If you read my earlier post about The Shannara Series, then you might already know this, but Terry Brooks is one of my favorite Fantasy authors. At times he may get a bit carried away with his descriptions and details, but for the most part, I absolutely love his writing style.

Child Of Light is Terry’s first ‘Post-Shannara’ novel. It was a breath of fresh air and far different than his realm in The Fourlands. In the beginning, it was SO different from Shannara that I had trouble connecting to the characters. Admittedly, I went into the read with the Shannara Series still on my mind.

Personally, I missed the Elven race in this new novel. I love their magic and culture; their grace and traditionalism they bring to stories is very endearing to me.

In place of the Elves, Terry introduces the Fae. They are a magical people, living apart from man. Most humans believe them to be of fiction and legend. The Fae play a large role in this novel and are created to be seemingly similar to the Elves. They have an heir of superiority about them and are hesitant to bring outsiders into their home.

In Child Of Light, the main character is Auris, a human. She is a young girl who is imprisoned by goblins. She does not know why she is in this prison; she only knows things are about to get much worse for her once she reaches adulthood and ages out of the “child” prison where she currently resides. This terror drives her to make an attempt at escape with a small group of other brave prisoners, who so desperately want to return to their old lives. In their attempt, ALL of the children are killed or recaptured, except for Auris.

In her flee from her captors, Auris is rescued by one of the Fae. Her rescuer happens to be of her same age, quite handsome and instantly attracted to Auris (and Auris to him). Harrow, Auris’s Fae hero, brings her back to his homeland. Auris is the only human in the land, or so she believes. Harrow begins to train Auris so she can protect herself against the goblins that are bound to search for her. Things take a turn when Auris begins to learn more of her past life and her ability to harness some of the Fae magic.

The novel ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger and we are left waiting for Terry’s sequel, Daughter Of Darkness. I still prefer the story of the Elfstones and the world of Shannara, but this was an entertaining new direction for Terry.