This book that I have read is called The Sword of Shannara. The main character in this book is a man named Shea Ohmsford, who speaks with a mysterious man his step-brother introduced to him named Allanon. Allanon tells Shea that an evil creature called the Warlock Lord was revived after its defeat in a war that ended long ago, it was invincible, and was only vulnerable to a legendary weapon called the Sword of Shannara which was wielded by the hero who defeated the Warlock Lord, Jerle Shannara. However, Jerle had passed away long ago, and the Sword of Shannara only allowed his descendants to wield it, and Allanon finally told Shea he was the last descendant of Jerle Shannara, and the only one who was able to wield the Sword of Shannara.

After speaking with Shea, Allanon mysteriously disappears the following night, so Shea, and his step-brother Flick, decide to go on a quest to find the sword and defeat the Warlock Lord. After many hardships, the two gain aid from other adventurers, including Allanon, and manage to find the Sword of Shannara. Once they found the sword, they took it to the Skull Kingdom, the castle in which the Warlock Lord resided. At the Skull Kingdom, Shea wields the Sword of Shannara, and manages to defeat the Warlock Lord. After the death of the Warlock Lord, Shea and his companions return back to their homes, and reunite with their families. Before Shea returns home, he places the Sword of Shannara, blade facing downward, in a block of stone, and leaves it in a city whose army occupied the Warlock Lord’s minions while Shea fought the Warlock Lord.

The main characters of this story include: Shea, Shea’s half-brother Flick, the druid Allanon, Allanon’s companion Balinor, Shea’s best friend Menion Leah, the dwarf Hendel, the two Elven brothers Durin and Dayel, and the evil Warlock Lord. The settings included: the home of the druids; Paranor, Shady Vale: Shea and Flick’s homes, and the Skull Kingdom: home of the Warlock Lord. Since the Warlock Lord was defeated when the Sword of Shannara revealed the truth about it, I conclude that the message of the story is that truth can be a valuable weapon, since the truth about anyone can is unbearable.

I would recommend this book to other readers because the author was very imaginative and placed very strange things in this book. For instance, in many stories, evil characters in that book are defeated by a swipe of a sword or a magic spell. Terry Brooks decided to tamper with that idea a little and in the end, the Warlock Lord was not defeated by a simple strike, but was defeated when the Sword of Shannara revealed the truth about it. Terry Brooks has also written preludes and sequels to this book. I have finished the prelude some time ago, and I am now reading the sequel.