Armageddon's Children

Two nights ago, I finished reading this wonderfully wonderful new book by Terry Brooks, called Armageddon’s Children. It is one of, if not the, best book he has ever written, and with him being my favorite author, it is one of my favorite books.

Every good author has a unique ability to write. They have something to their words that makes them stand out, whether it is in building a character, creating suspense, intrigue, or painting vivid pictures. For the authors whose work I have read extensively, I am able to identify certain characteristics to their writing that is particularly unique. It is nothing special, anyone who has a favorite author knows the style of writing well enough to identify these things. R.A. Slavatore, for instance, has one of the best action choreography skills in writing that I have read. John Saul knows the best ways to touch the fear nerve using everyday concepts. De Lint builds characters and blends reality, dreams and music seamlessly.

Mr. Brooks paints the most incredible and amazing pictures in your head. Never has it been more apparent than in Armageddon’s Children. For decades, his Shannara novels created this wonderful fantasy world where every book is an epic on to its own, on scales that most authors would shudder to attempt. His imagery and vision are his key ingredients. With him, you get this look into this huge and beautiful world from a seemingly all-encompassing point of view.

In this latest book, he does the same but with a different tone; darkness. The imagery and vivid pictures are all there, but they now carry a terrifyingly dark tinge to them. This is largely due to the fact that the setting is that of Earth eighty years from now, in what was referred to by Amazon.com as a ‘worst-case scenario’ of the current world conditions. In other words, it is a world where war and pollution have won out and civilization has been reduced to siege mentality. People find themselves living like refugees inside big stadiums and sports complexes and defending themselves from… other things. Humans are no longer the dominant species. Mutation has caused the birth of new races of creatures from human beings, and these creatures are left outside to survive. Some humans who think that living inside confined spaces in a death sentences choose to stay outside, including tribes of young children and teens.

This story is a new series in Brooks’ repertoire, but it is actually a merging of his two biggest worlds. The first is the Word and Void series, which is set in the real world in current times. The stories were of a much more localized scale and very much closer to home. It was a blend of urban life with fantasy and magic. The series were his first true forays into darker and starker visions. There was a distinct edge to those books. The second world needs no introduction; any fan of fantasy or literature will know what Shannara stands for. Tolkien had Middle-Earth; Brooks has Shannara. Brooks is attempting something that borders on impossible. He is attempting to actually merge the two worlds, making the world of Shannara as an aftermath of our current reality. The amazing part is that, based on Armageddon’s Children, is that he is gotten off to an incredible start. So much so that it is frightening. The images he has painted of our future are to close to home, in a way, and I have been unable to forget them or get them out of my head. Judging by how our world today is going, what Brooks prophesizes seems inevitable. I warn you, it is no pretty picture. Yes, there are demonic creatures and wild magic in his book, but even with those elements, the world that he projects is very much our own.

There is so much about this new book that is fresh, beautiful and frightening all at once. The characters have facets to them that are new yet very distinctly Brooks. The parallels and references he makes are quite frankly astounding and bordering on controversial. Dick Cheney as a Pitbull spoiling for a fight… make your own conclusions. The Moses and the exodus reference is also another big point that pretty much defines this new series. It is a book that needs to be read, by anyone who likes a good story. I read the first third of the book on the first two days after buying it, then finished it in one sitting, at night, late into the wee hours of early morning. I was unable to put it down and the cliffhangers made me slightly angry because I now have to wait till the end of 2007 to know what happens. READ THIS BOOK!