Ballantine Books (Hardcover), ISBN: 0345439058
If you ever wished you could call up your local travel agent and arrange a tour of the fantastical land of Shannara, wish no more. But don't call your travel agent -- ring up your favorite bookstore and reserve a copy of The World of Shannara.

After all, you can only visit the present with a travel agent. Terry Brooks and Teresa Patterson take readers back in time to the beginning -- before Shea Ohmsford and Allanon -- giving Shannara fans valuable information on the old world and the wars that changed it forever.

Another nice little detail you won't get from Wally over at Fly Me Anywhere Tours: illustrator David Cherry not only kindly provides readers with killer detailed maps but also includes the locations of secret passages for intrepid treasure hunters. Plus, a detailed family tree shows the connections between the Ohmsfords, the Leahs (the Ohmsfords' ancestral friends) and the elves. Always good to know where kin lives when one travels. Free meals and beds make travel expenses go that much farther, don't you think?

As a Shannara fan, I definitely give this book two thumbs up. Teresa Patterson's crisp text gives readers clear and understandable insights into the how and why of Shannara, past and present. David Cherry's artwork, as always, delights the eye and truly brings Brooke's heroes, heroines and their foes to life.

For Shannara fans, this book rates as a must-read. If you know a Shannara fan, you've just found the perfect Christmas present. And if you've been thinking of starting the Shannara series, go ahead and buy The World of Shannara. You'll want to refer to it again and again as you read Brook's excellent series.

Teri Smith

Click here to read the Crescent Blues interview with David Cherry.

Click here to read the Crescent Blues interview with Teresa Patterson

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