A review by grogu_djarin
The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Overall Thoughts:
In theory I should have liked this better than The Sword of Shannara since it's at least an original story and not a loose retreading of Lord of the Rings, but unfortunately I found this a weaker story which may be due to how well Lord of the Rings stands on its own. This book drags a lot. It shifts between two main perspectives, Wil/Amberle and Allanon/Eventine/Ander, but it will spend chapters in a row on one perspective moving far ahead in the plot then jump backwards to tell the other perspective making a choppy experience. I think it would have been much better if it alternated perspectives each chapter, because as it is it leads to long stretches without much variety and poor pacing.

I also found most of the characters unlikable. Wil is painfully stubborn and while I should give it credit for having two main female characters (where The Sword of Shannara only had one woman in the entire book), Amberle and Eritria unfortunately fall into the damsel in distress and scorned lover tropes for most of the book. Eventine probably ended up being the most interesting of the characters for me, but that might also be due to seeing his growth from The Sword of Shannara. 

Likes:
  • This significantly expands the backstory and lore on the elves which is great because they felt like a generic fantasy race in The Sword of Shannara. You learn quite a lot of them by the end.
  • Everything about the Ellcrys was very creative.
  • It brings the series in a new direction so it feels a lot less like a Lord of the Rings clone.
  • There are much fewer exposition dumps than The Sword of Shannara. There's still a few, but it's more palatable.
  • This is a much darker book than The Sword of Shannara in my opinion. Where I complained about how in the prior book everyone seemed to get out of bad situations by the power of plot/luck, this book has a lot go wrong and you feel the consequences of it. 
  • The demons felt like a menacing force throughout the book. 

Dislikes:
  • The pacing in the book isn't great. The ingredients are all there, but rather than have a more dynamic plot it goes long stretches in one storyline then backtracks to tell the other one (also in long stretches). 
  • Most of the characters are one dimensional. It's especially unfortunate in how trope-ish Amberle and Eritria are.
  • The battle scenes drag on and on. Where I thought the Battle of Tyrsis was one of the best parts of the last book, this has multiple battles that go on for chapter after chapter and it starts to overstay its welcome. 

Other Notes:
  • Where I felt The Sword of Shannara had a strange identity due to having a post-apocalyptic setting yet mostly reading like a high fantasy, this book makes that identity even more contrasted. There's more attention paid to the pre-apocalyptic world, but not to the world of science and technology that caused the apocalypse, but rather more to the world of pre-apocalyptic magic (fairies, demons, witches, etc). 
  • The book does a great job retelling the main story points of The Sword of Shannara throughout it so it's not at all necessary to read the other book first. 

Would Recommend To:
  • This would be a good book for a kid or teen to read as entry into fantasy and it's not necessary to read The Sword of Shannara before this, but if you liked the earlier book then this is more of that world.

Do Not Recommend To:
  • Someone who doesn't like fantasy or someone who dislikes poorly written women.