World Famous Comics: Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1)
Armageddon's Children (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 1)
By: Terry Brooks Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 384 Publication Date: August 29, 2006 Release Date: August 29, 2006
Product Description: Terry Brooks is one of a handful of writers whose work defines modern fantasy fiction. His twenty-three international bestsellers have ranged from the beloved Shannara series to stories that tread a much darker path. Armageddon’s Children is a new creation–the perfect opportunity for readers unfamiliar with Brooks’s previous work to experience an author at the height of his considerable storytelling powers. It is a gripping chronicle of a once-familiar world now spun shockingly out of control, in which an extraordinary few struggle to salvage hope in the face of terrifying chaos.
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.
Across the country, Angel Perez, herself a survivor of the malevolent, death-dealing forces combing the land, has also been chosen for an uncanny mission in the name of her ruined world’s salvation. From the devastated streets of Los Angeles, she will journey to find a place–and a people–shrouded in mystery, celebrated in legend, and vital to the cause of humankind . . . even as a relentless foe follows close behind, bent on her extermination. While in the nearly forsaken city of Seattle, a makeshift family of refugees has carved out a tenuous existence among the street gangs, mutants, and marauders fighting to stay alive against mounting odds–and something unspeakable that has come from the shadows in search of prey.
In time, all their paths will cross. Their common purpose will draw them together. Their courage and convictions will be tested and their fates will be decided, as their singular crusade begins: to take back, or lose forever, the only world they have.
In Armageddon’s Children, Brooks brings his gifts as a mythmaker to the timeless theme of the unending, essential conflict between darkness and light–and carries his unique imaginative vision to a stunning new level. Prepare for a breathtaking tour de force. To those who are new to Terry Brooks, welcome. And to those who have read him for many years: prepare for a dramatic surprise.
Amazon.com Review: If you have never read anything by beloved fantasy writer Terry Brooks, take your chance with Armageddon's Children, a rich and absorbing epic in which the world lies in ruins as the powers of darkness and light battle for control. Want to learn more? Watch our video featuring Terry Brooks:
Regarding this book and the trilogy I just finished reading this trilogy and just finished writing a review for book 3, "The Gypsy Morph".
"Armageddon's Children" was the best of the 3 books because the other 2 were bogged down with too much character introspection and flashbacks to events from this book and book 2.
I got these books from the library and recommend others to as well.
As others have mentioned, this book ends with a cliff hanger, but if you are getting the book and it's sequels from the library, this isn't a big deal.
Having read this series, and having read others comment that the series before this was Brooks best (The Word and the Void series), I am inclined to read that series and maybe read "The First King of Shannara" as well as reread "The Sword of Shannara".
If you like Terry Brooks As a reader of Terry Brooks since the original Shannara Trilogy, I was eager to read this series about the earliest origins of the Four Lands. I was a little startled when I opened the book and foun myself at the dawn of the 22nd century in a post apocolyptic Indiana! It was an enjoyable book with a compelling story. Brooks has always told a good story. For the nitpickers out there, Brooks has never really become a good writer, just a good story teller. The characters tend to be flat and the writing cliched, but the story is always compelling. I enjoyed it, as I have always enjoyed his novels.
Gripping Book! Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks
Gripping book!
One of my favorite books of all time, The Elfstones of Shannara, was of course written by Terry Brooks. It was so exciting and had so many great characters. It kept my interest and I loved reading it, which is why I've read it three times.
Armageddon's Children is that kind of book as well. I loved it. I actually didn't read it. I listened to it on audio CD during my recent book tour of the west. I had such a great time listening to the book in the car. I would arrive at my destinations and would be mad that I couldn't listen longer! I'd linger in the car for a moment and just hear a little more.
What's it about, you ask? Armageddon's Children is an epic story about the end of our world. It's about the few survivors of the nuclear, chemical, and biological apocalypse that has wiped out the planet a few hundred years from now (I believe). The survivors are battling to stay alive and we see the world from several points of view. Namely, a group of street kids, led by a young man named, Hawk, and Logan Tom, a precursor to the Druids in the Shannara books.
In this horrific future earth, demons have come from another dimension to wreak havoc on the world. They manipulate the once-men and use them as soldiers and seek to utterly destroy the human race. Armageddon's Children is about the end of days, when very few people are left alive. The writing is powerful, tense, and masterful.
There are several great characters, especially Logan Tom and the young boy called Hawk. I loved reading about them and feel that Terry Brooks did marvelous characterization. Their stories are intense, personal, and gripping. I highly recommend this book. If you have a chance to listen to it, the reader is amazing. He's a professional actor and he reads the narration with brilliance and gives each character a distinctive voice. He made me feel the emotions and now I'm hooked on audio books when I have to be in the car for long periods of time.
I haven't read Terry Brooks in a while, but I'm so glad I "read" this one. Once I finished I had to get the second one. I had a book signing at a Barnes and Noble in Las Vegas and they didn't have book two on audio CD, so I drove across town to another Barnes and Noble and bought book two, The Elves of Cintra, then immediately listened to it in the car as I drove onward.
Armageddon's Children is a dark fantasy that lays the foundation for the Shannara books. You don't have to have read any of them to understand this series. If you like epic fantasy this is a book for you. As a writer of fantasy, I'm very critical of writing, and I can honestly say that this is a great book.
Happy reading!
Paul Genesse, Author of The Golden Cord Book One of the Iron Dragon Series [...]
Easier said than done... When I heard Brooks was combining Shannara with the Word & Void, I thought it was a great idea. Who wouldn't want to see how the Four Lands was created and what happened with the Great Wars? So I picked up Armageddon's Children. While I did enjoy the book, I still felt like something was missing from Brooks' writing. The storyline felt hastily written and the characters lacked real substance that could easily be found in Brooks' previous novels (Heritage namely).
As stated above, the combination - in my mind - is a really intriguing idea. I just think Brooks could have executed it a little bit better with more time (and detail) invested. I am interested to see how the story pans out, but I am definitely waiting until the paperback edition of Elves of Cintra.
Great Story I am one of those readers who doesn't like, or dislike, any specific genre. My only goal is to find a great story that I can get lost in, and boy did this do it for me! I love all the characters, as they are so well developed. You watch them all have ups and downs, go through good and bad, and react according to their nature (which may not be what you expect). Great read!
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