And is also a brazen, note-for-note Lord of the Rings ripoff. But you knew that already.

I first read The Sword of Shannara in the sixth grade. Even then I was struck by how shameless Terry Brooks' "borrowing" was. I agree with fantasy editor Lin Carter, who said, "Terry Brooks wasn't trying to imitate Tolkien's prose, just steal his story line and complete cast of characters, and [Brooks] did it with such clumsiness and so heavy-handedly, that he virtually rubbed your nose in it," calling it "the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read." 'Tis quite true.

Still didn't prevent me from reading it, as well as the next book or two in the series, though. The fantasy bug had bitten me and I was glad to chow down. As I recall, even while amazed at the theft, I enjoyed the ride the book provided.

But still, damn ...

So I recently grabbed an audio book version and dumped it onto my iPod. I've wanted to get away from Podcasts for a little while and have a load of audio books sitting around, this one caught my eye, and I figured it was a good chance to revisit it. I've been listening to it all this week.

Holy plodding narrative, Batman!

Dear Terry,

J.R.R. Tolkien can get away with describing the countryside for 10 pages because he's J.R.R. Tolkien and his book is the Lord of the Rings. You aren't, and yours isn't.

Your friend,
Eric

Some four and half hours into listening and the only thing that has stood out more than the glacial plot is that Terry Brooks confuses "writing" with "using as many adverbs in a sentence as possible, as frequently as possible." Seriously, this prose is terrible. Overwrought, overdone, overeverything. Every third word ends in "ly".

The describing every last minute of the journey thing is irritating as hell, too. Yes, great, they awoke on day six and this is what they ate and this is how Soandso put his belongings back into his pack and this is when they took a bathroom break then they stopped for lunch and this is what they ate and then they walked some more and walked across a stream and here's how that went then they camped and here are the details of finding firewood then they are and here's what they ate and they slept and woke up and here is day seven ...

ENOUGH ALREADY!!

So this is my thread on The Sword of Shannara. I think I'm on chapter four or so. I still have 20 hours of listening left to go. Twenty. Hours.

I agree with every word of this post.

When I was just getting into Dungeons & Dragons (1979-1980), I saw that my dad had a Book Club
copy of this, so I snagged it and started reading the massive tome—just to find out what the cool
magic sword did. Wow. What a waste of my time.

I had NOT yet read the Lord of the Ring books at the time, so I didn't see the theft.

For years later, I kept seeing sequels on the shelf: Shannara this, Shannara that, The Porcelain Toliet
of Shannara, and so on. I could not understand how such an underwhelming effort deserved sequels.

Each to their own, I guess.

I guess people were so thirsty for more Lord of the Rings, they were willing accept trashy knockoffs just to get their fix.

That's pretty much what the first Shannara book is. It's a trashy knockoff.

I only made it a few chapters into this book before I lost interest. Fantasy, as a whole, doesn't grab me the way it ought to. I mean, I love the settings, the types of characters, creatures, pretty much everything about it, so it should be perfect for me. But instead I find myself wanting to play Oblivion while I try to plod through these things.

I read them. A couple of them were ok. But in the end one single act made me stop buying these books. I met Mr. Brooks at a book signing in Saratoga Springs NY, in 1992 I believe. I was the only one there, and asked him to sign a book for me. He did I'm pretty sure he never even glanced my way.... "To the one true Elf-Queen"

6'1" 200 lbs, I don't feel like an Elf Queen, not even a little.

I was around the same age when I first read it. It was probably the longest book I had ever read all the way through up to that time. I liked it, despite the obvious ripping off. In fact, I actually liked it more than "Lord of the Rings" when I first read it. A few years later I read LOTR--carefully this time--and realized how far my underdeveloped juvenile tastes had missed the mark.

From what I recall of it "Sword of Shannara" was a nice enough piece of genre fiction. I think it's what people who don't "get" LOTR expect Tolkien's work to be. I've realized over the years that I'm not really that big of a fantasy fan. I like "Lord of the Rings" because it's a magnificent work of imagination that goes far beyond its genre. "Sword of Shannara" is a fairer example of what the average genre work is like.

I loved it when I was 12 (and before reading The Lord of the Rings), but can't get through it again since then. The later books get better, though.

It was funny, but not. He really came off like a prick. I didn't go there specifically to see him, just happened by the bookstore at the time of the signing. I thought "ah, cool" I'll get something signed, tell him I've liked a few of his books. The man was talking to his agent, gave me a quick glance when I walked up. Continued talking, so I waited until a break in his conversation. I asked politely if he'd sign one of my books, he didn't answer.. just kind of grabbed it from me, signed, and shoved it back across the table. Not a word was said my direction. "To the one true Elf Queen"

Yes, it was inside the time stated on the sign saying he'd be signing books, yes, he was still seated at the signing table. Just to answer the obvious questions.

It's really funny now though

This is a very fair assessment. I agree with this.

I was pretty big into fantasy during my teen years, read lots of fantasy books, but I grew away from it when I hit my early 20s. I've tried to go back from time to time, and have read a few works in the genre I've really enjoyed, but as much as I think I want a traditional Tolkienesque fantasy, every time I try to read one I give up after 100 pages.

I really liked Tolkien, so much so that I even read the Silmarrillion. But I just can't read it again, I've tried... no go. Silly little novels like "The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything" I can read a million times, but nuanced epics won't hold my attention anymore. So basically, as I've grown older, I've grown shallower and dumber.

Have you shared this with us before, Dave? Because if not, something identical happened to someone else I know too.

Yeah, over on the Byrne board last year.

Maybe he does it all the time!

It's possible. I know he didn't want to be there. I don't understand why publishers insist on meet and greets for authors who clearly hate signings. It's not bad to hate book signings, but if you're there.. common courtesy should apply, imo.

I agree.

Back on topic, a friend of mine is reading TSoS, he says he's having a real problem getting beyond the lack of a meaningful timeline. They are out for 3 days and talk like they've been trekking for months.

I've decided to write something with this title.

I guess I'll do it right now, right in this thread, right in this post.

...

"The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything"
Title by Dave Powell
Written by Eric San Juan

1

“You know I haven’t the money for that, Sissy. Put it back!”

Mum was very displeased, and that did not make Sissy happy. It did not make her happy at all. Still, she put aside her unhappiness, shoving it into the compartment in which she kept all her misfortune, that tiny place only she knew about, and insisted again.

“But mum,” Sissy pleaded, “I must have it. Really I must. Take a look and you’ll see.”

“What you ‘must’ have is a smack if you talk to me like that again, young lady. Now put it back and come on, we’ve still two chickens to buy. Besides, I can’t carry all these things myself!”

Sissy frowned. She didn’t care about stupid chickens or stupid goat’s milk or any of the other stupid, stupid things her mum wanted to buy. What she cared about was the gold watch. She had never seen anything of its sort. Old Mr. Coppernose smiled condescendingly when she asked to see it, but he took it from behind the counter and her let her handle it all the same. The watch was small, just the size of her palm. It was cool to the touch despite the summer heat. Its face had 14 numbers and three hands. The timepiece was affixed to a thin chain of gold. An inscription on the back read, “14 On The Hour, Three Days Of Sun. 13 On The Hour, Run, Girl, Run.” Sissy did not know what it meant.

“Come on, Sissy!”

Sissy mumbled her thanks to Mr. Coppernose, handed the watch back and shuffled along behind her mother. The watch would have to wait. She knew she’d be back. She knew because the watch told her she’d be back. And coming back was a very important thing. It was the most important thing. Sissy had to come back or terrible, terrible things would happen.

The watch had told her that, too. And Sissy knew it was true.

TO BE CONTINUED

Maybe you have a "One True Elf-Queen" kind of voice, Dave.

I don't. I haven't downloaded it onto my iPod.

I really enjoyed the book. My dad had been begging me to read it for years, and I finally did just to get him to shut up. Ever time a new Shannara book comes out he buys it for my mom and they both read it. It's the only book(s) he will buy in harcover.

That said, it did borrown a lot from LOTR. the first book anyway.

and otherwise, I really don't remember one thing about it.