Contrary to almost all other well-known fantasy series, the Shannara trilogy is set in the distant future. However, all other classic elements of fantasy stories are present: strange lands and races, magic and a fight between good and evil.
Author Terry Brooks has written many Shannara series after the original trilogy, many of them best sellers, making him one of the most successful fantasy authors.
Story & Setting
After the destruction of the world as we know it, several races (men, elves, dwarves and trolls) fight each other for world domination. A group of elves, known as the Druids try to prevent war and defeat evil, as do the members of the Shannara family, who are from mixed heritage of elf and man.
Magic plays an important part but throughout the series technology is also being used.
Conclusion
With a storyline and races comparable to those of The Lord of the Rings, some say this series is a simplified copy of LoTR. To me, that statement is cutting corners a bit. However, I also feel that the series is a nice and easy read but not much more than that. Then again, Shannara has a lot of fans and has been an introduction to fantasy for many so I felt I had to include it in the list of best fantasy series.
There have been plans to make a movie based on the Shannara novels (Warner Bros had to rights to do so until 2010) but so far this has not happened.
Tags: Fantasy Series, Shannara
August 13th, 2011 at 08:01
I’ve always liked the Shannara series. They’ll never be my favorite books, but they’re always interesting.