The First King Of Shannara

The book contents themselves are great, but I didn't know that the School & Library Binding Edition is about the size of a paperback. I was really disappointed because I planned on giving it to my local library after reading it to help them get the complete series on their shelves.

This book brings The Seeker and Mother Confessor back together after the prophecies kept them moving in different directions. There is lots of action and fast paced storytelling going on here. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoy Terry Brooks. There is adventure, magic and well developed characters in this book. I am able to feel that I am in the story and that is important to me. If you like fantasy, the 'Shannara' series is great.

I like a really good fantasy read and thought that this one was decent enough.

As I do not give spoilers, I will say that this is the story of the end of one way of life, the attempt to destroy evil and the rise of a new King of the Elves.

The story shows us that there are always consequences to our actions, even if said consequences do not present themselves in our lifetime.

I did find some of the story repetitive, too descriptive and a bit slow in places. However, I do look forward to reading the remainder of the trilogy.

I've enjoyed reading the books in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series many times over the years and will read them many more in the years to come. The characters are well drawn and the main characters are people you come to care about. His settings are well described. Every reading I discover something I missed before. I don't often find the fiction I read so thought provoking.

Though there is not a lot that directly ties this in with the 'Pre-Shannara' books, this book was a fantastic read on its own. I really enjoyed the fast paced action that seemed fresh and critical to the ongoing story. Very well written and keeps you hungry to get to the next chapter.

I ordered Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series in the Kindle version; I like the story, though it is way too similar to the Robert Jordan "Wheel of Time" series, even using some of the same names for main characters; but my main issue is with the editing: there are many errors in spelling, missing words, double words and other editorial issues; I'm hoping this is not true for other Kindle products I have yet to finish reading, but it's been true in the books of this series I've read thus far; I do love how they appear on my Kindle through the "ethers," and, in general, like the story, but not the repetition (which feels like a means of bringing the reader up to date if they missed the earlier books, but is tedious to wade through if you have read the all)

I think this book captivated me much more than the previous two. However I think that a few characters haven't been developed enough, like The Red Queen for example. Perhaps I will find more about her in the next books.

The only thing wrong with this series of books is the terrible grammar/spelling/wrong words. Now, I can't imagine an author making mistakes like that - what on earth is up with e-books? Why are there so many errors in them? I have never read a paper book that has errors like this. Why are there so many in e-books? I would love someone to explain that.

Great follow through with the previous books. One thing I've noticed about how Goodkind writes is that some of his descriptions sound like they are made for a movie script. It didn't start this time until the last 20% of the book, but it happened none the less. That is the only detraction from the story for me.

This series must be read in order. The first book is Wizard's First Rule. The second book is Stone Of Tears. This is the third book. I can't wait to read Temple Of The Winds!

A new threat out of the ancient past reemerges in the form of a Dreamwalker. The Sisters Of The Dark are his unwilling slaves. Will they be able to free themselves from his grasp and continue to serve the Keeper? Or will they become another of his tools of conquest? Will the Order swallow the whole world?

Richard has decided to embrace being the Lord Rahl, if only to protect everyone from the Imperial Order and preserve the Midlands from its insidious rule. Finding that The Blood Of The Fold has joined the Order only strengthens his resolve. Hopefully Kahlan will understand. It has to be this way or the war is already lost. The Order wishes to destroy everything and everyone with magic... That cannot happen! Will Richard succeed in bringing the whole of the Midlands and beyond under D’Haran rule? Can they save all magic and magical creatures from annihilation? Or will he just be seen as a despot as power hungry as Darken Rahl?

The story is very good, and enjoyable to read. BUT the text of the book contains MANY grammatical errors in the use of prepositions and articles of speech. In many instances the word "that" is used in place of the word "than". This makes for a distraction while reading. I think this is due to using word processing software to proofread for spelling errors etc, rather than human proofreading. I have found this the case in other Kindle Books, but not to the extent evident in this series.

All those events you hear Allanon talking about - well here's the first hand look into the life of Bremen, the fall of the Druids and the first battle with Brona. Seeing the events unfold all together as a single story was a lot of fun. You pick up on the various parts of the legends and the histories that you hear in bits and pieces throughout the series. As such, it can easily be read as a stand alone and you will still get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

In fact, you may get more enjoyment out of it. I found I had learned a little too much about the events and characters, and when they didn't live up to my expectations, especially Jerle Shannara, who I found to be very un-heroic and a little whiny at times.

The druid Bremen, on the other hand, was great. I loved his tenacity and his sorrow that he wasn't able to make people (like the Druids) change their mind about how they would react to events. Overall the adventure was a little predictable (but I already knew what was going to happen), and the hero was a little too underwhelming, but it was still fun.

Terry Goodkind's first book, Wizard's First Rule, was entertaining many years ago when I was a relatively new fantasy reader. Except for the actual First Rule ("People are Stupid"), which was... stupid. The story had some fascinating characters (mostly the secondary ones -- I could never muster up much care for Kahlan) and Richard started out as a pretty good hero. The next couple of books of The Sword of Truth were also fun for a fantasy newbie.

Then, Terry Goodkind just TOTALLY lost it. His writing style became incredibly annoying and Richard was getting WAY too preachy (constant Ayn Rand-ish humanistic ranting). But, I kept going because I was invested by this time. And each time I bought one of his $25 hardback books, I found myself rolling my eyes at every passive sentence and starting to fall asleep during the sermons (when did Richard hire a speech writer??).

And the plot really got ssslllllloooow[...] Just look at the book covers for Chainfire, Phantom, and Confessor -- you can tell we're not going anywhere. (I hope they got a 3-for-1 deal on that cover art.) But the weirdest thing is that I kept buying these 1 star books! I can't explain my behavior, except to say that I kept thinking that things would get better, but they did not. How did he pull off that first booK?? I've learned from this experience that I can put down a book if it's not good. There's too much good literature to read.

According to Mr Goodkind, those of us who have bailed out are ignorant and uneducated. Wow. That is something I have never been called before. I should have realized right from the start ("Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid") what kind of fellow Terry Goodkind is. Here is a quote from a chat session conducted with Mr Goodkind (this used to be on his website, but has now been removed. It is well-documented on the internet, however.):

"Why would they continue to read books they claim are bad? Because they hate that my novels exists. Values arouse hatred in these people. Their goal is not to enjoy life, but to destroy that which is good -- much like a school child who does not wish to study for a test and instead beats up a classmate who does well. These people hate what is good because it is good. Their lives are limited to loathing and indifference. It isn't that they want to read a good book, what they want is to make sure that you do not. Ignore them." ~Terry Goodkind

I say Terry Goodkind is the one acting like a school child having a tantrum. I regret that he got so much of my money. I hope you won't give him any of yours. If you really want to try a Goodkind book, I would recommend that you go to the library and check out the first few, and then trust me that you don't need to read any further. I will not read the last book. I'm not even tempted.

Well, maybe (more on this later). I really didn't like the first two books, but I have to admit, that this one was somewhat better written. The action is a little better here. but the love theme is getting a bit worn out at this point. This book moves better than the first two, but that's not saying much. I give this 2 1/2 stars, but would have given it 3 except that parts of the ending are so contrived and rushed that its as if the author had had enough of writing and just wanted to tie things up. Since all of the loose ends were neatly and quickly tied in the last couple pages, I'm taking this time to bow out of this series. I've had enough.

...but already the Kahlan/Richard storyline is growing really, really, tired. Richard overreacts...Richard apologizes...Kahlan cries and swears she will never betray Richard...Richard and Kahlan talk about getting married and sharing Kahlan's big, big bed...Richard somehow thwarts the advances of every hot woman known to mankind but listens to Kahlan prattle on and on about some nonsense...other characters become angry then apologize...someone else cries...someone else apologizes for crying...someone else apologizes for yelling...Richard theorizes about this, that and the other thing....Richard talks about how he lacks control over the magic...We get the 15,000th recapitulation of the history of the Confessors, the Wizards, the Palace of Prophets, the Keeper, Darken Rahl... we read the 1,000,000th inartfully drafted prophecy which mysteriously works itself out by way of some tortured plot twist...Richard befriends more enemies and inexplicably converts them into longtime friends...the Mord Sith prance around in red leather grabbing their Agiel and make cute comments but do little else...Richard grinds his teeth for the umpteenth time and grabs the Sword of Truth and lets the rage flow through him...just send me to the Keeper already!

Wizard's Fourth Rule: Read George RR Martin

With Wizard's First Rule Goodkind had a little promise. It was not realized in the sequel and it is all but gone in this, the third installment. The theme of rape running through all three novels is also quite disturbing, with the exception of the female lead, every woman in the novels has been in the past, or is presently being raped. It's a very powerful emotional device to throw around so casually. But this is all moot, the plot is trivial - stealing pieces from Jordan and Eddings - the characters are morons and worst of all Goodkind has lost all hope of ever growing as an author. Too many fans (aka book-buyers) are more than happy to read this recycled trash. Some people complain about Robert Jordan dragging out his novels, after you read this book -think to yourself, what actually happened that couldn't have been put in 50 pages

After the HERITAGE OF SHANNARA series, I was afraid that Brooks had lost his touch with that world. This book proves otherwise. It tells a story of the past and does it well. Like the first "trilogy", this book gets the reader involved emotionally. You care about the characters...deeply, or at least I did. It tugged on my heartstrings and made my spine tingle throughout.
The pacing is also very good. The book starts out quickly and continues at a breakneck pace. Not that there isn't time for introspection...there's a lot of that, but not an overabundance. It's definitely a page turner.
I think I would have appreciated it more if it hadn't been so many years since I'd read the other books. There's such a sense of history here and Brooks works in a lot of foreshadowing of the other books. Unfortunately, I didn't remember details enough to fully appreciate all of it.
The one thing that bothered me about this book was the lack of a map. I got confused sometimes as to where certain characters were in relation to others. Aside from that, this was a very satisfying read.

I listened to the audio version of Firstling of Shannara, and while I enjoyed the narration, I found the story a little boring and predictable. For some reason the plot just failed to grab me. In the story there are elves. There is a dwarf. There is a druid muttering some mystic mumbo-jumbo. They are out to find/forge the sword of Shannara, and everyone is reluctant. Reluctant to become involved, reluctant to believe, reluctant to wield the sword properly. Reluctant to fall in love.
Relationships are passionless and handled poorly. The three major romantic relationships featured in this book are quite dysfunctional. Tay loves Preia, Preiea loves the king Jerle, the King loves Tay's sister who is married, Merrith loves the ranger who is supposed to be 40+ years old? Ech. The only person I actually really liked was Bremen. I felt sorry for him and the pain/sacrifice he bore at times. But the rest of the characters had as much personality as department store mannequins.
Look. If a story is going to have romance in it. Make it ROMANTIC. The romances were hasty and very contrived.
Not quite up to par with the rest of the books. And what's with all the female character's being called 'girl'? The author refers to Preia as 'the elf girl' and Merrith as the 'druid girl' but the male characters are all called 'men' come on now. These characters are WOMEN. Lets call them such, shall we?

In the First King of Shannara, Brooks attempts to provide the back story to a series, and not just any series, but the series that catapulted Brooks to fame and fortune, the Shannara triology. This is indeed and ambitious project, since The Sword of Shannara, and its companion books are among the best loved of all of Brooks works, and any attempt to 'tack on' a prequil could be considered dangerous to his reputation, should it fall short of expectations. Whether or not Terry failed his fans with this book is still undecided. For some, clearly it recaptured the magic. For others, it was some brilliant writing interspersed with a few small bits of predictable drivel. I really think YOU should decide for yourself... because there is enough in this book to make it required reading for Brooks fans.

If you want to read this, and reread the Shannara trilogy to try and recapture the whole first story, you will find out one of the problems. This book does not have the feel of the original series. While the first series is filled with many personal insights into the characters thoughts and emotions at each step of the journey, this book provides somewhat less than that. Some of the character portrayals feel underdone, and somewhat less their potential would allow. This is really evident in the ending, where readers are hammered by how an unfortunate death keeps ruining the confidence of the leader. We are constantly nagged by the leaders self doubt, and how it is always related to the unfortunate death. Since self doubt usually brings up all our painful failings, why doesn't it in this character? In the end the character borders on self-loathing and his whole emotional state becomes more of an annoyance than any semblence of real depth.

I felt that the whole "forging of the Sword of Shannara" bit was a little predictable, since Brooks chose the straight path of accomplishing his desired end. Basically, if you read the "Sword of Shannara" you have the short version. This is the long version, with absolutely no unexpected twists. You have a sword made of steel (from a recipe nearly lost to time) in the iron age forged with druid fire, a talented sword maker and a whole lot of special effects. You go to the Hadeshorn to get the dead druids to put their magic in it. The long version adds nothing to the old short version. I felt really stupid reading a whole lot of pages to find out what exactly I already knew or expected would happen, plus a few exaggerated rumors.

Other than this unnecessary bit of anticlimax, the book has a solid feel about it, with a grand style of storytelling. The stories, and the characters are really special, and even if you knew the what the final result would be, the journey from point A to point B was really where the meaning could be found. Despite its faults, the story and the style shines like a beacon in his collective work as one of the truly great books he has written. In fact, with a little bit more aggressive editing, this might be his very best book. Unfortunately, as is, this book has a great beginning, a faultering middle, and an uneven ending.

The books strikes a chord with 'nostalgia' when were learn the origins of a few characters from later books, and a little bit more about old legends. Yet, no amount of nostalgia allows for a free ride I feel, and any book should stand on its own merits, and not on the shoulders of past glory. This book counts on that a little too much in the middle, and faulters on what should have been a stronger ending. Still, a great book, and writen in a wonderful style. The beginning is without a doubt the best he has written. This book just didn't follow through with that till the end.

This is another very pleasant book by Terry Brooks, and if you have read the sequels to this book, then it may feel weird to be reading about more than one Druid, but it is a very self binding book that definately deserves five stars, and like all Terry Brooks' books, I would give my own personal to this book.

If you have never read a "Shannara" book, I would not suggest starting with this one, even though the events in this book are chronologically first in the Shannara timeline.

This is better suited to readers who have already read at least the original trilogy, or better yet, the original as well as the Heritage of Shannara books, and want a more complete telling of the history of the Four Lands, and a story revolving around characters who preceded Allanon and the Ohmsfords, such as Bremen and Jerle Shannara.

Now with that out of the way...

The plot should be fairly well known to veterans of the series, as it is mentioned here and there in other books. The Warlock Lord is attempting to conquer the Four Lands, and all that stands in his way is the druid Bremen, and a handful of companions who must go on various quests, and overcome the challenges presented to them along the way, if there is to be any hope of stopping Brona and his Northland army.

This book, while maybe not the best of the bunch, has enough to offer longstanding fans that I would recommend it to any who have read and liked the series. It was interesting to read about people and events in this time, where the actions and decisions made here had a huge impact on the subsequent course of history throughout the Four Lands.

While the book did drag in some spots, the last part grabs your attention right until the very end. And while it's probably predictable for Shannara fans, it's written in such a way that you still want to find out how it happens, even if you already know the end result.

All in all, a very worthy addition to the Shannara series.

This book really entertains the bejeepers out of me. First, it's got a lot of threat flowing around the characters. Second, it fills in some back story. Third, it introduces some new interesting folks.

Book three was certainly not a disappointment.

While Wizard's First Rule was a really enjoyable read, by the time we reach this the third book the series is becoming formulaic and simply annoying. Its seems to always be the same; something threatens Richard and Kahlan's relationship (usually a threat to the whole world as well), which is resolved by the end of the book. It's just the same stuff all over again.

He's got the one dimensional character thing down pat. Goofy, but extremely powerful wizard who does nothing. Big, handsome doofus. Guy with lots of weapons. Lesbian sado-masochists... Is this supposed to be interesting? Or did Terry have a D&D campaign that got really weird? Why does everyone get more or less powerful depending upon what moves the plot? Adie kicked the asses of numerous undead creatures on her own, yet her and Zedd couldn't take down the reanimated remains of something that Adie had already slain herself! Why is it that Gars can't see an elephant unless its running at top speed, yet they can see a mriswith 500 miles away? Stop the Contradictions!

Between reading the books of this series, I've read a few other books as well, and after plodding through several other authors works, I came back to this series with a newfound respect for Goodkind's prose and plotting. Personally, I don't see what more a reader could ask for in an epic fantasy- there's romance, suspense, plenty of action, and enough mystique about the world Goodkind has created to keep a person wanting more. It's not as though I hand out five star reviews all that often either- this is the only book I have ever given five stars (And though I haven't written a lot of reviews, I have read a lot of books and would covet perhaps only one other with a five star rating.) For whatever reason, it seems that there is a flux of mixed reviews, both of people who really enjoy this series and of people who don't appreciate it. Accusations of copycating other author's works seem to be a common theme amongst those who don't like it, but when all is said and done, every author borrows ideas- there is no shame in studying prose and reading books to guide you along the way in your own storytelling. It's the extent to which it is done that would be indicative of outright plagurism. Overdoing the so called "borrowing of ideas", of course, would actually implicate plagurism, but I think when "borrowing ideas" for a story is done in proper measure, the resulting story would more appropriately be termed as being "inspired as a result of" or a "work in the spirit of it" rather than a "ripoff" or a "copycat." Technically, according to the standards some reviewers have deemed appropriate, almost any author who could have a book placed into a particular genre could be classified as someone who copies ideas, because there are common themes that run in certain books that allow it to be categorized into one genre or another, and the very fact that it can even be categorized at all is proof that it is "unoriginal." You could probably name the fantasy books that don't have either some form or appearance by either a dragon, a king, or a castle on one hand. Take this review for what it's worth, this book and the whole series is definitely original enough in its own right, and it is well worth reading.

First, let me say that Terry Goodkind is eminently readable. Unlike the Jordans etc who try to make the plot so intricate that is makes Tolkien's series seem positively simplistic, Goodkind knows how to tell a story in a simple manner, with all manners of complexities thrown in along the way. His characters are very well drawn, and full of all the strengths and weaknesses that readers expect of fantasy works.
However, I am growing far too weary of his series' reliance on deux ex machina escapes (that's "god from the machine", ex. jumping off the cliff and landing in a four foot dingy) and a completely unbelievable scheme of magic to tell its story. I can bear the omnipresent multipage long explanations of why Zedd has to cast a spell a certain way, or Richard agonizing over Kahlan or his heritage etc. However, when Zedd casts a "Death spell" and it causes everyone in the realm to forget that Kahlan is the Mother Confessor and they believe she is dead, that was too much!!!
Now I realize that coming from an AD & D background where magic is very different, my sight may be clouded, but I don't think that this kind of power should be taken lightly. Zedd practically is unaffected by casting such a spell. Frankly, I find this kind of cheapening of magic sickening. Magic is a special skill, an art, and should not be as Goodkind portrays it as mere trickey. Anyone who whispered "Cool!" when Richard uses the Wizard's First Rule on Darken Rahl in Book 1, shame on you!!! The more I read, the more I grew dissatisfied with the way Goodkind's stories grew out of coincidence, happenstance, and just plain bad ideas about magic and how to work it into the story.
Let's hope he can finish the series soon, and perhaps try again with a different idea. Goodkind is a writer to watch, and hopefully this series will only be a footnote to an otherwise long and successful career, once he is able to solve a few of these problems.

this is a wonderful, fulfilling prequel to the famous Sword of Shannara by terry brooks. it reveals the mysteries of the past, and, if you have not yet read the Sword of Shannara, then i say that you should definitely read the First King, because it'll make a lot more sense to you. Terry brooks is a fantastic writer, Tolkien incarnate! you'll love it, i swear.

Mindless readers are obviously what are making Goodkindso huge--people who love his trash so much that theyworship the man. _Blood of the Fold_ is hopelessly bogged down by an immature writing style that sounds stale, a predictable storyline that offers no unusual twists, and an incredibly stupid protagonist. Goodkind is falling prey to the Eddings Disease: reusing the same plot time and again. Instead of Darken Rahl, we have the Evil Emperor to fight-- how fresh and original! It was stale in Book 1, and it's rotting in Book 3.

This is my second journey through this amazing series .Because I started reading so many years ago its like reading a brand new story . I had forgotten so much . I highly recommend this wild roller ride