The simple fact of the matter is Tolkien was not the original master that everyone claims: he simply reinvented the genre. But it is a layman's comment and one that, in Shannara's case, is definitely not on the mark. Whether this is because there is a wizard, a quest, or a variety of races, I'm not sure. However, sadly, Brooks' work has oftentimes been unfairly called a pale imitation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Written across a span of 8 years crossing the end of the 70's and early 80's, Terry Brooks first leap into the realm of Shannara was impressive, to say the least. And while I can't speak for every book that has received this “critique,” I can speak for Terry Brooks' Shannara Trilogy. One of the more frustrating assertions to come from the so called “literary critics” are claims that “so and so author” is copying “so and so.” They use this derogatory critique as a way to deprive the author of any originality in their storytelling.
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