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The popular Landover series continues. Former Chicago lawyer Ben Holiday is proud and happy. The Magic Kingdom is at peace. He is free to watch his daughter Mistaya grow up. Alas, those idyllic days are not to last. For Rydall, king of the lands beyond the fairy mist, soon offers a challenge--and Mistaya's life is the prize.
The most rewarding aspect to writing for Brooks is “when someone who never read a book reads [one of mine] and says that the experience changed everything and got them reading.” Because of his very engaging, quick-flowing writing style, countless numbers of young people have been introduced to the wonderful world of reading through Brooks’s adventures. The miraculous thing, however, is that these same fans – whether they’re now 20, 30, or 40 years old – still devour each new release like a starving man would a steak dinner. Credit Brooks’s boundless imagination, endearing characters, fresh storylines and underlying complexities for keeping his older, more discerning audience hooked.
Brooks began writing when he was just ten years old, but he did not discover fantasy until much later. As a high school student he jumped from writing science fiction to westerns to adventure to nonfiction, unable to settle on one form. That changed when, at the age of 21, Brooks was introduced to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien provided Brooks with a forum “that would allow him to release onto paper his own ideas about life, love, and the wonder that fills his world," according to his web site.
In 1977, after six trying years, Brooks published novel his first novel, The Sword of Shannara. And quickly it gave him – and his publisher (the newly created Ballantine imprint, Del Rey) – quite a thrill; the fantasy adventure featuring the young Halfling, Shea Ohmsford; the mysterious wizard Allanon; Flick, the trusty companion; and the demonic Warlock Lord, was not only well received -- it was a smash, spending over five months on The New York Times bestseller list. In 1982 Brooks released the follow-up, The Elfstones of Shannara (which Brooks says may be his favorite), to equal success. He closed out the initial trilogy in 1985 with The Wishsong of Shannara, and has since completed two more Shannara sets, The Heritage of Shannara books and the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara books.
As fans of Brooks know, the man doesn’t like to stay put. “I lived in Illinois for the first 42 years of my life, and I told myself when I left in 1986 that I would never live any one place again,” Brooks said. He now spends his time between his homes in Seattle and Hawaii; he and his wife also spend a great deal of time on the road each year connecting with the fans. These same nomadic tendencies are also apparent in his writing. Instead of staying comfortably within his proven, bestselling Shannara series, Terry frequently takes chances, steps outside, and tries something new. His marvelous Landover and Word & Void series are the results. While both are vastly different from Shannara, they are equally compelling. Word & Void – a contemporary, dark urban fantasy series set in a fantasy-touched Illinois – is quite possibly Brooks’s most acclaimed series. The Rocky Mountain News called the series’ first two books (Running with the Demon and The Knight of the Word “two of the finest science fiction/fantasy novels of the 20th century.”
The Sword of Shannara was also the first work of fiction to ever hit The New York Times trade paperback bestseller list. Thanks to a faithful and growing fan base, the books continue to reach the list.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was not Terry's first novelization. He also novelized Steven Spielberg's 1991 movie, Hook.
Brooks’s The Phantom Menace novelization is also not his only connection to George Lucas. Both The Sword of Shannara and the original Star Wars novel, A New Hope, were edited by Judy Lynn del Rey and published in the same year (1977) to blockbuster success.
The Sword of Shannara was initially turned down by DAW Books. Instead, DAW sent Terry to Lester del Rey, who recognized Terry’s blockbuster potential and bought it. And the rest, they say, is history.
Brooks’s influences include: J.R.R. Tolkien, Alexander Dumas, James Fenimore Cooper, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Mallory's Morte d'Arthur.
patagain
Posted December 3, 2011
I got hooked on Brooks in the late 80's, and read everything he wrote thru the 90's. He is a writer for male and female, and even high school kids.
I still have the whole Shannara Series, and the landover. Once you start reading you will not want to stop until you read the last book in the series.
Nightshade seeks revenge through Mistaya for what happened between her and Ben, as the Lady and the Knight when they were imprisoned in the Tangle Box.
Mistaya is not the daughter Ben imagined he would have. She grows at an unpredictable rate, and she's a genius when it comes to learning, talking, and magic.
An unknown conqueror, (he calls himself a king), throws a gauntlet down and challenges Ben. He claims to have come from beyond the fairy mists, and he demands the unconditional surrender of Landover.
Rydall, king of Marhhull will send seven monsters to battle Ben. Ben has to live through and win all seven battles in order to save his life and his throne.
Questor and Abernathy are saved from an interfering magic, when they are attacked by Nightshade. A result of which is that Abernathy is turned back to a man. He realizes how deeply he wants to be returned back to his all man form. Because now Questor doesn't think that he can convince him to return to the king's service. Abernathy will be forced to choose between Landover and himself, and Questor will be stuck out of Landover if Abernathy chooses to stay and live a normal human life.
Mistaya is excited that she can do magic. Nightshade teaches Mistaya how to do magic, while using her too not only fight and defeat her father, but to kill him too.
In the meantime, Ben and Willow desperately search for Mistaya all over Landover, because Rydall has kidnapped her. Following closely behind them are Ben's seven battles, and he fears becoming the Paladin more and more will destroy his soul and take away his humanity.
Nightshade seeks revenge through Mistaya for what happened between her and Ben, as the Lady and the Knight when they were imprisoned in the Tangle Box.
Mistaya is not the daughter Ben imagined he would have. She grows at an unpredictable rate, and she's a genius when it comes to learning, talking, and magic.
An unknown conqueror, (he calls himself a king), throws a gauntlet down and challenges Ben. He claims to have come from beyond the fairy mists, and he demands the unconditional surrender of Landover.
Rydall, king of Marhhull will send seven monsters to battle Ben. Ben has to live through and win all seven battles in order to save his life and his throne.
Questor and Abernathy are saved from an interfering magic, when they are attacked by Nightshade. A result of which is that Abernathy is turned back to a man. He realizes how deeply he wants to be returned back to his all man form. Because now Questor doesn't think that he can convince him to return to the king's service. Abernathy will be forced to choose between Landover and himself, and Questor will be stuck out of Landover if Abernathy chooses to stay and live a normal human life.
Mistaya is excited that she can do magic. Nightshade teaches Mistaya how to do magic, while using her too not only fight and defeat her father, but to kill him too.
In the meantime, Ben and Willow desperately search for Mistaya all over Landover, because Rydall has kidnapped her. Following closely behind them are Ben's seven battles, and he fears becoming the Paladin more and more will destroy his soul and take away his humanity.
Anonymous
Posted January 4, 2003
I liked reading this book but I hadn't read any of the other Landover novels so it was a bit confusing but still a great book. I fyou want to read it I think you should start from the beginning of the series.
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Posted October 30, 2002
Much more interesting than the previous four, the plot entertained me more, and I loved the character of Ben's daughter. The only fault is that Mistaya is a little too sophisticated for a four-year-old. A great book overall.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2002
Although it doesn't touch the Shannaras, I feel it is the best of the Magic Kingdom of Landover Series. It really puts a twist to it when Nightshade uses Ben's own daughter against him.
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Overview
An acorn falls far from the treeFormer Chicago lawyer Ben Holiday was very proud and quite happy. And why shouldn't he be? The Magic Kingdom which he ruled as High Lord was finally at peace. He was free to lie back and watch as his new daughter grew.
And grow she did--by leaps and bournds, shooting through infancy in a matter of months. She took her first steps and learned to swim in the same week. An amalgam of magic and heredity, Mistaya was born a seedling, nourished by soils from Landover, Earth, and the fairy mists, come into being in the dank, misty deadness of the Deep Fell. She was as lovely as her mother, the sylph Willow, with dazzling green ...