Terry Brooks

Beerman · 06-24-2011, 10:59 AM

In high school after reading LOTR triology and Hobbit, I got hooked on scifi/fantasy. Of course, high school and college required it's own large amount of reading (I was a history major) and I gave that up until I got out of college. I then started visiting the library where I found 2 authors I became fond off....Terry Brooks and his Shannara and Stephen R. Donaldson and a number of his 'Bane' books. Then marriage, children, work, life, yada, yada, yada and now I'm back to enjoying reading again and picking up where I left off. It's great that both these authors are still writing and I can enjoy my comfy zone again.
I highly recommend them both and there are many others but none that I personally feel strongly about.

HarryT · 06-24-2011, 11:05 AM

Do you not think that both Terry Brooks and Stephen Donaldson are somewhat "derivative"? Terry Brooks' early works ("The Sword of Shannara", in particular) struck me when I originally read it as being a very poor LOTR clone.

DiapDealer · 06-24-2011, 11:19 AM

I have a strong nostalgic love for both authors.

Let's face it... they (and Del Rey) played a huge part in bringing modern fantasy novels to the masses back in 1977. And I reveled in it.

Unfortunately, as many fond memories as I have of reading their works then—and even for years to come afterward—neither has written anything in quite a few years that really does much of anything for me. Donaldson's Gap Cycle was probably the last thing of his that "wowed" me (and it really wowed me). Brooks... I'd have to go back to his Heritage series for something I truly "loved".

It's funny that I still consider them among my favorite authors, even though I've been done reading them for quite a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Terry Brooks' early works ("The Sword of Shannara", in particular) struck me when I originally read it as being a very poor LOTR clone.

To be perfectly fair, this is something that Brooks himself has acknowledged unreservedly. The first one-third of Sword is a plot-point by plot-point ripoff of LoTR. He took a break from writing it at that point, and when he returned to it... that's when his own style and story started to come shining through. The books that followed were definitely not derivative (except in the way that all writing is derivative). His second book - The Elfstones of Shannara - is generally considered (by Terry's fans) to be his masterpiece.

Donaldson, however, I never considered derivative.

HarryT · 06-24-2011, 11:24 AM

The fantasy author who really "wowed" me (other than Tolkien, who is "the master", IMHO) was Raymond Feist. I remember reading "Magician" and being absolutely bowled over by it. That was a little later than the early Brooks/Donaldson, of course. I really wish there was a legit eBook of "Magician" (the "expanded" version, of course!) available.

Beerman · 06-24-2011, 11:51 AM

I remember going thru the library and now Amazon and seeing tons of authors who surely would never have started writing if not for Tolkien. We all benefit from it and that's the great part.
Sometimes I wish they would get out of their comfort zones a bit more but when many have tried, they failed. Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy strayed and lost readers only to come back again with what works. I think for me, now anyway, my good memories of first reading these books is what keeps me enjoying them. Had I just started reading them now at a much older age, I might not have enjoyed them so much.

Harry, I love your retro Dalek avatar!

HarryT · 06-24-2011, 02:51 PM

Thanks, Diap - perhaps I'll give Mr Brooks a second chance - it must be 25 years since I last read one of his books!

caleb72 · 06-25-2011, 09:48 AM

I wouldn't have said Stephen Donaldson was that derivative. I found his books to be quite unique.

Terry Brooks could well have been a clone, I haven't read him. However, I understand some of his other trilogies are more imaginative than his first

Someone commented on Raymond Feist and for me he is one of the more successful derivatives of Lord of the Rings and his first trilogy, in my humble and sacrilegious opinion, surpasses Lord of the Rings.

rdjack21 · 06-26-2011, 01:20 AM

For me other than Tolkien (who is at the top) it would be hard for me to choose between David Eddings (The Belgariad & The Malloreon series only) and Raymond Feist. I read both the rift war saga and the Belgariad at practically at the same time because one would be released then six months later the other would come out. Yes at the time I was paying the piper and bought all of them in Hard back as they came out (I still have them to).

The problem with Eddings is that he was a one hit wonder in that the Belgariad and the Malloreon series were great but his other stuff was essentially the same story with different characters. And to be honest I did not bother to read his Dreamers Series.

Now Feist on the other hand seems to be continuing to pump out one great book after another. And like someone else said I really wish all of his stuff was available legally in eBook format. But my favorites of his are the original Rift War saga and the Daughter of the Empire series (actually it is called the Kelewan Empire Series) he did with Jenny Wurts.

HarryT · 06-26-2011, 01:24 AM

Eddings may have been what you call "a one hit wonder", but it was a pretty damned good one hit

. I have the "Belgariad" on my Kindle right now; it's "comfort reading" for me, and I re-read it often.

crich70 · 06-26-2011, 01:31 AM

One writer I read some of in my teen years is Piers Anthony. I read Mr. Brooks "Elfstones of Shannara" at about the same time and enjoyed it, but I remembered some of one of Mr. Anthony's books (it was actually 3 of them in one cover) long after I'd returned it to the library. It was books 1-3 of his Xanth books as I recall.

HarryT · 06-26-2011, 01:59 AM

Can't agree with you there, crich. Mr Anthony has written some good stuff, I agree (I enjoyed his "Incarnations" series), but he's also written sone pretty bad stuff and some downright weird stuff, too. The Xanth books are just a series of very bad puns - amusing for a short time, but quickly tiresome. It's just "froth" to my mind, lacking any substance. I don't "care" about any character in the Xanth books, as I do about characters in Tolkien, Feist, Eddings, etc.

CRussel · 06-26-2011, 10:00 AM

Somehow, I'd never managed to read any Raymond Feist. Not sure how I missed him, he appears to be an author I'd thoroughly enjoy. Too bad he's not available in eBook format.

caleb72 · 06-26-2011, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdjack21

But my favorites of his are the original Rift War saga and the Daughter of the Empire series (actually it is called the Kelewan Empire Series) he did with Jenny Wurts.

Yep - me also. The original Riftwar trilogy and the Kelewan Empire series were exquisite fantasy. I did read some more of his stuff, but eventually got sick of him. But those 6 are amazing.

As an aside, Janny Wurts is also pretty awesome herself.

CRussel · 06-26-2011, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Somehow, I'd never managed to read any Raymond Feist. Not sure how I missed him, he appears to be an author I'd thoroughly enjoy. Too bad he's not available in eBook format.

The author and publisher are certainly not doing themselves any good here. There are eBook versions of most (but not all) of the later books he's done, but absolutely no legal versions of the core Riftwar Saga. Grrrr. Well, have to see what the local library has...

PKFFW · 06-26-2011, 06:01 PM

I have always loved Feist's work up until recently. The Riftwar and Empire series are fantastic and I really enjoyed the Demon War saga too. Lately he has gone down hill big time in my opinion. I'm only continuing to read his stuff to see how the entire Midkemia saga finishes.

Eddings I loved when I was younger. I read everything up to the Eldar Gods(I think it is called). When he died I re-read the Belgariad series but just didn't get much out of it. I guess my tastes had just changed too much.

As for Brooks, I loved Sword of Shanarra but by the end of his first trilogy I felt like sending him some money so he could go buy a new plot line. Book 2 and 3 of that series just seemed like a re-write of Sword with a few character name changes. I did love the Word and the Void trilogy and so went on to read the Genesis of Sharanarra series but didn't think much of that. I've given up on him now.

06-24-2011, 10:59 AM	#1
Beerman Member Posts: 24 Karma: 1286 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Ipad 2	Terry Brooks In high school after reading LOTR triology and Hobbit, I got hooked on scifi/fantasy. Of course, high school and college required it's own large amount of reading (I was a history major) and I gave that up until I got out of college. I then started visiting the library where I found 2 authors I became fond off....Terry Brooks and his Shannara and Stephen R. Donaldson and a number of his 'Bane' books. Then marriage, children, work, life, yada, yada, yada and now I'm back to enjoying reading again and picking up where I left off. It's great that both these authors are still writing and I can enjoy my comfy zone again. I highly recommend them both and there are many others but none that I personally feel strongly about.

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06-24-2011, 11:05 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Do you not think that both Terry Brooks and Stephen Donaldson are somewhat "derivative"? Terry Brooks' early works ("The Sword of Shannara", in particular) struck me when I originally read it as being a very poor LOTR clone.

06-24-2011, 11:24 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The fantasy author who really "wowed" me (other than Tolkien, who is "the master", IMHO) was Raymond Feist. I remember reading "Magician" and being absolutely bowled over by it. That was a little later than the early Brooks/Donaldson, of course. I really wish there was a legit eBook of "Magician" (the "expanded" version, of course!) available.

06-24-2011, 11:51 AM	#5
Beerman Member Posts: 24 Karma: 1286 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Ipad 2	I remember going thru the library and now Amazon and seeing tons of authors who surely would never have started writing if not for Tolkien. We all benefit from it and that's the great part. Sometimes I wish they would get out of their comfort zones a bit more but when many have tried, they failed. Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy strayed and lost readers only to come back again with what works. I think for me, now anyway, my good memories of first reading these books is what keeps me enjoying them. Had I just started reading them now at a much older age, I might not have enjoyed them so much. Harry, I love your retro Dalek avatar!

06-24-2011, 02:51 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thanks, Diap - perhaps I'll give Mr Brooks a second chance - it must be 25 years since I last read one of his books!

06-25-2011, 09:48 AM	#7
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	I wouldn't have said Stephen Donaldson was that derivative. I found his books to be quite unique. Terry Brooks could well have been a clone, I haven't read him. However, I understand some of his other trilogies are more imaginative than his first Someone commented on Raymond Feist and for me he is one of the more successful derivatives of Lord of the Rings and his first trilogy, in my humble and sacrilegious opinion, surpasses Lord of the Rings.

06-26-2011, 01:20 AM	#8
rdjack21 Groupie Posts: 153 Karma: 3241792 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Elocity A7, Nook STR, Galaxy Nexus	For me other than Tolkien (who is at the top) it would be hard for me to choose between David Eddings (The Belgariad & The Malloreon series only) and Raymond Feist. I read both the rift war saga and the Belgariad at practically at the same time because one would be released then six months later the other would come out. Yes at the time I was paying the piper and bought all of them in Hard back as they came out (I still have them to). The problem with Eddings is that he was a one hit wonder in that the Belgariad and the Malloreon series were great but his other stuff was essentially the same story with different characters. And to be honest I did not bother to read his Dreamers Series. Now Feist on the other hand seems to be continuing to pump out one great book after another. And like someone else said I really wish all of his stuff was available legally in eBook format. But my favorites of his are the original Rift War saga and the Daughter of the Empire series (actually it is called the Kelewan Empire Series) he did with Jenny Wurts.

06-26-2011, 01:24 AM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Eddings may have been what you call "a one hit wonder", but it was a pretty damned good one hit . I have the "Belgariad" on my Kindle right now; it's "comfort reading" for me, and I re-read it often.

06-26-2011, 01:31 AM	#10
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,304 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	One writer I read some of in my teen years is Piers Anthony. I read Mr. Brooks "Elfstones of Shannara" at about the same time and enjoyed it, but I remembered some of one of Mr. Anthony's books (it was actually 3 of them in one cover) long after I'd returned it to the library. It was books 1-3 of his Xanth books as I recall.

06-26-2011, 01:59 AM	#11
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Can't agree with you there, crich. Mr Anthony has written some good stuff, I agree (I enjoyed his "Incarnations" series), but he's also written sone pretty bad stuff and some downright weird stuff, too. The Xanth books are just a series of very bad puns - amusing for a short time, but quickly tiresome. It's just "froth" to my mind, lacking any substance. I don't "care" about any character in the Xanth books, as I do about characters in Tolkien, Feist, Eddings, etc.

06-26-2011, 10:00 AM	#12
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,157 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Somehow, I'd never managed to read any Raymond Feist. Not sure how I missed him, he appears to be an author I'd thoroughly enjoy. Too bad he's not available in eBook format.

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06-26-2011, 06:01 PM	#15
PKFFW Wizard Posts: 3,681 Karma: 28297636 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: BeBook, Sony PRS-T1, Kobo H2O	I have always loved Feist's work up until recently. The Riftwar and Empire series are fantastic and I really enjoyed the Demon War saga too. Lately he has gone down hill big time in my opinion. I'm only continuing to read his stuff to see how the entire Midkemia saga finishes. Eddings I loved when I was younger. I read everything up to the Eldar Gods(I think it is called). When he died I re-read the Belgariad series but just didn't get much out of it. I guess my tastes had just changed too much. As for Brooks, I loved Sword of Shanarra but by the end of his first trilogy I felt like sending him some money so he could go buy a new plot line. Book 2 and 3 of that series just seemed like a re-write of Sword with a few character name changes. I did love the Word and the Void trilogy and so went on to read the Genesis of Sharanarra series but didn't think much of that. I've given up on him now.