Plot summary
The Druid of Shannara takes off where The Scions of Shannara ended, focusing on the story of Walker Boh as he pursues the task given to him by the shade of Allanon: returning the Druid castle of Paranor to the Four Lands. Left in the Hall of Kings with the Asphinx attacking, Walker fends off the poison with his magic for days. Finally realizing that there is only one way out of his predicament, he breaks off his arm in terrible agony. He fights his way through the Hall of Kings and makes his way to Storlock for the Gnome Healers to help him heal.
The reader is told that Coll is still alive, and the thing Par killed was a fake. Coll is kept in a prison called Southwatch and tryinf to figure out an escape.
Elsewhere, The King of the Silver River realizes the state of the Four Lands and makes a woman out of the elements surrounding him in his garden. The King tells this daughter, Quickening, of a task he wants her to carry out in a troubled lost city to the north and the people he wants her to bring.
Morgan Leah returns to Culhaven to carry out a final request from his old friend Steff who met his demise in The Scions of Shannara, only to be imprisoned.
Rimmer Dall learns about Quickening and rumors surrounding her appearances. That she's the daughter of The King of the Silver River and makes miracles happen. Rimmer Dall dispatches the assassin Pe Ell to kill her.
When Quickening arrives in Culhaven, she restores hope in the land by bringing back the beautiful Meade Gardens. Doing this takes a toll on her, and she falls weakened into Pe Ell's arms. He helps her find somewhere to sleep but doesn't murder her, immediately struggling with attraction to her.
After Quickening recovers she requests Pe Ell to break Morgan Leah out of prison and he does so, reluctantly. Morgan Leah is also instantly smitten by Quickening, and along with Pe Ell agrees to journey with her. The three set off to find Walker Boh.
Meanwhile, Walker has returned home under the care of Cogline. Still weak, he lies in bed as Cogline tries to coax him to get up and regard hia survival positively. Rimmer Dall with a handful of Shadowen confront Cogline, bound to take out the last of the messengers of the druids. Cogline had been warned by Allanon and displaced the Druid Histories before he and Rumor are killed.
Soon after, Quickening reaches Walker Boh and heals him the best she can, his arm still missing. She leads the party north to get the black elfstone and promising that in return, Morgan will get his sword back, Pe Ell will increase his magical abilities, and Walker Boh will become whole.
On their way, they meet Horner Dees who is the only known survivor from entering Eldwist, an ancient city turned entirely into stone. He had no intentions of ever going back but is persuaded. They finally arrive at Eldwist and unsuccessfully address Uhl Belk, a brother of The King of the Silver River who has been around just as long. Days go by avoiding a creeper called The Rake, and the Maw Grint - the child of the Stone King and a gigantic worm-like creature that turns everything to stone. When the group eventually gets Uhl Belk to yield the black elfstone, Pe Ell takes off with Quickening as a hostage. The others catch up as Pe Ell stabs Quickening, though the reader is informed that she pushes herself against Pe Ell's magical blade, taking the choice to kill away from the assassin. Surprised, confused and enraged, Pe Ell flees but soon dies for his involvement in Quickening's death, supposedly from retaliatory magic that Walker suggests was placed on Quickening by the King of the Silver River to avenge her.
Walker Boh, Morgan Leah, and Horner Dees take Quickening to the cliffs above Eldwist. She tells Morgan to sheath the broken Sword of Leah in the earth. Using magic, she communicates to Walker the purpose for her existence is to restore Eldwist, freeing it from its stone curse. At her request, Walker releases Quickening and she falls from the edge of the cliff and disintegrates. The dust of her body settles over Eldwist and plant life instantly sprouts, covering the whole peninsula and leaving only the dome building wherein Uhl Belk resides, in stone. The magic proceeds to restore the broken Sword of Leah.
The three men leave, taking different paths: Horner goes home, Morgan sets off to find Par and Walker Boh to recover lost Paranor.
Mentioned briefly in the book, Wren journeys with Garth to the village of Grimpen Ward in the Wilderun to seek the seer called the Addershag, hoping to learn the fate of the Elves. Wren is told by the Addershag to go south to the Blue Divide and light a fire for three days above the caves of the Rocs. Wren and Garth escape Grimpen Ward, chased by the men who have been keeping the Addershag as a prisoner.
Shannara is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and concluding with The Last Druid which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, First King of Shannara. The series blends magic and primitive technology and is set in the Four Lands, which are identified as Earth long after civilization was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars. By the time of the prequel First King of Shannara, the world had reverted to a pre-industrial state and magic had re-emerged to supplement science.
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in a titular trilogy.
The Elfstones of Shannara is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy. It expands upon the history of the Elves, which was only hinted at in the preceding story, and follows Wil Ohmsford, grandson of Shea and inheritor of the Shannara Elfstones.
The Wishsong of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the 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 The Elfstones of Shannara: Wil Ohmsford and Eretria. The siblings, each possessing an inherited magic, must save the Four Lands from the evil magic within a tome called the Ildatch.
First King of Shannara is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks.
The Heritage of Shannara is a series of four fantasy novels by Terry Brooks, set hundreds of years after the original Shannara trilogy. Unlike the original trilogy, however, this series is all one, cohesive story, in contrast to the three isolated stories of the originals. It is set in a future Four Lands in which the Federation of the Southland has driven off the Elves, enslaved the Dwarves, and outlawed magic. Only the rebel Free-born, led by Padishar Creel, dare to resist. The series begins with The Scions of Shannara, when the Ohmsford descendants are summoned by the shade of Allanon to combat the Shadowen that have been poisoning the land, each charged with a quest only they can embark on. The story continues with The Druid of Shannara, The Elf Queen of Shannara, and concludes with The Talismans of Shannara.
The Scions of Shannara, first published in 1990, is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the Heritage of Shannara series, taking place three hundred years after the end of the previous Shannara trilogy. The book follows the lives of the Scions of Shannara, Par Ohmsford, Walker Boh, and Wren (Ohmsford).
Ilse Witch is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first book in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. First published in 2000, it was the first novel in which Brooks described the use of futuristic technology, including airships as well as robots and lasers from the Old World. A conversation between the Druid Walker Boh and the Shade of Allanon that was edited from Ilse Witch was published as part of Unfettered, a collection of fantasy short stories.
Antrax is the second book in Terry Brooks' The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. It was first published in 2001.
Morgawr is the third book in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 2002.
Jarka Ruus is a fantasy novel by American writer 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. It was first published in 2003.
Tanequil is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, part of the High Druid of Shannara trilogy of the Shannara series. First published in 2004, the book takes place immediately after the events of Jarka Ruus and is followed by the novel Straken.
Straken is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third book in his High Druid of Shannara trilogy. First published in 2005, it takes place immediately after the events of Tanequil.
The Talismans of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the fourth in his tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara.
The Elf Queen of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third book of the tetralogy: The Heritage of Shannara. It was first published in 1992.
The Dark Wraith of Shannara is a graphic novel produced by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series. The story is set several years after the events of The Wishsong of Shannara and Indomitable.
The Elves of Cintra is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the second in his 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 immediately follows the novel Armageddon's Children. It details events during the Great Wars, a historical conflict referenced frequently in the Shannara books. The conclusion to the trilogy and the sequel to The Elves of Cintra is The Gypsy Morph, which was released in August 2008.
"Indomitable" is a fantasy short story by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series, and takes place two years after the events in The Wishsong of Shannara. It was first published in the 2003 collection Legends II.
Allanon's Quest is a fantasy short story by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series. It is the first in a trilogy of short stories that make up the Paladins of Shannara series, first published in 2012.
The Shannara Chronicles is an American fantasy drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of The Sword of Shannara trilogy of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. It follows three heroes as they protect an ancient tree to stop the escape of banished demons. The series was filmed in the Auckland Film Studios and on location elsewhere in New Zealand.
