The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Sword of Shannara is the first book in the series by Terry Brooks, who is my all time favorite author.  This first book is about Shea Ohmsford and his quest to obtain the Sword of Shannara and confront the Warlock Lord.  He encounters Dwarves, Gnomes, and Trolls along the way with great abundance of action and adventure. The characters in the book are on a quest for good.  Using their skills to better themselves and help others.  Ultimately to save the Four Lands. Brooks develops the characters so well that the way they interact with each other helps suck you into the story. It was a very difficult book to put down. I would rate this a PG book for the action scenes. If you'd like to read a brief introduction to the book, check out Wikipedia's article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara. I am just now reading Brooks newest book in the series, released last week.  Can't wait to see what happens next.