Submitted by Melorinot 
(Mar 09, 2009)This series is basically a kind of brain candy for young readers. When I was younger his Shannara series had some attraction because the world was so simplistic. The polarities so evident in the characters and plots made it engaging.
Brooks' series, new and old, runs into trouble however when a reader, such as myself, ages. What once attracted me now repulses me. His stories are so predictable and simplistic. Each story arc a near carbon copy of his last book. He doesn't bring anything new to fantasy, but dredges the barrel of other established constructs/characters.
Another frustration is the need to slide into gratuitous violence and sex. Not that I am a puritan, but such a move is a tell-tail sign that a writer is in a creative trough. Brooks' works are shallow at best, a kind of Harry Potterish cookie cutter exercise in creative bile.
Lastly, Brooks has a similar problem that plagues Terry Goodkind or Rowling, he has fallen in love with his characters. I can't stand Goodkind's work because he has wrapped his stories around his characters rather than making them a product of the story, and I find Brooks is the same. Both authors constantly cycle their characters through the exact same challenges, etc.
Brooks has some talent, which is why I think he'd do better colaborating with another author rather than writing on his own.
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(9 ratings)
