new reader book 23. revisiting reader book 7
oops it's the first book I read which I enjoyed but I didn't continue with the series. ( )

This is a good place to start if you’ve never read any of the Shannara books. Brooks introduces the world and mythos in compelling ways, giving the reader plenty of time to pick up the nuances of the setting without letting the pacing or atmosphere suffer.

It was fun to read and plot was simple enough to follow without feeling totally predictable.

The book follows a few main characters (Three humans, some elves) as they discover the mists surrounding the valley they've lived in for the past 500 years have degraded. Now they are open to attack from the outside world. There is magic in this universe, not widely used and it doesn't seem to have huge rules in place as to how it's used. There are a few rules, but they're kinda vague and wishy-washy. This is the first book of the Legends of Shannara series, so I would hope the magic gets more fleshed out as the series progresses. I also understand this series is related to the other Shannara books the author has written, so maybe there's more information there, but I can't help but slightly resent having to read a different series to understand something that's labelled as 'book one' of this series.

I did really enjoy the atmosphere the author created, and the way he spent a great deal of energy describing the scenery and the history. This made the world feel real and lived in, which I really appreciated. I thought the plot moved at a good strong pace, which kept me reading.

I liked the inclusions of the smaller subplots, as I thought they helped bring the characters to life. It also helped show there was more going on than just what the main characters were seeing and doing.

I did have a couple problems here and there. For example, when the two humans and some elves are presented with the outside world for the first time, we see " 'Because now we are seeing out across country we know nothing about,' Tasha pointed out. ' That makes exploring a whole lot more dangerous'. Then, when the humans do go out into the valley and are captured by The Bad Guys and the elves are having a pity party for one of them: " Tasha glanced over. 'This isn't your fault. We all agreed to let them go. None of us thought there was that much danger to it." This may seem like a small thing, but the inconsistent characterisation nagged at me enough to draw me out of the narrative.

I do wonder what makes the Trackers so different from the Grey Man. He has a magical staff, is that it? Because the Trackers spend much time going through the forest.. doing stuff? I'm not really sure what the point of them is. Like, all the people in the valley just kinda assume the barrier is strong and will always be strong, so what do the Trackers actually accomplish? It doesn't at all look like they're hunting for everyone's sake because it seems like everyone can hunt or knows of someone who specialises in that. Maybe I missed something there.

I'm also really bored of girls who are super talented at doing The Thing, and are super good at it, but they're not quite as good as the guy. The girl who is fiercely determined and resilient but she's the emotional, irrational one - versus the guy who is the intelligent, rational leader type. She's super tough and people are always surprised at 'this little slip of a girl', yet she has to be protected and rescued. It feels tropey - I don't believe tropes are necessarily a bad thing, but I felt it was a stereotypical portrayal of girls. Dear reader, I've spent my life raging against girls being weak in books. Too much Hermione, Ginny and Luna in my formative years, I suppose.

Overall, I can't say this a bad book for a fantasy fan to read, but I could probably point you to a few others I've enjoyed more. I'd probably read the next book if I found it in a charity shop, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to find it. It didn’t blow my mind, but it didn’t let me put it down, either. ( )

A great read by one of my favorite authors. ( )

Niet veel over te zeggen. Gewoon weer een van de boeken uit de serie. Niet echt iets bijzonders. Geen topper, geen flopper.

( )

I didn’t dislike the book, but like some of Terry Brook’s other recent works, I thought I read through 400 pages and nothing much happened. The parallel lines of Phryne and Panterra accepting responsibility for the magic of their respective races was interesting. And the look into troll society was also neat. Still… It read a bit more like a dramatized history than a novel. ( )