Shanniversary

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the publication of Terry Brooks' first novel, The Sword of Shannara. Though that book's plot and characters are forged firmly in the mold of The Lord of the Rings, it marked the beginning of a long career. Brooks has long since branched out into interesting original ideas, mixing fantasy with science fiction in compelling ways, embarking on a post-apocalyptic fantasy saga... and publishing every year in the summer like clockwork, unlike some fantasy authors. (cough-Martin-cough)

Terry Brooks has another new novel coming at the end of August, but he's actually marking this anniversary in several special ways. The first is a series of short stories published exclusively in the e-book format, each one focused on one of his popular past characters. It began earlier this month with the release of "Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest."

The Druid Allanon was Brooks' Gandalf-like character from his very first novel, and this new short story is a prequel to the events of that book. It chronicles his efforts to locate a surviving heir to the bloodline of the elven king Jerle Shannara, a person who might be able to wield a weapon against the evil lord threatening the land.

I personally was never the enthusiastic fan of Allanon that many of Terry Brooks' fans seem to be. (I was much more drawn to Garet Jax, the weapon master of The Wishsong of Shannara, who apparently will be the subject of Brooks' second short story later this year.) So I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to read this tale. It also has the prequel problem, in that it leads directly into events of a novel I already know well.

That said, I did find the story entertaining. For one thing, there's just something inherently neat about an established author going back to revisit the beginning of his career. And it's nice that he's doing it now that he's long since found his way out from Tolkien's shadow. Though the plot of this story is very basic (necessitated by the short length), it doesn't feel like a Lord of the Rings clone as did the novel it leads into. The character of Allanon does pop, as does one significant side character introduced for this tale.

The bottom line is: it's hard to go wrong here. The story sells for a mere 99 cents. It's not amazing, but it's certainly more than worth that reasonable price. I grade it a B. It's a nice appetizer to get me ready for what Terry Brooks will be releasing later this year.