The Weapons Master's Choice (Short Story) - Paladins of Shannara

I'm sorry, I'm one of those who love Shannara. I'm always looking for the newest entry. The short stories are nice filler. It's a sneaky way to keep us in contact with the characters we know and places we remember.

Terry's stories are always entertain Jax is a great character. I always read Terry's books he is a great author 1 of my favorites. I have read all his books and meet him several times this is a A++++++++++ e-book just like the last one. Can't wait for the next e-book will recommend to friend's

Would highly recommend this to anyone who likes Terry Brooks as a author. I have read his Shannara series when I was a kid and still trying to play catch up on all the new books he has written. Again a great short story.

I have loved Terry's Shannara stories for many years. I've read almost all of them. I especially liked this short story. I won't say more so as to avoid spoilers, but I thought it was really well done.

As the title states, wasn't really what I expected but so glad I gave it a shot. The insights to Garret Jax were amazing and it made the whole experience worth it. I can see why some would disagree though, giving away to much can take away from a characters inclusiveness.

The Weapons Master has held a fascination for Shannara readers for years. Now a closer look at his thoughts and reasoning in life become more clear. This story brings more humanity to Garet Jax than known before.

I've enjoyed every other Terry Brooks book I've read and he didn't disappoint here. In the original trilogy Jax was always one of my favorite characters and I have to say after reading this he still is.

Unlike Allanon's Quest, the writing felt like the Terry Brooks style I'm used to. Garet Jax has always been one of my favorite characters from the Shannara series. Seeing a younger version of him while he's still developing into the Garet Jax I love was fun. The differences in his personality were subtle but still noticeable, and we get to see how he begins to change into the man we met in Wishsong.

The story itself was fun, and the characters were intriguing. I'm a little disappointed in how flat the villain was though, and I'm a little iffy about vampires in the four lands. I also thought that Garet fell in love a little too quickly and easily. Otherwise I would have given this five stars.

Having read most of Terry's Shannara series, I would have expected a much higher quality story as he grows in his career. This short story lacked depth in its writing, and I felt it did not advance a character that I greatly anticipated reading more about.

I've always liked Terry Brooks, his stories are,always entertaining, but this one is not. It was predictable and boring. The weapon master was always a mystery, changing that only hurt the character. Mr. Brooks should consider more carefully which characters to write short stories about. This read more like an excerpt or chapter from one of his novels not a short story.

Unlike Allanon's Quest, the writing felt like the Terry Brooks style I'm used to. Garet Jax has always been one of my favorite characters from the Shannara series. Seeing a younger version of him while he's still developing into the Garet Jax I love was fun. The differences in his personality were subtle but still noticeable, and we get to see how he begins to change into the man we met in Wishsong.

The story itself was fun, and the characters were intriguing. I'm a little disappointed in how flat the villain was though, and I'm a little iffy about vampires in the four lands. I also thought that Garet fell in love a little too quickly and easily. Otherwise I would have given this five stars.

Having read most of Terry's Shannara series, I would have expected a much higher quality story as he grows in his career. This short story lacked depth in its writing, and I felt it did not advance a character that I greatly anticipated reading more about.

I've always liked Terry Brooks, his stories are,always entertaining, but this one is not. It was predictable and boring. The weapon master was always a mystery, changing that only hurt the character. Mr. Brooks should consider more carefully which characters to write short stories about. This read more like an excerpt or chapter from one of his novels not a short story.

This story seemed to have a lot more to chew on than the others. The stories are a fun read and bring up a lot of memories but in all the excitement the story ends even before your nostalgic feeling fades.
Still recommend them for Terry Brooks fans.

As with the previous novella in the Paladin's Of Shannara series, Allanon's Quest this is a tiny novella of less than 40 pages but it's full of lush imagery and re-introduces us to one of the more intriguing characters (in my opinion) from the world of Shannara and that is weapons master extraordinaire Garet Jax.

We find Jax at the beginning of this novella in the woods minding his own business. It is there that a strange woman stumbles upon him, a strange yet very attractive woman named Lyriana who is in desperate need of help. Her people are under attack by a 'dracul', a magical being that can literally suck the life force out of person, leaving behind nothing but a dry husk. After some considerable thought Jax agrees to help her and travel to her home but, unknown to Jax, her people are not what they initially seem but he helps them nonetheless.

This is a brilliant story about the simple prejudices we, as people, carry about with us on a daily business and about how you should never, ever judge a book by it's cover.... a lesson that Jax is forced to learn firsthand. This story fits firmly and neatly into the Shannara series and gives us further insight into Garet Jax and shows him to be much deeper personality that I previously thought. This is a tale of doing the right thing for the benefit of other without prejudice or fear, it shows that everyone is still just a human being at the end of the day regardless of their circumstances, a lesson we should all learn from!

Final Thoughts:

The Weapons Master's Choice is a superb addition to the Shannara timeline and while it had no firm basis anchoring it into the series like Allanon's Quest does that doesn't mean that it doesn't have it's place as it does, it just means that this novella can sit as a standalone by itself if needed.

Brooks has written a lovely lush and rich novella, he doesn't skimp on the detail even in a piece as short as this is and that shows a deft hand at writing to the extreme to cram so much into such a small space. Fans of Shannara will love this but hopefully those who want to take their first steps into Shannara without having to face the heavier tomes in the series can use this novella as a springboard into one of the best and one of the most expansive fantasy series out there. Worth a go at least don't you think?

Short story number two of the three Shannara shorts features the character of Garet Jax; a character I must admit I'm not very familiar with. I am way behind in my Shannara reading and I guess I haven't made it far enough to meet this guy. I gotta say though, I dig him. He's one of those cool, mysterious cats it's best not to know too much about lest he loses some of his coolness.

The attraction he felt towards Lyriana almost immediately was a bit hard to swallow, but I went with it. This guy leads a lonely lifestyle and I'll reluctantly buy that he forms an attraction to a mysterious and attractive young stranger. It's just the small size of the story made it feel a little forced.

The story comes to life when the duo make it to the cut off city of Tajarin to save Lyriana's people from a soul sucking warlock. Brooks does a fine job at showing exactly how disturbing the actions of this maniacal warlock are and how Garet Jax just can't let it keep going. Then the action kicks in and fun is had by all.

The characters are drawn effectively enough that by the time the reveal happens at the end of the story, you are left feeling for this people. There's a bittersweetness about it all that hangs with you a little after you've finished the story.

I have to say that all in all I'm enjoying these little pieces of Shannara pie and am kind of sad there is only one more to go through.

Terry Brooks has a very loyal following and the character of Garet Jax is one of the reasons why. Unfortunately, we don,t get a whole lot of what made him great here. Better than half of the story is two characters walking and talking, brooding
and pining and obsessing over secrets being kept. Garet Jax is summoned to confront a threat so powerful that only he stands a chance against it. The problem is, he tears through everyone in his path without effort. He spends more time thinking about how hard the battle will be than fighting it.

The talking and walking and self doubt have no payoff because the end never feels in doubt. Yes, there is an interesting twist a the end, but not a Garet specific one. He just walks through baddies like a chain saw and is never in danger through it all.

That said, it was nice to see an old fav and the twist was a good one. A few more pages and a more dangerous final confrontation would have helped tho.

The story includes a chapter from the next Shannara novel as a bonus .... not a bad deal for the price.

Really, two and one half stars, but not quite enough to push it to three.

Terry Brooks has been responsible for some of the best characters in the fantasy genre. Last year, he wrote Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest (Short Story), featuring the enigmatic Druid Allanon in a short story that takes place before THE SWORD OF SHANNARA.

This year, he has written THE WEAPONS MASTER'S CHOICE, featuring Garet Jax, one of Terry's most popular characters. Garet is the weapons master, a man who has never been defeated, cursed to wander the land looking for a battle worthy of his character, courage, and abilities. I've always felt that Garet would be the perfect knight errant to write short stories about, Terry able to take the character and put him into any dire situation.

He's started to do that and I think he might continue doing that. In this short story, Garet Jax is asked to aid a city on the fringes of the Four Lands where a warlock has taken over the city's populace and is slowly killing them. A woman named Lyriana finds Garet and presses him into service -- but Garet is getting involved in something he simply doesn't understand.

The writing is great, as usual, although I do feel the short story starts a bit slow. But once Garet and Lyriana travel to the city -- the last 3/4 of the story really -- all hell breaks loose and it makes for a great story with a wonderful twist. I thought several times Terry was doing something entirely different than where it ends up but the climax was wholly satisfying.

Now, I just hope that Terry writes a few more Garet stories! It was great to see the Weapons Master again!

The Weapons Master's Choice is an excellent novella with interesting interesting well developed characters. The story line is fast moving with an emotional conclusion. I would recommend this novella too anyone who is looking for a quick read. Enjoy reading

Although this is a short read, it was full of the adventure I have come to expect from Terry Brooks.
He captured me early on and kept my attention till it was done. I was hopeful that Our Weapons Master was finally going to find love. Perhaps he still will! On to my next Brooks story!

As are all his books , Terry Brooks "The Weapons Master", is swift moving and spellbinding. The Weapons Master is one of my favorite characters and this short story just adds to his legacy! Highly recommend!!

Character development was lacking in understanding their motivation. The relationship between the main characters was superficial at best. But in the limited number of pages maybe that's all he could do