[Brujah]

It's been nearly 20 years since I read Sword of Shanara. I think it was probably the very first fantasy book I read. Remembering finding it at the library at school. I read the next few in the series. I thought they were great, but I was really young, and not sure if that's why I liked them, and I barely remember the story.

Remember Walker Boh, the Four Horseman of the Apoc, that giant spider in the woods.....

Moved on to three Drizzt novels and Dragonlance after that. I use to think Homeland, Sojourn, and Exile were the best books ever. Remember thinking there could never be a wizard cooler than Raistlin Majere. But all that was from young teen perspective.

I lump all those books from that time together. I wonder if they'd still be good today. But I'd be interested in watching any tv series attempting to tackle any of the books from childhood.

This post has been edited by Brujah: 12 July 2014 - 06:06 PM

[worry]

They're still good entry-level quest fantasy -- Sword is generic but colorful, the rest of the trilogy is more original but lacks interesting villains, and then the quadrilogy and second trilogy are solid all the way through. The books are surprisingly violent and Brooks was always unafraid to kill off characters (unlike peers like Eddings), despite being decidedly YA-friendly.

Are people even writing quest fantasy anymore? Seems to have lost a lot of ground to military and/or political intrigue fantasy. I suppose some of Abercrombie's stuff is rooted in quest

[polishgenius]

upworthywort, on 12 July 2014 - 08:01 PM, said:

Are people even writing quest fantasy anymore?

Yes, but a lot of it is outside standard epic fantasy settings now and there does tend to be less emphasis on the pure traveling than questing of old. If you've not read them, try the following, all of which have at least a significant quest component:

Thunderer and Gears of the City, by Felix Gilman
Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, by DM Cornish
The Chathrand Voyage series, by Robert VS Reddick
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente (and presumably the sequels too)
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

[QuickTidal]

Sullivan's Ryria series is sort of quest fantasy in the classic way, although the end quest is for an ancient city...and there was Avempartha the Elven tower quest. But yeah, totally quest fantasy.

I think Weis and Hickman are still essentially writing quest fantasy and have made various series together and separately.

Shannara is a lush world to interpret on live TV...and beyond that, those who might feel that this series is pedestrian and quest fantasy is not a good fit for TV...

...ONCE UPON A TIME is headed into its 4th season folks. Just because fantasy fans have grown up and left quest fantasy behind and some even consider it beneath them (though I've no idea why we disparage our roots like that)...doesn't mean we/they/you qualify as even a fraction of the TV viewing public.

Anyways, I'm excited. ELFSTONES is excellent and I have fond memories of it.

[worry]

It's a strange and challenging property to adapt, given the generation gaps in the first few books followed by Heritage which is one long story with such disparate parts (thinking in terms of TV seasons). The whole project, failure or success, just makes me curious (and kinda giddy) from that standpoint more than anything.

[QuickTidal]

upworthywort, on 13 July 2014 - 12:50 AM, said:

It's a strange and challenging property to adapt, given the generation gaps in the first few books followed by Heritage which is one long story with such disparate parts (thinking in terms of TV seasons). The whole project, failure or success, just makes me curious (and kinda giddy) from that standpoint more than anything.

If it does well, the transition from a second season of WISHSONG, provided it's done right, could mean a smooth switch to HERITAGE...and then you've got 4 more seasons ahead of you (depending on how they adapt that, my bet would be on mingling everyone's stories from the first three books instead of focusing on singular stories/searches like the books. Walker Boh is DEFINITELY the main link for a HERITAGE continuation.

[QuickTidal]

Further investigation on Brooks site, forums, and specific but cryptic information from his Web Guy seems to indicate a few things.

1. MTV has only bought this to AIR it. They aren't truly behind it apparently, which falls upon the Studio (Sonar Entertainment I think they are called) who are making it in a bigger way. So worries about MTV's glut of TV not jiving with a Series like SHANNARA, are apparently unfounded.

2a. Brooks has read the first bunch of scripts and has been working in close quarters with the writers to shape the story into a TV show format.

2b. In the above vein, characters and events from ELFSTONES will be shifted around to suit the format. Wil and Amberle (for example) aren't introduced until about 100 pages into the book. This will be modified so they all show up (wherever they are at the start, Wil in Storlock, Amberle in Havenstead, ect.) in the first episode. I'll wager we might even see Eretria in the first ep.

3. Brooks has been very specifically telling people that he doesn't want anyone to feel this is going to be some basic teenage candy CW show. While it's not GoT level of sweary/sexy/carnage-head-expolding, he assures his fans that it has been approached in a serious way like GoT. This will be drama over teen angst apparently.

4. Replacing Jon Favreau (who had to drop to just a producer due to scheduling conflicts) is Jonathan Liebsman (BATTLE: LA, WRATH OF THE TITANS) in the director chair. Since I loved WRATH, I feel this is a good fit if Favreau can't do it.

All of which makes me a little happier. I do have a long-running soft spot for this series, so I'd love to see it done justice.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 17 July 2014 - 05:47 PM

[paran falcon]

Brujah, on 12 July 2014 - 06:04 PM, said:

It's been nearly 20 years since I read Sword of Shanara. I think it was probably the very first fantasy book I read. Remembering finding it at the library at school. I read the next few in the series. I thought they were great, but I was really young, and not sure if that's why I liked them, and I barely remember the story.

The Sword of Shannara was my first fantasy book also, at around age 13 (not counting The Chonicles of Narnia, which were presented to me differently at the time) and I probably read The Elfstones and The Wishsong immediately after. I, also, have a soft spot for the original trilogy, at least, despite the flaws, especially with Sword. I would like to see this well done. Game of Thrones and Jon Favreau give me hope but MTV isn't HBO so I don't know. Although, as Quick Tidal says, MTV is only airing, not producing.

QuickTidal, on 13 July 2014 - 12:21 AM, said:

Anyways, I'm excited. ELFSTONES is excellent and I have fond memories of it.

I think Elfstones is my favorite of the original trilogy and maybe of all the Shannara books I've read, up to Genesis, I think. I can see why they'd start with it and not Sword. The LOTR comparisons with Sword are unavoidable and inevitable. I really hope they do it well.

[Abyss]

paran falcon, on 22 July 2014 - 11:33 PM, said:

...
I think Elfstones is my favorite of the original trilogy and maybe of all the Shannara books I've read, up to Genesis, I think. I can see why they'd start with it and not Sword. The LOTR comparisons with Sword are unavoidable and inevitable. I really hope they do it well.

My fave as well, i actually read ELFSTONES first and loved it and still do. SWORD was far weaker.

[QuickTidal]

Amberle has been cast!

http://deadline.com/...mtv-1201283700/

[paran falcon]

QuickTidal, on 14 November 2014 - 06:24 PM, said:

Amberle has been cast!

http://deadline.com/...mtv-1201283700/

I can't say I'm familiar with her but at least my mind didn't scream "Nooooooooo!" in reaction to the photo. I suppose she could be considered to have "a child's face", as Amberle is often described. The Wil and Eretria casting will be interesting, as well as Allanon. They'd better get Eretria right. Having just reread Elfstones after reading and posting previously on this thread, I think she is most often and most clearly described. They will need a dark haired stunner for Eretria's part!

[Whiskey Jim]

I read The first book last year and I'm still having rage issues. It actually may translate better for TV than it does as a book. Blatantly ripping off a great piece or Lit for your own Lit is a terrible thing to do. Doing it for TV however is expected and perfectly alright.

[worry]

I think they're starting on book 2 for exactly that reason.

[QuickTidal]

Here is the full main cast list and pics.

http://www.mtv.com/n...acters-roundup/

[QuickTidal]

I'm more impressed that James Remar will be in this. I'd not heard he was cast in it.

[Abyss]

Slade Wilson as Allanon... I'm surprisingly fine with this. He can do ambiguously dangerous very well.

[paran falcon]

Am I out of line for my only real issue being with John Rhys Davies as Eventine? He just doesn't fit my mental image of Eventine, who is supposed to still be lean and fit, despite his age. Just being picky perhaps.



Unlike some of you, I'm not sure I've seen much of the others in the cast (at least not recently) besides James Remar. I can see him as Cephelo in one way but he'll also have to pull off the happy-go-lucky, flamboyant side as well.



Is it a modern day thing that makes them think Ander's transformation will be more compelling if he's a wild party boy as opposed to quiet, unassuming and serious like in the book?

[Abyss]

Assuming they vaguely follow the book, Wil already has the quiet thing going on, so Ander likely had to go a different personality direction to keep them separate.In the book they barely meet, but in the tighter timeframe of an episodic TV show, a bit more distinction was probably needed.

[paran falcon]

Abyss, on 29 April 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:

Assuming they vaguely follow the book, Wil already has the quiet thing going on, so Ander likely had to go a different personality direction to keep them separate.In the book they barely meet, but in the tighter timeframe of an episodic TV show, a bit more distinction was probably needed.

I suppose that makes sense from that perspective. They also seem to be swapping a few traits between Prince Arion and Prince Ander. Arion has always been expected to rule next and has the arrogance to prove it, as well as no respect for his less than total warrior brother. It's a bit of brains vs brawn with them. Seems like they're going to change that up a good bit. I'm clearly getting old; I just don't care for all the additions-from-thin-air and drastic changes that page to movie/tv adaptations all seem to come with. (See exhibit 1: The Hobbit movies!) I understand some of the reasonings, but I still don't like it.

[Abyss]

paran falcon, on 29 April 2015 - 02:11 PM, said:

Abyss, on 29 April 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:

Assuming they vaguely follow the book, Wil already has the quiet thing going on, so Ander likely had to go a different personality direction to keep them separate.In the book they barely meet, but in the tighter timeframe of an episodic TV show, a bit more distinction was probably needed.

I suppose that makes sense from that perspective. They also seem to be swapping a few traits between Prince Arion and Prince Ander. Arion has always been expected to rule next and has the arrogance to prove it, as well as no respect for his less than total warrior brother. It's a bit of brains vs brawn with them. Seems like they're going to change that up a good bit. I'm clearly getting old; I just don't care for all the additions-from-thin-air and drastic changes that page to movie/tv adaptations all seem to come with. (See exhibit 1: The Hobbit movies!) I understand some of the reasonings, but I still don't like it.

I dunno... there are often ample things to criticize in any adaptation, but sometimes there are moments of genius.... example: Bard showing up out of nowhere and taking out Smaug was one of the silliest things in The Hobbit book. The movie actually gave that scene gravitas. Then there's GoT and all the dross from SIF that the showrunners are skipping.

Fundamentally i don't care if SHANARRA is true to the books provided it gives us an entertaining story. Ander's personality is far from the hook the entire Elves vs Demon invasion storyline (assuming they follow that) is going to rest on (as opposed to whether the actor/director can do a convincing unlikely-son-becoming-a-leader story).