The Children is More Than Alright

The newest book from one of my favorite writers, Terry Brooks, hit stores today. Armageddon's Children is the first of a new trilogy that connects his longest-running series, the Shannara books, with a trilogy he wrote in the late 90s set in "the real world." I was able to get a small jump start on reading it, and between that and my enthusiasm to plow through it, I've already finished.

I would have to say this is not Terry Brooks at the very top of his game, but it's still a very good book. On the plus side, the story is very engaging. Most of the characters are interesting and developed well. It gets the long-time fan's juices flowing, speculating what sorts of further connections between his other series of books will develop throughout this trilogy (perhaps much in the way Stephen King fans got enjoyment out of the connections between The Dark Tower and his other books). However, I think it is also written well enough that one could read this story and enjoy it, even without having read another Terry Brooks novel.

On the down side, there are a couple of characters that are not quite as well developed, even though they figure to be rather prominent in the following two books. (The story essentially has four concurrently running plots, only two of which intersect within this first volume, and the characters of one of the four plots are somewhat thin and given fairly cursory treatment compared to the rest.)

My only other complaint would be that the book doesn't really have an ending. Not entirely surprising for a trilogy, I know, but where this volume concluded felt more like the chopped-off first third of an extra-long novel, more than a novel all unto itself. But then, that's partly also a sign that I'm eager for what happens next, which is a good "complaint."

I give the book a B+... though if I'm really trying to encourage someone to try Terry Brooks, I'd recommend his series "The Heritage of Shannara." I think it's his best, and it's all already published (all four books in one volume, actually), so you don't have to wait to see how it ends.