Posts Tagged: Terry Brooks

News

An Aside | Terry Brooks’ MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE: SOLD! optioned for film

By Aidan Moher January 30th, 2012

From Brooks’ website:

MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE – SOLD! To Warners and Weed Road

Warner Brothers has optioned Terry Brooks’ best-selling MAGIC KINGDOM OF LANDOVER series of books for Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures and Andy Cohen’s Grade A Entertainment. Goldsman and Cohen will produce with Weed Road’s Kerry Foster and Alex Block overseeing for Weed Road. Warner Brothers’ Matt Cherniss brought the book series into the studio and will run point. Brooks was represented by Anne Sibbald of Janklow & Nesbit Associates.

The film will be based on the first book in the series, MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE – SOLD!, which was first published in 1986 by Del Rey Books, a division of Random House. The most recent book in the six book, ongoing series is A PRINCESS OF LANDOVER which came out in 2009. Other titles in the series are: THE BLACK UNICORN, WIZARD AT LARGE, THE TANGLE BOX, and WITCHES BREW.

Brooks is a prolific author best known for the LANDOVER series and the SHANNARA series of fantasy books, which began with THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. There are currently 19 books in the SHANNARA series with the next book due out later this year.

Weed Road is in preproduction on A WINTER’S TALE written and to be directed by Goldsman. Recent credits include PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 and FAIR GAME.

Cohen last produced UNTRACEABLE starring Diane Lane. He’s currently working on the stage show, HEATHERS – THE MUSICAL and the indie film, IN SIGHT.

As one of the few Brooks fans among the blogosphere, I’m excited about this. I feel that Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold! is a better fit for film than Brooks’ more popular Shannara novels, but I’ll also keep any of my enthusiasm in check until principal filming begins.

For those unfamiliar with the novel, you can read the first 50 pages of Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold! for free via Suvudu.

News

An Aside | New SHANNARA Novella coming from Terry Brooks, features Alannon

By Aidan Moher January 10th, 2012

The Sword of Shannara by Terry BrooksVia Suvudu:

I have just finished a 10,000 word short (?) story that takes place just before Allanon sets out to find Shea Ohmsford in Sword. I will be posting it online in a few months on all the major sites as an ebook for readers who want something new leading up to publication of the Annotated Edition of The Sword of Shannara and the first book in the new Shannara’s Dark Legacy, coming in late August. I haven’t done anything with Allanon in almost 30 years, so it really was time for a new story. Keep your eye out for it on our website and on all the major book burying sites.

As an unabashed Shannara fanboy (and the pre-Morgawr books, in particular) this is great news. I recently read Brooks’ only other short story, Imaginary Friends, and was reminded of what a fine storyteller he can be when he really digs into a story and gives it the meat that his newer novels seem to lack. It might seem odd suggesting that Brooks might find this meatier writing by writing short fiction, rather than longer fiction, but there was a certain thoughtfulness to Imaginary Friends that gives me confidence. Brooks has said before that he doesn’t feel that he’s very good at short fiction; to counter that, I think that challenge is a good thing for a writer and his recent novels have seemed somewhat staid and too easy, suggesting that a challenge is exactly what the veteran writers needs. I am Very much looking forward to seeing Brooks stretch his story telling muscle by revisiting one of his most interesting characters.