"Testing of self is a regular part of our own lives, so it seems natural to make it a part of the lives of my characters, as well, albeit on a much different level"
About this Quote
Brooks is letting you peek behind the curtain: fantasy may be full of druids and demon wars, but its real engine is the same one running your ordinary Tuesday - self-examination under pressure. The line reads like a craft note, yet it sneaks in a philosophy of narrative. Characters aren’t just moved across a map; they’re put on trial. Not “test” as in trivia, but as in a stress test that reveals what’s true when comfort is removed.
The phrasing matters. “Regular part of our own lives” frames self-testing as routine, almost mundane: the quiet inventory we take after failure, after compromise, after we disappoint ourselves. By calling it “natural,” Brooks defends genre fiction against the old critique that fantasy is escapism. He’s arguing that the most “realistic” thing a book can do is ask who you become when stakes rise.
Then comes the sly pivot: “my characters” and “much different level.” That’s the genre bargain. Readers don’t pick up a Shannara novel to watch someone wrestle with an email. Brooks scales the familiar inward reckoning into spectacle - quests, prophecies, apocalyptic consequences - so the internal conflict becomes visible and kinetic. It’s also an admission of authorial power: he manufactures extremes to force clarity.
Contextually, Brooks emerged in the post-Tolkien boom, often judged by the size of his worldbuilding. This sentence insists the durable appeal isn’t the lore; it’s the moral checkpointing. The magic is just the lighting rig for a very human audit.
The phrasing matters. “Regular part of our own lives” frames self-testing as routine, almost mundane: the quiet inventory we take after failure, after compromise, after we disappoint ourselves. By calling it “natural,” Brooks defends genre fiction against the old critique that fantasy is escapism. He’s arguing that the most “realistic” thing a book can do is ask who you become when stakes rise.
Then comes the sly pivot: “my characters” and “much different level.” That’s the genre bargain. Readers don’t pick up a Shannara novel to watch someone wrestle with an email. Brooks scales the familiar inward reckoning into spectacle - quests, prophecies, apocalyptic consequences - so the internal conflict becomes visible and kinetic. It’s also an admission of authorial power: he manufactures extremes to force clarity.
Contextually, Brooks emerged in the post-Tolkien boom, often judged by the size of his worldbuilding. This sentence insists the durable appeal isn’t the lore; it’s the moral checkpointing. The magic is just the lighting rig for a very human audit.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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