Under Shannara's spell

My love-hate relationship with author Terry Brooks’ works resumes this month. I’ve started reading “Jarka Ruus,” the first book in his High Druid trilogy.

I have high hopes for this series, which advances the adventures of Grianne Ohmsford, who supposedly reformed her ways after spreading terror as the dreaded Ilse Witch.

The previous trilogy, the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, was everything epic fantasy fiction should be – especially the heroic ending for longstanding character Walker Boh, the one-armed druid, and Grianne’s final confrontation with her evil mentor, the Morgawr.

My favorite Brooks work, however, is the modern fantasy Word and Void series – a coming of age tale of a girl who resists her destiny to become an evil tyrant. Her staunchest ally is a lame wandering champion who helps her fight real demons who are determined to see her claim her birthright.

The fact Brooks perfectly captures life in a small Illinois town, of course, has no bearing on my love for the series!

Yet, for all the hours of reading enjoyment Brooks has brought, I have little love for his earlier works. The “Sword of Shannara,” which launched his career and hailed him as a worthy successor to the Tolkien mantle, did little for me. I never embraced the quest of Shea Ohlmsford and his kin in later books. Wren’s voyage across the Great Divide where she then braved the horrors of Morrowindl in “The Elf Queen of Shannara” was the only novel of the Heritage series that mildly held my interest. (Amazing, since it was almost exclusively about elves, and I rarely get jazzed about the dandelion-dining set).

It is unreasonable that I should expect to enjoy every book in a series, even when written by a favorite author. Brooks is a skilled storyteller, no question about it. I guess what troubles me is the Heritage series, which received almost universal acclaim, but was too disjointed for my taste. How dare I not appreciate them!

Actually, I think it boils down to this: I only really enjoy Brooks when he features a female protagonist. He has a real knack for writing about female characters. Go back and look at those early Shannara books, and you’ll find very few strong female characters. But the stories I mentioned above all had them.