June Ask Terry Posted

VaLenda McKee writes: I would like to see more Word and Void; Angel Fire East left me hanging. Any plans? I have been reading your books ( all of them ) since I was 13 and I am now introducing them to my grandchildren.

Terry Brooks replies: Hoping that my books and your kind gesture of offering them doesn’t alienate your grandchildren, VaLenda. At least there are plenty of choices. As for Word & Void, I have no plans for any other books in that series. I always felt it was left right where it should have been left – that I had said it all and it was closed out where I wanted it. But people keep asking for more, so maybe at some point I will give in and write something. But I would have to have a good idea for a new story and at this point I do not. Plan on Shannara and Magic Kingdom and something new next year for now.

Edwin David Bliss writes: Are there any plans (by you or your current publishers) to publish any more trilogies (or any omnibuses)?

Terry Brooks replies: I believe there are, Edwin. I think they will do Dark Legacy before too long and once the hardcovers of Defenders of Shannara are out of print, then likely that trilogy too. But they don’t want to rush these things, so I think you might have to wait a bit on everything but Dark Legacy. Maybe Del Rey will decide not to do them. I will try to keep you apprised of this on the website and Facebook. Those omnibus editions are very popular.

Jesse writes: I was wondering when you were younger—let’s say school age—what did you read for fun, not school?

Terry Brooks replies: Jesse, the truth is I don’t remember when I was younger. That was decades ago. I must have been younger, but no one seems to remember me that way. So . . . why don’t I stop messing with you and cut to the chase. I have read for fun all my life. There has never been a time when I didn’t read and didn’t read for for. Even school assignments. Even some I didn’t like, I tried to like. Usually, I could find a way to make some fun out of it. But that’s pretty much how I get through life. Escape into books, go to a happy place, make some new friends, learn about another world. Love it!

Nathan Allen writes: They are making the Season 2 storyline different from the books. Are you at all worried that they will ruin the story for your long time fans? Or that it will be butchered and make it so a 3rd season is never made?

Terry Brooks replies: Wait a minute! They are? Why didn’t someone tell me? Okay, I knew. I’m just getting a bit flakey with all these questions I am catching up on – several months now and more to go. That’s what I get for taking time off. Anyway, you question. My answer is always the same. The books are not going to change. They will always be the same. If you loved them once, you shouldn’t worry about them being affected by the TV show, which is on a parallel but different journey. They are separate creatures and should be viewed differently. I happen to have liked Season One, even though it wasn’t entirely faithful to Elfstones. I’ve seen Season Two, which borrows from Sword, Elfstones, Wishsong, and a tiny bit from First King, and I like this one, too. So, no, I am not worried that somehow this will pollute Shannara for all my readers. Some won’t like it, but most will. And believe me, there is no hint of anything in Season Two that would suggest there will not be further seasons down the road. Keep a happy thought for this, will you?

Art writes: I have just finished reading The Fall of Shannara: The Black Elfstone. It was GREAT. When is the next book in this series due to come out?

Terry Brooks replies: The Skaar Invasion, Book 2, is set to publish in May of 2018. The books should come out one year apart until finished. Glad you liked the first. I think you will be excited by the second, as well.