Brooks’ writing is like a warm hug
★★★★☆ 1/2 – CALSPIE 8.79
Title: Armageddon’s Children (Genesis of Shannara #1)
Author: Terry Brooks
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Dystopian
First published: 2006
Edition: paperback, published by Orbit in 2007
Logan Tom is doomed to remember the past and determined to rescue the future. Far behind him lies a boyhood cut violently short by his family’s slaughter, when the forces of madness and hate swept our world after decadent excesses led to civilization’s downfall. Somewhere ahead of him rests the only chance to beat back the minions of evil that are systematically killing and enslaving the last remnants of humanity. Navigating the scarred and poisoned landscape that once was America and guided by a powerful talisman, Logan has sworn an oath to seek out a remarkable being born of magic, possessed of untold abilities, and destined to lead the final fight against darkness.
***
My expectations were oddly mediocre when I went into this book. I did not really love the last series in the Shannara world that I read (The Dark Legacy of Shannara). This was technically a re-read, but I read these books about ten years ago and I could not really remember the exact story or the characters. I was very pleasantly surprised.
There’s is a nostalgia for me to this author’s way of writing. The original Shannara books were some of the first fantasy books I read and returning to Terry Brooks’ books is oddly like returning home. Even though these books are set far in the past from the Shannara books, the way he writes is so nicely familiar it felt like a warm hug, especially a return to the elves’ world, which is only a small part of this first book.
Is my opinion of this book coloured by my feelings of nostalgia? Probably, but to be fair, this is a good story. I enjoyed following all the different characters and their purposes in this story. It’s a classic story of good vs evil and I am kind of here for it.
Of course there are some questions about how people can survive in this world at all, but I won’t think too deeply about that. I just enjoyed this book for what it was. I can’t wait to continue on this road, the start of my (mostly) re-read of all the Shannara books in chronological order.
4.5 out of 5 stars
***
CALSPIE: 8.79
- Characters: 8.5
- Ambience: 9
- Language: 8.5
- Story: 8.5
- Pacing: 9
- Interest: 9
- Enjoyment: 9
Lola Et La Vie 