Shannara is an
epic fantasyHigh fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy came to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
series of novels written by
Terry BrooksTerence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 22 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...
, beginning with
The Sword of ShannaraThe Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
in 1977 and continuing through
The Gypsy MorphThe Gypsy Morph is the third and final novel in Terry Brooks's fantasy trilogy entitled The Genesis of Shannara, which bridges the events of Brooks' Word & Void series with his Shannara series. It takes place in an apocalyptic world around the year 2100 and immediately follows the novel The Elves...
which was released in August 2008. The series is probably best known for its blend of magic and primitive technology. It is also known for where it is set, as the setting in some of the books is on
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
long after civilization as we know it was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the
Great WarsThe Great Wars are a fictional conflict from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks.According to legend, the Great Wars were a result of several things. These things were common to most societies: territorial dispute, political disagreement, and so on...
. By the time of the prequel
First King of ShannaraThe First King of Shannara is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is a prequel to Brooks' The Sword of Shannara and is set during the Second War of the Races...
, the world has now reverted to a medieval state and magic has re-emerged to supplement science as humans and other races live in a place known as the four lands, which is a future North America.
Further into the novels science starts to become more advanced.
Shannara is not actually the name of the world itself (that being the Four Lands) but it is instead the name of an
ElvenElves are one of the races in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. They are the only race of the faerie creatures still in the World, though they now have become mortal. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the "Land Elves" and the...
noble family. Many of the protagonists in the series are descended from this family, beginning with
Jerle ShannaraJerle Shannara is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series of epic fantasy novels. Only mentioned as long-deceased person in the Original Shannara Trilogy, he is one of the main characters of the prequel novel First King of Shannara.- Biography :Jerle begins the story as captain of...
.
Age of Faerie
At the beginning of time, in what was known as the "Age of Faerie", the Earth was inhabited only by Faerie creatures; most or all wielded magic. Like any power (be it wealth, technology, or physical strength), magic was used by some for good and some for evil. For example, the
ElvesElves are one of the races in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. They are the only race of the faerie creatures still in the World, though they now have become mortal. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the "Land Elves" and the...
used their magic to care for the earth, while the hateful
DemonsDemons is a common name for many different creatures in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. The 'true' demons were sealed long ago within an alternate universe, named the Forbidding; this prison is 'maintained' by the Ellcrys, a sacred Elven tree; if she dies, the Forbidding...
used theirs to dominate and destroy. When the Demons tried to eradicate the rival Elves altogether, the Elves proved victorious by creating a magical prison called the Forbidding, to which they banished the Demons. The Forbidding locked the demons away in an
alternate universeParallel universe or alternative reality is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a multiverse, although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute physical reality...
from which they could not attack the Elves. The integrity of the prison was upheld by a magical tree known as the
EllcrysThe Ellcrys is a fictional sapient tree with silver bark and crimson leaves that was "created by the bonding of earth and life". She appears in two novels of the Shannara series. She is the magical linchpin of the barrier that keeps the Demons that once overran the Four Lands trapped in an...
. As long as the Ellcrys lived, the Demons would remain locked away. (See
The Elfstones of ShannaraThe Elfstones of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy...
)
Age of Man
Thousands of years later, the age of man came into being. The Elves still existed, but quickly found themselves few in numbers compared to the quickly growing human race and decided to go into hiding. Thousands of years passed while man and science ruled. The Elves and their magic remained hidden, as memories of their existence become nothing more than “Fairy Tales”.
The Great Wars
Sometime in the early 22nd century, mankind all but destroyed itself through
nuclearNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weapons are used. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare is vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
and
chemicalChemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons to kill, injure, or incapacitate an enemy....
holocaustNuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of nearly complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
.
Birth of the Four Lands and The First Council
After an extremely long amount of time, the Earth had more or less recovered from the cataclysm of the Great Wars. Except for the
ruinsRuins is a term used to describe the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete but which have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
of man’s greatest cities and monuments, the world as everyone had known it had disappeared. New races appeared, genetically mutated by radiation from the Great Wars. These mutant human races were given names from man's ancient fairy tales: Troll, Dwarf, and Gnome. The surviving
ElvesElves are one of the races in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. They are the only race of the faerie creatures still in the World, though they now have become mortal. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the "Land Elves" and the...
also appeared from their concealment, now that the threat from the quickly multiplying men was gone. Unfortunately, chaos ensued as the four races each tried to declare their power over the other.
Fearing that the chaos would lead to the end for all of them, a group of learned men and women from all the races formed the Druids. Under the order of the Druids, the earth was divided up into the Four Lands, one territory for each race. The Druids then sought out all the information they could on the arts, sciences, and history of the Old World, attempting to understand what had brought about such a terrible apocalypse, so that they might learn from those mistakes and bring lasting peace and order to the land. As time progressed, the council’s plan seemed to be working and they hoped that, in time, all that was known of the Old World would eventually exist again. However, several powerful members of the Druids became convinced that magic, not science, should be the guiding force of the new world, and that it was their destiny as Elves and magic-wielders to shape the future of the races. These Elves left the Druids to form their own group, consisting of all races and led by an Elf named
BronaThe Warlock Lord is the principal villain of Terry Brooks' novel The Sword of Shannara.The Warlock Lord was formerly the Druid Brona. He desired power, and delved too deeply and quickly into forbidden knowledge and was corrupted by the dark power of Ildatch, a book of magic said to have a mind of...
, who took with him the Ildatch, a book of unparalleled evil power that once belonged to the
DemonDemons is a common name for many different creatures in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. The 'true' demons were sealed long ago within an alternate universe, named the Forbidding; this prison is 'maintained' by the Ellcrys, a sacred Elven tree; if she dies, the Forbidding...
leader in the Age of Faerie.
The Wars of the Races
After years of growing his power,
BronaThe Warlock Lord is the principal villain of Terry Brooks' novel The Sword of Shannara.The Warlock Lord was formerly the Druid Brona. He desired power, and delved too deeply and quickly into forbidden knowledge and was corrupted by the dark power of Ildatch, a book of magic said to have a mind of...
, who had become known as the "Warlock Lord", orchestrated a rebellion against the Druids. Started by Men attacking out of the
SouthlandThe Southland is a region in the Four Lands, the fictional world where Terry Brooks' Shannara series is set.- Overview :The Southland is inhabited mostly by men. It was largely divided with the largest country being the Borderland of Callahorn until the Federation took over the Southland after the...
at Brona's urging, the rebellion soon widened into what became known as the First War of the Races, with Men against all the races that were supported by the Druids--mainly the
ElvesElves are one of the races in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. They are the only race of the faerie creatures still in the World, though they now have become mortal. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the "Land Elves" and the...
and the Dwarves. Eventually, the combined power of the Council crushed the humans, but the Warlock Lord escaped to rebuild his legion, leaving the human countries to rebuild their shattered lives. Indirectly, this war led to the isolationist policy of the
FederationThe Federation is a fictional organization from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks.In the aftermath of the Second War of the Races, the cities of the deep Southland realized how close they had come to annihilation. Banding together out of fear, they formed an alliance whose goal was to unite the...
, a human country first mentioned in
The Elfstones of ShannaraThe Elfstones of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy...
.
Once he recovered, the Warlock Lord and his armies returned twice more (in the
Second War of the RacesThe Second War of the Races was a fictional war in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. This war is chronicled in the prequel to the Original Shannara Trilogy, First King of Shannara. The war caused the forging of the only weapon able to harm the Warlock Lord, The Sword of...
and the Third War of the Races, in the space of a century with years of peace in between (the equivalent of the World Wars during the time of man), until finally the Warlock Lord was killed.
The Shannara Family
Involved in nearly every key moment throughout the history of the Four Lands is some member of the Shannara family. Their mixed heritage of man and
ElfElves are one of the races in the Shannara series of epic fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. They are the only race of the faerie creatures still in the World, though they now have become mortal. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the "Land Elves" and the...
left them both blessed and cursed, as this feature was part of the reason that they could wield magic. Over the years, descendants of the Shannara bloodline, now with the surname Ohmsford, have continuously been called upon to fight to defend the Four Lands and the lives of its
inhabitantsThis is a list of creatures appearing in the Shannara series of novels by Terry Brooks.- Men :The Men, who live primarily in the Southland, are the primary race of the Shannara novels. Men are descended from some of the lucky humans that did not alter or mutate from the effects of the Great Wars,...
.
The familial relationships between the main characters can be seen in the
Shannara family treeThis is a genealogy for the main characters from Terry Brooks Shannara series of fantasy novels. Jerle Shannara + Preia Starle | |...
.
The Word/VoidThe Word & Void novel series by Terry Brooks is a trilogy of dark urban fantasy novels primarily set in Illinois in the late 20th and early 21st century....
Trilogy
The
Word/Void trilogy consists of
Running with the DemonRunning with the Demon is the first book in the Word & Void fantasy series, written by Terry Brooks as a prequel to his Shannara series. It was first published in 1997 by Ballantine's Del Rey division. The story takes place in the town of Hopewell, Illinois, around the Fourth of July in 1997...
,
A Knight of the WordA Knight of the Word is the second novel in the Word & Void series by Terry Brooks, written as a prequel to his Shannara series. It was first published in 1998 by Ballantine's Del Rey division . The setting is primarily Seattle, Washington around Halloween in 2002, five years after the events of...
, and
Angel Fire EastAngel Fire East is the third and final novel in the Word & Void series by Terry Brooks, written as a prequel to his Shannara series. It was first published in 1999 by Ballantine's Del Rey division. The novel takes place around Christmas in 2012, ten years after the events of A Knight of the Word...
and is predominantly set in present-day
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
. It follows Nest Freemark, a girl with magical abilities who has no known relationship to any
Shannara character. Before the publication of
Armageddon's Children it was unclear whether this trilogy existed within the
Shannara universe. It has since been revealed as the "ultimate prequel" to the
Shannara novels.
The Genesis of Shannara Trilogy
The Genesis of Shannara series connects the
Word/Void series with the
Shannara novels. The trilogy consists of
Armageddon's ChildrenArmageddon's Children is the first novel in Terry Brooks' fantasy trilogy entitled The Genesis of Shannara, which bridges the events of Brooks' Word/Void trilogy with his Shannara series...
,
The Elves of CintraThe Elves of Cintra is the second novel in Terry Brooks's epic fantasy trilogy The Genesis of Shannara. The series bridges the events of Brooks' Word & Void series with his acclaimed novel The Sword of Shannara and the subsequent trilogy. It takes place in an apocalyptic world around the year 2100...
and
The Gypsy MorphThe Gypsy Morph is the third and final novel in Terry Brooks's fantasy trilogy entitled The Genesis of Shannara, which bridges the events of Brooks' Word & Void series with his Shannara series. It takes place in an apocalyptic world around the year 2100 and immediately follows the novel The Elves...
. It takes place eighty years after the
Word/Void story, and approximately 1500 years before the events of
The First King of Shannara.
First King of ShannaraThe First King of Shannara is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is a prequel to Brooks' The Sword of Shannara and is set during the Second War of the Races...
The prequel to the
Original Shannara TrilogyThe Original Shannara Trilogy consists of the first three Shannara novels by Terry Brooks...
,
The First King of Shannara is set during the lifetime of
Jerle ShannaraJerle Shannara is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series of epic fantasy novels. Only mentioned as long-deceased person in the Original Shannara Trilogy, he is one of the main characters of the prequel novel First King of Shannara.- Biography :Jerle begins the story as captain of...
, a predecessor of Shea (about 500 years before the first book of the original Shannara Trilogy) and chronicling the second war of the races.
The Original Shannara TrilogyThe Original Shannara Trilogy consists of the first three Shannara novels by Terry Brooks...
Also called
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, the first three published Shannara novels (
The Sword of ShannaraThe Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
,
The Elfstones of ShannaraThe Elfstones of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy...
, and
The Wishsong of ShannaraThe Wishsong of Shannara, an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks, is the third and final novel in the Original Shannara Trilogy, with the other two being The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara. The story revolves around Jair and Brin Ohmsford, the children of the main characters from...
) follow
Shea OhmsfordShea Ohmsford is a fictional character and the protagonist of Terry Brooks' epic fantasy novel The Sword of Shannara. In the universe, he is the last known person with the blood of Jerle Shannara, making him the only one who can wield the powerful Sword of Shannara to vanquish the Warlock Lord.-...
and his brother
Flick OhmsfordFlick Ohmsford is a character in The Sword of Shannara, a novel by Terry Brooks. He is Shea Ohmsford's brother and accompanied him for most of his journey for the Sword of Shannara. After he was separated from his brother he went on to help Allanon save the rest of the company from Paranor and he...
, Shea's grandson
Wil OhmsfordWil Ohmsford is a fictional character from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks, appearing in two novels: The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. He is the grandson of Shea Ohmsford and the grand-nephew of Flick Ohmsford....
, and Wil's children
Brin OhmsfordBrin Ohmsford is a fictional character from The Wishsong of Shannara, an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks.- Biography :She is the daughter of Wil Ohmsford, making her actually 1/16th Elf, and because of his use of the Elfstones gained magic she named the wishsong. She is described as looking...
and
Jair OhmsfordJair Ohmsford is a major character in three novels of the Shannara series by Terry Brooks: The Wishsong of Shannara, a full-length epic fantasy novel, Indomitable, a short story that appeared in Legends II, and Dark Wraith of Shannara, a graphic novel.- The Wishsong of Shannara :He is the son of...
during the times of the third war of the races and the war of the forbidding.
The Heritage of Shannara Tetralogy
The next four books, known as
The Heritage of Shannara, are set 300 years after
The Original Shannara Trilogy. This series consists of
The Scions of ShannaraThe Scions of Shannara is a fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the Heritage of Shannara series, which takes place three hundred years after the end of the previous Shannara trilogy. The first version was published in 1990...
,
The Druid of ShannaraThe Druid of Shannara is the second book of the tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara written by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 1991.-Plot summary:...
,
The Elf Queen of ShannaraThe Elf Queen of Shannara is the third book of the tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara written by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 1992.- Plot summary :...
and
The Talismans of ShannaraThe Talismans of Shannara is the fourth book of the tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara written by Terry Brooks.- Plot summary :The Elves and Paranor are both now back in the Four Lands, and the former Walker Boh has inherited Allanon's powers; also, the Sword of Shannara has been found...
. They follow four of Shea Ohmsford's descendants:
Walker BohWalker Boh is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' Heritage of Shannara and The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series.Walker Boh is a descendant of Brin Ohmsford, and cousin to Par and Coll Ohmsford. As his name suggests, he is also descended from Cogline through the Druid's granddaughter, Kimber...
,
Par OhmsfordPar Ohmsford is a fictional character from the Heritage of Shannara series by Terry Brooks. He is a descendant of Jair Ohmsford, and has a brother named Coll Ohmsford....
,
Coll OhmsfordColl Ohmsford is a character from the Heritage of Shannara series by author Terry Brooks. He is the younger brother of Par Ohmsford.Coll, unlike his brother, does not possess the magic of the wishsong. Also unlike Par, Coll is the cautious type, always wanting to think through the situation before...
, and
Wren ElessedilWren Elessedil is a fictional character from The Heritage of Shannara by Terry Brooks.-Biography:Wren was born as the daughter of the Princess of the Elves and a Wing Rider. Because of the Elessedil and Ohmsford bloodlines mixing together, Wren was a distant cousin to Par Ohmsford, Coll Ohmsford,...
.
The Voyage of the Jerle ShannaraThe Voyage of the Jerle Shannara is a trilogy by Terry Brooks set 130 years after the Heritage of Shannara. Similar to its predecessor, this is one cohesive story following the happenings of Bek Rowe, Walker Boh, and Grianne Ohmsford, among other characters.-Plot:
Ilse WitchA...
Trilogy
The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy consists of the books
Ilse WitchIlse Witch is the first book in Terry Brooks' The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. It was first published in 2000.- Plot summary :...
,
AntraxAntrax is the second book in Terry Brooks' The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. It was first published in 2001.-Plot:The voyage to find the lost magic takes the companions to the continent of Parkasia...
, and
Morgawr* For the fictional character see Morgawr * For the Cornish sea monster, see Morgawr Morgawr is the third book in the The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 2002....
. Set aboard the airship
Jerle Shannara (named after the olden king), the story follows Walker Boh as he guides the crew across the ocean in search of an ancient source of power. This is set 130 years after
The Heritage of Shannara.
High Druid of ShannaraHigh Druid of Shannara is a trilogy of fantasy novels in the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Set 20 years after the events of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, the series chronicles the adventures of Pen Ohmsford as he seeks to rescue his aunt, the High Druid Grianne Ohmsford.-Jarka Ruus:The...
Trilogy
The
High Druid of Shannara trilogy includes the novels
Jarka RuusJarka Ruus is a fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy in Brooks' Shannara series, and takes place 20 years after the events of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara...
,
TanequilTanequil is a fantasy novel in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy of the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. First published in 2004, the book takes place immediately after the events of Jarka Ruus and is followed by the novel Straken....
, and
StrakenStraken is the third and final book in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy of Terry Brooks' Shannara series. First published in 2005, it takes place immediately after the events of Tanequil...
. It focuses on the disappearance of the High Druid
Grianne OhmsfordGrianne Ohmsford is a fictional character in Terry Brooks' epic fantasy Shannara series.-Biography:Grianne Ohmsford was abducted from her burning home when she was a young child by a powerful and evil warlock called the Morgawr, who knew that the power of the Wishsong held by the Ohmsford family...
and is set 20 years after
The Voyage of the Jerle ShannaraThe Voyage of the Jerle Shannara is a trilogy by Terry Brooks set 130 years after the Heritage of Shannara. Similar to its predecessor, this is one cohesive story following the happenings of Bek Rowe, Walker Boh, and Grianne Ohmsford, among other characters.-Plot:
Ilse WitchA...
.
Planned Movie Adaptation
The rights to a movie adaptation for all of the Shannara novels have been sold to Warner Bros until 2010.
The Elfstones of ShannaraThe Elfstones of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy...
, the first planned movie, will be filmed and directed by
Mike NewellMichael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television.-Early life:...
, who was also responsible for
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on July 8, 2000. The book attracted additional attention because of a pre-publication warning from J. K. Rowling that one of the characters would be murdered in the book.The...
.
The Elfstones of Shannara will probably be followed by an adaptation of
The Sword of ShannaraThe Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
in 2010 or so. Note that the sequence of the movies differ from the sequence of the books, although
Terry BrooksTerence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 22 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...
believes that this is the best starting place for adapting the
Shannara novels.
See also