ISO bad Terry Brooks ripoffs

I have been charged with the unlikely task of improving a 100,000 word manuscript of the sword and sorcery variety. The man who dumped this job upon me asked me to read Terry Brooks's Sword of Shannara series. In addition, he urged me to find a work or works that are derivative of Brooks but which are of far lesser quality. If anyone can give me some titles and authors along the latter lines, I would be most grateful. (Mode of gratitude to be specified later.)

(If I've asked you this personally, don't take this general call for answers amiss -- I just need a broader range of responses.)