Terry Brooks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Terry Brooks
|
|
|---|---|
Brooks at the 2016 Lucca Comics & Games
|
|
| Born | Terence Dean Brooks January 8, 1944 Sterling, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, former attorney |
| Education | Hamilton College (BA) Washington and Lee University (JD) |
| Genre | Epic fantasy, urban fantasy |
| Notable awards | Inkpot Award (1997) |
| Spouse | Judine Brooks |
Terence Dean Brooks, born on January 8, 1944, is a famous American writer. He is best known for his exciting fantasy stories. He has written many books, mostly in the style of epic fantasy.
Terry Brooks has written 23 books that became New York Times bestsellers. This means they were very popular and sold many copies. In total, he has sold over 25 million books. He is one of the most successful fantasy writers alive today. In March 2025, he announced that he would be writing less often.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Terry Brooks grew up in a small town called Sterling, Illinois. He spent a big part of his life living there. He went to Hamilton College and earned a degree in English literature in 1966.
Later, he studied law at Washington and Lee University. Before he became a full-time writer, he worked as a lawyer.
Writing Career
Terry Brooks loved writing since he was in high school. He wrote different kinds of stories, including science fiction and westerns. One day, when he was in college, he read The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. This book made him want to write fantasy stories.
While Tolkien inspired the type of stories he wrote, Brooks also learned from the writing style of William Faulkner. With these inspirations, he published his first book, The Sword of Shannara, in 1977.
Popular Book Series
After writing two more books in the Shannara series, Brooks started a new series. This new series became known as the Landover novels. He then wrote a four-book series called The Heritage of Shannara.
For the next 14 years, he wrote more Landover books. He also wrote The Word and Void trilogy. He continued the Shannara series with a prequel, First King of Shannara. This book told a story that happened before The Sword of Shannara.
Brooks then wrote two more Shannara series: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and High Druid of Shannara. He also finished a trilogy called Genesis of Shannara. This trilogy connected his Word and Void and Shannara series.
The sixth Landover book, A Princess of Landover, came out in August 2009. He then wrote a two-book series called Legends of Shannara. These books took place after the events of Genesis of Shannara. The first book, Bearers of the Black Staff, was released in August 2010. The second, The Measure of the Magic, came out in August 2011.
He then completed the The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. This included Wards of Faerie (February 2013), Bloodfire Quest (June 2013), and Witch Wraith (December 2013). After that, he wrote the Defenders of Shannara trilogy. These books were The High Druid's Blade (July 2014), The Darkling Child (June 2015), and The Sorcerer's Daughter (May 24, 2016).
Brooks then wrote the final four books of the Shannara series, called The Fall of Shannara. The first book, The Black Elfstone, was released on June 13, 2017. The second, The Skaar Invasion , came out on June 19, 2018. The third book, The Stiehl Assassin, was published on May 28, 2019. The fourth and final book, The Last Druid, was published on October 20, 2020.
In March 2025, Terry Brooks announced his semi-retirement from writing. Another author, Delilah S. Dawson, will now continue writing stories in the Shannara world.
Books and Movies
A TV show based on the Shannara books, called The Shannara Chronicles, started in January 2016 on MTV. The show began with the second book in the original series, Elfstones. This was because the second book had strong female characters that were not in the first book. The second season aired in 2017 on Spike TV. The show was cancelled after two seasons, but producers hoped to find a new network for it.
Brooks has also written other books, including some based on movies. He wrote Hook, based on the movie, which was first published in 1991. He also wrote Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, published in 1999.
He has written about his own life as a writer in two books. These are Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life (2004) and Why I Write About Elves (2005). A science fiction book, Street Freaks, was released in October 2018. Brooks has also written many short stories that are collected in a book called Small Magic.
Personal Life
Terry Brooks lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Judine.
See also
In Spanish: Terry Brooks para niños
- Shannara
- Magic Kingdom of Landover
