The Druid of Shannara
In the three hundred years since the death of the Druid Allanon, the mysterious, evil Shadowen have seized control and are ruining the Four Lands. Using Cogline as messenger, the shade of Allanon summons the four scions of Shannara: Par, Coll, Wren, and Walker Boh. To Walker Boh he gives the duty of restoring the lost Druid's Keep, Paranor. For that, Walker needs the black Elfstone, but his search leads him only to a trap.
Meanwhile, the King of the Silver River, a fabulous being as old as mankind, creates a daughter named Quickening and sends her to help. She is joined by Morgan Leah and Pe Ell, an assassin who plans to eventually kill her.
They find Walker Boh dying after an attack by the Shadowen, Rimmer Dall. Quickening heals him and tells him that the Elfstone is in the hands of another ancient being, the Stone King, who seeks to turn all the world to stone.
The journey will lead them to the far north, through the Charnal Mountains and beyond, into a perilous and unknown land. And no one knows what horrible monsters the Stone King has set to guard his citadel.
They form a strange company to undertake such a quest: Morgan Leah, whose once-magic sword has been broken; Walker Boh, with only one arm and no longer able to summon his magic; Quickening, who must depend on the men for her defense; and Pe Ell, who still intends to kill her.
Thus, the quest for the black Elfstone begins.
Again, Terry Brooks demonstrates in this fast-paced fantasy the skills of a master storyteller, whose work has always commanded and fully deserved a place among the top bestsellers.
Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
The Heritage of Shannara
The Heritage of Shannara consists of four primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series Shannara
Book Reviews
The Druid of Shannara is the second book of The Heritage of Shannara. Many people like The Druid of Shannara and think that it's a good book. In my opinion The Druid of Shannara isn't as bad as the first book of this series, but it's not very good. It's entertaining and there are some good moments, but it's not as good as The Elf Queen of Shannara.