Terry Brooks is passing the baton for his Shannara series of fantasy novels to fellow author Delilah S. Dawson, Popverse reports.
The author made the announcement at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, revealing that Dawson would succeed him as the series’ author.
Brooks, 81, launched the Shannara series in 1977 with The Sword of Shannara, a fantasy novel about Shea Ohmsford, who hopes to find the titular weapon and use it to slay the evil Warlock Lord. More than 30 books in the series followed, most recently Galaphile, scheduled for publication Tuesday by Del Rey.
In a statement on his website, Brooks wrote, “This was a hard choice to make. I hate to admit that I don’t have the abilities I once had. But better to face up to your diminishments than pretend they don’t exist. Better to make some adjustments to account for the onset of those diminishments before the readers you rely on to support your efforts begin to point them out.”
He praised Dawson, whose books include Mirrorverse and Midnight at the Houdini, as “a skilled professional writer and a delightful person.”
Dawson shared the news about her work on the series on Instagram, writing, “I’ve been friends with @officialterrybrooks for many years now and it is an honor to get to work with him on such a beloved series.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
