The Shannara Chronicles

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by TheGrifter, Jul 10, 2015.

  1. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    Not really sure where to put this, but I thought the Book Forum might be best, since it is probably going to appeal to those of us who read the books more than the general TV viewing audience. Honestly, it looks pretty good. I enjoy the Shannara books. Definitely not epic fantasy, but they are fun, easy, enjoyable reads. A little worried about MTV holding the reigns though, to be honest. I'm all in with Manu Bennett as Allanon, though.



    Also, I had no idea Terry Brooks is that old. I guess I don't check the author profile on the back flap very often.
     
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  2. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    I bought a used copy of The Sword of Shannara today on a whim. It was only $3. I have quite a few books ahead of this on the list, but the series seems to be well received. What should I expect?

    I had no idea they were making it into a TV series. Looks solid.
     
    #2 Gonff, Aug 23, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2015
  3. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    It's pretty traditional sword and sorcery. The first book introduces you to the families that play a role throughout almost all the books. Each series of books usually take place generations apart from one another in the world. Brooks actually goes Stephen King and connects the Shannara books to another series of his. They're a fun read. Certainly not nearly as dense as some epic fantasy like GoT.

    If I were to compare it to any other series, it would definitely be Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Cycle. Not as good as Riftwar, though. I loved those books.
     
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  4. brrrrStickem

    brrrrStickem "Well Toby, still want to be bionic?"
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    Hmm, doesn't seem like your traditional MTV show and looks like an interesting watch. Is the book series teen fantasy?
     
  5. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    I started reading them when I was a teen, but they're definitely not geared toward young adults.

    Like I said, it's not epic fantasy, but they are a fun and easy read. His main characters can be a little one dimensional at times, but he's fantastic with world building and writing interesting secondary characters.
     
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  6. brrrrStickem

    brrrrStickem "Well Toby, still want to be bionic?"
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    Sounds good TheGrifter . Just wasn't sure why a show like this would be on MTV. Might check out the books now.
     
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  7. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    Have you read Feist's Riftwar Series? If not, I'd strongly suggest reading that first. They're of a similar vein, but Feist's work is a definite step up in regards to quality, IMO.

    Feist writes incredible characters all around, and his world building is even better than Brooks. They both use the same technique of having a trilogy of books take place during one time period, and the next trilogy happening 20 or 30 years later. Feist also makes an effort to include his characters at different points in their lives during different trilogies than Brooks. Only a few characters carry from trilogy to trilogy in Shannara.
     
  8. brrrrStickem

    brrrrStickem "Well Toby, still want to be bionic?"
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    Thank you for the info. Just picked up the first 3 books for 15 on Amazon for the Riftwar Series. Looking forward to the read now.
     
  9. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
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    Anybody read these. I don't expect MTV to do any justice to a non-reality series, So I'm not getting my hopes up. They're basing it on the 2nd book in the series, Jon Favreau directs and written by the Smallville writers.
     
  10. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    I'm reading The Sword of Shannara right now. It's all right, but it's incredibly similar to Tolkien in plot. I haven't gotten to book two yet, but only a few characters carry over and it has a different story so I can see why they chose to start there.
     
  11. Doug Fisher

    Doug Fisher i was gettin changed
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    I read all of the Shannara books back in High School, the timeline in that series is what I like the most about it. It's been a while so I can't remember it that well. From the first book to the last book hundreds of years pass and all the characters change but the main people are all from the same blood line.

    I really liked the rift war series but I wouldn't say that they have much in common plot wise, other than they both span over a long period of time. Thomas and Pug are fucking awesome characters, definitely in my top ten favorite fantasy characters. Good call on reading those first for sure.
     
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  12. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    Yeah, I agree Shannara and Riftwar aren't very similar really plot-wise. I only suggested it first because, if someone is looking for a fantasy series with a ton of books that move through a long time period and life cycles of characters, then the Riftwar is superior, IMO.
     
  13. Doug Fisher

    Doug Fisher i was gettin changed
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    I guess that is we're I'm confused. The Rift War series is three books, the shannara series has around 30.
     
  14. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    I meant all the books set in Feist's Rift War world. All the books together are usually referred to as the Rift War Cycle. The trilogy you are referring to is just the very beginning. If you've only read the original trilogy, then head to Amazon. You're in for a treat. The Serpent War Saga is the next 'big' series involving all the main characters.
     
  15. Doug Fisher

    Doug Fisher i was gettin changed
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    Oh ok, will do. I didn't realize there was more.
     
  16. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    Watched the first episode and thought it was pretty mediocre. Haven't read Elfstones yet but I thought it was obvious that MTV was involved. Some pretty rough acting and dialogue.
     
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  17. TheGrifter

    TheGrifter It's a trick. Get an axe.
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    It was terrible. Made even worse by the fact an adaptation could be great on the correct network. I'm not watching another second of this debacle.
     
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  18. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    Watched the new episode. Better, but still not that good
     
  19. Cardeja12

    Cardeja12 Well-Known Member
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    Poppy drayton is the only reason I have checked it out
     
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  20. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    Saw this yesterday: the actress playing Eretria was Ofelia in Pan's Labryinth.

    /crazy

    Haven't watched any of the episodes since #3 though.
     
    #21 Gonff, Jan 27, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2016
  21. skiedfrillet

    skiedfrillet It's not a lie if you believe it.
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    i spite watched this entire series over the course of like 5 days

    wil's character was decent in S1, in S2 i wanted to kill him

    eretria got like 18x hotter in S2

    show sucked
     
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