The Darkling Child by Terry Brooks publishes on July 7, 2015.

I just received in a number of Advanced Reading Copies that will be used for promotional purposes and the like. In fact, one of them is up for auction right now on Grim Oak Press, to help University Bookstore bookseller Duane Wilkins with heart surgery bills. Some time around the New Year, Terry and I will post a contest on his website to win one of the ARCs as well, a full seven months before the book actually publishes.

But that’s a long time to wait. And why should an auction winner get to read any part of The Darkling Child this early?

I decided to take a picture of the first page and post it!

Here is more information about The Darkling Child:

From New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks comes a thrilling stand-alone novel in his legendary Shannara series—the perfect place for new readers to begin. After taking up his enchanted sword against the dark sorcerer Arcannen, Paxon Leah has become the sworn protector of the Druid order. Now a critical hour is at hand, as a beloved High Druid nears the end of her reign and prepares to pass from the mortal world to the one beyond. There is little time for Paxon to mourn his friend and benefactor before duty summons him. For in a distant corner of the Four Lands, the magic of the wishsong has been detected. Paxon must accompany a Druid emissary to find its source—and ensure the formidable power is not wielded by the wrong hands. But danger is already afoot in the village of Portlow. Gentle traveling minstrel Reyn Frosch possesses the uncanny gift, and curse, of the wishsong. And now his coveted abilities have captured the malevolent interest of none other than Arcannen—whose lust for power is exceeded only by his thirst for vengeance. The lone survivor of a brutal assault on a notorious pirate city, the sorcerer is determined to retaliate against the Federation’s elite military guard—and use the devastating power of the wishsong as his ultimate weapon. All that stands in his way is the noble resolve of Reyn Frosch . . . unless Arcannen’s bewitching female apprentice can turn his head and twist his will. In the clash between mortal might and black magic, nothing can stay the hand of Paxon Leah, the High Druid’s Blade, in the quest to defend innocence and defeat evil.

Click the first page above to read it large!

The Darkling Child by Terry Brooks comes to stores July 7, 2015!

See the wishsong like you’ve never seen it!