So what is it about, then? Young Shea is half elf, but has been brought up by the Ohmsford family as one of their own, and serves in their inn with his "brother" Flick. When a stranger arrives one evening, everything changes forever. Shea learns that he is the descendent of a legendary elf king, and it is his destiny to wield the Sword of Shannara against the Dark Lord Brona. Thus follows a long, perilous journey replete with dangers and good companionship, before the final battle.

Hmm, does this sound a wee bit familiar? Can this great work have been influenced at all by Lord of the Rings? Back in 1977 fantasy was all Tolkein, and the era of RPGs had yet to arrive. The popularity of Star Wars that year meant that people were ripe for a spot of fantasy, so this sold in millions. But I am being unfair, as this is a genuinely good book of the type that is easy to read and that you can just sink into, shutting out the big bad world for a few blessed hours. Reading about more wars and bloodshed, of course, but this is fairly bloodless as far as modern fantasy goes. There is plenty of action, but you can hunt in vain for torture, dark magic and gratuitous violence. Thus it is suitable for younger readers to enjoy as well, and I enjoyed it because it concentrates on the characters and how they react to situations rather than merely providing an exquisitely detailed backdrop at the expense of everything else.

We’ve all been here before, but with fantasy it really is a case of "it ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it" and Brooks knows how it ought to be done.