Preview

The First King of Shannara

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1328 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The First King of Shannara
Book Review

Writing for more then 28 years, author Terry Brooks has captured fantasy genre readers through his captivating series'. Most notably, The Sword of Shannara, lasted as a New York Times Best Seller for more then five months, and from there he has wrote sixteen others as well. Now he takes the reader even farther back, to the prequel of the classic Shannara series, First King of Shannara. This tale brings you a story of adventure, magic and myth that shows the secret evil that is slowly building throughout the land, and it's up to four people of diverse races to stop it. Two main characters in First King of Shannara, Bremen and Mareth, find themselves on a perilous journey in the imagination of Terry Brooks, which proves to us the inevitable and ever-living powerful importance of friendship and how sacred it can be when everything else seems to go all wrong.
The author of the First King of Shannara, Terry Brooks, wrote the series of Shannara because of the faith and encouragement of his friends and family. He acknowledged his parents because they always "believed' and that translates that they always encouraged him to be what he wanted, or do what he wanted to do. I think this allowed Terry Brookes to open up his imagination to new things, to allow it to piece together what he wanted to write about. Various types of situations the characters get themselves into reflect on different genres of writings. From tragedy all the way to mystery, he explains between-the-lines his interest in different types of genres, that is what makes this fantasy tale a great one.
Bremen, out of all the main characters in the story, glues it all together being the leader-like figure of the story. His old age provides a definite father for the younger characters in the story; and his wisdom is not comparable to anybody else. As the book begins, Terry Brooks comes right out and tells that he is an outcast of the Druid Council (A group of knowledgeable people of different

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    King Haralds Saga

    • 535 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To be a leader or a king during the time period that King Harold was around was much different then being a king nowadays. To be a king or a leader back in King Haralds time period was all about having power and control, some also has to do with reputation and sometimes even ancestry. In the medieval periods being a king was all about your army, strategy plan and pure gruesomeness. King Harald earned such high power by first taking over many of the cities around him. With his Varangian army and his scheming army tactics he took over nearby villages and struck fear in the eyes of his opponents. After King Haralds conquest of the three villages Sicily the King and his army had a know reputation of power. After theses conquering’s the King was also very wealthy and full of riches, wherever he went he found treasures and gold which all added up to almost an endless supply of wealth. Having power and wealth back in King Haralds time was basically all you needed to be a powerful King and ruler.…

    • 535 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Above all, I realized that Laxdaela Saga was much more in-depth in terms of the plot and a more complicated read as well. The writer was certainly aiming for readers to understand the lineage of the main characters to signify the characters’ social rank and importance within the plot. For example, when introducing a new character, the writer would go on by saying, “son/daughter of…, who was the son/daughter of…” Although incredibly confusing at times, this was a way to tell an approximate timeframe.…

    • 198 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a world where the approaching winter will last for 40 years, kings, queens, knights and vagabonds struggle for control of the Iron Throne. Some fight with sword and axe, some with magic and poison. To the north, however, beyond the Wall, the Others are preparing their army of the dead to march southward as the warmth of summer is drained from the land. This book stands out by way of its superbly developed characters and adroit prose. Chivalry is a concept integral to the society of the Seven Kingdoms, with tourneys and knights in shining armor galore. These trappings, however, merely give cover to dangerous men and women who will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals. When Lord Neddard Stark of Winterfell, an honest man and perhaps the only good-hearted creature in the noble caucus, comes south to act as the King’s chief…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the reasons I love this book is because it is well written. The plot involves Viking Gods and many viking mythical creatures. The plot starts out with Magnus Chase as a homeless teenager, living on the streets of Boston with his two homeless friends, Blitz and Hearth. He stumbles upon his uncle that he hates, but his uncle is trying to help him find the Sword of Summer. Magnus doesn’t know what the Sword of Summer is or where it could be. He soon figures out when he raises it out of the river. Even with the help of his friends and having the sword, the fire giant, Surt, kills him. He is taken to the land of the dead warriors, Valhalla. He was brought there by the Valkyrie, Samirah…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 13th Warrior Summary

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In 922 AD, an Arab poet named Ahmed is exiled and sent to the north as an emissary as punishment for his interest in another man’s woman. During the journey, they encounter another group of people quite different from themselves—the Vikings. Shortly after, the Vikings embark on a journey to defeat a group known as the Eaters of the Dead and, according to the Viking oracle, the 13th warrior needed for the journey must not be a Northman. As a result, Ahmed ends up going on the journey with the Viking warriors. Although they make fun of him and doubt he can contribute to the group, the Vikings grow to respect Ahmed and appreciate his help. Together Ahmed and the team of Vikings travel to fight the Eaters of the Dead and stop their attacks on Viking villages. The Vikings are confident in their ability to defeat these killers, but they are surprised by the skillfulness of their opponents. With the help of Ahmed and more advice from a wise woman, the Vikings overcome their opponents and save their villages from further attacks.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two valiant heroes each looked up to by their cultures with strength beyond measure and tremendous power. The two predominant characters in this essay are thesues; a great hero to Athens and Beowulf; the renowned hero who fights the troll like monster Grendel. His mother Aethra raised Theseus. Indoctrinated that his father was the eminent Poseidon the god of the sea. When Theseus turned the age of 16 his mother explained to Theseus he was the child of Aegeus the king of Athens. Aethra instructed Theseus to lift a large rock over his head, after which Thesues came upon a sword which starts him on his adventure to find his father and return the sword. Beowulf was a prince of the Geats who went on an endeavor to Hogarth to slay the monstrous creature Grendel that prowled about the great hall of heorot after nightfall. Beowulf appears to be a strong brave character who does not change throughout the story and remains a robust leader from the beginning to the end. Thesues enters the story as an innocent young boy who quickly becomes a narcisstic, pitiless leader. Both Thesues and Beowulf are similar in the sense they are both brave, although both have many contrasts, Beowulf had knowledge of his noble birth, Theseus did not. Throughout this essay the understanding that both these two known heroes have many similarity’s as well differences.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Jesse L. Byock compiles many versions of this famous Norse epic and creates a very important scholarly work. Of special importance is the introduction, which provides a central working background to base readings upon. There are several themes echoed throughout the translation that reflect accurately on this portion of history. Byock does a superb job of illustrating these important aspects in his work. While the tale Byock tells is a fairy-tale handed down by generations of families, within the reader can find tell-tale signs of important aspects of Norse culture. For instance, important aspects of family life and the role of men and women surface. Likewise, the importance of wealth and material possessions on the power and prestige of a king is also evident.…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Competition between rivals causes a battle over the mead halls. Jealousy leads to rage between protagonists. These leaders include Unferth, Beowulf and Grendel. In the stories Beowulf and Grendel, there are fierce encounters between enemies who attempt to defend their boasts and seek revenge, leaving no true hero.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He is the sheer epitome of perfection in every way. From the creatures he has defeated to the honor he has rightfully obtained, no man or beast on earth could possibly stand in the way of the mighty Beowulf. This reigns true throughout the whole poem. At no time does his conscience sway or spirit falter. Until the moment he dies saving the kingdom he so graciously ruled for years on end, he maintains this being of nobility, making this formidable character’s journey through life something we still discuss today. One of the only things people of that time had to bring them together were stories. These rightfully named epics were told across the land so they had to be something memorable. In such a time of despondency these people needed something to hold onto and believe would get them through, and that was Beowulf. Their simplistic thinking of right and wrong made it easy to write a story about someone who is so truly right. Although Beowulf might have been a real man, the feats he achieved were most likely nowhere near as daring. However, it is this daring being that was necessary for that…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Values in Beowulf

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The historical document of Beowulf, which also shows the importance of literature, reveals the important cultural values of the warrior society. The epic poem, set in Sweden during the 6th Century, tells the story of a warrior named Beowulf. Scops, or storytellers, keepers of an oral tradition, told stories of heroes and culture from their times. They performed and told the tale of a great thane, finally writing it down sometime around the 8th Century; the only surviving epic poem from this time. As a great piece of literature, this poem follows the life of Beowulf from that of a young and loyal thane who becomes a great respected king and dies proudly, as a warrior. The warrior culture at this time reflects the values of the society of the 6th century. The thanes showed their loyalty to their leader by fighting for him, even to the death. The leader would then give the thanes something in return like treasure or property for their deeds or achievements. This helped to improve their reputations. In regard to these important cultural values of that time, three of these values recur throughout this legendary poem: loyalty, reputation, and generosity.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Shanti Empire

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Through out the course of this school year, we have learned and examined multiple civilizations. For this project, we had to create our own ultimate civilization-gathering achievements from other civilizations and piecing them together to from the perfect Utopia.…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf Agon Essay

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Seamus Heaney’s translation of the epic poem, Beowulf, the reader is thrust into the Scandinavian culture of seventh century A.D. Through the old English poem, historical evidence is gathered about the Scandinavian culture, which is relatively unknown to scholars due to lack of literature within the Anglo-Saxon culture from this era. Beowulf is unique because it is one of so few puzzle pieces to this time period, which makes it a very important piece of work among historians worldwide. When broken down into its three parts, Beowulf reveals issues within the culture of the Danish peoples, which are solved by the protagonist, Beowulf. Beowulf, in essence, serves as the “balance,” who has the ability to eliminate impediments in a culture’s growth. The cultural observances made especially in the second division, or agon, of Beowulf prove to be extremely problematic among the Danes, presenting an endless cycle of revenge and murder that cannot cease.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf and Grettir’s Saga have a similar theme of heroism. The heroes arrive to the distressed, kills the hazardous, saves the world and everybody is happy, as they are safe. Beowulf and Grettir also share similar situations, enemies, and long tiresome battles, and even similar characteristics and fates. However, their ‘hero’ qualities are drastically different. Beowulf is a shiny golden hero, while Grettir becomes more and more tainted with shades of gray, limiting him to an in between position, neither a hero or a villain; regardless of all of his accomplishments worthy of respect, his passion gets the best of him. Grettir is outlawed while Beowulf becomes the leader of his people.…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf is an ancient tale about the heroism and adventures of a young warrior Geat. Far off in the kingdom of the Danes, a terrible monster named Grendel attacks and kills several innocents. Beowulf hears about this and, being the hero he is, decides that he is going to kill the beast. This launches him into an epic quest, presenting several challenges and tests of character. Throughout these challenges, Beowulf displays many heroic qualities.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf’s epic is not only a powerful story of a great hero’s triumph over many an enemy, but it is also an insight into the human mind and of its wills and desires. The story shows great aspects of human prowess that everyone wants to acquire, such as fame among society, pride in oneself, and the power to overcome any obstacle. All of these different aspects of human nature are thoroughly shown throughout the story, both in Beowulf’s actions and his mentality.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics