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Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks is a currently seventy-five-year-old, male author of
fantasy.

He has become accomplished in his field, and his up-

bringing has influenced his writing style.

Mr. Brooks was

educated in Biblical Christianity, and that worldview has

influenced his self and his style, leading to relatable stories
that have received much approbation.
Author Terry Brooks was born in Sterling, Illinois in 1944.
His creative ability could be seen when he was very young.
Brooks found a creative outlet in imagining stories while playing
in the nearby Sinnissippi Park.

In the fourth grade, Brooks

began writing for school assignments and for pleasure, and from
there his love of writing only grew.

During high school, Brooks

wrote stories of varying genres, including science fiction,

Western, fiction, and non-fiction.

It was in high school that

Mr. Brooks was introduced to J. R. R. Tolkiens Lord of the

Rings.

After reading Tolkiens work, Brooks fell in love with

fantasy and shifted his focus to writing largely in that genre.

After high school, Brooks attended Hamilton College of New
York, where he received a bachelors degree in English
literature.

After graduation, Brooks went on to study law at the

School of Law of Washington and Lee University.

law by day and wrote by night.

There he studied

Terry finished his first novel

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while still in law school and sent the manuscript to Ballentine
Books to be considered for publication.

A Mr. Laster Del Rey was

very interested in Brooks book and became his mentor. In 1977,

Brooks first novel was finally completed. Following this
achievement, Brooks decided to quit his studies in law and become
a full-time author.

He then completed his first trilogy and

began to write a second set in the Sinnissippi Park in which he

used to play.

Brooks later married his wife, Judine, bought

homes in Seattle and Hawaii, and went on to write over forty more
novels and short stories.
Terry Brooks was raised in a Christian home and grew up
studying the Bible, but he never accepted Christ as his Lord and
Savior.

Although Brooks is not a born again Christian, his works

seem to reflect a very theistic worldview.

Brooks claims to be a

very family-focused man and reflects this view through his

characters strong relationships with their families.

He has

said that he sees himself as a positive man, and because of this,

he does not feature inappropriate things, like sex, and limits
his usage of negative things, such as death, in his books.
Brooks believes that both humans and his characters should live
morally, help others, make sacrifices, and accept responsibility
for their actions.

Brooks heroes are faced with great,

difficult tasks in which they must overcome their weaknesses and

even risk their own lives in order to help and save the lives of

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others. The strength they need, though, is not gained through
prayer and petition unto God.

Rather, it comes through magic,

support from family and friends, and their own inner beings.
Brooks has said of his own worldview that People struggle, they
persevere, there is a cost to their efforts, but in the end
things work out. Thats just who I am (A Chat with Author Terry
Brooks).

Finding strength in something other than God and

getting what you want in the end are prevalent themes in many of
Brooks works and present a very naturalistic worldview.
Terry Brooks writes about fantasy and adventure.

He is

inspired by writers Cooper, Burroughs, Wells, and Faulkner.

Mr.

Brooks prefers writing long works over short stories because he

finds short stories do not provide him with the length he finds
necessary to fully present a character, setting, or adventure to
a reader.

Though almost all of Brooks works are of the fantasy

genre, Brooks explains that this single genre varies greatly in

type.

There is dark fantasy, light-hearted fantasy, and the most

commonly known fantasy, the epic.

Brooks epic fantasies consist

of four must-haves: a quest, a band of heroes, a battle of good

versus evil, and the magic necessary to complete the quest.

In

Brooks stories, both magic and heritage affect the band of

heroes as they overcome danger and try to complete their quest.
In creating a story of fantasy, Brooks creates an entire
imaginary world. Every detail of this imaginary world must be

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thought up and consistent with the others, even if the particular
detail is not included in the story.

This helps readers to feel

that Brooks made-up worlds are real.

Brooks stated that Good

fantasy mirrors reality, but doesnt reflect an exact image

(Brooks).

Brooks not only tries to create a world as consistent

as our own, but he also takes it upon himself to weave into his
fantasy world issues he finds important.
In order for Brooks works of fantasy to be accepted, the
public must be willing to accept the impossible.

Brooks has

found that many people tend to think works of fantasy are

childlike or unimportant in todays world (Why I Write About
Elves).

Brooks himself, though, finds fantasy to be just as

respectable as other works.

He stated that successful fantasy

requires the same basic components that all good fiction

requires-a solid plot, interesting characters, an element of
conflict, good pacing, and a dialogue that advances the story or
reveals the characters (Brooks).

Mr. Brooks proved himself

right as soon as he published his first novel, Sword of Shannara.

The book was immediately successful, becoming the first work of
fiction to appear on the New York Times Trade Paperback
Bestsellers List.

Sword of Shannara stayed on the Bestsellers

List for five months.

Brooks then continued his book, turning it

into a trilogy. The Shannara trilogy soon caught the eye of Star
Wars mastermind, George Lucas.

Mr. Lucas was so impressed by

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Brooks writing ability that he asked him to write a book version
of his new movie.

The Shannara series has also received recent

acclaim.

In 2007, Warner Brothers purchased the trilogys film

rights.

In 2012, Sonar Entertainment purchased the trilogys TV

rights and produced the series, The Elfstones of Shannara, on

MTV.

Today, Brooks has twelve million books in print, and

eighteen of his books have appeared on the New York Times

Bestsellers List.
Terry Brooks continues to write today; he is currently
working on his second and third books in The Defenders of
Shannara trilogy. These books will continue the story the
extremely popular Sword of Shannara trilogy. Mr. Brooks gift of
writing wholesome, yet exciting tales of fantasy is what has made
him so successful and popular with all age groups.

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Bibliography
A Chat with Author Terry Brooks on the 35th Anniversary of
dddddShannara. graspingforthewind.com.2Aug.2012.Web.
17Feb.2015.
Author Spotlight-Terry Brooks. TerryBrooks.com.n.d.Web.2Feb
yyyyy.2015.
Brooks, Terry. Why I Write About Elves. AmazonShorts.com.n.d.
yyyyyWeb.2Feb.2015.
Terry Brooks. Famousauthors.org.n.d.Web.18Feb.2015.