Terry Brooks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Terry Brooks
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Brooks at the 2016 Lucca Comics & Games
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| 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 January 8, 1944) is a famous American writer. He is best known for his exciting fantasy stories. He mostly writes epic fantasy, which means his books are full of magic, quests, and amazing worlds. Terry Brooks has written many books that have become New York Times bestsellers. Over 25 million copies of his books have been sold! He is one of the most successful fantasy writers alive today.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Terry Brooks grew up in Sterling, Illinois, a small town in the Midwest. He spent a lot of his life there. He went to Hamilton College and earned a degree in English literature in 1966. Later, he studied law and became a lawyer. He worked as an attorney before he became a full-time author.
Becoming a Writer
Terry Brooks loved writing ever since he was in high school. He tried writing different types of stories, like 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 really inspired him to write fantasy stories.
Even though Tolkien inspired his genre, Brooks says that the way he writes comes from William Faulkner. With this inspiration, he published his first book, The Sword of Shannara, in 1977.
Terry Brooks's Books
After writing two more books in the Shannara series, Brooks started a new series. These books became known as the Landover novels. He then wrote a four-book series called The Heritage of Shannara.
For many years, he wrote more Landover books. He also wrote The Word and Void trilogy. Terry Brooks continued to expand the Shannara series. He wrote First King of Shannara, which tells a story that happened before The Sword of Shannara.
He then wrote two more series: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and High Druid of Shannara. He also finished Genesis of Shannara, a trilogy that connects his Word and Void and Shannara series.
The sixth Landover book, A Princess of Landover, came out in 2009. He then returned to Shannara with a two-book series called Legends of Shannara. These stories happen after the Genesis of Shannara books. The first book, Bearers of the Black Staff, was released in 2010. The second, The Measure of the Magic, came out in 2011.
Next, he wrote The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. This included Wards of Faerie (2013), Bloodfire Quest (2013), and Witch Wraith (2013). He followed this with the Defenders of Shannara trilogy. These books are The High Druid's Blade (2014), The Darkling Child (2015), and The Sorcerer's Daughter (2016).
Terry Brooks has been working on the very last series in the Shannara saga. It's called The Fall of Shannara and has four books. The first book, The Black Elfstone, was released in 2017. The second, The Skaar Invasion , came out in 2018. The Stiehl Assassin was published in 2019. The final book, The Last Druid, was released in 2020.
Shannara on TV
A TV show based on the Shannara books started in 2016. It was called The Shannara Chronicles and aired on MTV. The show began with the second book, Elfstones, because it had strong female characters. The second season aired in 2017 on Spike TV. The show was canceled after two seasons, but producers hoped to find it a new home.
Other Works
Terry Brooks has also written other books. Some are based on movies, like Hook (1991) and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999). He has also written about his own life as a writer. These books include Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life (2004) and Why I Write About Elves (2005). In 2018, he released a science fiction book called Street Freaks. He 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.
Writing Short Stories vs. Novels
Terry Brooks once wrote a short story called "Indomitable". It was an extra part for his book The Wishsong of Shannara. He said that writing short stories is much harder for him than writing long novels. He feels like he doesn't have enough space to tell the story in a short format. He prefers writing big, long books!
See also
- Shannara
- Magic Kingdom of Landover
