Survivor Appendix E (5e) Authors- Ursula K. LeGWINS!

[Yardiff]

Alexander, Lloyd 27
Augusta, Lady Gregory 19
Bear, Elizabeth 18
​

Brooks, Terry 10

Bulfinch, Thomas 26
Cook, Glen 23+1=24
Froud, Brian & Alan Lee 15
Hodgson, William Hope 16
Jemisin, N.K. 22
Kay, Guy Gavriel 23
LeGuin, Ursula 28
Lynch, Scott 25
McKillip, Patricia 24
Peake, Mervyn 25
Pratchett, Terry 20
Sanderson, Brandon 24-2=22
Smith, Clark Ashton 18
Wolfe, Gene 24​

 

[CleverNickName]

So, Brooks is easily one of the worst writers from this and the previous list, on a technical "using words" and "constructing narrative" aspect

Respectfully disagree.

It saddens me that somebody would downvote good writers in his place, and it saddens me further that folks who were upvoting Tolkien in the other thread would do the same for Brooks. Get him outta here!

I'm not sure what Tolkien has to do with Brooks....I love Terry Brooks as a person, and I've loved his books for decades...but he's no Tolkien. As for voting: unfortunately, the way these threads are rigged (yes, rigged), is that in order to upvote your favorite authors you must also downvote other equally-good writers. It's the harsh reality of a popularity contest.

Ah well. All this supports my theory that name recognition is the real killer here in these threads. Brooks has a huge body of work, so he has high name recognition, so he's got a shorter expiration date on this list. Just like Stephen King.

 

[Parmandur]

Has, not had. Brooks is still writing and still publishing books in the Shannara series. He published the second book in his "Fall of Shannara" series earlier this year, and the conclusion is scheduled to be published next year. At his book signing last July, he said that it will be the final Shannara story going forward...his emphasis...so there will most likely be more pre-quels and tangential stories in the future.

As for non-Shannara stuff, he mentioned a new novel in the works for his Landover series, and he read an excerpt from a completely new cyberpunk-ish novel he is working on called "Street Freaks." He also said there might be more Word and Void, but he's not working on it at the moment.

"We (George R. R. Martin) are both published by Del Rey," Terry said, "Except that I actually publish my books."

How can you not like this guy?

I like him as a person, actually: his autobiography is entertaining. I especially liked the part where it became clear that Brooks, when discussing the Phantom Menace novelization, was one of the only people in the situation willing to give George Lucas serious push back on the story. Which was sad, since Brooks is not a good storyteller. I don't dislike him, I dislike his books.

The Sword of Shannara was the first book I ever gave up on Midway through, it was like pulling my own teeth out.

Tried giving him another shot recently, too, with the first Magic Kingdom book. Pretty terrible experience, though at least I made it to the end before deciding not to finish the Omnibus.

 

[Parmandur]

Respectfully disagree.

I'm not sure what Tolkien has to do with Brooks....I love Terry Brooks as a person, and I've loved his books for decades...but he's no Tolkien. As far as voting goes: unfortunately, the way these threads are rigged (yes, rigged), is that in order to upvote your favorite authors you must also downvote other good writers.

No offense to the people who like Brooks, I just don't see the appeal having tried his work. And I'm a super picky reader, soooooo...

Just seeing a lot of folks who had upvoted Tolkien now pushing Brooks up, and Sacrosanct seems to be making a stink about Tolkien versus Brooks, after being a big time Tolkien downvoter. He has me blocked, apparently, so I'm going off of quotes.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Has, not had. Brooks is still writing and still publishing books in the Shannara series. He published the second book in his "Fall of Shannara" series earlier this year, and the conclusion is scheduled to be published next year. At his book signing last July, he said that it will be the final Shannara story going forward...his emphasis...so there will most likely be more pre-quels and tangential stories in the future.

As for non-Shannara stuff, he mentioned a new novel in the works for his Landover series, and he read an excerpt from a completely new cyberpunk-ish novel he is working on called "Street Freaks." He also said there might be more Word and Void, but he's not working on it at the moment.

Typo on my part. I mean 'has'. I'm actually reading that series right now, the 2nd in the Fall of Shannara series.

"We (George R. R. Martin) are both published by Del Rey," Terry said, "Except that I actually publish my books."

How can you not like this guy?

I saw him again this past June, and he said this very thing

 

[CleverNickName]

The Sword of Shannara was the first book I ever gave up on Midway through, it was like pulling my own teeth out.

The Sword of Shannara is problematic on a lot of levels, and Terry would tell you the same thing. (There isn't a single female character anywhere in the story, for example.) It's not his best work, and he would agree with me. The story doesn't really kick off until Elfstones...which is probably why MTV used it as the starting point for their terrible "Shannara" series.

If you want to see what Terry can do with a typewriter, I heartily recommend his Heritage of Shannara series as a starting point instead (Scions, Druid, Elf Queen, Talismans, and finally, First King). It's his best work, hands-down. Hell, I think it's one of the best works of fantasy fiction by anyone. But don't just take my word for it.

 

[Parmandur]

The Sword of Shannara is problematic on a lot of levels, and Terry would tell you the same thing. (There isn't a single female character anywhere in the story, for example.) It's not his best work, and he would agree with me. The story doesn't really kick off until Elfstones...which is probably why MTV used it as the starting point for their terrible "Shannara" series.

If you want to see what Terry can do with a typewriter, I heartily recommend his Heritage of Shannara series as a starting point instead (Scions, Druid, Elf Queen, Talismans, and finally, First King). It's his best work, hands-down. Hell, I think it's one of the best works of fantasy fiction by anyone. But don't just take my word for it.

Well, I might give that a shot at some point, thanks. That had been part of my theory with reading the Magic Kingdom book, that it would be the work of a more mature writer. Just didn't care for it.

 

[CleverNickName]

I saw him again this past June, and he said this very thing

Holy crap, you were at the book signing in Beaverton too? Small world.

(And yes, I'm stalking Terry Brooks. I own every one of his books, and I've almost got all of them signed.)

 

[Sacrosanct]

Holy crap, you were at the book signing in Beaverton too? Small world.

(And yes, I'm stalking Terry Brooks. I own every one of his books, and I've almost got all of them signed.)

That explains why we both know that comment

I think I've been to a half dozen book signings of his over the years, starting in 1992 I think. He's always been a great personable guy, and I happen to really like his work. The industry experts also happen to think he's a pretty good writer, despite what a random person on the internet thinks about him being awful.

Also, as a fan, and as you point out, it's a real shame people base their opinion on his works because of Sword of Shannara. People dismiss him as a fantasy author because they think he ripped of Tolkien. Well, Tolkien ripped off exist myth, so... And with all of his other books (as you listed), he really shows he belongs up there with the best of them. You don't keep being a successful author 40 years running if you're not at least halfway decent.

 

[CleverNickName]

He has me blocked, apparently, so I'm going off of quotes.

Blocked, seriously? Over a pointless Survivor thread on ENWorld?! Oof, sorry man. I mean, I'm a Tolkien fan thru and thru--I have the prerequisite autographed book and a Middle Earth tattoo and everything--but even that seems a bit...extreme.