Shannara Books in Order: 3 Ways to Read Terry Brooks’ Series

By T.L. BransonFantasy

Looking for the Shannara books in order? This is one of those fantasy series that can get confusing fast, because Terry Brooks didn’t just write one long sequence of novels. He built a much bigger connected world with prequels, later-era sequels, short fiction, and even a graphic novel.

This guide pulls all of that into one place. It covers the main Shannara novels, the connected pre-Shannara books Brooks later tied into the mythos, and the short fiction that now matters to a complete reading order. Below, you’ll find three useful ways to read the series: publication order, chronological order, and Terry Brooks’ own recommended path for new readers.

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Shannara Books in Order of Publication

Publication order is the simplest way to read the Shannara books in order. It follows the way readers originally discovered the series as the books released, and it’s still a solid option if you want to experience the world the way Brooks built it over time.

That said, it isn’t the cleanest path for a first-time reader. Brooks added earlier-era stories later on, and some of those books land better once you already know the core Shannara world.

  1. The Sword of Shannara (1977) (The Original Shannara Trilogy)
  2. The Elfstones of Shannara (1982) (Original Trilogy)
  3. The Wishsong of Shannara (1985) (Original Trilogy)
  4. The Scions of Shannara (1990) (The Heritage of Shannara)
  5. The Druid of Shannara (1991) (Heritage)
  6. Imaginary Friends (1991) (Word & Void short story, later collected in Small Magic)
  7. The Elf Queen of Shannara (1992) (Heritage)
  8. The Talismans of Shannara (1993) (Heritage)
  9. First King of Shannara (1996) (Prequel)
  10. Running with the Demon (1997) (The Word & Void)
  11. A Knight of the Word (1998) (W&V)
  12. Angel Fire East (1999) (W&V)
  13. Ilse Witch (2000) (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara)
  14. Antrax (2001) (Jerle)
  15. Morgawr (2002) (Jerle)
  16. Jarka Ruus (2003) (High Druid of Shannara)
  17. Indomitable (2003) (Original Trilogy short story)
  18. Tanequil (2004) (High Druid)
  19. Straken (2005) (High Druid)
  20. Armageddon’s Children (2006) (Genesis of Shannara)
  21. The Elves of Cintra (2007) (Genesis)
  22. Dark Wraith of Shannara (2008) (Original Trilogy graphic novel)
  23. The Gypsy Morph (2008) (Genesis)
  24. Bearers of the Black Staff (2010) (The Legends of Shannara)
  25. The Measure of the Magic (2011) (Legends)
  26. Allanon’s Quest (2012) (Paladins of Shannara short story)
  27. Wards of Faerie (2012) (The Dark Legacy of Shannara)
  28. Bloodfire Quest (2013) (Dark Legacy)
  29. The Weapons Master’s Choice (2013) (Paladins)
  30. The Black Irix (2013) (Paladins)
  31. Witch Wraith (2013) (Dark Legacy)
  32. The High Druid’s Blade (2014) (The Defenders of Shannara)
  33. The Darkling Child (2015) (Defenders)
  34. The Sorcerer’s Daughter (2016) (Defenders)
  35. The Black Elfstone (2017) (The Fall of Shannara)
  36. The Skaar Invasion (2018) (Fall)
  37. The Stiehl Assassin (2019) (Fall)
  38. The Last Druid (2020) (Fall)
  39. Aftermath (2021) (Original Trilogy short story in Small Magic)
  40. The Last Ride (2021) (Heritage short story in Small Magic)
  41. Galaphile (2025) (The First Druids of Shannara)
  42. Brona (2026) (First Druids)

Shannara Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order is the straight in-world timeline. It’s the best fit for readers doing a full reread or for anyone who wants to see how the history of this world unfolds from the earliest connected stories through the end of the main Shannara saga.

It’s not the best first-read path, though. Brooks wrote several earlier-set books after the fact, and those books can land with more weight once you already know the core series. That’s why chronological order works better as a second pass than as your starting point.

  1. Imaginary Friends (Word & Void short story, available in Small Magic)
  2. Running with the Demon (The Word & Void)
  3. A Knight of the Word (W&V)
  4. Angel Fire East (W&V)
  5. Armageddon’s Children (Genesis of Shannara)
  6. The Elves of Cintra (Genesis)
  7. The Gypsy Morph (Genesis)
  8. Bearers of the Black Staff (The Legends of Shannara)
  9. The Measure of the Magic (Legends)
  10. Galaphile (The First Druids of Shannara)
  11. Brona (First Druids)
  12. First King of Shannara (Shannara prequel)
  13. Allanon’s Quest (Paladins of Shannara short story in Small Magic)
  14. The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy)
  15. The Black Irix (Paladins)
  16. The Elfstones of Shannara (Original Trilogy)
  17. Aftermath (Original Trilogy short story in Small Magic)
  18. The Weapons Master’s Choice (Paladins)
  19. The Wishsong of Shannara (Original Trilogy)
  20. Indomitable (Original Trilogy epilogue short story)
  21. Dark Wraith of Shannara (Original Trilogy graphic novel)
  22. The Scions of Shannara (The Heritage of Shannara)
  23. The Druid of Shannara (Heritage)
  24. The Elf Queen of Shannara (Heritage)
  25. The Talismans of Shannara (Heritage)
  26. The Last Ride (Heritage short story in Small Magic)
  27. Ilse Witch (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara)
  28. Antrax (Jerle)
  29. Morgawr (Jerle)
  30. Jarka Ruus (High Druid of Shannara)
  31. Tanequil (High Druid)
  32. Straken (High Druid)
  33. Wards of Faerie (The Dark Legacy of Shannara)
  34. Bloodfire Quest (Dark Legacy)
  35. Witch Wraith (Dark Legacy)
  36. The High Druid’s Blade (The Defenders of Shannara)
  37. The Darkling Child (Defenders)
  38. The Sorcerer’s Daughter (Defenders)
  39. The Black Elfstone (The Fall of Shannara)
  40. The Skaar Invasion (Fall)
  41. The Stiehl Assassin (Fall)
  42. The Last Druid (Fall)

For most new readers, this is the best way to read the Shannara books in order. It follows Brooks’ current recommended path for new readers, which keeps the core Shannara experience intact and avoids dropping the bigger prequels or earlier-era books too soon.

You get the main Shannara story first, then expand into the later-connected material once the world, history, and payoff points already mean something.

The Original Shannara Trilogy

  1. The Sword of Shannara
  2. The Elfstones of Shannara
  3. The Wishsong of Shannara
  4. Indomitable (Short Fiction)
  5. Dark Wraith of Shannara (Graphic Novel)

The Heritage of Shannara

  1. The Scions of Shannara
  2. The Druid of Shannara
  3. The Elf Queen of Shannara
  4. The Talismans of Shannara

Shannara Prequel

  1. First King of Shannara

The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara

  1. Ilse Witch
  2. Antrax
  3. Morgawr

High Druid of Shannara

  1. Jarka Ruus
  2. Tanequil
  3. Straken

Genesis of Shannara

  1. Armageddon’s Children
  2. The Elves of Cintra
  3. The Gypsy Morph

The Legends of Shannara

  1. Bearers of the Black Staff
  2. The Measure of the Magic

The Dark Legacy of Shannara

  1. Wards of Faerie
  2. Bloodfire Quest
  3. Witch Wraith

Paladins of Shannara

  1. Allanon’s Quest
  2. The Weapons Master’s Choice
  3. The Black Irix

Defenders of Shannara

  1. The High Druid’s Blade
  2. The Darkling Child
  3. The Sorcerer’s Daughter

The Fall of Shannara

  1. The Black Elfstone
  2. The Skaar Invasion
  3. The Stiehl Assassin
  4. The Last Druid

The First Druids of Shannara

  1. Galaphile
  2. Brona

Shannara Short Fiction

  1. Aftermath (in Small Magic)
  2. The Last Ride (in Small Magic)

Shannara Adaptations

The main screen adaptation of Terry Brooks’ fantasy series is The Shannara Chronicles, which premiered on MTV on January 5, 2016. It ran for two seasons, moved to Spike for Season 2, and ended its broadcast run on November 22, 2017 before being canceled in January 2018.

One important thing to know is that the show did not begin with The Sword of Shannara. Instead, Season 1 adapted The Elfstones of Shannara, which is the second book in the original trilogy. That matters because readers coming from the TV series often assume the story starts with book one when the adaptation actually jumps ahead.

Terry Brooks was involved with the series, and the cast included Austin Butler as Wil Ohmsford, Poppy Drayton as Amberle, Ivana Baquero as Eretria, and Manu Bennett as Allanon. The show can work as a companion to the books, but it only covers a small part of the larger Shannara story.

As for movies, there has never been a released Shannara film. Warner Bros. picked up the film rights in 2007, with The Elfstones of Shannara reported as the most likely starting point, but that version never made it to theaters.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.

4 thoughts on “Shannara Books in Order: 3 Ways to Read Terry Brooks’ Series”

  1. Can I read only the novels and skip the short stories and graphic novels and still get a good contiguous story? I’m currently on “First King of Shannara” and haven’t read any of the shorts or other stuff so far, but I don’t feel as though I’ve missed anything. Curious what your thoughts on this are. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. I’ve actually not read the short stories or graphic novels, so unfortunately I’d not be able to help with this. I don’t believe they are necessary though. Just read them if you want.

      Reply

  3. Nice job creating the lists. I am following the Preference list.
    I just wanted to say that the book in the Heritage series is:
    The Talismans of Shannara
    Your printing has it as : The Taslismans of Shannara

    Reply

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