Kevin's Watch

Don't know if this is common knowledge or not... But although he has always said that he would never, ever write a prequel or a series that took place before the events of THE SWORD OF SHANNARA, Brooks announced that he would now do it. And it could end up as a 4 or 5-book cycle.

The tale will occur hundreds of years before the events of THE SWORD OF SHANNARA...

Brooks, who was supposed to write a MAGIC KINGDOM OF LANDOVER novel next, said that once this idea entered his mind, it would not let him go. And he prefers to write another Magic Kindom book after the movie comes out...

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

Don't know if this is common knowledge or not... But although he has always said that he would never, ever write a prequel or a series that took place before the events of THE SWORD OF SHANNARA, Brooks announced that he would now do it. And it could end up as a 4 or 5-book cycle.

Your information is either grossly inaccurate or your quoting Mr. Brooks from nearly 10 years ago (or perhaps Brooks forgot himself:). He already has written a Shannara prequel that occurs before the events in the Sword of Shannara, it's called The First King of Shannara written in 1996.

His next book entitled Straken has a tentative release date in August

No offense, my friend, but it is you who appears to be mistaken. Here is a letter Brooks wrote to his fans in December:

Holiday Greetings, Everyone,
I promised a letter before Christmas detailing how things will progress on the writing and publishing front for the coming year - and a little beyond - and here it is. I was waiting for several things to fall into place before attempting this, and as it is, a few are still undecided. So I will give you what I have, but some of it will have to wait until the first part of next year.
Let me start by telling you what is not going to happen, and this requires that you take a deep breath and not call me names. Remember how I promised you a new Magic Kingdom book next? After Straken publishes in the summer of 2005? Remember that? Of course you do. Well, you can forget it. The reason I changed it is that you learn to go with what excites you most, and early November saw the beginnings of a new story take shape, but it wasn't a Magic Kingdom story. It was something else entirely.
For years I have been asked if I would ever write about the early Shannara periods, the ones involving the Great Wars and Galaphile and the First Council of Druids. My response was always the same: I wasn't interested in going back in time, only forward. I fudged a bit on First King of Shannara, but that was mostly to answer a whole raft of questions about the Sword and the Druids and whatnot.
But lately I have found myself thinking about the whole business of a civilization destroying itself and then rebuilding in the aftermath.
So after considering alternatives, I have decided to undertake a pretty ambitious project. I will write a pre-Shannara history from the advent of the Great Wars to the formation of the First Council of Druids.
It will probably take me at least six books to do this and likely more. But the first trilogy, which I will write next, will chronicle a period of time beginning with the destruction of the old world. Familiar elements of Shannara will surface right from the beginning. The Elves will come out of hiding, Elfstones will be present, the King of the Silver River will appear and the Races that comprise the population of the Four Lands will begin to evolve. I have already begun writing Book One, and it is set for publication in late August 2006.
The new Magic Kingdom book has been pushed back for several years, mostly because I felt I needed to write the pre-Shannara books first. But also, the movie of Magic Kingdom might come about in that three-year time period, and it might make more sense for a new MK book to come out then. I had hoped to be able to reveal some details about the movie by now, but until the contracts are all signed and sealed, I think it would be best to wait. That should happen in the next sixty days, but these things move at their own pace. So be patient, and I will tell you something more as soon as I can.
It has also been decided to put the newly expanded version of The World of Shannara on hold. The publisher and I think it might be a good idea to hold off on this version until after the first three books in the new series so that some of that material can be included. That will give Teresa Patterson, our valued writer of The World of Shannara, more to work with and the readers more to delve into. In the meantime, you can still get a copy of the old version of The World of Shannara, which will be reissued in September 2005 with a new cover.
Of course, the last book in the High Druid series, Straken, will be out in late August of this coming year.
There you have it. I know you will have lots of questions about the new series and what it will accomplish, but I believe it is bad luck for a writer to say too much about a project he is working on. So I am keeping a lot to myself for now. Once I have finished Book One, which should be sometime next fall, I will be more willing to talk about the specifics.
So, go out and do your shopping. Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Think good thoughts and don't forget to be kind to others. We could use a little more of that.
Best Wishes, Terry.
December, 2004
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Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

That Letter is not new to me:) In fact it was the basis of my whole post...

No offense, my friend, but it is you who appears to be mistaken. Here is a letter Brooks wrote to his fans in December:

No Offense but that letter just validates everything I posted.

I said and I quote "His next book entitled Straken has a tentative release date in August", which Brook's states here:

Of course, the last book in the High Druid series, Straken, will be out in late August of this coming year.

Note the words "coming year", this letter is dated decmebr 2004, which means August 2005 is teh release date for Straken he is mentioning.

I also said you are either mistaken, or Brooks misquoted himself if you say he has never written a Shannara prequel before The Sword of Shannara which is 100% accurate. Why because I have read every novel Brooks has ever published. The First King of Shannara is a PREQUEL, Brooks states so himself.

What exactly do you claim I am wrong about?

Your post merely validates everything I said.

His next new novel will be out in August 2005 (Straken)

His second prequel novel (First King of Shannara) being the first he wrote in 1996 but unrelated), and start of a new series will be out august 2006 from what he states.

I also want to state I have a habit of seeming bombastic in my posts, and want to state this is not my intent. The information was just incorrect, or at the very least vague, if anything my post was meant to add clarity to the given information, and should not be construed in any other way.


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