When I first read The Sword of Shannara, I was surprised how much like LOTR it was. But that did not upset me. It made me happy to find another fantasy series that I love.
Alright, The Sword of Shannara may seem much like LOTR, but the Shannara series consists of 11 books, and the ones after the first book are completely different from LOTR. If you did not enjoy The Sword of Shannara because of its simularity to Tolkien, don't give up on the Shannara series completely! Try The Heritage of Shannara or The Voyage of Jerle Shannara. If you don't, you may be missing out on something great.
In my opinion, Terry Brooks does almost as good writing as Tolkien. But of course, Tolkien will always be the best.
