The Wishsong of Shannara (The Sword of Shannara) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "A change of seasons was upon the Four Lands as late summer faded slowly into autumn..." (more)
Key Phrases: little peopless, little friendss, rough yellow face, Garet Jax, Weapons Master, Mord Wraiths (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A marvellous fantasy trip' Frank Herbert 'If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat' ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS 'Confirms Terry's place at the head of the fantasy world' Philip Pullman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Horror stalked the Four Lands as the Ildatch, ancient source of evil, sent its ghastly Mord Wraiths to destroy Mankind. Only Druid Allanon held the magic power of wishsong that could make plants bloom instantly or turn trees from green to autumn gold. But she, too, was in mortal danger, and Ildatch waited for Brin to fall into his trap....

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (July 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345356365
• ISBN-13: 978-0345356369
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,899 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Shannara Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Write your own Shannara adventure!, August 14, 2003

By	longshot75 (Woking, Surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

Follow these simple steps to write your first Shannara novel:

1. An ancient evil (quite a lot like something in Lord Of The Rings) threatens the lands. Choose from
a. Wraiths
b. Sorcerer Lord
c. Demon Army
2. Allanon the druid (who's a bit like Gandalf) seeks out a placid peacful living half-elf (a bit like a hobbit) descended from the line of the Ohmsford family (a bit like the Baggins family) in the quiet town of Shady Vale (which is kind of like The Shire).
3. He asks them to seek out something from the following list:
a. Sword
b. Mystic Fire
c. Book
4. 7 pages explain why Allanon is not to be trusted.
5. Despite the previous 7 pages, the Ohmsford decides to go on the perilous quest with the following:
a. No Map
b. No weapons (maybe, just maybe a small dagger that will
never get used)
c. Enough supplies for two meals on a seven day journey.
d. One or more companions (preferably descended from other
lines of families - Ellesedil, Leah etc)
6. They eat some stew, cheese nuts and berries.
7. They get into a scrape where only a one-legged blind leprechaun can save them from certain death.
8. A one-legged blind leprechaun shows up and saves them from certain death.
9. They eat some beef stew and some bread and cheese.
11. The Ohmsford gets into another scrape near the Silver River where they are facing certain death. The King Of The Silver River resuces them in a floaty white light.
12. Allanon disappears.
13. They eat a small meal of stew and cheese.
14. Allanon re-appears where they learn he has been withholding information and lying about the nature of the quest. Doh! If only they'd listened to:
a. Uncle Flick
b. Great Uncle Flick
c. Great Great Uncle Flick
16. Oops! Someone lost the Elfstones.
17. Phew! Someone found them again.
18. The adventurers eat a hearty meal of berries, nuts and cheese before facing some evil, and finding the artefact which is not quite what was expected.
19. There's a final conflict where Allanon does such a fantastic job of fighting off the evil armies/wraiths etc with blue fire that the whole quest starts to seem like a totally uneccessary waste of everyone's time.
20. Somebody from the quest group dies.
22. Peace is restored.
23. They celebrate witha hearty meal of cheese, nuts and berries.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Converted, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

I am a recently converted Brooks fan. Like Saul of Tarsis I once took delight in casting stones at this man & his readers. But I have seen the light. This is one of my favorite Shannara Novels. I put them in this order: Sword of Shannara Wishsong of Shannara First King of Shannara Druid of the Shannara The rest all fall on a level plain. Basically, there's no reason why these pleasant books should take away from great literature. Only a snob would make that argument. Try this book - you'll like it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Repetitive, October 5, 2003

By	liz (Wolverhampton, England) - See all my reviews

I first came across the Shannara series in the library in June, where I had the luck to find all 3 books in the Voyage series. I took them home, fell in love and devoured them. Having finished them in the space of three days, I was gagging for more Terry Brooks, and rushed to buy the Sword trilogy from the bookstore. I found that I had to force my way through Sword, but then enjoyed Elfstones immensely. Then I came to Wishsong. And gaped in disbelief as I realised that it was exactly the same as the other two, but with a slightly different storyline, and protaganists with slightly altered names. But even they had the same traits as previous Shannara heroes. Rone Leah was Menion Leah with a better sword. The elf and the dwarf were just that, an elf and a dwarf, with as much personality as a piece of stale bread. Even the trademark borderman was exactly the same as all the others i.e an underdeveloped, cardboard cutout with sword action when needed. So much could be done with the world of Shannara, yet each time I pick up a new Shannara novel, I am dissapointed and left feeling cheated becausse they are all the same. Plot details are rehashed, characters, bloodlines and relationships are always the same. It seems that Terry Books is taking part in a bet to see how many times he can get the same story published as a new book.
On the other hand, dissapointments with the characters and plot left aside, Wishsong was still an entertaining read, and kept me occupied for a few days. But it could have been so much more. Please Mr Brooks, do something different with the Shannara universe.I would be incredibly happy never seeing another blasted Ohmsford again.