The Sword of Shannara: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord [Paperback]

Terry Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Sword of Shannara

The fate of a world rests on an unlikely hero. . . .

Tucked away in peaceful Shady Vale, the young half-elf Shea Ohmsford gives little thought to the outside world. Yet far to the north, the evil Warlock Lord has dispatched shadowy Skull Bearers, creatures twisted by dark sorcery, to hunt him down. At the same time, a black-cloaked giant of a man appears in Shady Vale. He claims to be the mysterious Druid known as Allanon, a wizardly wanderer of vast knowledge and power–and he has come to see Shea. For Shea, he says, is the last descendant of an ancient Elven king. Only he, in all the world, can wield the fabled Sword of Shannara. And only the Sword can stop the Warlock Lord from destroying all that lives.

The Sword lies far from Shady Vale, in the Druid castle of Paranor. And Paranor has fallen under the shadow of the Warlock Lord. Yet all is not lost. Shea will rise to the challenge. Together with Allanon and a handful of brave companions, he begins a desperate quest into the very heart of evil. . . .

The Sword of Shannara Part 1: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord is the newest addition to the Del Rey Imagine program, which offers the best in classic fantasy and science fiction for readers 12 and up.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The fate of a world rests on an unlikely hero. . . .

Tucked away in peaceful Shady Vale, the young half-elf Shea Ohmsford gives little thought to the outside world. Yet far to the north, the evil Warlock Lord has dispatched shadowy Skull Bearers, creatures twisted by dark sorcery, to hunt him down. At the same time, a black-cloaked giant of a man appears in Shady Vale. He claims to be the mysterious Druid known as Allanon, a wizardly wanderer of vast knowledge and power?and he has come to see Shea. For Shea, he says, is the last descendant of an ancient Elven king. Only he, in all the world, can wield the fabled Sword of Shannara. And only the Sword can stop the Warlock Lord from destroying all that lives.

The Sword lies far from Shady Vale, in the Druid castle of Paranor. And Paranor has fallen under the shadow of the Warlock Lord. Yet all is not lost. Shea will rise to the challenge. Together with Allanon and a handful of brave companions, he begins a desperate quest into the very heart of evil. . . .

The Sword of Shannara Part 1: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord is the newest addition to the Del Rey Imagine program, which offers the best in classic fantasy and science fiction for readers 12 and up.

About the Author

Terry Brooks published his first novel, The Sword of Shannara, in 1977. It was a New York Times bestseller for more than five months. He has published eighteen consecutive bestsellers since, including his newest novel: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Morgawr. His novels Running with the Demon and A Knight of the Word were each selected by the Rocky Mountain News as one of the best science fiction/fantasy novels of the twentieth century. Brooks lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

Visit us online at www.shannara.com.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345461460
• ISBN-13: 978-0345461469
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Half and half, May 4, 2003

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sword of Shannara: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord (Paperback)

Terry Brooks jump-started the realm of derivative fantasy with "Sword of Shannara," an unoriginal but pleasant fantasy adventure with your basic elves, dwarves, druids gnomes and medieval humans. While the book itself is fairly enjoyable, there's a not-so-pleasant surprise in store for fans who purchase "In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord."

Shea Ohmsford is not like the other inhabitants of Shady Vale -- he's part Elf. Despite this, he's always been one of the boys in his sheltered village with his adopted family, until the day the Druid Allanon arrives to tell him of his destiny; he's the descendant of the legendary Jerle Shannara, and the one who can use the Sword of Shannara against the Warlock Lord. Dark forces are clustering around Shady Vale, and soon Shea is forced to leave with his brother Flick, on a quest to find the sword.

The problem with this book is... it's not a new book. It's not even a complete book; rather, it appears to be half of the preexisting "Sword of Shannara" novel. In the manner of the split Robert Jordan novel, the first book of the Shannara series has been cut into parts and is being sold as separate volumes. Aside from this detail, those intimidated by the size of the complete novel may prefer this book. Others may be severely disappointed by the lack of conclusion in this book.

... His writing is descriptive, a bit overblown, but not too badly. His characters, while not earth-shattering, are pleasant and likable, such as the reluctant hero Shea and his more suspicious brother Flick.

While the concept of repackaging the Shannara books for kids and young adults is an interesting one, there is little warning that this is not a new story, but merely a preexisting one split into parts. Give it a miss if you already have it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good beginning... next books are much better, August 31, 2005

By 

Ryan McCon "sci-fi lover" (Arkansas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sword of Shannara: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord (Paperback)

To me this book was an almost unbelievable rip off of the Lord of the Rings series... reading about Terry Brooks he even says that he was influenced by Tolkien in his younger days. That being said, if you can tough it out through this book, ALL of the other Shannara books and series are well worth reading. There are some direct parallels and some original ideas, it wasn't quite all a copy of Lord of the Rings... The writing is good, though maybe a bit unoriginal. This was my least favorite Shannara series book just because it seemed to be such a ripoff of Tolkien. I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it, just be warned that it is similar to LOTR. It does set the stage for the other books in this series and the other Shannara series books, and is worth reading just for that. None of those are anything like Lord of the Rings and Terry Brooks' creativity shines through in those. I also went on to read the Magic Kingdom of Landover series which are also good.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars rip-off - break a single book into multiple and earn more, September 28, 2009

By 

Shreeps "Sri" (Nashville, TN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sword of Shannara: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord (Paperback)

As somebody else noted - this is the same Sword of Shannara broken down into a number of parts and sold separately presumably to fool people into spending more.

The story is good and I would not hesitate recommending it to any fantasy fan but I'd rather have them read the original single book.