The Sword of Shannara

Back in January 2016, I wrote a post about the show The Chronicles of Narania that had premiered. I went on to say that I as I thoroughly enjoyed the show (which only went on to get better from that first episode onward) I hoped that it would draw people into the books. Well, I got my wish. A friend messaged me not long after the show ended for the season, asking me where to start in the series (a question I highly discourage because my answer tends to be long-winded at best, mind-numbing at worst) as she wanted to read the books that inspired the show. I pointed her to The Sword of Shannara partly because that was where Brooks started, and partly so that she could get a little bit of backstory for some of the things she would be seeing later on in the series (book or show). As we talked about it, I decided to join her and read the books again as well. While it took me a lot longer to finish, only because life got really in the way, the story was everything that I remembered it to be.

Sword tells the story of Shea Ohmsford, small town boy looking to mind his own business until the Druid Allanon appears to tell him that he is the heir to an overwhelming birthright in the form of a legendary sword that would be the one weapon that could take out the incredible powerful evil that is the Warlock Lord. A lot of traveling, fighting, chaos, confusion, and adventures ensue. It is a great place to start the series if you have never read the books before.

This is not the beginning though. Even that first time I read the series, when I was around 10, I started with The First King of Shannara which tells how the sword came to be, sets up the stories of the families, the druids, the world that is the Four Lands. I encourage everyone to read it!

But with the next season starting soon, I am glad that my friend started with Sword because I am going to quickly jump into Elfstone of Shannara, the next book upon which the show is based, and hopefully get to Wishsong of Shannara before the show starts getting too far off track from the original story line (which has already been confirmed to mixed reviews).

Anyway, I absolutely loved getting pulled back into this story once more. I have loved this series, this world for so long, getting to fully step back into it again was like returning to an old friend. And we picked up right where we left off. Once more I have the insatiable urge to read them all! Getting to talk with a new fan was a real bonus that I greatly enjoyed as well. So if you have recently picked up the books, please let me know so we can talk about them! If you have only just found the series, that's great too, because I love it just as much! And if you need a push to get into either, let me know, I will gladly give you a nudge as I pick up Elfstones and program the TV to record season 2 on Spike! Join me in one of my very first fandoms! Trust me, it is so worth it!