Entertainment Weekly recently revealed the cover for The Black Elfstone, Terry Brooks’ next Shannara novel, which will be published in June 2017. But this wasn’t just any cover reveal; Brooks also shared the news that after nearly 40 years, he’ll be ending the Shannara series that he began in 1977.
Brooks told EW that “my original plan was to live forever, but I’m discovering that’s probably not going to happen, and I don’t want to be one of those authors whose series, after going on such a long time, gets written by somebody else at the end. So I decided it was time to at least write the ending, because I’ve had it in mind for many, many years.” The Black Elfstone is the first installment of The Fall of Shannara, the final quartet in the series.
In the interview, Brooks shares his writing process (including how he stopped being “dogmatic” about outlining 20 years ago), as well as his goal with The Fall of Shannara: “trying to harken back a bit to the beginning—to the Sword, the Elfstone, and the Wishstone—and using that as a touchstone for some of the scenes, characters, and creatures.” He’s also looking forward to the anticipation of writing a new series. But first, he gives some hints as to how Shannara will end:
I’ve got it in my head how I want the series to end—I know the emotional impact I want it to have. I started out with some concepts about the way science and magic work, where they were flip sides of the same coin. They would basically operate with the same rules, and you would learn that, just like science, magic could work for the better of people, or it could be bad, it could be used poorly. And the world, as I see it, is cyclical: History repeats itself. So there would be this war between the two, and each of them would become, at various times, more popular with the people. Now I’ll show you what happens when the two meet yet again! Will one prove to be dominant, or will there be a resolution of some sort between the two?
The Black Elfstone will be published June 13, 2017; the second book is expected to be published in 2018. Read the entire interview at EW.
I fell out of love with Shannara series after the books starting feeling repetitive and forced. I love the MTV series, which convinced me maybe it was time to give the books another shot. Though it can be hard to really get into a long involved series like this.
Great and sad news
I guess I’ll re-read (skipping Sword because, man, that book is painful) the series in 2020.
I’ve never followed the series. So I didn’t realize it was “on-going” still. Good for him to wanting to provide an ending for himself and fans.
But like @3, I’ll wait a few more years. I’ve waited this long.
@3, I just started reading this series and started with Sword. It was…painful. I have Elfstones, and I’ve heard that is much better. But I thought Sword was bad.
Sorry everyone, terry brooks is fantastic. His books and characters he’s created are fantastic. The mini-series on MTV was not to my liking because it didn’t follow the book… FAIL. Read his books, just read them!!!! The Elfstones was by far his best book.
i read the sword first years ago and then again recently. hardest painful read ever except maybe an encyclopedia brittanica cover to cover… that said Elfstones Wishsong and all else he’s written is captivating as anything else anyone else has writ in this genre…
I have been reading Terry’s books ever since The Sword of Shannara came out.
His writing has inspired me to write and I have a few, albeit short books published- most are fantasy.
I love his well-drawn characters and exciting battle descriptions.
The covers on his books are awesome and to me an Irish author I can appreciate the artwork and thought that has gone into the whole concept of all his stories.
That’s it, good luck, Terry with all your endeavours.
i have read every single book in the series and have the full collection. I started reading the books when I was at school and am waiting in anticipation for the final book, which will be added to my shelf once read.