39,327
edits
Shannara: Difference between revisions
update links
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.Shannara 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.Shannara, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
(update links) |
||
| (9 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{
One of the first second-generation fantasy series, and among [[Long Runners|the longest running]], [[Terry Brooks]]' Shannara began in 1977 with a [[
The setting is [[Standard Fantasy Setting|fairly standard for a fantasy series]], but the [[Backstory]] is different from most [[High Fantasy]]. Rather than being set in the distant past, it is set in the far future, long [[After the End|after a nuclear war]] destroyed modern civilization. Gnomes, Dwarves, and Trolls are all mutated humans, Elves make an appearance and there are still insane killer robots in remote places.
Long before the first book, an order of druids was established to rediscover the lost secrets of science, but instead discovered the even longer lost secrets of magic, from before the history we know. Corrupted by dark magic, one of the druids became the [[Big Bad|Warlock Lord]], and spent the next thousand years trying to [[Take Over the World]] from his lair in Skull Mountain, in the center of the [[Mordor|Skull Kingdom]]. This brings us to...
==== The [[The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
* ''The Sword of Shannara''
* ''The Elfstones of Shannara''
Line 17:
A few decades later, in ''The Elfstones of Shannara'', Allanon returns, having spent the intervening years in magical sleep, and conscripts Shea's grandson Wil and elven princess Amberle to save the world. It seems that long before human history, the elves (revealed to be the real thing, not mutant humans) and other good faeries locked all the evil faeries, known as Demons, [[Sealed Evil in
A generation later,in the third book, ''The Wishsong of Shannara'', we discover that using the Elfstone's gave Wil's children Brin and Jair the inherent magic of the [[Reality Warper|Reality Warping]] Wishsong. Unable to penetrate the [[Garden of Evil]] known as the Maelmord to destroy the Ildatch, the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]] that corrupted the Warlock Lord, Allanon recruits Brin, believing that she may be able to succeed where he has failed. Easily the darkest of the three, it explores the idea of the inherent unpredictability of magic, and the addiction to it in far greater detail than Sword or Elfstones.
==== [[
* ''The Scions of Shannara ''
* ''The Druid of Shannara ''
Line 29:
This was a single story in four volumes, taking place three hundred years after the first trilogy, when the elves have vanished, and an authoritarian Federation rules both men and dwarves. It begins with the ghost of Allanon summoning the Ohmsfords descendants. He tells them about [[Big Bad|the Shadowen]] infesting the Four Lands, and gives them three missions: restore the lost Druids, return the vanished elves, recover the Sword of Shannara.
In ''Druid'', [[Dungeon Master|The King of the Silver River]] sends Walker on a quest to stop an independent [[Big Bad]] and retrieve the Black Elfstone, a magical object that he needs to fullfill his mission.
In ''Elf Queen'', Wren goes looking for the missing Elves, discovering along the way that she's really the heir to their throne. She also learns the origin of the Shadowen.
In the final volume, ''The Talismans of Shannara'', the heirs manage to reunite, despite the Shadowens' best efforts to kill or subvert them, barely manage to avert the [[Big Bad]]'s plan to pull a [[Grand Theft Me]] on [[The Hero]] and gain unlimited power, but eventually triumph.
==== ''[[First King of Shannara]] '' ====
Line 55:
* ''Straken''
Grianne has become the High Druid, but one of her subordinates stages a coup by [[Trapped in Another World|trapping her in the Forbidding]] with all the faerie demons, releasing a single shapeshifting demon in exchange. The coup was actually [[The Man Behind the Man|instigated by a demon-lord]] in the Forbidding, as part of a plot to release all the demons. Grianne's nephew Pen manages to rescues her, but his girlfriend is turning into a spirit. Grianne volunteers to take her place, which for frees her from all guilt due to the [[Loss of Identity]].
==== [[The Genesis Of Shannara]]: ====
Line 78:
----
* [[Action Girl]]: Angel Perez, Simralin Belloruus, Wren Ohmsford, Matty Roh, Rue Meridan, Tamis. Brooks likes this one.
* [[Aerith and Bob]]
Line 87 ⟶ 85:
* [[All Trolls Are Different]]: These ones are big, strong creatures descended from mutant humans, with no hair and tough hide, and a warrior culture.
* [[Always a Bigger Fish]]: A recurring theme. No matter how big and scary the official villains are (say, a pursuing Shadowen monster), there's ''always'' something bigger and scarier than they are, but that sticks to its own territory (the hidden, tentacled horrors said Shadowen wanders too close to). Every so often (notably in ''Druid'' and ''Talismans''), [[Summon Bigger Fish|the protagonists take advantage of this]].
* [[
** Even most Gnomes in general aren't evil, coming closer to a very primitive [[Chaotic Neutral]], they just tend to serve the evil side becuase they are extremely superstitious and will follow anyone with enough magical power to make them do so. And the Stors (the above mentioned "good" settlement) is closer to [[Lawful Neutral]], as they are a community of healers that will treat any injured person that comes to them, no matter what, and refuse to take sides in any conflict.
* [[Angry Black Man]]: Panther in "Genesis", though his race is incidental to his attitude.
* [[Anti
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Driven home in ''Wishsong'' with {{spoiler|the death of Allanon}}. Even if you survive your original series, chances are you won't make it through the sequel.
* [[Artifact Title]]: Half the books' titles don't have much to do with Jerle Shannara.
* [[Badass Family]]: The Ohmsfords, the Leahs, and the Elessedils have saved the world how many times now?
* [[Big Bad]]: One in each of the first three books and then one for each main series - the Warlock Lord in ''Sword'', Dagda Mor in ''Elfstones'', [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|The Ildatch]] in ''Wishsong''; [[The Heartless|the Shadowen]] led by Rimmer Dall in the Heritage series; [[Evil Sorcerer|the Morgawr]] in the Voayage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy, [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|Tael Riverine]] in the High Druid trilogy, and [[Hero
* [[Big Creepy
* [[Big Good]]: Allanon in the classic series has many aspects of this.
* [[Captain Ersatz]]: A lot of the characters from the first book bear some resemblance to those from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Brooks gets much better about not doing that in subsequent volumes, however.
Line 106 ⟶ 104:
** The Sword of Leah - Can cut and parry magic
** The Stiehl - A [[Cool Sword|Cool Knife]] which [[Absurdly Sharp Blade|cuts through]] ''[[Absurdly Sharp Blade|anything]]'', even magic, as if it were paper.
* [[
* [[Crapsack World]]: "Genesis" era
* [[Creator Provincialism]]: Most of the series, except for two of the books in the "Word/Void" trilogy, take place mostly in Brooks's home of the Pacific Northwest, and the locale of the two aforementioned books of ''[[The Word and The Void]]'' trilogy are modeled after Brooks's hometown of Sterling, Illinois.
Line 112 ⟶ 110:
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: Allanon, Walker, and Truls Rohk noticeably.
* [[Demon Lords and Archdevils]]: Findo Gask in the "Genesis" trilogy, the Dagda Mor in ''Elfstones'', Tael Riverine in the "High Druid" trilogy. Some powerful, ancient, and malevolent Faerie creatures that weren't sealed in the Forbidding, such as Uhl Belk (The Stone King) and the Grimpond, edge on this trope.
** The closest thing to a [[Satan]] behind them seems to be the Void, introduced in the "Word/Void" books but only personified once, when it manifests to Gask at the beginning of ''Angel Fire East''.
* [[Derivative Differentiation]]: It series started off as fairly derivative of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', with the largest distinction being the [[After the End]] setting. It even took its general plot structure straight from ''The Lord Of The Rings''. As the series went on, however, the books developed more original plots, including an urban fantasy trilogy.
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: The
* [[The Dragon]]: Several. [[Psycho for Hire]] Pe Ell is probably the most archetypical, working as Rimmer Dall's favourite killer in the ''Heritage'' series.
** [[Co
** [[Dragon
** [[The Starscream]]: The Maw Grint to Uhl Belk in ''Druid of Shannara''.
* [[Dungeon Master]]: The Lady in the "Word/Void" and "Genesis" eras; the the King of the Silver River in the "Four Lands" era.
Line 124 ⟶ 122:
* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: The demon Findo Gask; the Warlock Lord, Brona; the Morgawr and his sisters; most of the Mwellrets; and arguably the Shadowen. Even the Dagda Mor had shades of this. Given that one of the main themes of the series is the responsible use of magic, and the dire results of abusing it, it's understandable why Brooks likes this one so much.
* [[Fantasy Gun Control]]: By the time the ''Legends of Shannara'' books take place, this had long come into effect due to people in general having long forgotten the ''existence'' of firearms, let alone how to make them or produce ammunition. Though it's also mentioned that the few functioning ones that ''do'' remain, such as flechettes are highly prized weapons. Further down the line, however, guns become completely absent.
* [[The Federation]]: Subverted. The organisation called [[The Federation]] is in fact [[The Empire]].
** Although initially played straight as the Federation WAS originally [[The Federation]], with a group of large city-states coming together for mutual defense, it's only later they decided the best way to stay safe, was make sure all Humans were part of them, and all non-humans enslaved or eradicated.
* [[Functional Magic]]: Notably averted. The books go out of their way to point out how magic resists being treated scientifically, and how it evolves in unpredictable ways.
* [[Full
* [[Garden of Evil]]: The ruins in ''First King'', most of the island in ''Elf Queen'', the Melmord from Wishsong, and one of the islands in ''Voyage of the Jerle Shannara''.
* [[Generation Xerox]]: The Ohmsfords, Leahs, and Creels.
Line 134 ⟶ 132:
* [[Great Big Book of Everything]]: Though not a single book, the Druid Histories tend to serve this function.
* [[Grim Up North]]: The Northland is originally the home of the evil Warlock Lord. Even after his defeat, the Northland may no longer radiate evil, but it's still exceptionally dangerous. With only the Trolls, outlawed Men, and a few Gnome tribes (as well as the half-Troll, half-Gnome Urdas) making their home there, it's not a place you'd like to live.
* [[Half
* [[The Heartless]]: Feeders in the "Genesis" era; the Shadowen in "Heritage".
* [[Here There Were Dragons]]: The first age of magic ended in apocalypse, with only the Elves surviving.
Line 141 ⟶ 139:
* [[Hidden Elf Village]]: Arborlon, literally, in "Genesis of Shannara".
* [[Hive Mind]]: Heavily implied with the communal, bodiless [[Shape Shifter|Shapeshifters]].
* [[Hollywood Cyborg]]: The Creepers are what happen when this trope and [[Big Creepy
* [[Human Mom, Nonhuman Dad]]: Shea's biological parents. A lot of the Ohmsfords are like this, with Elves and Men marrying and remarrying.
** Inverted with Truhls Rohk, whose father was human and whose mother was a shapeshifter.
* [[Humans Are White]]: Everyone in the Four Lands era is either white or [[Ambiguously Brown]]. Given that it was only America that (barely) survived the apocalypse, it makes sense that after millenia of interbreeding there would be no one very dark. In the pre-''Shannara'' books, the ethnic demographics are what you'd expect (i.e. majority Caucasian, recognizable African-American and Latino minorities).
* [[In the End You Are
* [[Knife Nut]]: Many. Brooks doesn't seem to have the usual stigmas about knives, and doesn't view them as particularly good, particularly bad, or even particularly [[Badass]]. As such, knives in his books are simply a lightweight, reliable weapon, carried by both sides, good and bad.
* [[La Résistance]]: The Freeborn to the Federation.
* [[Lamarck Was Right]]: Using magic created by another race, when you've only got maybe one-quarter blood of the creator race in the first place, can cause some problems. Wil Ohmsford was actually damaged by use of the Elfstones, along with passing on some of the magic to his children in the form of the Wishsong.
* [[Left
* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Generally speaking, if something in one of Brooks' books is described as large it's also going to be very fast.
* [[Locked Out of the Loop]]: The Druids have a tendency towards doing this, including Walker Boh, who initially ''despised'' the Druids for it.
* [[Loners Are Freaks]]: [[Anti
* [[Long Running Book Series]]: By this point it's arguably a franchise.
* [[McGuffin]]: Loads of 'em. Expect each book/series to have a couple.
* [[Medieval Stasis]]: From ''Legends of Shannara''onwards, civilization is presented as for the most part having the trappings of a [[Medieval European Fantasy]]. On the other hand, stories set chronologically later show [[Magitek]] as well as attempts to rediscover Old World technology.
* [[The Mole]]: Several, mostly shapeshifters posing as harmless servants. Notably the Changeling in ''Elfstones'', Teel and Pe Ell in ''Heritage''.
* [[Mordor]]: The Skull Kingdom, Eldwist in ''Druid of Shannara''. The Shadowen tried to turn the entire Four Lands into this.
* [[Mutants]]: Ubiquitous in "Gensis of Shannara", though technically they'd be "mutates"--we learn that the first "Freaks" were born human but mutated into their new forms due to [[I Love Nuclear Power|exposure to radiation]], their changes getting passed on to their offspring. By the time of the "Four Lands" era, the Freaks have developed into the races of Dwarves, Gnomes, and Trolls.
* [[Non
* [[Our Demons Are Different]]: Two main groups of them. Those locked in the Forbidding (the capital D Demons) are evil [[The Fair Folk|fairies]]; those in the present day (the little d demons) are humans corrupted by the dark side. Both are implied to have been created or corrupted by the embodiment of pure evil, the Void. There's also the "demons" on Morrowindl, which are revealed to be another form of Shadowen.
** The Demons it should be noted come in a wise variety of types as well, encompassing [[Our Goblins Are
* [[Our Dragons Are Different]]: Well, there's Valg, the giant, firebreathing, venemous serpent waiting under the pool in the Hall of the Kings. And then there's the Demonic Dragons, which are a type of evil fairy with six-legs, one eye, no wings, and no fire.
* [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same]]: Brooks distinguishes his Dwarves from those of other fantasy series by having them deeply unsettled by underground spaces (because their ancestors were forced there by the Great Wars). They're also largely predisposed to woodsmanship, and their most famous landmark is the Meade Gardens. Outwardly, though, they look mostly like other Dwarves, beards and all.
* [[Our Elves Are Better]]: Relics from the time of [[The Fair Folk]] who are a lot more mortal than they used to be. In fact, the only thing that sets Elves apart from humans is their appearance and a natural propensity toward magic. And as ''[[
* [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder]]: They actually fill the same role as [[Our Goblins Are
** The Gnomes are basically a very primitive [[Chaotic Neutral]] who due to intense superstition tend to blindly follow anything that seems at all magical.
* [[Praetorian Guard]]: The Elven Home Guard are a heroic example. Notable members include [[The Sword of Shannara Trilogy|Crispin]], [[The Heritage of Shannara|Triss]] and [[The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara|Ard Patrinell]].
Line 175 ⟶ 173:
* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]: Many of the monsters, demons, and other beasts in series are described as "scaled" or "reptillian". And then there's the Mwellrets or "lizards" a shapechanging Troll species that has yet to have a single "good" representative, and their master, the [[Complete Monster|utterly vile]] [[Evil Sorceror|Morgawr]].
* [[Ruins of the Modern Age]]: They pop up every now and then, along with the occasional killer robot.
* [[Sealed Evil in
* [[Single Line of Descent]]: The Ohmsford family. Sure, we've seen it branch out a few times, but you'd think it would happen a lot more. Also the Leahs, the Elessedils, the Creels... Brooks likes this trope.
** On the other hand, most of these family trees get pruned on a regular basis.
Line 187 ⟶ 185:
* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]: Limited primarily to creatures with the innate ability; usually a villainous power. Jair got this in the short story "Indomitable" and the graphic novel "Dark Wraith of Shannara", but see below.
** The Changeling, one of the Demons of the Forbidding, has this as his main power.
** The Moric, a Demonic relative of the Changeling, has an even more complete version of this, though he generally has to eat his victim first.
** The Mwellrets, a race of reptilian mutants, can stretch and mold their bodies (if not their faces) to disguise themselves as other races if they keep under wraps. The Morgawr, their master, can fully shapeshift.
** Finally, there are a class of spirits simply called shape-shifters which display this ability to [[Reality Warper]] levels. Though they have undertones of [[The Fair Folk]], they're generally content to leave others alone and their primary appearance in ''Morgawr'' had them willingly aiding the protagonists.
*** Truls Rohk, a half-shapeshifter and a protagonist, has a downgraded version; he can distort his shape but only imperfectly. It has...'''''[[Body Horror|severe]]''''' drawbacks.
* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]] --> [[Heart Is an Awesome Power]]: The Sword of Shannara itself; lampshaded.
** To elaborate: The Sword's power is to force anyone who touches it (including the wielder) to see and accept the complete and total truth about themselves. The [[Big Bad]] of the first book is undead and unaware of it. Put two and two together. This same power is used in ''Heritage'' and ''Voyage'' to help [[Manipulative Bastard|Rimmer Dall]] and the [[Evil Mentor|Morgawr]]'s victims see through the web of lies the two have created.
** Also used with the main Ohmsford of the High Druid series, his family line contains people that can project completely realistic illusions, and even some (like his father and aunt) with near [[Reality Warper]] level, and what does he inherit? He gets to be a second rate Dr. Doolittle that can empathicly feel what other living things are feeling, not communicate directly or control, just trade vague feelings with them. Much angsting ensues.
* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: Most of the enemies were people who used the magic irresponsibly and were overcome and corrupted by it. Protagonists use the magic sparingly for this reason.
* [[You Will Know What to Do]]
* [[Zeppelins
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Long Running Book Series]]
[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:
| |||