April Ask Terry Posted

Justin writes: One question I have is related to the Knights of the Word and the black staff. In Word/Void, we see that John Ross has been crippled to signify his dependence on the Word and its magic, and we see that he has dreams showing him what will happen whether he succeeds or not. My question is, what happened to that in Genesis? The dreams I can understand, the future they were trying to avoid has come to pass, but what happened to the Knights of the Word in this series to make them know they were dependent on the magic?

Terry Brooks replies: John Ross was deliberately crippled because he refused to accept his position as a Knight of the Word after agreeing to serve. He panicked, grew fearful, tried to back out and had to be brought back into line. So he was damaged in a way that required him to depend on his staff, also to remind him of the importance of commitment to his service. No one said the Word was kind and loving. Nor O’olish Amaneh. After that, we don’t see another Knight of the Word who tries to back out. By Genesis, they are all fighting to stay alive and having the power of the Word’s magic gives them that opportunity, both for themselves and for
others.

Meena writes: Hi Terry. I have been absoltuely addicted to your books since I first read the Sword of Shannara in 1979 and I thank you for the incredible reading pleasure you have given the world. My question is do you have any plans to write about the beginning, i.e. the fairy world, the creation of the original Ellcrys and about the war between fairy and demon?

Terry Brooks replies: I probably won’t live long enough to do all that. But to ease your concerns, there is some of what you are requesting in the first book of the new series of future Shannara, which begins publishing in August 2012. I won’t say more because it will mean giving away too much of the story, but all of the things you are asking about will be addressed in those three books. Are we still on good terms?

Jamie writes: It seems like you have stayed pretty consistant in only two worlds Shannara and the Magic Landover series. My question is will you ever plan to work on another universe again or just stay comfortably in those two

Terry Brooks replies:Yes & No.

Oh, you want details? I am working on a new book in what could end up a series. This story is in no way connected to anything I have done before. I have a second book waiting in the wings – same thing. I won’t stop working in Shannara, but it really is time to do something new, as well. I am getting antsy about pushing the envelope again and feel I have to do it pretty soon.

Tom writes: I’ve noticed that the race of man has been the recurring villain for many of the Shannara books. They’re the ones who destroyed the old world, Brona was human and used the rest of humanity as his pawns in the first race war, and then there is the Federation (need I say more on that). Now, I realize not all humans in Shannara are bad, but the majority of them are under the Federation, which is essentially a ‘Shannara’ in-universe symbol of cruelty and oppression. What I’m wondering is do you plan on redeeming the race of man in the eyes of the other races? Will something happen in a future book or series that will convince the other races to accept the people of the Southland?

Terry Brooks replies: Hmmm. Is that true? Well, both the Trolls and the Elves have shown their dark side along the way – i.e., Measure of the Magic (forthcoming in August) and the Heritage of Shannara series (ancient history by now). The Dwarves have been pretty noble, but maybe I can do some damage to them, too! I guess I could suggest that my take on the Humans of the Shannara world mirrors my take on the Humans of our own world, but that would be an oversimplification. I guess what I should say is that my focus as a writer is on my own species, so that in every case I can think of in my books I am looking at the light and dark sides of humanity. As far as redemption, I haven’t reached a point where I am ready to consider redeeming particular group of people. I am more interested in dealing with individuals. We’ll see.

Jason writes: You mentioned in your blog how you like killing off likable characters. Would you ever consider killing off the main character, not just an Ohmsford, but the main Ohmsford of one of your stories? Especially if it were an appropriate way to resolve the story?

Terry Brooks replies: No one is safe in a Brooks book. Ohmsfords are Everyman, so I don’t mess around with the main person because he or she is usually a personification of you and me. But some other main characters have bitten the dust along the way. You might want to take a deep breath before reading Measure of the Magic this August. And next year, with the beginning of the new trilogy. . . well. . . you’ll see.