The Elfstones of Shannara alt prelim

Darrell K Sweet painted the cover art to books two and three of Terry Brooks’ seninal Shannara fantasy series. This is an alternative prelim for the second book, “The Elfstones of Shannara”, published by Del Rey / Ballantine in 1982. “Elfstones” was the first fantasy novel I ever read as a kid, so the series has always held a special place in my heart and I’m always looking for any related art, which is incredibly difficult to come by. So I was super pleased when Jane Frank was able to unearth this for me during the artist’s son’s, Darrell Jr., recent digging through the archive. Though it’s an alternative view, it’s the same scene as the published cover and I recognized the characters and setting immediately. Not quite grail status, but definitely in the ballpark. Super big thanks to both Jane and Darrell Jr for uncovering this one!!

Acrylic on panel, signed on reverse.
4.25” x 7”