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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780345285546
ISBN number: 0345285549
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 576
Printing Date: December 12, 1983
Publishing house: Del Rey
Release Date: December 12, 1983
Sale Popularity Level: 19956
Studio: Del Rey
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Product Description:
Ancient Evil threatens the Elves: The ancient tree created by long-lost Elven magic, is dying. When Wil Ohmsford is summoned to guard the Amberle on a perilous quest to gather a new seed for a new tree, he is faced with the Reaper, the most fearsome of all Demons. And Wil is without power to control them....
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Rated by buyers 
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I read Elftones over 25 years ago at the age of eleven. I can honestly say that this is the book that made reading and writing a major part of my life. I even remember walking into the local newstand with my mom and seeing the original cover. Something about Wil holding those elfstones intrigued me and I begged my mom for subsequent week's allowance. For an eleven year old, it was a tough read:) But I have since then developed my reading skills thanks to Terry. I've even recently re-read the entire Shannara/Word&Void series.
I have read other fantasy books, but none has compared for me personally to Brooks' writing style and story line. Elfstones, as with all the Shannara books, keeps you excited, thrilled and on the edge of your seat. If you are a fan of other writers such as Tolkien and haven't read any Brooks, you are really missing out.
Although Elfstones actually plays out as an individual storyline by itself, you might want to jump back and start either with Sword or First King of Shannara to get a little feel for the history.
Love all of Brooks' books and cannot wait for the release of Gypsy Morph.
Rated by buyers 
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The Elfstones of Shannara is Terry Brooks' second major novel, and his very first major step at becoming a talented author. In this novel, Brooks blends his ability to develop emotionally conflicting situations, while keeping the reader in the dark, and his ability to develop insignificant characters into heroes over the course of a quest. This to me is his strength, and this particular novel puts this talent on center stage, mesmerizing the reader with his potency. It is a stunning read.
The Holistic aspect of this novel, which makes it a bit different than the Sword of Shannara, is the fact that the Elfstones draw their strength from the body, mind and spirit of the user, and the protagonist must find his own strength to power them. This continues Brooks' tradition of characters who develop through a greater understanding of who they are, as a person.
The rights to this particular novel have been bought by a major studio (which they passed on the Sword of Shannara) and it is easy to see why when you read this book. This book contains a number of "scenes" that could very easily be visualized in movie form. The action is dramatic, and would be a wonderful challenge for the CGI guys. Sometimes the novel switches gears from 3rd gear to very first and staying there a while, offering a bit too much emotional depth for some, but the overall pacing seems to glide along quite smoothly. People who have a tendency to skim the touchy feely stuff can easily get by these parts.
Overall the basic story was quite good in terms of scope, character involvement, and development but with some rather pointed plot weaknesses, or flaws.
1. The death of the Ellcrys was prolonged enough to allow demon hordes to completely penetrate the world, nearly destroy the Elves, and allow the main quest to be completed, rather than just dying on the spot.
2. The Ellcrys was so unaware of her pending death, (or perhaps so incompetant in her task so as to scare away Amberle and not tell anyone else anything) that she was not able to give sufficient advanced warning to have the seed germinated BEFORE any damage occured to the Forbidding.
3. The demon hordes chose to band together to form an army and endeavor a direct frontal assault, instead of their natural chaotic individualism, where the could wreak havoc individually in all parts of the world, unhindered, and destroyed everyone bit by bit. I mention this because I realized that the demons had a better sucess rate BEFORE the army arrived, when they hid in the woods and slaughtered as they pleased. Sure the demons HATED the Elves, and sure they had a leader in the Dagda Mor, but was he really a strong enough character to motivate and unite all the demons into a direct frontal assault? Surely there were others in the whole Forbidding with leadership qualities that would want to do their own thing?
4. Why is a single main antagonist even necessary, why not just have the threat the demon horde with no real leader, or multiple small groups? I mean, the Dagda Mor is such a weak character, his dialogue is limited to the very first few chapters. You never see him verbally leading all the demons, you never really understand the signficance of his staff other than the fact that he seems to have no power of his own to attack with besides the staff. What power does he have other than his scary appearance?
5. The Forbidding was broken BEFORE the Ellcrys died, and there was a great time span AFTER this event in which the Forbidding could be reformed with no additional magic which was required the very first time the Ellcrys was formed, but was no longer available.
6. The chief antagonist (the Dagda Mor) rode a giant bat so as to better mirror Allanon riding a Roc. Giant bats never being heard of before or after this event, thank goodness. How do giant bats survive? Giant fruits, or giant insects? Oh, and perhaps this gives us an excuse as to why the Dagda Mor is absent for the majority of the book. Brooks' fails to include Mr. Mor's quest for an evil flying mount with which to sufficiently contrast our hero Allanon (can't come to an epic battle without both sides sufficiently equipped for a one on one equally matched showdown)...and the best he could come up with is a children's Halloween decoration come to life.
7. The Harpies must have gone off to roost, because we just didn't hear that much from the bad guys early arial advantage.
8. While there were upteen jillion different kinds of "demons" they don't use them differntly, (no scouts, no rock chuckers, etc.) they just come in some huge struggling mass. The tactics they used to fight could apply to any infantry army, not specific techniques for fighting specific types of demons, like how they took down the "big" demons, or how they dealt with different types.
9. The Ellcrys should have exploded ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
Elfstones is where I feel you can really start to sink your teeth into Brooks. Sword of Shannara was an experiment and homage to Tolkien, so the story often lacks, especially in originality.
Not so with Elfstones. This story starts with Wil Ohmsford, the grandson of Shea, who is studying to be a Healer. In what will turn out to be a running theme, Allanon shows up unannounced and whisks Wil and the Elfstones in his power, away on an adventure to accompany a young elf girl, Amberle, on a quest to save the Four Races from an ancient evil.
The book has everything a high-fantasy should have: fast-paced action, lots of traveling and battles, terrifying evil, humorous quirky characters, lots of history, etc. The story is believable and gripping and you genuinely care about the main characters. There are two romances in the novel (won't spoil), one which I found incredibly well-done and the other kind of shoddy. Sometimes I felt the battle scenes went on way too long, but I'm also a chick so maybe they just don't appeal to me the way they would the usual male fantasy-genre audience.
Brooks brings everything to this book that you could want in a high-fantasy novel, and I'd recommend it to any fan of the genre.
Rated by buyers -
The Elfstones of Shannara is the greatest book ever. If you are into this kind of thing, you will be turning pages faster than you thought possible. A friend told me this was an amazing book, and most books dont live up to the hype. But this one went right over the top! You NEED to read this!
Rated by buyers -
One of the best books I've ever read this book stands the test of time and is just as good now as it was when I was a teenager. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll keep this short. As part of the very first Shannara trilogy it continues the tales of the heirs of the house of Shannara, the second generation, but is just as good as a stand alone novel. It was actually the very first of this series I read and had no trouble jumping right in. I recommend this to any fan of fantasy, action, or just a good good story.
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