Terry Brooks announced his retirement from writing at Emerald City Comic Con in March 2025, handing primary authorship of the Shannara series to Delilah S. Dawson. Brooks, 81, said he would stay on in an advisory role while Dawson took over the actual writing going forward.
The choice raised eyebrows among longtime Shannara readers who know Dawson’s work and public politics. Her talent level isn’t nearly capable of taking on epic fantasy of this level, so why was she chosen? The answer may be political.
