious religious creation, etc. But no, even with the absence of magic, everyone believes freely that 500 years ago, a magical savior led them into this magical valley and created an impenetrable force shield to protect them from nuclear devastation.
(spoilers below)
I really had a hard time with Syder's happenstance meeting with a sympathetic mercenary that has 500 year old tools and weapons and ATVs in perfect working order. Please, 500 years?! My car stops working after about 10 years even if I pamper it. 500 years indeed. It was just too much of a crutch for me & it solved too many "no one can survive that" scenario's in the book. The previous set of books also leaned heavily on left over 21th century tech like ATVs with solar cells that would let the characters drive all over the country without fuel or flechette guns that could wipe out multiple foes instantly & never needed maintenance or reloading. It's time to wean off this tech now that we are 500 years later and squarely in the Shannara world. And don't get me started on the "tracking device" that gets used by several people. That was "eye roll" worthy. "Here I can track you with this device". How!? With satellites? Bluetooth? I mean... come on. Why didn't you just give them iphones while you were at it.
Answers we still don't have and aren't even addressed:
1. Where is the elcrys in this book? It's not even mentioned?!
2. The lady hasn't spoken to her knights in 500 years?
3. Still no explanation for the dual demons (human and elvin) and supposedly the human demons are still around.
4. Where is the "Shannara" in all this? Supposedly an old elven family. Would it kill Terry to give us a "Shannara" character?
5. Apparently a lot of people lived thru the great wars, apparently more are living outside the valley than in (troll army of several thousand, for example). Doesn't this sort of negate the whole 500 yeas spent in the happy valley? Just seems odd to find that the life extinction level event didn't actually extinguish life outside.
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24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Effectively Bridging the Gap, August 24, 2010
This review is from: Bearers of the Black Staff (Legends of Shannara) (Hardcover)
It's been five hundred years since the Gypsy Morph, Hawk, led a diverse group of survivors out of the destruction of the Great Wars into a safe haven hidden by magic. Since that time the magic has kept the Men, Elves, Spiders, and Lizards safe from the world beyond. Many have forgotten their roots and distanced themselves from the magic that saved them.
Sider Ament is the last known Knight of the Word and he's just discovered that the magic barrier has been breached. Now he must team up with two Trackers, Panterra Qu and Prue Liss, to convince an unbelieving people that their safe haven is about to be discovered. The Old World they've forgotten is about to collide with their own and nothing can prepare them for the danger that waits.
Continuing his massive undertaking to give us the full history of The Shannara series, Terry Brooks delivers another exciting installment full of new characters, trademark fantasy elements, and heartfelt emotion.
Typically in Brooks' writing, characters don't last longer than a book or two, very few having lived through multiple series. This is to be expected since this series in particular takes place over thousands of years. Nevertheless, Brook continues to craft characters that readers can't help but fall in love with. Sider, Panterra, and Prue certainly fit the bill and readers will be moved and captivated by their journey. We're also treated to some strong supporting roles throughout that would make fascinating main characters themselves.
As a long time fan of Terry Brooks it has been fun to see how the Shannara history is built, and Bearers of the Black Staff feels more like the Shannara books of old and less like the apocalyptic Genesis of Shannara novels that came previously. Some key elements of the series are revealed here that will satisfy hard core fans, while at the same time piquing the interest of new readers.
While there are still plenty of stories to be bridged, this is continually proving to be a journey that is well worth the ride.
Review copy provided by publisher.
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