[Brinniel]

I just finished reading The Sword of Shannara myself. At first it may seem similar to LOTR and I thought my obsession with LOTR drove me to think that, but about halfway through it takes a turn and it doesn't seem as similar anymore. So, is it worth reading? Yes. It is much more simple than Tolkien's writing, but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and I squealed each time another exciting thing happened. I think you would enjoy this book as long as you aren't bothered by the similarity of the two books. People who judge too much on what characters or events are similar to other books aren't able to appreciate the original parts of the book. Remember that many of races/creatures that Tolkien put in his books weren't original either. Many of these things come from ancient legends or myths.