A wonderful start to a new series worthy of Terry Brooks!

Less than a year after finishing his epic Shannara series, Terry Brooks has laid the groundwork for a great new one. The master of world creation, Brooks has crafted a world quite unlike the one we knew from Shannara. This one is filled with humans, goblins, and a fae people known as the Forest Sylvan. The humans are highly mechanized and possess no magic. The forest sylvan are non-mechanized forest people who control a great deal of magical abilities. Therein lies one of the great conflicts of this world. The humans will do anything to try to gain magical ability and the forest sylvan will do anything to protect it. To help them in their quest, humans have allied themselves with the non-magical fae, the goblins.

The book opens with a punch of excitement. Auris Afton Grieg who has spent four years in a gruesome prison camp. The camp is human owned with goblin guards and the inmates are exclusively children and youth. After four years in the camp, Auris and fifteen of her companions attempt a daring break for freedom. They get as far as commandeering one of the prison’s armored vehicles, but are overtaken by their goblin overlords. All of the escapees are killed—except Auris, who was thrown clear of the destroyed vehicle.

Alone and free, Auris begins her trek across the wasteland in search of freedom. This begins the great quest of the story: Auris’s quest for self-identity and purpose. She has no memories of her life prior to coming to the camp, only knowing that her human parents were killed and she was assigned to the prison camp.

When Auris reaches the end of the wasteland at a huge body water, she is met by Harrow, a border watcher for the Sylvan people. He sees something in Auris that draws him to her and contrary to Sylvan rules takes Auris to homeland where her quest really takes shape. She learns that her name is a fae word meaning “child of light.”

As the journey progresses, Harrow and Auris face challenges that draw them closer. Along the way, Harrow and Auris confront the extremely dark and sinister character of the book, someone who reminded me of a fantasy world version of Hitler’s doctor, Josef Mengele.

From the action packed first chapter to the rousing conclusion, I was captivated by this book and look forward to others drawn from this world. I highly recommend this book and thank NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read and review it.

Auris has lived in the goblins’ prison for children since she was fifteen, with no memories prior to that. Now at nineteen she is about to age out, and what is next sounds even more horrible than the years in the children’s prison. She knows that goblins breed humans to provide workers and that goblins eventually eat those humans. With friends, Auris escapes knowing that being caught alive will result in a tortured death. As they head into the wastelands surrounding the prison, Auris is the only one to escape as the goblins catch up and bomb the vehicle she is in. Somehow, she is thrown clear and out of sight. On her own, she is drawn in one direction which leads her to Harrow, a green creature who says he is Fae, which she always thought were only in fairy tales. Together they escape to his homeland.

I loved the premise, and the unlikely attraction that Auris and Harrow have. This is the story of Auris exploring her past and looking into a possible future. Harrow’s family was fun, with the exception of his jaded, bitter mother. I enjoyed the world building, and the way the fae in Harrow’s world live up in the limbs of trees, with walkways, restaurants and homes. I would have liked to have more details of the fae world and their magic. We learn Harrow and his sister are Watchers, but nothing about how others live. There are sections that drag, but also sections that are intense. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and look forward to learning more about this new world.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this eARC; this is my honest review.
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I was a huge fan of the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. This was a great delve into true YA for Brooks. Auris, our MC, has been imprisoned her entire life with no clue as to why. After her escape she discovers the reason for her captivity. Humans are bred as a food source for goblins. She runs into Harrow, a fae, creatures that are supposed to be nothing more than legend. He insists she is also a fae and brings her to the fae lands. Auris needs to discover who she really is, her purpose and her destiny.

I loved this novel. It is an easy read for a high school age and is an age-appropriate fantasy. After a quick start, the plot slows a bit for a while and and it takes a couple chapters to pick up but once the action starts it doesn't stop. Auris is a great character to follow and I loved her journey to find out the truth about who she is. The story isn't quite as in depth or details as many of Brooks' other novels but this is also a YA novel that is much shorter and written for a younger audience. The romance sometimes detracted from her journey because she was so interested in Harrow as her crush and I wish she had stood more on her own two feet. This is still one that his fans will enjoy. His world building is still fantastic, although there were a couple points I wished there was more detail and explanation but I had to keep reminding myself that this was written for a much younger audience than what we are used to from him. But the relationships are complex, the different races and lands are well detailed and I enjoyed the plot arc as a whole. Three and a half-stars.

I very much enjoyed the idea of Goblins as villains, that was a new concept for me! Also having a fae that is green and filled with nature was fun. It did take me a bit of time to get on board with the first person POV that started off very sparse with descriptions. This was a quick YA read for me, and I think it'd be an interesting read for a younger audience, perhaps in the 14-19 age range. Enjoyed the plot, the world building, and the unique "bad guys." Would have liked a little more depth in the descriptions and heroines POV.

Review based on digital copy of Uncorrected Proof from Net Galley.

The novel is told from the point of view of 19yo Auris who in the opening chapters is a part of an escape from a prison where humans are the bred work animals and food supply to Goblins. After her escape by modern means, the novel switches gears as Auris finds herself away from the Goblins but now with a green Fae rescuer who brings her to his secret world. It’s here where Auris learns of the greater world of humans, Fae and Goblins. She must work through her own personal revelations as well as those of the Fae to discover where exactly she belongs.

3 stars - I struggled with certain areas of the novel where the pace really slowed down and the story line was not engaging. Some of the world building is lacking. There is a lot of potential to really color the world that Auris is a part of but I felt like the information was just dumped at times to move the story along and make events line up properly. The premise of the story is good but it does not have the depth of characters and world building that I enjoy that helps me get lost in a fantastical world.

Really well written and enjoyable book. Characters were realistic and relatable. Definitely would recommend this book to my friends and family.

This was my first Terry Brooks novel and it will not be my last! I know that there are a lot of lower starred reviews--and I almost DNF'ed the book at the first chapter or two, but hang on! The story really starts to flow about a third of the way in, and it is well worth the wait! Brooks builds a fascinating, detailed, complex world full of complex relationships and lots of surprises along the way. I eagerly turned the digital page to learn more about Auris, her heritage, and her world.

I appreciated that Brooks tied the main arc of the story up, but I suspect that there will be more stories to follow. I look forward to reading them. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was thrilled when I was able to receive an advance copy of this book as, Terry Brooks is one of my favorite Science Fiction/Fantasy authors. I was caught up in the story of Auris and Harrow (the 2 main characters) right from the beginning of the book. It starts out rather fast paced but eventually you come to know the characters through the wonderful descriptive writing of, Mr. Brooks. - I finished the novel quickly and was super excited to discover there is going to be a sequel to it. - I have posted a review of this book on my blog and you can find that
on the link below.
Thank you Terry for a wonderful reading experience.

"Then I know. Just like that, I know."

This perfectly sums up the book. Auris, our main character, "just knows" everything. Information and skills manifest as she needs them. Magic has no bounds. Anything you might suspect about her heritage is true.

There are no descriptions. There is no sense of what anything actually looks like. People eat food. There are plants. We have no idea what kind of food or plants, what they look or taste like, no sensory information is given about anything, ever.

The work "quixotic" is used. This word wouldn’t exist without Don Quixote. Does this take place on Earth?

Auris calls herself a “hot mess". Other modern American terminology is used. It's weird.

Auris mostly talks about <spoiler>how she lusts for Harrow. That is the main thing on this girl’s mind. She just escaped a slave camp where she experienced years of torture, watched her friends and other child be brutally murdered, knows that the human government in complicit in this, and she’s like “I want to make out with Harrow”. </spoiler> Is this what you think is on the minds of traumatized teenage girls, Terry Brooks?

The narration repeats itself over and over again. Even within the same sentence. Auris just thinks about the same things, chapter after chapter. It's mostly her just thinking repetitive, cyclic thoughts.

At one point she sits on a bench and waits for something to happen to her.

Auris favorite thing to do is sit and visit. Like an old person. We are not privvy to what happens during these visits, we are just told she hangs out with some people.

At 68% she suddenly wonders what she should do with her life. 68%.

Pretend this is being read by text to voice software. That is how I got through it.
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Bottom line, it reads like exactly what it is: an old man trying to write in the voice of a 19 year old girl. It doesn't work. The story is trite, boring, and extremely boring.

Okay- yes. So much. Yes.

This was one of the be best books I've read in a long time. When Auris is found by Harrow after her escape from the gobin prison she feels an instant connection to him, but she doesn't quite know why. So many secrets unfold during this book and it is such a whirlwind of excitement- mind you I read the back half of the book in a Starbucks and I could not hold in my gasps.

I don't wanna say too much and give things away- so just read the book.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy.

Posted reviews
Goodreads: posted on May 29, 2021
TikTok @meghanlew_ on May 30, 2021




My favorite part of this book was definitely the world. It was magical and whimsical in every sense, I wish that the author went into more detail about the different types of creature and how the magic works. But the parts of the world we did get to see were incredible.

The plot for the first half of the book felt like the main character and us were being dragged from plot point to plot point. The first half was also hard to read because the writing style felt very stagnant, abrupt, and all over the place. During the second half the plot definitely had a better flow, which kept me from putting the book down too often.

For the first half of the book I found the main character to be incredibly hard to like, because of there seemed to be no development going. About half way through things changed very abruptly, which was confusing, because it felt like I was reading about a whole new character. While I enjoyed how the main character had changed, I wanted the change to seem more natural. The side characters were very one dimensional and added little to the story.

The romance aspect of the book seemed very forced and I would have rather see that main character go through her journey with friends rather, than her worrying about a love interest. Most of the romance also felt instant and I am definitely not one for instant love.

Overall I did enjoy the world of this book and wish to know more about it. But I never really felt connected to the main character or any of the side characters. The main character only really had surface level thoughts, so it made it hard to connect to her, which also made it hard to connect to the story being told. Having a beautifully built world and an exciting plot are what make this book worth it.

I want to preface this by saying this is the first Terry Brooks novel I have read.

This book is about a woman names Auris. Auris has spent the last several years in a supernatural prison for a reason she doesn't remember. She doesn't remember anything from her childhood. A group of prisoners creates a plan to escape the prison and this is where her story begins.

I enjoyed this novel. It was a fast-paced, fantasy novel. My favorite character would have to be Ronden. This mystery of Auris's life unraveled throughout this book and I enjoyed reading it. This was a vividly written novel that I plan on buying a copy of.

The one issue I had with this novel is that the information we get at the beginning of the book about the prison and its working just seemed random. I would have liked it more if we got an actual conversation about it whether it would be at the beginning of the book or middle.

I would give this book four stars.

I know Terry Brooks' Shannara books are a staple of the fantasy community and dearly loved. I'll admit I haven't read them but I was still looking forward to this book as it sounded so interesting. Sadly, I found it boring.

Everything came to easy to the main character Auris. Her escape from prison left everyone but her dead which doesn't sound like it was "easy" until you find out that she was thrown from a moving vehicle and didn't suffer any injuries. For a while Auris couldn't summon her magic but when it suddenly came to her (just in time to, of course, save a friend) it came so easily that every moment of peril after that was a time waste.

I gave this three stars mostly for the potential this story held. I liked the idea of the Goblin prisons but we never got to explore them in depth and the reasons they held humans was unsatisfying at best. The story wrapped up like a stand alone but it could probably do with a sequel that focused more on story then world building.

This was my first book by Terry Brooks. It won't be my last. The story is so vivid and descriptive that you immediately feel drawn into Auris' mystery. It was as though I was looking through her eyes as she enters the world of the Fae. The mystery is slowly unraveled in a satisfying way while still leaving you eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. I can't wait for more!

Right off the bat, Terry Brooks' "Child of Light" took a hold of me and whisked me away to a world of beautiful Fae and terrible Goblins. The book starts off face paced and tense as teens plan their escape from a horrible prison, risking it all to run off into the unknown.

Where this book lost me was in the characters. At about 100 pages in, I still did not feel connected to the characters in any way. Every person I had met felt hollow and one-dimentional. I felt that the fast pace of the story was becoming a hindrance, leaving no time for the development of personalities and relationships.

"If ever there was a fairy-tale cottage in the forest, this is it. It doesn’t look like anything I have ever seen; it doesn’t even look like something I could have imagined. It is so unique and so compelling, I immediately want to live there."

After reading the quote above, I was so enthralled & interested to find out what this cottage looked like. I was shocked that, by then end of the chapter, no more explanation was given about the appearance of the cottage. This is an example of where I felt the book suffered from the fast paced writing. I wanted to connect more - to the environment, the characters, and the novel in general.

I decided this book was a "did not finish" for me at 28%. I will be revisiting my copy again in the near future & will update my review should my opinion change. Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!