Shannara coming to television - Page 3

murg · 07-13-2015, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phogg

Well, they could film Terry Brooks' material with a musical score.
Then it would fit MTV better.

Make it a doo-wop theme.

Sha Na Narra, Sha Na Na Na Narra....

Maybe they can entice Sha Na Na out of retirement...

DiapDealer · 07-13-2015, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murg

Maybe they can entice Sha Na Na out of retirement...

Bowser was the bomb.

rcentros · 07-13-2015, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GERGE

I never really liked Shannara books. Maybe a refined TV Show might be better. Let's hope so.

I didn't either. The constant whining got old.

rcentros · 07-13-2015, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

New Zealand is fast becoming a Epic-Fantasy film center

Those mountains just seemed made for fantasy movies.

rcentros · 07-13-2015, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Blatant rip-off is somewhat extreme. Did he use certain plot conventions from LOTR? Sure, so have most of the high fantasy books since the 70's. It became a whole sub-genre for a while. The word Tolkienesque entered the vocabulary for a reason.

Was it this book that had "North Land," "South Land," "East Land" and "West Land?" Or am I remembering another series?

The reason fantasy works are derived from Tolkien is because Tolkein created a nearly solid world. Real languages, real geography, the moon in the right place in the sky for different locations. I know of no other fantasy book that has that kind of detail and depth.

Calenorn · 07-13-2015, 09:22 AM

In fairness to Brooks, his writing did improve greatly over time.

My favorite is "The Elf Queen of Shannara." In this one the elves try to escape the land's troubles by fleeing to a tropical paradise, only to discover that there is no evading destiny. Now a small band has to run through a jungle horror gauntlet in order to save the day. Great stuff! VERY different in flavor and depth from "The Sword of Shannara."

This story is fairly self-contained, that is, it can be read separately from the (EXTREMELY) larger narrative sequence of novels. Give it a try!

haydnfan · 07-13-2015, 10:21 AM

I've tried Sword of Shannara twice. But the prose is just awful and I could never get very far. But I know that it's not fair to judge an author by their first effort. Since some of you are obviously Brooks fans, what is a novel that is well written and doesn't require you to have read anything before it? What would you recommend that would fit that description?

HarryT · 07-13-2015, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I've tried Sword of Shannara twice. But the prose is just awful and I could never get very far. But I know that it's not fair to judge an author by their first effort. Since some of you are obviously Brooks fans, what is a novel that is well written and doesn't require you to have read anything before it? What would you recommend that would fit that description?

Try "Elfstones". It's a much better book.

leebase · 07-13-2015, 11:37 AM

I remember reading and liking the Shanara books in HS, but that's all I remember. I couldn't tell you anything about them. Never picked up on the ripoff of Tolkein. I think it's worth pointing out. There is no excuse if you PUBLISH your "I was just learning by aping character by character/plot point by plot point" book. That he went on to be an original writer...good for him.

Completely independently - the trailer looks fantastic and I plan to watch the series. And reread the books.

Dulin's Books · 07-13-2015, 01:55 PM

I quite like the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series. Also the recent books "Genesis of Shannara" which bridge the "Word and Void" books to Shannara. If you want something besides Shannara, the Magic Kingdom for Sale books are fun.

conan50 · 07-13-2015, 02:02 PM

It was painful to read that quote by Lin Carter. I like the guy but he ripped off Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs as much or more than Brooks ever ripped off Tolkien.
I like the Shannara books, mostly. I think they 'feel' different than LOTR, darker, somewhat repetitive, but an interesting world to lose yourself in for awhile.
MTV doing it kinda scares me. Not known for either quality or good decision-making over the years. They started out great in the 80s with music videos, today most people are probably surprised they are still around. Nevertheless, I hope they hit it out of the park with this and it's a great success.

Purple Lady · 07-13-2015, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

I quite like the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series. Also the recent books "Genesis of Shannara" which bridge the "Word and Void" books to Shannara. If you want something besides Shannara, the Magic Kingdom for Sale books are fun.

The "Word and Void" and "Genesis of Shannara" series were excellent! I had read the Sword of Shannara years ago and it was such a rip off that I almost skipped these even though they looked interesting. I only started "Word and Void" because there wasn't any Shannara in it.

pwalker8 · 07-13-2015, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murg

Maybe you should have read Katsunami's post...

missed the still living. my bad. (though, it depends on how you define fantasy. King and Rice are still alive and have sold more).

whitearrow · 07-13-2015, 05:57 PM

I remember reading Sword of Shannara and just laughing at how similar it was to LotR in nearly every meaningful way. And not especially well-written, either.

If I want to read an author that reminds me of LotR but doesn't copy it, I'll read Guy Gavriel Kay. If I want to read an interesting perspective on LotR, I'll read Jacqueline Carey's Sundering duology which is basically LotR from the bad guys' POV.

danskmacabre · 07-13-2015, 06:56 PM

I remember reading "The Sword of Shannara" many years ago in my teens.
I had already read Lord of the rings before that and yes, it was pretty obvious to me at the time it was a rip off of LotR.

Still, I enjoyed reading it and read several of the other Shannara books as they were released over the years.
I really liked the "way in the future after our modern society had fallen" feel to it.

07-13-2015, 01:55 PM	#40
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,806 Karma: 13500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	I quite like the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series. Also the recent books "Genesis of Shannara" which bridge the "Word and Void" books to Shannara. If you want something besides Shannara, the Magic Kingdom for Sale books are fun. Last edited by Dulin's Books; 07-13-2015 at 02:02 PM.

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07-13-2015, 09:22 AM	#36
Calenorn Brash Fumbler Posts: 1,171 Karma: 8710811 Join Date: May 2013 Device: NST, Kobo Mini	In fairness to Brooks, his writing did improve greatly over time. My favorite is "The Elf Queen of Shannara." In this one the elves try to escape the land's troubles by fleeing to a tropical paradise, only to discover that there is no evading destiny. Now a small band has to run through a jungle horror gauntlet in order to save the day. Great stuff! VERY different in flavor and depth from "The Sword of Shannara." This story is fairly self-contained, that is, it can be read separately from the (EXTREMELY) larger narrative sequence of novels. Give it a try!

07-13-2015, 10:21 AM	#37
haydnfan Guru Posts: 649 Karma: 5632362 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle PW 4, Oasis 2	I've tried Sword of Shannara twice. But the prose is just awful and I could never get very far. But I know that it's not fair to judge an author by their first effort. Since some of you are obviously Brooks fans, what is a novel that is well written and doesn't require you to have read anything before it? What would you recommend that would fit that description?

07-13-2015, 11:37 AM	#39
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,940 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	I remember reading and liking the Shanara books in HS, but that's all I remember. I couldn't tell you anything about them. Never picked up on the ripoff of Tolkein. I think it's worth pointing out. There is no excuse if you PUBLISH your "I was just learning by aping character by character/plot point by plot point" book. That he went on to be an original writer...good for him. Completely independently - the trailer looks fantastic and I plan to watch the series. And reread the books.

07-13-2015, 02:02 PM	#41
conan50 Fanatic Posts: 592 Karma: 14054112 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: kindle	It was painful to read that quote by Lin Carter. I like the guy but he ripped off Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs as much or more than Brooks ever ripped off Tolkien. I like the Shannara books, mostly. I think they 'feel' different than LOTR, darker, somewhat repetitive, but an interesting world to lose yourself in for awhile. MTV doing it kinda scares me. Not known for either quality or good decision-making over the years. They started out great in the 80s with music videos, today most people are probably surprised they are still around. Nevertheless, I hope they hit it out of the park with this and it's a great success.

07-13-2015, 05:57 PM	#44
whitearrow Guru Posts: 808 Karma: 2260766 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Kindle Oasis 2	I remember reading Sword of Shannara and just laughing at how similar it was to LotR in nearly every meaningful way. And not especially well-written, either. If I want to read an author that reminds me of LotR but doesn't copy it, I'll read Guy Gavriel Kay. If I want to read an interesting perspective on LotR, I'll read Jacqueline Carey's Sundering duology which is basically LotR from the bad guys' POV.

07-13-2015, 06:56 PM	#45
danskmacabre Guru Posts: 733 Karma: 3593438 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Glo. Galaxy Tab S 8.4	I remember reading "The Sword of Shannara" many years ago in my teens. I had already read Lord of the rings before that and yes, it was pretty obvious to me at the time it was a rip off of LotR. Still, I enjoyed reading it and read several of the other Shannara books as they were released over the years. I really liked the "way in the future after our modern society had fallen" feel to it.

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