The first fantasy book I ever read was the Sword of Shannara. It’s impact on my reading and writing can not be underestimated. I never really got into the Tolkien groove, so Terry Brooks is responsible for my understanding of fantasy. His Word & Void books provided the same for modern day fantasy. If you are a writer, his book Sometimes the Magic Works is a must read.
I have avoided the Shannara Chronicles since the series was announced. Part of me felt it was akin to someone remodeling my childhood home. My images of the characters were indelible and having had many of y favorite books killed in visual media I hated the thought of it happening to one of my fictional landmarks. Last month I came across the series on Netflix and much to my surprise I added it to my list and hit play.
If I had not read the book I would have found it a fairly enjoyable watch. The pacing was not bad for a series. Also, I’ve learned to forgive jiggering of plot devices and timing of TV Series adaptations since watching The Magicians on SyFy. I have read the books, so here is a really loyal fans reaction to the series and what really didn’t work in relation to the books.
Allanon as a Warrior Druid
Allanon was always a cerebral hero. In my imagination I never would have visualized him as a muscle-bound hero. My belief is that they wanted to make sure he did not look like Gandalf for obvious reasons. I just found it hard to live with their choice to make him a physical and magical fighter. It just didn’t jive with what was written. Having grown up a geek, it was always a pleasure when a hero wasn’t the physically powerful one. I guess those days have passed.
The Use of Magic Resulting in Physical Damage to the User
With Terry Brooks, Magic always comes with a price. Typically this came as an almost addiction-like reaction to using the power. His Characters, both male and female, need to come to grips with how it changes them mentally and spiritually. Most of the villains in his books have succumb to an almost “Dark Side” of magic much as Darth Vader did with the force. Using Physical Damage to show the need to be cautious of magic just didn’t work for me. Wounds can heal, but magic changes your soul. I’m not sure if they could just not figure out how to show this or if they didn’t have enough confidence in the audience to understand this.
Direct (and Visual) References to the Old World
When you read the Sword of Shannara and subsequent books you were never sure where Terry’s world existed. Was it on earth? If so, was this before or after our time? As the books progressed you were given tantalizing hints to the fact that the Four Lands were in fact the aftermath of the death of our world. Later Brooks deftly pulled off the origin story in a way I won’t share for those who have not had the pleasure of reading it. The show comes right out and visually shows the decayed artifacts of our world. The scene that takes place in the high school is just too much to handle. Post apocalyptic fiction is riding high these days (Thank you Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth!) and my guts tell me that this may have driven the use of Old World references. It took some of the mystery out of Terry’s deft writing and was a shame to see.
Sex!?!? (Including the love triangle)
This part of the series was just part of TV today. Having MTV pick up the series made it necessary to include this. Seeing the son of Shea Ohmsford bed hop was just not necessary. I can include the love triangle in this comments as well. In the Elfstones of Shannara, where most of the plot for this series came from, there were hints of a triangle, but nothing so blatant as two girls openly fighting over Wil. I’m sure casting “beautiful people” and having a strong sexual undercurrent helped with ratings, but for a purist it was just a bit much to take.
Again, I’m a book geek, so these things always happen when I see a movie or series. I dutifully watched all the episodes and will most likely watch to see where they take this cast in season 2. Terry’s books were typically focused on a single generation dealing with a specific magical evil, so it will be interesting to see what plot-line / villain they take from subsequent novels.
If the show survives long enough, it would be good to see the Scions of Shannara and the rest of the Heritage of Shannara series come to life. The characters in these books were rich and the plot deft. My hope is that they don’t try to use the Heritage plotline with the current cast. In that case I would hit the off button on my remote for good.