The Elfstones of Shannara (The Shannara Chronicles) (The Sword of Shannara Book 2)

This is my seventh time reading this book. The characters are why I enjoy it. Stee Jans, Ander, Allanon... they are all amazing. The battles are amazing and the quest is fulfilling. I encourage anyone to read this book.

Okay, first review on the store. Let's do this.

First, a little background. Elfstones of Shannara is a 1982 fantasy novel written by Terry Brooks as a follow-up to his best-selling The Sword of Shannara. Now, I'll go ahead and say... I couldn't finish Sword. I plan to one day, but initially I found that there wasn't a hook to keep me reading Sword. But I had read several reviews telling how good Elfstones, and in his book Sometimes the Magic Just Works, Brooks jokingly lamented the fact that every says his second book is his best work. So I picked this one up, and I can tell you for certain, this is indeed something special.

The story is that the magical Ellcyrs tree is dying, and the barrier it is holding to keep the ancient Demons from the world of the mortal is dying. So, the mysterious Allanon sets out to find Wil Ohmsford, grandson of the first book's protagonist. He then tells Wil that his mission is to protect the elven girl Amberle, who is the last of the Chosen, the Ellcrys sworn protectors. All the while, the Elves of the city of Arborlon prepare to battle the ever-growing army of demons, led by one known only as Dagda Mor, and his associates the Changeling and the Reaper, the last of whom is hot on the trail of the two young travelers.

The story sounds like your typical fantasy fare, and it is, but it is made up for in several areas. First are the characters. I am of the firm belief that if you have a sort of generic story, but really good characters, then your audience will still be incredibly invested, and the characters here do that well. Wil is a great protagonist in that you get a very strong sense of obligation and honor from this guy. He doesn't really want this task to be placed on his shoulders, but he does it because he feels it is the right thing to do. Amberle REALLY doesn't want to do what has been placed on her shoulders, but she's still pretty likeable, and by the end, you understand her reasons for not wanting to. Prince Ander of the Elves, is really easy to sympathize with, since as second born, he has never had much to do with the kingdom, but now has a lot of his plate. And Allanon... is pretty much Obi-Wan or Gandalf, but he's still cool enough that you don't mind.

The second thing is the style of writing. Brooks is really good at describing an area or tone without going into too much detail; just enough that you get an idea, but can still have your own mental images. When he describes the appearances of the demons, just the most twisted and terrifying images occur in my head. The forests sound either approiately beautiful or gloomy.

An interesting thing to note is that the book switches to tell the story of Wil and Amberle's travels and the struggles of the Elven army against the Demons. And if I had to make one personal nitpick, it's that I don't find the army scenes as engaging as the relationship between the two young travelers. But that's me personally. The changes aren't too drastic, and aflow pretty well, so I feel they won't bother others that much.

Finally, I want to give a personal reason why I love this so much: it is the first book to get me weepy-eyed. Without spoiling anything, the ending of the book is bittersweet. AMAZINGLY bittersweet, in fact. Even though it ends on a happy note, it's not without sacrifice or consequence. Which given the stakes at hand makes sense. Also, this was the book that made me want to get into writing and made me realize my love of fantasy. So, even though this review is kind of all over the place, I'd say that if you have a similar love of fantasy, or just want a good book, this is one I would personally recommend.

This is undoubtedly the best book I have ever read. The plot is filled with discriptiveness which makes feel as if you are one of elves fighting along side the brave elves against the uncountable number of demons which threaten the whole world. Perhaps it will make you feel as if you are one of the main characters such as, Wil Ohmsford, Amberle Elessidil or The druid Allanon. My point is this book is mainly a fantasy/action adventure, but it also has a hint of romance, mystery and even Drama. This book is a must read for all types of readers.

Brooks does a better job with developing his characters in this book than The Sword of Shannara. In fact, this book was in general better than the first one, if somewhat shorter. The battle scenes between demons and elves are quite interesting. I wasn't very impressed with the final "nick of time" save at the end. If I could only read one Terry Brooks book, it would be this one

This story was wonderful! I loved the characters. The only complaints I have are 1)Eventine's eyes were green in the Sword, and now they're blue, 2)Allanon does not seem as composed and forbidding and 3)It was so sad at the end. Those complaints are far outweighed by my compliments, but I can't say them without giving the plot away. Happy reading!!

It took me awhile to decide which book was better, SOS or EOS(Sword of Shannara or Elfstones of Shannara. SOS won). EOS ends in a BOOM that leaves you hanging. If you read this book, beware. IT WILL NOT END LIKE YOU THINK IT WILL!! Sorry for shouting, but I just wanted to get across to everybody that I love this book.

Brooks diplays his best combination of ignoring Tolkien (unlike 'The Sword') and including a ton of original ideas (unlike what follows). The villains are the best the series has to offer, and the battle scenes are magnificent. I suspect this book would read well as a standalone novel, though I started with the first.

I must say, The Elfstones of Shannara is the best book out of all books in the Shannara series. It's better than the first and the third! I haven't read the Heritage series yet, but that is next after I finish Wishsong. Terry Brooks is an excellent writer and his Shannara series (especially Elfstones) is the best!

Terry Brook's second novel, the sequel to the Sword of Shannara, is a solid work that while influenced by Tolkien seems less derivative of the Lord of the Rings than it's predecessor. Loads of action, interesting characters and one hell of a bad guy (the Reaper). A must read for fans of fantasy novels.

Wonderfull book, it was the first Terry Brooks book I have read, and so far the best. I loved it suspensefull, thrilling, romantic. My personal favorite was Amberle. The end was so sad I cryed. Well anyway I could write pages Abought this WONDERFULL book but I don't want to give away the plot. love

This is my personal favourite of Brook's earlier works, and I believe he has a soft spot for it too.

The Elchris is dying. This magical tree protects the elves and keeps the demons imprisoned, but as the tree fades, the prison walls crumble. The chosen elven princess Amberle is called on by the druid Alanon to take a seed from the Elchris to the bloodfire, so bringing about a rebirth and the imprisonment of the demons once more. Alanon sends as Amberle's protector, Will Ohmsford, who wields the elfstones. Elven magic which, among other things, has the ability to protect against danger. And meanwhile, a demon lord has broken free, and sent a tracker to hunt them down.

Once again Terry Brooks gift for weeving stories shines through. This book really has the feeling of a legend from an age long forgotten. The bitter-sweet endeng had a powerful effect on me, and, most emportantly, I never saw it coming. And I think Will Ohmsford can protect me any day.

Charles Keeding once more takes the helm to read this book, but once again it's abridged, and so once again it gets 4 stars from me. Terry Brooks, if you ever read this, do you think you could get publishers to do more unabridged recordings of your books? I'm sure your suggestions would carry more weight than mine.

This is a very well writen fantasy book. The characters are all well shapped and the battles are described very vividly. This is one of my favortite fantasy books.

p.s. I'm not really a "kid" but don't feel like posting the email adress.

An absolutly wonderful book! Ecspecially after the "Sword of Shannara"!! I couldn't put it down, if your looking for a fantastic read, read this book. I give Terry Brooks a standing ovation for the "Elfstones of Shannara"!!

ELFSTONES WAS THE FIRST TERRY BROOKS BOOK I READ AND I MUST SAY WOW!!! I'VE READ ELFSTONES THREE TIMES NOW AND IT NEVER GETS BORING. I LOVE WHEN ALLANON IS STANDING UP ON THE WALL FACING THE DEMONS ALONE. THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS.

Terry Brooks is an above average writer when it comes to technical standards, but every one of his books is just boring. It's pretty surprising to me, I've never seen this before. I keep thinking I should be enjoying these books yet I'm not. They're putting me to sleep.

I enjoyed most of this book, although I think that it has almost an identical plot outline as that of the Sword of Shannara: Allanon comes, and takes an Ohmsford, he hides his secrets from them, he tells them that only they can save the world, they moan and complain, they do it anyway, the quest, big battle scene, all ends well! But, don't mistake me! I enjoyed the book! If you like his other books you should read this one, for sure! My favorite part in the book is the battlescenes with the demons, and how Allanon uses his nagic to help them. What is great about this book is that it is realitstic, with alot of the 'good-guys' dieing also as well as the 'bad-guys'! I was a bit sad for Par Ohmsford, though, what happended to Amberle at the end! I think he really was in love with her.
Well, that's just my opinion!

Read the book again after 30 years because of the TV series. Book is still fantastic. Do not waste your time on the TV series. MTV has taken every character and changed them into something they aren't. Travesty.

In Elfstones of Shannara Mr. Brooks comes into his own as a fantasy writer. The story is highly engaging and sucks you in immediately. It has a good blend of fantasy adventure themes and military conflict. In a nice flip the trolls former protagonists in Sword of Shannara become elven allies in Elfstones. One could never imagine the elves and orcs ever joining forces in Tolkien’s Middle Earth. There were still echoes of Tolkien’s world present in Elfstones the seven gates of Arborlon remind one of the seven gates of Gondor’s Minus Tirith. It is a coming of age story for three of the main characters as they are forced to grow up quickly in the face of the demon threat and face their greatest fears in the process. An engaging read. I plan on picking up the next book in the trilogy and once again immersing myself in Mr. Brook’s universe.

Shallow ...... I am a Tolkien-nut ...... I love Tolkien for depth, descriptions, magic, plots, characters. All that is missing here in a clunky, elementary fantasy plot written in grammar school sentences. I guess this is a young adult book .... I guess ..... Wow, 41/2 stars overall ...... very, very, over-rated. I will never buy a Kindle book again without getting a free sample first. Thank goodness this book is easy to skim ..... won't miss anything much from skimming. I chose to read fantasy as an escape from today's current political crisis. Now, I'm more depressed than ever. I'm going to dust off my old Frank Herbet books - at least the battle over evil is satisfyingly real in the Dune books.

In this sequel to the Sword of Shannara, Brooks swings for the fences, and connects in a big way. This grand epic tale picks up some 50 years after the end of the Sword. The Druid Allanon again walks the earth, for evil magic threatens the inhabitants of the Four Lands. He turns again to the Ohmsford faimily to help him defeat this evil, this time in the person of Shea's grandson, Wil. Once again we see elves, gnomes, dwarves, trolls, and mankind joined in a struggle for their very existance, but with a twist: this time they are all fighting together against the evil Demons who threaten to break free of their mystical prison of eons. The story becomes one of two parts: a heroic struggle of the combined armies of Elves, man, dwarves, and trolls against the Demon hoards, and the frantic flight of Wil Ohmsford as he guides the elven girl Amberle to the mystic place where the seed of the Ellcrys can be reborn, once again trapping the demons in their hated prison.

This tale is so much better than the first book that it often is hard to believe that they were written by the same author. But Brooks' brilliant prose, inspired story lines, and wonderful characters - only observed in flashes in the Sword of Shannara - are on full display throughout the Elfstones of Shannara. The reader is drawn into this book almost instantly, and before 50 pages are gone there is no way you can put this book down. Written in flashes of headlong action and peaceful interludes, one can scarcely catch their breath before the action carries them forward again. Once again Brooks presents us some wonderfully real characters: the old king Eventine, seeing his health and his people slip away as the enemy draws near, seemingly unstoppable. The saucy Rover girl who fancies Wil, yet still risks her life several times to save Amberele. The indomitable Stee Jans and his Free Corps, a kind of French Foreign Legion. The Elven Prince Ander, so unsure of himself or his place with his people, rising to become a crafty and trusted leader. The book literally crawls with great characters, making the reading of this such a joy.

The seige of Arborlon ranks right up there with some of the classic seiges in fantasy literature: Minas Tirath in the Return of the King. Revelstone in The Power That Preseves. With this book Terry Brooks serves notice that he is not just another derivitive author hanging onto Tolkein's coattails, but a powerufl and compelling author in his own right. I don't give out many 5-star ratings, but this book richly deserves it.