Posts Tagged: Terry Brooks

News

‘Alannon’s Quest,’ a Shannara short story, now available

By Aidan Moher July 9th, 2012
Allanon's Quest by Terry Brooks

The legendary hero Allanon takes center stage in the first of three gripping new stand-alone eBook short stories set in the world of the fantasy fiction phenomenon that is Shannara—by beloved New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks.

The history is thus: The once-Druid Brona, seduced by his pursuit of dark magic, was forever transformed into the Warlock Lord—whose evil would be the downfall of the Four Lands and the death of the Races. Against him, the Elven King Jerle Shannara wielded the fabled sword that bore his surname and triumphed. Or so it was believed. But though the Dark Lord was driven out . . . he was not destroyed.

The Druid Allanon knows only too well the prophecy passed down to him by his late master: that eventually the Warlock Lord will return. Now, after hundreds of years, that day seems imminent. And the time is at hand for the Sword of Shannara to once more be brought forth from its sanctuary to serve its ancient purpose. All that remains is for a blood descendent of the Elven house of Shannara to carry the blade into battle.

With ever more portents of doom on the horizon, Allanon must seek out the last remaining Shannara heir, who alone will bear the burden of defending the Four Lands’ destiny. But with agents of darkness closing in from behind, unexpected enemies lying in wait ahead, and treachery encroaching on every side, there can be no certainty of success. Nor any assurance that this desperate quest will not be the Druid’s last.

Shawn Speakman, webmaster for and good friends with Brooks, reveals a bit of what to expect from the short tale:

It features an Allanon that is only hinted at in The Sword of Shannara—sure, a man strong in character, but one filled with doubts about the coming storm that is about to sweep south from the Northland. Fans get an inside point of view look at the last Druid and learn more about the events leading up to the greatest power struggle in the Four Lands.

There’s probably not a lot here that will be of interest to those not already Shannara fans, but it’s nice to see Brooks returning to one of his most beloved characters. Allanon’s always been a mysterious figure, so I’ll enjoy reading a story from his perspective, peeling back the layers of his character through his own thoughts as he searches for the young scion of Jerle Shannara. Good stuff for a Brooks fanboy like me.

‘Allanon’s Quest’ is available now from your favourite eBook vendor, and is the first in a series of short stories dubbed Paladins of Shannara; each volume will tackle one of Brooks’ most famous and loved characters. The next short story will feature fan favourite Garet Jax, last seen in the graphic novel, The Dark Wraith of Shannara. More information is available on Brooks’ website.

Art

Todd Lockwood’s first painting for Wards of Faerie Terry Brooks

By Aidan Moher June 20th, 2012
Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks, Wards of Faerie

Art by Todd Lockwood

One of the most exciting things about the upcoming release of Wards of Faerie, a new Shannara trilogy by stalwart Fantasy writer Terry Brooks, is that, for the first time since The Wishsong of Shannara, in the ’80s, the novel will feature artwork to go alongside Brooks’ story. It’s doubly exciting because they chose one of my favourite artists, Todd Lockwood, to do the art. I’ve always felt that Lockwood and Shannara would be a good mix. Having read Wards of Faerie, I think he nailed the feel and look of Brooks’ characters and world.

The above image is kinda small, but Lockwood also made some detail shots available, to give us a closer look at some of the characters.

Khyber, Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks, Art by Todd LockwoodWards of Faerie by Terry Brooks, art by Todd Lockwood

Great work. I can’t wait to see the rest when Wards of Faerie comes out this summer. I know Brooks gets a hard time nowadays, and he’s been writing some hit-or-miss novels for the past several years, but Wards of Faerie is one of his better novels and I hope other fans are as excited as I am to see where he takes the trilogy.

Art

Cover Art & Synopsis | Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks

By Aidan Moher March 14th, 2012

Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks
Here’s a first glimpse at the cover for The Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks, first volume in his next trilogy, The Legacy of Shannara, which takes place after Straken, instead of being part of the series of prequel’s he has been working on for years.

The cover’s a bit of a change of pace from his last several (like this one), but it’s a welcome change. I never really groove on Steve Stone’s figure-based covers, so this turn to a more emblematic cover, somewhat reminiscient of the recent George R.R. Martin covers, is aright with me. It’s interesting to see that they’ve dropped the branding in the title of the series by going with a different font (though Brooks keeps its looped Os). In all, a little boring, but should look nice enough with a foil-stamped cover.

UPDATED: Here’s a short synopsis for the book from Shawn Speakman, Brooks’ webmaster and friend:

Wards of Faerie, Book I in The Dark Legacy of Shannara, is the indirect continuation of the story found in High Druid of Shannara. Only one character, Khyber Elessedil, is left from those previous books. She is the Ard Rhys of the Druid Keep Paranor and lives in a world where technology has the upper hand against the Druids and all they stand for. When one of her fellow Druids comes upon information that might lead to the missing Elfstones of Faerie—talismans that might help shift the magic/technology balance back to the middle—Khyber knows she must try to attain them at all costs.

What she finds is a threat much larger than technology.

Sounds good. The prequel books have been hit-or-miss in quality, so I’m sort of looking forward to getting back to ‘present day’ Shannara and dealing with the conflict between magic and emerging science. It’ll be interesting seeing Khyber as a lead character. Surely there’ll be an Ohmsford in there somewhere.

News

An Aside | Another Suvudu 2012 Cage Match: Moiraine vs. The Dagda Mor

By Aidan Moher March 12th, 2012

Suvudu Cage Match, Moiraine vs. The Dagda MorI was asked to contribute another write-up for Suvudu’s 2012 Cage Matches. This time around, it’s The Wheel of Time‘s Moiraine Damodred, diminutive Aes Sedai, versus Terry Brooks’ hulking demon lord, The Dagda Mor. A taste:

The vicious sound of her Warder locked in battle with the Demon clawed at her, but Moiraine could not waste a thought for Lan, no matter his peril. The Dagda Mor dropped from the sky, and Moiraine caught a bat-shaped beast winging away into the dark night. Even hunched, the Demon towered over the diminutive Aes Sedai. Tufts of green hair, like saw-grass, sprouted over its entire body. In its hands was a long, gnarled staff, the end glowing green as magic coursed between the Demon and the shaft.

Moiraine wore a brocaded blue silk dress, horizontal slashes of alternating blue and white crossing her chest, and a black belt circling her waist. On her feet were high-calfed leather boots and gossamer stockings, made from Shara’s finest silk. Over all this, she wore a dark blue cloak trimmed in white, too light for travel, but so perfectly fitted that it gave the Aes Sedia a regal look, hinting at her noble Cairhienen background. The hood of her cloak was drawn up, so that the only hint of life in the shadowed recesses was the sparkle of her eyes and the glint of light caught in the small blue stone that sat suspended on her forehead by a silver chain.

“Can we get on with this?” the Dagda Mor growled. Moiraine’s eyes snapped up from admiring her outfit, startled from her reverie by the Demon’s words.

Read the Moiraine vs. The Dagda Mor cage match!

I accepted the gig before I thought about the fact that I’d be assuming a character from The Wheel of Time, which has one of the largest and most loyal fan bases in all of Fantasy. To say I was nervous for the fan reaction would be an understatement of enormous proportion. I had some fun with the match, though, so I hope they’ll enjoy it!

My previous cage matches:

2010

2011

2012

News

An Aside | Read my Suvudu Cage Match!

By Aidan Moher March 5th, 2012

BLOODSHOT and THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA for Suvudu Cage MatchYep, it’s that time of year again. The 2012 Suvudu Cage Matches are live and, like the previous two years, I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute to the event. This time around, being just a bit of an old-school Terry Brooks fan, I was charged with pitting the Dagda Mor, Brooks’ demonic lord from The Elfstones of Shannara, against Cheshire Red, the slick vampire/thief from Cherie Priest’s Bloodshot and Hellbent.

Here’s a little taste:

Astride his Northland Bat, the Dagda Mor circled slowly above the human city, watching the girl. She lurked in the shadows, thinking herself hidden, but mere darkness could not hide her from the demon’s magic. The Dagda Mor gripped its Staff of Power in skeletal hands, feeling its magic throb like a living thing. The girl was a tool, a piece of the puzzle that he would use to finally acquire a magic that had eluded him for thousands of years–the only magic more powerful than his.

The demon watched the girl climb up the zig-zagging metal ladders and platforms, reaching the top of the building and then effortlessly leaping across the gap to the other. She took one quick glance around the rooftop, never looking towards the sky, then knelt before the door. In a moment, the door popped open and the girl disappeared inside. The Dagda Mor waited.

The moon had barely moved from its place in the sky when the girl re-appeared through the same door, quietly closing it behind her. The Demon dropped from its bat mount and plummeted to the alleyway below. It landed without and sound and melted into the shadows, waiting for the girl as she clambered expertly down the metal ladders.

Read the full Dagda Mor Vs. Cheshire Red cage match!

I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with both Brooks and Priest, so it was quite an honour to be able to assume two of their characters for this cage match. I hope I was able to do their characters some bit of justice.

But, what do you think? Who would win the fight? Or are such cage matches just a fanciful waste of time?

My previous cage matches:

2010

2011