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  • The Sword of Shannara

  • The Shannara Series, Book 1
  • Written by: Terry Brooks
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 26 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (198 ratings)

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The Sword of Shannara cover art

The Sword of Shannara

Written by: Terry Brooks
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's Summary

The Sword of Shannara is the first volume of the classic series that has become one of the most popular fantasy tales of all time.

Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil ruined the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. But the supposedly dead Warlock Lord is plotting to destroy everything in his wake. 

The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness is the Sword of Shannara, which can be used only by a true heir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline, rests the hope of all the races. 

Thus begins the enthralling Shannara epic, a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth....

©1977 Terry Brooks (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

What listeners say about The Sword of Shannara

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A trip down memory lane

to a book read 30+ years ago. I really had a great time listening to this great story with great narration! Loved it!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book

Great contrast between character voices, great story. brought me back to my teenage years. Will get othrs from series

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Joe
  • 2019-05-11

Underwhelming

First time purchase for Terry Brooks. I was expecting a lot more. It's like a bad rehash of the Lord of the Rings. Events and even some characters are almost carbon copies. No orcs though. Instead they're terrorized by evil gnomes. An army that would be over matched by humans in everything from marching and maneuvering to reach and striking power. So they outsmart the gnomes, everyone sort of stumbles into the right place at the last minute and destiny takes over. The only reason why I haven't refunded this book, is how many times I laughed at the name Al Anon. Oh I mean "Allanon". I kept waiting for him to comfort and lend emotional support to somebody in the party with an alcoholic uncle.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This book

This book was amazing! It was very well written and very well performed, and kept me in suspense for the majority of it. Again, absolutely loved it!!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Lord of the Rings, but not nearly as good

Apparently, Terry Brooks' novels get much better than this one. I'm not sure if I'll venture further into this library because this novel is very long-winded, cliche in character type and structure, and uses words such as "impregnable" a nauseating amount.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love These Books

Terry Brooks is a master of creating a world for us to enjoy! This is the first in a very long series of books! This is a great start to the series and I highly recommend it!
#Audible1

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It’s good fantasy

Take the elements of Lord of the Rings and jumble them together and you get this book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a fun story but I enjoyed it more 20 years ago when I first read it as a teen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

simple but fun, great narrator

this book was a lot better when I read it when I was 12, 25 years ago. fun listen, good nostalgia, great narrator!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great way to introduce readers to the world.

I have read a large number of Terry Brooks books. Re-listening to the book after years was wonderful. Great introduction to the huge world of Shannara.
#Audible1

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lord of the Sword????

there were an awful lot of similarities between this story and the Lord Of The Rings.
not sure if it was coinsedent or lack of creative thinking on the authors part.
I may in the future try one more to see if there is any improvement with time.

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