The Elfstones Of Shannara

Setting out to reread the Shannara series with a friend, I was thrilled at the chance to return to the world that not only drew me into the world of fantasy, but that awakened within me a desperate need to tell my own stories of fantastic nature. However, I was a little worried that upon rereading some of them I would find that I was no longer as in love with Terry Brook's early writing style, after all my tastes have changed a lot since I was 10. I need not have feared. Elfstone of Shannara was the first book that left me crying long after I put it down (a sad spoiler I won't detail), and when I watched the show it came as no real surprise that I was curled up in my husband's lap for an hour as I cried more tears for that plot point. Yes, today I cried again. I love this book so much, and even after all this time the story still touches every part of my heart!

Elfstones follows the story of Wil Ohmsford and Amberle Elessedil as they try and safe the magical tree, the Elcrys, from death which would result in the failing of a magical barrier that keeps hordes of demons at bay. Wil and Amberle's journey takes them across half the FourLands, introduces them to numerous characters that both hinder and help their cause, and twists and turns in ways that are truly captivating.

Even though this was the third time I read this book I loved it just as much as the first. However, since I read it after watching the show, I found that there were so many details that I had forgotten, details that were left out of the show. Does this upset me? Well, a little since some of my favorite characters were left out of the show (*cough* Stee Jans *cough*). But as Terry Brooks has been heard saying lately, the show is a beast in and of itself. Things had to be changed to keep audiences interested, to keep things new and exciting. So if you are going to read this book because you loved the show, keep in mind that the book was here first, and it's its own story.

I look forward to the next time I am able to sit down and reread the whole series once more in the future. This is a story I love to revisit from time to time. So tell me, how did you discover Shannara? What do you think of both the book and the show? Let me know!

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!

The Shannara Chronicles

Back in 1977 Terry Brooks published The Sword of Shannara, something he later confessed was a bit of a surprise to him and he was even more astonished when called with the news of just how well the book was doing. Just shy of 20 years ago I picked up one of Brooks' other books, The Black Unicorn, and after reading the series it was a part of, I moved to the Shannara series. My life was changed. It may sound cliche, but that is exactly what had happened. Reading Brooks's work I realized that I wanted to tell stories like him, wanted to be a writer. Some of my first works were based off Brooks' characters that had become so much a part of me. Since then I have collected every book Brooks has written, met the man himself and had him autograph many of my books, and followed any and all news of him. This was why when I saw that they were making a television show based on his prominent fantasy series, I was too excited for words. That silence was broken the closer we got to the release date and I started bugging all my friends with my near constant updates on about the premiere. This morning I thanked them all for being patient enough with me not to yell at each new status post. Because last night was the series premiere on MTV!

So, since I had read all the books and waited so long to see the show, I thought I would give a little word on what I thought of it. It was EPIC!

After all the fear behind MTV being the ones to adapt the show, I was reassured every time Terry Brooks made an update about how happy he was with what had been done with the show. See, Terry has always been protective of his work, going so far as to turn down people that had wanted to adapt it when he saw what they wanted to do with his work. So with each new bit of information, I grew more and more confident that the show would be done right. And last night that was proven correct.

I will say that there were a few differences from the book, things that bothered me for a moment but then I could understand why they made the changes they did. After all, you want to keep some things a little bit of a surprise, a moment to catch people that think they know everything about what is going on off guard. Gotta keep them on their toes. I only had issue with one detail that kept getting mentioned, and I am sure will be brought up more in the future, that had been changed from the books. It would have been a very big, very compromising detail if they had started with the book before Elfstones, but since they started where they did in the story, I can almost see why they made the change. That being said I am sure I will forever cringe every time they mention it. Oh well, it is a small price to pay.

At other times I could only marvel at the amazingness of it all. The actors were wonderfully chosen, the sets were beautifully made, and the costumes were so skillfully put together. There was one scene, in which Allanon makes his appearance int the court of the Elven King Eventine, and every little detail of the scene was just so perfect. A shiver ran down my spine, I literally squealed, and I will probably rewatch the scene a dozen times between this week and next.

Have I made my point about this being a great success? I'll say just once more in case you missed it. This show took an already incredible series and made it great again for all of us. I truly hope that as I witnessed my son getting so excited over it, wowing at each new scene, and asking for a chance to read the books with me when I revisit the series, others out there that have not had a chance to read the books will discover the world I so cherish.

So thank you, MTV and Jon Favreau for bringing this incredible series to life for all of us. Thank you Terry for imagining such a world and inviting us all to join you there. And thank you to anyone else who gives the show a chance, falls in love with it all over again, and hopefully makes it possible for the series to continue on in the future. I have always believed the Shannara series was meant for great things, and I think I am being proved right.