As an avid reader of fantasy and sciencefiction, I cannot believe Armageddon's Children was the first book I read of Terry Brooks. This is a story of how human beings bring destruction onto themselves, by disrespecting the laws of nature; a very relevant theme for our times. Terry Brooks takes us to a world where the worst possible scenarios for the environmental destruction and the consequences of what might happen to humans and other creatures have come true.

Terry Brooks describes our ignorance, distrust in each other and at the same time, the relentless efforts to keep hope with increadible vividless. The elaborate characters of human, elven, demon, and other origins and their complicated dynamics draw the reader into the middle of the unexpected and often bitter-sweet events, which make it hard to put down the book. Due to their set ways and lack of imagination and flexibility of the adults, children become much more resilient in the rapidly changing, very trecherous world they live in. This helps create a possibility of defining and describing childhood and being young in a different way; reevaluate the value of belief systems and traditions; and take a good look at what we take for granted without giving it a second thought in our everyday lives.

I know there were books before this one, which described the events building up to what happens in Armageddon's children, but I did not have difficulty following the story eventhough I have not had a chance to read them (yet). On the other hand, the book ends very abruptly, which gave me a profound sense of unfinished business... I like series where each book is part of a larger story, but at the same time constitute a complete story within itself. I believe The Lord of the Rings and The Star Wars series have become such classics at least partially because of this quality they have. For this reason, the chapters in the second book of the triology (The Elves of Cintra, which I am currently reading) could easily be included in Armageddon's Children.

I've not previously read any books in this series or by Terry Brooks. This story is compelling from the first line and read really well in a moody fashion that enabled me to really visualize the scenes and get deeply involved with the characters. No previous understanding of the story line was needed for me to enjoy this book.
Dick Hill the reader, did such a good job that I have found myself looking for other books read by him. Also another really great aspect of this particular book is the 'MP3 CD' format. After having downloaded a few books from Audible with DRM restrictions on how many devices and an authorization process that I find a real pain in the rear end I will go out of my way to only buy audio books in this 'MP3 CD'. Because the 'MP3 CD' has no restrictions I was able to share the book with my family all of whom are now hooked on the series.

I've been reading Terry Brooks for over 20 years now, and am truly impressed by how much more intelligent his writing is now than it used to be, while still being taut with tension, excitement, and intrigue. This first book in the Genesis of Shannara series is classic Brooks in that he brings disparate personalities together in order to battle a common foe, but is unlike any of his previous Shannara books because this book takes place in future-America, and details how the world of Shannara came to exist.

Armageddon's Children puts all the pieces in play for the next two installments in the series, yet doesn't resolve anything more than identifying who the leader will be that will guide humanity into the world of Shannara. I couldn't put down the book, and will soon be reading the 2nd installment.

Brooks has written a long engaging tale of elves, humans, demons, and magic. Monsters include lizards, croaks, and a giant centipede. Children street gangs seek survival as demons lead once-men to wipe out the human race. The two remaining Kights of the Word are the only defence and their hope rests in finding the child born of magic, the gypsy morph. Brooks creates tension with external action and (long) interior monologs. His characters elicit sympathy. One is left hanging on disaster at the end and that forces the reader to book 2. Enjoyable.

I've loved Brooks' writing for many years now and this new series continues his great tradition of excellent stories with great thoughts and values.

With this novel, Terry begins to bridge the gap between two of his main story threads...that of the world of Shannara and that of the world in the "Word and Void" series.

The characters are approachable and each filled with their own strengths and flaws. As readers, we are taken on a voyage of self discovery along with the characters as they interact with the struggle between good and evil in the post-apocalyptic society.

You can certainly approach this story without having read Brooks before, but it would be advisable to have at least read the Word and Void series before starting on this journey. Even though set a hundred years or so beyond the first Word/Void book (Running with the Demon), it builds on the framework created there and your understanding will be greatly enhanced by starting with Word/Void and working your way into this novel. Reading the various Shannara series before this one are unnecessary and it could be argued that you should wait for this series to be done before you start Shannara, just to keep the chronology right...but then you're just depriving yourself of other fabulous works while you wait for this series to complete.