Shannara Books

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Shannara is a series of high-fantasy books authored by Terry Brooks. Brooks began the publication of Shannara series in 1977 when the first book in the series The Sword of Shannara was published. The series blends primitive technology and magic and is set in a post-apocalyptic world known as the Four Lands.

Chronological Order of Original Shannara Series

This world is a future version of our world and not a secondary world. Genesis of Shannara reveals that the Four Lands is located in the current Pacific Northwest region of Canada and United States. There are significant landscape changes caused by future holocaust known as The Great Wars. However, some landmarks remain; for instance, there is the existence of Columbia River.

SHANNARA BOOKS INTO MOVIES:

Warner Bros. acquired film rights to Shannara universe in 2007 for producer Dan Farah. Unfortunately, the rights deal expired later in 2010 and all rights were fully reverted to the author.

Sonar Entertainment partnered with Farah Films to acquire television rights to Shannara novels in 2012. Later in 2013, it announced that a television series based on the books was in the production phase. The TV series, Shannara Chronicles premiered on January 5th, 2016 for the first season on MTV. The series then left MTV, but was renewed for a second season that aired in October 2017 on Spike TV. You can also find the series on The Space Channel in Canada, on 5STAR in the UK, Syfy in Australia and Sky TV in New Zealand.

The series debuted to mixed reviews, but many praised it for how quickly it moved the story along. The Shannara Chronicles was also nominated for a Saturn Award for “Best Fantasy TV Series” for their debut season.

BEST SHANNARA BOOKS:

These are best two of Shannara series by Terry Brooks, The Sword of Shannara (1977) and The Elfstones of Shannara (1982).

The Sword of Shannara: A long time ago, the battles of ancient Evil resulted into doomsday, the world was left in ruins, and this forced humanity to compete with myriads of other races including trolls, gnomes, elves, and dwarfs. In the peaceful Shady Vale, Shea Ohmsford who is half elf knows little of such troubles until one day, giant forbidding Allanon with mysterious druidic powers reveals to the world evil plots of thought-to-be dead Warlock Lord to destroy the world.

The only weapon that can fight and defeat the Power of Darkness is the sword of Shannara that can only be used by the right heir of Shannara. The hope for all races lies on Shea, the last of the bloodline. However saving the world is not an easy task, as evil forces are seeking to put an end to Shea, and if Shea dies so does the world.

The Elfstones of Shannara: Many years ago, elves that lost their magic created a tree that sole purpose was to contain a great evil. Now the tree is slowly dying, and it is rumored that the evil is about to escape with already most potent evil guys already walking amongst the races of the Four Lands. The only person who profoundly understands the extent of this significant problem is Allanon, but even this last surviving druid cannot be at two different places at the same time. So he seeks assistance from some unlikely heroes the likes of Wil Ohmsford, the grandchild of Shea Ohmsford introduced in the first novel.

The Elfstones of Shannara is an entertaining second series installment, it is fast-paced, and features interesting characters and plot. At times the story is narrated from druid’s point of view, and this helps the readers understand the druid’s motives.

Shannara Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What are the Four Lands

A: The Four Lands is the setting of the Shannara books and is the post apocalyptic version of our own world, with all signs pointing to it being the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and southwest portion of Canada. The Four Lands are the Northland, the Eastland, the Southland, and the Westland, with each being the primary home of different types of people in the Shannnara universe.

Q: When will Shannara end?

A: The “chronological end” of the series is currently being written with “The Fall of Shannara” series. The first book was published in 2017 titled “The Black Elfstone” with the next book in the four-part series due in 2018. The Skaar Invasion is the next book in the series (within the series) that will lead to the end of the Shannara universe.

That said, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be anymore Shannara books. This simply means that this series will be the end of “time” in the Shannara world so to speak and there will be no books going forward that take place after this series. That said, it is within reason to expect the series to continue with books taking place at earlier points in history.

OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE:

If you like high fantasy novels such as Shannara series, then you might want to read these two book series; “Dragonlance Chronicles” by Margaret Weis and “The Riftwar Saga” by Raymond E. Feist.

What Is The Next Book in The Original Shannara Series?

There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Original Shannara Series. The newest book is Indomitable and was released on January, 1st 2003.

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