Every Friday, we here @ Del Rey Spectra will place a 50 page excerpt of a selected title on Suvudu. Whether it be science fiction, epic fantasy, alternate history, horror, urban fantasy, paranormal, the possibilities are endless.
Terry Brooks. I think the name alone conjures up images of his wondrous world of Shannara. This week’s excerpt is from Terry’s excellent novel Bearers of the Black Staff, the first book in his 2 part “Legends of Shannara” series (the next book, The Measure of the Magic, goes on sale next week).
For more on Terry, I’ve asked his editor Betsy Mitchell to give us the scoop. Take it away, Betsy!
“Terry Brooks’s storytelling is vivid and compelling. It’s easy to imagine a film version of any of his books, as long as a big enough special effects budget was attached. One great example was the Genesis of Shannara trilogy–Armageddon’s Children, The Elves of Cintra, and The Gypsy Morph—which charted the fall of our own world into the hands of once-men and demons. Only a few escaped: a remnant of humans, Elves, and others fled into a remote mountain valley, a safe haven walled around by impenetrable magic. For 500 years the survivors lived peacefully, building a new world with the limited resources available to them. But the magic that kept them safe for so long is fading away.
If you have not read Terry Brooks’s stories of Shannara, Bearers of the Black Staff is a great place to start. When hideous creatures from beyond the valley begin breaking through the mists that surround it, disaster threatens all the races. It’s up to Sider Ament–the latest bearer of the powerful black staff passed down through the centuries–and a pair of young Trackers to spread the unwelcome news that the world is about to change.”
As always, feel free to give us feedback in the comments. Or let us know on Twitter via a direct message to our esteemed Twitter maven, our “five-tools” editor David Pomerico: www.twitter.com/delreyspectra . Or write on the wall of our Facebook page: Like us at www.facebook.com/delreyspectra .
Again, please enjoy this extensive excerpt of Bearers of the Black Staff, available now in eBook and paperback. And be sure to check Terry’s next book, The Measure of the Magic, on sale August 23 in eBook and hardcover.
